So long as we are here, there will be violence. To set our morals at ease we usually seek to indulge our bubbling bloodlusts by committing violent acts in acceptable, but still competitive ways, which includes partaking in popular pastimes like football, hockey and "cops and robbers" (also known as being kinky). Regardless of how we nourish it, violent confrontational tendencies built the foundation upon which nations now rest. It, and the threat of it, keeps our children in line, our television shows popular and our videogames cool.

Violence, at its most epic and primal level is war. War is adrenaline, excitement, intensity, action and joy...so long as you're not in it.

Many tout the filmBlack Hawk Down as being one of the best war movies of our time (it's not hard to beat a remake ofMcHale's Navy). As debatable as that is, the film's allure is undeniable. Soldiers are our heroes. For men in touch with themselves, and thus content with the nature of their dark nature, the rank of supreme ass kicker in the world's most supremely ass kicking army is the highest achievement possible. It's where dreams come from. They are the ones who transcend mere thuggery. They are the ones that take simple violent competition to a new, contained, professional, and admirable level. They protect us and go where no one else will. They stand up against opposition that no one else would dare to go toe-to-toe with; then, with the might of their arm and the power of their M16, they bend the foe to do their bidding. Is it any wonder why it's so fun to play the part of the hero, of the soldier? While still embracing latent human tendencies -- violent urges woven into every line of our genetic code -- we get to become that which we never thought we had the metal to become. Be the hero. Be the conqueror. Put everyone in a coffin. PlayBlack Hawk Down.

Though the game is a fictitious retelling of the same Somali action, it is not itself based on the movie, so don't expect celebrity voices and an identical musical score to hold your hand through this war. With that in mind,Black Hawk Down also shouldn't be branded aDelta Force title, for aside from the name and the bad as all hell Special Forces Operational Detachment Operator gamers play the part of,BHD has little to no resemblance to the average series it was supposedly spawned from. No, this first-person shooter is infinitely better in literally every single way. Throw out thatDelta Force tradition of bland graphics and sparse combat and bring in theComanche goodness. Let violence reign!

You heard right, this game has more to do with NovaLogic's highly enjoyable helicopter shooter than it does withDelta Force games of past. The technology that powers them both is the same.

It's not the first time we've seen a first-person shooter built off an engine developed for a flight action title, but it's certainly the best reworking of the technology to date. Innerloop madeIGI, and if what once powered planes can work for David Jones, then why can't what once powered helicopters work for the mysterious Operator?

Black Hawk Down is simply beautiful. Take any one component of its visual whole and you'll be unimpressed, save the remarkably well done weapon models that glimmer and display an utterly glorious attention to detail. Character models (sans the exaggerated, animated faces complete with rolling eyes and scowling brows) are blocky and dated, but animate acceptably. Vehicles are angular and boxy, with disjointed wheels. Interior environments can be sparsely decorated and rectangular... But, when everything comes together as fluidly, seamlessly, and grandly as this, you can't help but be jaw-gapingly impressed.

It begins with color, explodes with scale, and ends with framerate. Everything inBlack Hawk Down is incredibly crisp, vibrant, rich, and deep. Silky reds and purples drape over character models, soft terrain and ruined buildings at dusk. Brilliant oranges light the surroundings of fires. Retinas burn imprints of fast moving lights when night vision is used in bright areas. Detail texturing is applied to almost every surface. Bump-mapping gives the ground an eerie sort of depth. Then it hits you; it's not just one pretty component you're looking to appreciate, it's a lively, glimmering, vast, complete world that catches the eye and demands attention. And even on average systems, it runs damn fast at 1280 x 1024, maxed.

Shanty towns, urban sprawls and desolate stretches of wasteland that make up a shattered Somalia are brought to life and made believable because each comparatively small and forgetful portion of this eye candy package merges to form a rightly cluttered whole. There is an overwhelming amount of buildings and huts. Grass lines every curve of every hill. Trees dot the landscape and sway in rotor washes and wind. Water laps, reflects, bends, and even distorts when the surface is viewed from the depth. There's always something happening, something moving, something shooting. And, it's always being accentuated by a subtle ricochet or a blazing spark or a brilliantly thickComache-esque fireball.

