Playing Blackwater makes you feel like Zeus, but instead of hurling thunderbolts, you’re spraying bullets. You play as the elite team of Devon, Baird, Eddi, and Smash trying to help a local cadre do…something, against insurgents in a place called Harri. The story and overall writing are abysmal and clearly weren’t the focus during development.
But that’s okay, because where this game shines is its Kinect-based mechanics, which are super-immersive. Your living room disappears as you duck for cover and lean around corners to take out enemies, and we had a blast shooting, kicking, climbing, jumping, and repelling to complete objectives. (Though Blackwater's clearly intended to be experienced with Kinect, you can also play using a standard controller.) Moreover, because you play as all four characters and jump between them constantly during missions, you can use different guns and create different paths through levels, increasing replayability.
The game definitely has some issues, though. Enemy paths are obvious, and at times, they’ll forget to shoot at you. Meanwhile, you’ll die behind cover much too often, requiring you to restart the whole level.
If you can forgive these flaws, Blackwater is old-school arcade fun, and a solid step in making a hardcore Kinect game.
Publisher: 505 Games • Developer: Zombie Studios • ESRB: Teen • Multiplayer: 8 in local hotseat play • Achievements: Reasonable • Cost: $50
+ Kinect controls are precise, empowering, and don’t make you feel silly while playing.
+ Ability to shoot enemies while the game moves you from place to place.
– Annoying characters saying cheesy lines.
? Is anyone else tired of snarky soldiers?
