Game #941: Bodycount

  It's not a dating game.

 Made by the same people that developed Black, Bodycount is a sort of spiritual successor to the former. Dumb barely-there plot, dumb cliffhanger ending and, best of all, the same satisfying first-person gunplay that made Black so damn good.

 Alright, so it's not identical. Aiming down your iron-sights roots you to the spot and now the left-analog stick is used to lean in any direction. Health bars are a thing of the past, we're following modern trends which means that regenerating health is a thing now. Oh, and enemies know how to use grenades now. I won't lie, at first I wasn't really feeling it, but it slowly won me over, as the game turned out every bit as bombastic as Black, with very exciting shootouts, not to mention, they absolutely nailed the feedback from handling guns which makes it oh, so satisfying.

 A new addition to the game are powers. When you shoot down enemies they may drop blue pick ups which refill your OBS gauge, and with this gauge you can activate different powers: Temporary invincibility, enhanced firepower, Radar and/OR an airstrike. That's right, you can mix some of these, provided they don't use the entire gauge. It's a welcome addition, and one you'll need since fights later in the game get super tough.

 Melee is a thing, but it's very delayed from when you first press the button and it barely deals any damage, making it useless. Alongside grenades, you also get a separate stock of landmines, which are good to keep a perimeter. Another interesting bit, the game has a faction theme to it, in which various factions are at war with each other, so you'll often show the fray as a separate one-man faction that will cause further chaos. It's an interesting premise for sure, since you could very well be a coward and let them take each other out... but why would you, when mowing down enemies is so much fun!

 There were a few small issues with the game, though. For example, the framerate will often times take a dive when it gets to hectic, more often than I would've liked. The game is made up of short missions, which is fine, except that many missions either reuse environments wholesale or borrow parts of them, which was a bit disappointing. At least enemy placement was different.

 Bodycount is definitely a keeper and a worthy successor to Black. In my case, it took me a few missions to really 'get' it, but once I did I started having a blast.

 8.0