Greetings Axe Heads! Today we’re pulling the canvas off a new feature here on EBA: Under the Axe, where we go one-on-three with gaming industry insiders to bring you the straight slice on all matters gaming. On our maiden voyage, we’re talking with Blacklight: Tango Down lead designer Jared Gerritzen of Zombie Studios. We chit the chat on downloadable games, platform exclusive titles, and when we can expect to see Blacklight on PSN.
So form the phalanx and prepare for glory as we go Under The Axe!
As always, we live (and slay) for your feedback, let us know what you think in the comments below!
Thanks for putting the whole interview on tap. I really wanted to hear the whole thing. I love hearing the dev’s point of view. I really like the under the axe segment and I’m really impressed that Jared would put up with your jackassery.
As for Blacklight Tango Down, it is a really solid game. I like the customization system and the maps are fun. I don’t really like the static spawns and I’m not a fan of the advanced HUD where you can see where everyone is, but other than that, I like the game and its a great buy for $15
Good stuff, great interview keep up the good work guys
I love the concept of the “wall hack” ability, not only does it make wall hacking almost futile in a way, but it also makes it so that casual gamers can’t get away with camping in a corner to get kills, which really pissed me off in MW.
Really good interview, guys. Wasnt this the game that Marcus Veer, formally on Gametrailers, started to be a PR person for? (something like that) On Gamespot and IGN those reviews were a fair bunch, they stated that they had a great MP experience, but that there were some spawnproblems (they said that, not me, havent played it) but it came across to me it was a fair review, and they realized this game was only for 15$ up.
And if you have a SP experience for also only 15 $ you are still paying less then a full game.
Just dont ask Uwe Boll for the movie (A)
In general, I don’t like zombies. For this guy, I’d gladly make an exception. Interesting conversation, hoping to see more devs go under the axe. It feels like a great addition to the quality of EBA. It’s not like the site needed a quality boost to begin with, but the ‘other side’ needs to be heard to make a fair assesment of the situation.
Which is now possible thanks to EBA. Keep slicin’
In all honesty I think Blacklight seems like a decent game, but the controls are too weird for me. If they changed the down the scope aiming to actually make sense, however, I might pick it up.
What I love about Blacklight Tango Down is that the HRV is great because then people can’t freaking camp all the time and being all douchebags.
In general I like the game. Alot of customization with the weapons and it is so cheap! Which is great.
Only bad thing is that There is almost no one playing here in Europe so you sit and wait for several minutes until you find players.
They really need to put in a server browser. =)
Nice interview, very down to earth guy and easy to listen to. Though I thought he made some disappointing comments speaking as a game designer, regarding professional reviewers and how price should impact opinion/tolerance of software quality.
10:20 “remember it’s only a $15 dollar game”
10:25 “if you’re a reviewer and you get all games for free”
I’m disappointed that as a developer he seems to imply 1) reviewers should alter their definition of what makes a game great when factoring price, and 2) reviewers don’t ever have to and don’t ever choose to buy their own games. If it’s very good, I think most will buy their own copy to keep playing it.
He nearly implied reviewers are expecting the same experience (05:45) from a free copy of MW2 to a free copy of Blacklight, and I think that’s absurd, and I think any professional reviewer would say that’s absurd. As if nobody considers the production budget (05:34), or the size of the dev team, or if it took nine years to make a game. Expectations don’t boil down to just the money out of your pocket. There’s also the time out of your day, and your life, both pretty valuable!
Those comments allude to a bigger problem. My understanding is that Microsoft doesn’t send sites free MS points, and PSN doesn’t add free money to wallets. Exactly who else other than *his own* studio or publisher is able to send reviewers devkit discs or codes for free downloads? Because either Mr. Gerritzen is saying that this common practice is backfiring, or he believes professional reviewers do not even care that their employer is footing the bill for providing a review copy. Again, absurd notions.
Some sites don’t accept any gifts from any publisher, some head to Best Buy on release day if they haven’t received a review copy already, and others won’t review a game unless they are sent a free copy (remember with Tony Hawk Ride almost no free review copies were sent out.) That affects my opinion of certain review sites, because they *should* be reviewing a game with the paying consumer in mind. This is why free games are hardly ever reviewed!
The job description of a professional reviewer is to help consumers come to their own decisions on entertainment value for price. Everyone will have their own opinion on if a product is worth buying for any given price, and the most commonly shared opinion will generally win out in the market. That’s basic economics.
Seems to me Mr. Gerritzen is saying fairly bluntly that if a reviewer doesn’t like his game for the price he’s selling it for, the reviewer isn’t doing the job properly.
I haven’t listen to this one yet(when I get home, maybe), so I don’t know if my question was answered. My question being:
Why is the game only available for purchase in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom???
And a second question: When will it be available to the rest of the world? When you release the second one in a few months?
15$ game with 15$ quality,first aimbot is out too.I was interested in this but too many flaws.Guns sound and look like airsoft toys,maps are bad and most people play like its MW2.The so called “coop” mode is like in all other todays games,waves of dumb A.I. running at you,just camp in a corner and spray.
Well everything that has Guns and Zombies in it sells these days,I’m not wondering,just not participating.
Spare your money for Interstellar Marines instead.
OMFG I want to buy this game I really do BUT BITCHES IN MY COUNTRY AUSTRALIA! haven’t found the F#C%King time to rate this game, so its not available. ARRGGHH I’m so angry why don’t they just stick a rating on it already, and its not supa violent so it should pass with no probs.
I gotta say.. i went and bought this game on steam after hearing the bit on it on Epicbattlecry and an hour later I completely regretted what I did… The game itself looks great for a DLG…. but it doesn’t play all that well.. for one it took me about 30 minutes + internet research just to be able to set the controls the way I want them to.. I use the arrow keys for movement in games and apparently something in the engine of the game doesn’t allow that unless you go and change some stuff in a settings file manually.. which is just sad… other issue was that this game has reached nowhere near critical mass (and i don’t expect it to)… it took ~30 minutes to get an online game going which is horrible considering it’s an online-only game… then the game ended a few minutes later and I was stuck with another 30 minute wait for the next game.. I don’t have that kind of time… I also found some of the movements sluggish and unresponsive compared to other FPS games I have played in the past (BF2, BFBC2, COD…..)… all-in-all I guess I have to say good effort but don’t buy this game… $15 for this on steam or $20 for BFBC2 in retail.. go for BFBC2 :/