Polished quantity over perfected quality. It's a phrase we rarely hear anymore.Serious Sam re-pioneered the idea by hurling hundreds of enemies at a lone hero andBlack Hawk Down attended that class, took notes, and then sidestepped off the beaten path to deliver the same concept, only in a way those who have read the book might want it to be delivered in. It's not as horrific or gory as real war, but, as Hoot describes in the film, the whizzes of the bullets and the feeling that it's all about the man next to you, make it worthwhile. It's the action that's enjoyable -- the action that's believable and satisfying.
Taken from the annals of history, the tale this shooter tells involves both real-life inspired and fictitious missions, but isn't cohesive at all. I brought this gripe up in myearlier preview, and it's only been worsened now that I've beaten the game.NovaLogic earns credit for managing to have crafted as varied and enjoyable missions as they have in as many different locales as they have, given the confining nature of the region and the turmoil that made it famous (infamous), but a more cohesive storyline would have delivered the heartfelt emotional attachment to the soldiers and the setting the game sorely lacks.

As is,Black Hawk Down follows the traditional NovaLogic military title ideology of delivering disjointed standalone mission after disjointed standalone mission. All are not playable at onset, but for each beaten, another is unlocked. This goes on late into the game until you reach "Irene," the designation for the most publicized action of Task Force Ranger. Irene is actually a series of missions that must be played consecutively, beginning with the midday insertion into the heart of Mogadishu and ending with the run to UN controlled territory behind an armored convoy carrying the wounded.

My gripe is the same one I had withComanche, the same one I had withMedal of Honor, and the same one that keeps me from ever getting truly involved and swept up with these titles. Sure, the instruction manual provides an excellent degree of back story for the operations at hand (as far as videogames are concerned), and there is even a map (with population and political influence indicators) and a timeline, but playing a distinct persona and playing alongside other distinct personas who develop as the game does is more important to delivering "the feel" than any instruction manual will ever be. And the feel is what the game is all about.

Take each of the standalone missions and weave them together: "Okay, Coach, now that you've done this, we need you to do this because of this. You and John and Charlie will go in. It's important because..." Was that so hard? Instead we get: "Do this. Good. Do this. Good." Real? Sure, I doubt the military cares much for how the overarching storyline of a war goes. More fun? Hardly. I'm calling forBand Brothers. I'm calling forBlack Hawk Down! I want to see Nelson and Twombly laugh in relief at the end of the game. I want to breathe deeply and sigh as if I've averted death because I managed to endure an action made emotional by a story that focuses on the individuals and their struggle. It's not about saving the universe or telling a spy story -- don't mistake me -- it's about developing something to latch onto and relate to. These drones we get are without feeling. I have no care for, or attachment to, any of them. I only fight to fight.

This problem is especially evident in the series of Irene missions, which are supposed to be seen as a single, destructive jumble of hectic, chaotic insanity from beginning to end. Unfortunately, they feel like any other missions do. You move in (awesomely enough, by chopper invasion) and then after a bunch of objectives, however invigorating they may be, you move out. Missions and ammunition are selected like usual (weapon assortment is standard military stuff), objectives are displayed like usual, and all of those tasks that comprise the greater Irene operation just feel like any of the other tasks that comprise the greaterBlack Hawk Down. Technologically, I suppose something more akin to aHalf-Life inspired loading system that also took into account changes in time would have solved this problem, but from a design perspective, just leaving players to find their own weapons (something that's not possible unless an armory is around), and leaving orders to come not from loading screens and laid out briefings but from radio chatter and the screams of comrades, would have delivered a more thoroughly immersive, unbelievably believable experience.

But when the action's there, the action's there. No amount of lacking storyline is going to keep this grenade from going off.

Aside from escorting the wounded remnants of the 123-soldier Irene assault force back to UN controlled territory, the bulk ofBlack Hawk Down is neither overly challenging nor excessively easy. Even though each mission is a completely separate entity from the last, NovaLogic has done a great job in delivering a real sense of accomplishment with having completed the objectives any given mission entails. Some bleed together after a bit, but infiltrating a Russian made complex in search of Somalis fleeing capture and storming a beach that leads to a radio transmitting post that must be taken out are diverse enough tasks to hold interest. The killing of course, is the glue.

