Parents' Guide to

Black

By Chris Jozefowicz, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Explosive action burns out quick -- adults only.

Game PlayStation 2, Xbox 2006
Black Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 1 parent review

Sam M.
Sam M. Parent of 0-year-old
March 4, 2016
age 14+

Dated guilty pleasure

The sensory overload is enough to distract your inner 12 year old. Story is short 8 missions but each level is fairly challenging (if artificially so), decently designed and highly combistible. Guns feel and sound fun. Story is is cliched trash. Little replay value except unlocking unlimited ammo weapons. The content here is that of a 10$ dowloadable game today. Lots of quick fun if u find it at non mainstream used game stores. Some bloody bodies in cutscenes are shown and infrared images of torture shown. Lots of ragdoll and sparks strangely erupt from headshots. I heard about a dozen f words.
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What’s It About?

BLACK follows the terrorist-busting exploits of a special operation soldier, but this game isn't really about narrative: Black is about shooting people and blowing things up. Players float through eight game missions, holding a series of guns in the familiar first-person-shooter style. The goal of each mission is to essentially move from point A through the level to point B. There are some shallow secondary objectives, like collecting notebooks and destroying safes hidden throughout the missions.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (9):

The game is graphically gorgeous. Action takes place in a range of environments, including a forest at night and a dilapidated insane asylum. And firefights are exciting, with shrapnel and bullet shells flying through the smoke, and rocket-propelled grenades and muzzle flashes exploding all around. Parents may be surprised by the lack of blood and gore, although enemies will scream and flail when shot.

Even at its short length -- most gamers will finish the game in around seven hours -- Black has seemingly given all it has to give by the halfway point. Then the game's problems -- players aren't really required to use strategy, nor are they able to save mission progress part-way through an hour-long level -- start to become apparent.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about this game's marketing materials, which celebrated the game as "gun porn." What does this term mean? Do you find this campaign, with its association between sex and violence, troubling? Does that make the game more appealing? Is superficial violence more appealing -- and less damaging -- than realistic violence? Or do you believe the opposite?

Game Details

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