Deep Black: Reloaded
A newer version of this review can be read at www.trulyinterestingmedia.com
Development studio Biart has created Deep Black: Reloaded. If you take a look at their previously released games you see that they just love underwater games and that is just what Deep Black: Reloaded gives you. This is is a shooter that not only takes place on land, but also underwater. While the game certainly has some strong points, but those are quickly ruined by such awful mistakes.
You start out as a guy named Pierce. It is your job to just do as your told and don’t ask any questions. While this may work in real life, it doesn’t work in games. Never the player feels like he/she/he-she is part of the story and it never gets interesting either. Thankfully the dialogue is a bit better, at least in cut scenes. Plenty of jokes to find between missions which often make you grin. I am not really sure if it suits the game, but it is fun to watch.
Unfortunately not all the voice acting has been done well. The sound people make when you kill them is just AAAAHHHRRGG. And the funny thing is, they really make that sound... every time.... But only when you get to kill them. Occasionally I shot around five bullets in their heads, but for some strange reason they just walked away like I never even hit them. Normally headshot equals dead, but apparently not in Deep Black.
Aren’t there any good points to this game? To name at least one good thing: it just looks phenomenal. You can see the developers have a history of underwater games because it looks really detailed. The way you move trough the water and how things react have been done really well. Hiding behind rocks or pillars also is a thing that has been done well. It is similar to Gears of War. You can randomly shoot without leaving your cover, or you can aim, which makes you vulnerable for attacks. All this graphical glory comes with a heavy price though. Too often the fps drops to 25 no matter which settings you use. I’ve turned down everything to low and turned of what could be turned off and after that I got a whopping 27 fps! I have to admit that I kept the native resolution of my monitor, but still. An increase of 2 fps is just too minimal!
Conclusion
I tried to test out the multiplayer, but no one seems to play this game. It is a shame though because against your friends this game could be a lot more fun. This really reduces the replay value. If you do not mind the occasional stuttering feel free to buy the game. It really is beautiful and it is fun to play. Do you wish to play without the stuttering, buy it only if you have a really good gaming system. My system is around average (but still a bit higher then the recommended requirements) and it still does not run as good as it should be.
Sound 15/30
Graphics 25/30
Gameplay 18/30
Replay Value 2/10
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Total score 60/100
Deep Black: Reloaded is played on a PC with Windows 7.