I lost quite a few times on the last of the Irene missions, which charged my Delta team to escape Mogadishu with me running alongside the convoy preventing RPGs from obliterating every vehicle in the line. Aside from this, and an occasionally tough spot, the game itself is challenging, but in a good, semi-approachable way that allows a person to complete levels based on reflex and role-playing rather than trial and error (aside from that singular example). This is good because there are limited saves per level to keep it tight. I never actually ran out of saves, mind you, so don't stress the fact that you're a punk who has to hit F5 every 1.2 seconds.
With all the good, there must be bad. One single complaint above all else will ring loud and clear when gamers playBlack Hawk Down. The artificial intelligence, they'll say, is tremendously stupid. And it is. Seriously, most of the time I spent dying wasn't because of the incredibly daft AI. Nope, in keeping with Somalia's military meekness, the locals inBlack Hawk Down are many, but poorly trained. They'll come at you, roll around, vainly attempt to dodge your bullets, and get mowed down with ease. Sometimes their incompetence is a little too much to chock up to drugs, starvation and no training. Just idly standing around, shooting at walls (which isn't nearly as infuriating a problem as it once was) and shooting their own comrades and general populace is good enough for them and more than enough for me to notice and dislike. Likewise, your own Ranger, Delta Force and SOAR compatriots have trouble being combat effective when under fire. For every twenty Somalis you gun down, I'd estimate they take out two or perhaps three. They're completely ineffective on mounted weaponry and wholly sub par when it comes to raiding buildings, clearing rooms, or even identifying and prioritizing threats with the appropriate weaponry. The AI is just plain dumb all around.

It's always you and a squad, and very, very rarely are you actually alone. Even though friendly troops are mission critical and if you lose chunks of a convoy or members of a squad, the game could theoretically end on you, I've found the goons of my units to be adequate props. Just having them stand around builds the illusion of being in the midst of an actual engagement, even if they are without use. Oh sure, they'll automatically rush rooms if "stacked" and will rush rooms if ordered. Heck, they can even be told to hold, follow, and space out in incremental lengths. For the most part their pathfinding is even alright, except for when they get caught on stationary gun emplacements, but they're not riveting enough to cause any special mention. People on your side are more like background scenery.

There is little AI here to hold worth and at a glance you might then think this hurts the game. Here's the big but. By delivering successfully scripted event after successfully scripted event in attractive, immersive environment after attractive, immersive environment cluttered with objects and inspired by cool level design, and then throwing about a hundred daft foes at the player,Black Hawk Down retains an almostSerious Sam like quality to it that works because of the setting. Here it's not so much how smart or stupid each individual you meet is, but rather how challenging each area or entire level is and each area and entire level is fun because there is so much to shoot from so many different angles, players can't help but feel overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed means being in war. And, as we've already established, being in war is violent competition at its most potent, which we males so eagerly yearn for.

Pacing makes it happen. Even though most of the levels are similar in concept, they're not all identical enough to warrant persecution. Aside from coloring changes, a majority of the game's actions include seriously different environmental settings. Missions do take place in stock Mogadishan sprawls, or Mogadishu itself, or outlying piles of rubble, but some are comprised of outdoor-centric areas, complete with tall grass and rolling hills, while others are centered around shanty towns and small villages. This is further broken up by both on-rails and on-foot shooting aspects. Both types of action are enjoyable because the speed at which your player moves is realistically brisk, and the hordes of enemies are thick, yet spread out between equally dense mobs of innocent Somalis that need to not be shot. One such memorable moment includes assaulting a heavily defended village, making sure not to hit friendly after friendly, while dozens of enemies spring forth from every corner. It's very intense.

Unfortunately, especially for multiplayer, there are no controllable vehicles. Yikes. Had this game included a Hummer I could drive or a Little Bird I could pilot, it could have been perfect. Operators don't do such things in normal life, but then this is a game, and for multiplayer purposes such things, especially coming from a game built off a helicopter engine, are necessities.

Even without the playable vehicles, a very solid, very robust multiplayer component (that infuriatingly seems to be lacking the promised cooperative mode) still manages to round out a singleplayer game that lasts a solid weekend or somewhere around ten hours of straight play, including deaths and reloads.

Deathmatch, team deathmatch with controllable spawn points, on-rails choppers, stationary turrets, king of the hill (very cool), capture the flag, multiple flag CTF, search and destroy, and attack and defend (basically the same thing, only both teams need to attack and defend) round out a very solid online component that some games don't even include these days. Net code seems pretty stable, but then a majority of this is based off of earlier builds we've experienced since NovaWorld isn't yet full of finals.

	What did you think of Black Hawk Down?

One last point of contention... Audio. Sometimes it's great (screams, gunfire, explosions, ricochets, certain tribal beats), but then sometimes it's just sad (hard rock, repetitious Somalis, some acting work). It's a bizarre mishmash of the appropriately cool and the sadly out of place.