Blacklight: Tango Down is a first person shooter too eerily familiar to this side of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It’s an online only multiplayer focused shooter with all the features you could expect out of one. There is no single player campaign and thus leaves you with very little vested interest in the games maps and weaponry. Every aspect of the game will bring you a very good sense of déjà vu thanks to Activision’s blockbuster title. There is an experienced based leveling system, weapon unlocks, similar controls and even a co-op mode to help you take on the computer AI. Let’s take a deeper look into the game and see how it looks.
All the action takes places through the eyes of your characters electronic visor. You’re also extremely light on your feet which will feel a little too awkward at first. Movement is essentially boiled down to being like your flying through the air and being in space where there is no gravity to speak of. Gun fire is a little too loose as well with no weapon recoil or realistic sense of each weapon at all. The crosshairs for instance are even strangely positioned a little above your weapon. There are other issues at hand like matchmaking which seems to pit rookies against veterans almost every single time.
Other problems include the intentional camping that seems ramped throughout every match. It’s not hard too go 5 minutes living and then 2 seconds later get sniped from a guy half way across the map. Don’t worry though; it doesn’t get any better as the way the game chooses its spawn points that have you set in a fixed location for that guys sniper kill. There is a silver lining in this game, however, with unique game modes and different accessory unlocks. For example, there is an MP grenade that will allow you if landed correctly to disrupt an enemy’s electronic visor giving you time to go in for the kill. You can also customize your weapon classes as much as you need too. So, you don’t have to worry about lacking in any area from sniping to the shotgun to even your armor.
It’s a pretty packed game for its 15 dollar price tag which might scare away some at first until you peel back and look at what you get. You’ll see there are 7 maps and 4 black ops missions. The game supports 1-4 players online only unfortunately and developers are supporting they have just recently new maps for all 12 levels in the game called “blackprints”. Developers will be working continually on the game so expect more support in the future with patches and more map packs.
Verdict: Blacklight: Tango Down is a game you’ll certainly want take the notion of “try before you buy”. If you’re into the mad crowd for Modern Warfare 2 and need a break, Tango Down might be what you’re looking for. It’s a different take on the genre and brings in some good ideas. A single player campaign would’ve been a nice addition for the price, but thankfully developers managed to put in enough multiplayer content to keep you busy. Ultimately, Tango Down boils down to being an average first person shooter with unique ideas that could certainly be expanded upon in the future.
