Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 Article by Matt McCorkell

Blacklight: Tango Down


Blacklight: Tango Down E3 Trailer

First Person Shooters were definitely not in short supply at this years E3.  There seemed to be a new barrage of FPS’s clones at every booth. Thankfully enough Zombie Studio’s Blacklight: Tango Down was there to put some value into the lineup.

Ever start playing a new FPS and find yourself quickly being sniped out by well embedded campers? Or even worse, have you ever found your respawn site camped out by some jerk who loves shooting fish in a barrel?  The team at Zombie Studios took special care when creating Blacklight: Tango Down to make sure that the balance of gameplay is the highest priority. There are 3 main features to the level and gameplay design that work to eliminate these annoying tactics to bring a balanced experience.

1.Your character always spawns at your base which is protected by indestructible turrets

2. Your soldier is equipped with a special visor that allows you to see behind walls, obstacles and anything else on the map in order to see where the enemies are located and what your objectives are.  One caveat to this tool is you cant use weapons while the visor is engaged.

3.  EMP bombs disable your vision and make it pretty difficult to see whats on the other side of the affected area.

Of course being an FPS most of the action centers around the guns.  BTD’s weapons customization system is complete overkill when compared to other games on the market. Weapon structures are based on five already existing weapons such as shotguns, submachine guns, and rifles. Players will be able to customize their weapons to match their play style using different attachments.

“Gamers are going to have to decide how to modify the weapon and how much as they choose from a staggering 152 million different primary weapon combinations, 157,248 secondary weapon combinations, and 312 character model/camouflage combinations.”

Graphics are up to speed (read: silky smooth frame rate)  with many of the other FPS games currently on the market. Blacklight: Tango Down’s scifi/real world look fits well within the Unreal Engine’s capabilities.

The version we had time with on the show floor was for the PC but we cant wait to see how the game fairs on other systems.  One of the best things about the release is the price, which is only about $15.  That should make Blacklight: Tango Down a no brainer purchase for most gamers.

Dev Diary

Related Links

Zombie Studios

Ignition Entertainment