E3 Disclaimer: AMN’s E3 previews are designed to inform you of what each game at E3 plays like, and what we think of what’s shown. These previews are not reviews, and we reserve final judgment of each game until it is finished and released. These previews offer an honest opinion of what a publisher chose to demo at E3. So, without further ado, read on.

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What the Game’s About
Blacksite brings gamers back to Area 51 for another iteration of the venerable arcade franchise. This time, however, the game is not on rails like the original; rather, this is a full first-person shooter, complete with squad-based play. Coming out in September of this year, the game stars Aeron Pierce (spelled correctly), a soldier who was part of a strange tour of duty in Iraq two years ago. Upon returning home, Pierce is dispatched to Roswell to help protect the area from an "enemy threat". Of course, alien carnage ensues shortly.

Blacksite is set at least partially in a real-world environment, featuring iconic locations like the "Alien Inn", a real hotel outside of Roswell. The game utilizes the Unreal Engine 3 and will run at a locked 30 fps at 720P and 1080P. The solo campaign lasts 12-15 hours, with online deathmatch available.

In terms of control, Blacksite functions much like other first person games. You know the type: right trigger fires, left trigger is the sight, etc. There's nothing wrong with this; the controls simply work without the need for a learning curve of any significant extent. The only thing to keep in mind is the use of the right bumper calls in fire from your squadmates. Depending on the game situation, you can have squadmates on the ground or treat helicopter gunboats as your squad as well. Additionally, the game features cooperative play with a second player via Live (though no split-screen). All of the online components are also available on PS3 and PC versions of the game.

What’s Hot
All of the cutscenes in this game are playable (ie. no loss of control at any point). The game features some funny dialogue as well. Most importantly, shooting at alien baddies never really gets old. The environments are relatively destructable, which adds a new dimension to gunning strategy.

What’s Not
There's nothing that stands out particularly about this game. All of the things it tries to accomplish can be done better in other games. Whether it's helicopter-gunning in GRAW or slaying aliens in Halo or other games, nothing here stands out as truly unique. This is not to say it's a bad game; I had fun while playing it. It simply doesn't raise the bar in any particular way.

Outlook
Another thing that will be harmful to this title is its release window. Coming out in September, the game will almost certainly be swallowed alive by Halo 3, which is a shame. This is a summer blockbuster-style game and should have been released during that same time window, for the same reasons. This summer, gamers suffered from a severe drought, during which this gulp of water would have been welcomed. For now, it seems likely that many gamers will simply wait until the game is severely discounted a few months after its release to pick it up. Even so, when they do, they'll have fun; it just won't change your life.