ئوسامە مەحموود نووسەری باڵایە لە کۆمپانیای DualShockers و زیاتر لە پێنج ساڵ ئەزموونی هەیە لە پیشەسازی یارییە ڤیدیۆییەکان. لە ساڵی ٢٠٢١ەوە بە شێوەیەکی پیشەیی دەنووسێت و لە ساڵی ٢٠٢٢ەوە یارییەکانی دەگرێتەوە، کارەکانی بریتین لە ڕێنماییەکان، لیستەکان، پێداچوونەوەکان و تایبەتمەندییەکان لە سەرانسەری یارییە ئەکشن-ئەڤێنتۆرەکان، JRPGs، ناونیشانەکانی جیهانی کراوە، یارییەکانی پێشبڕکێ و بڵاوکراوەکانی گێڕانەوە.
Have you ever played a game that makes you want to turn it off immediately, but you're bound by mutual agreement to push through and see what lies ahead so you can offer a fair assessment? Well, see, sometimes you learn by making mistakes. At least that's what I believe, and I'm genuinely someone who tries to give a piece of media the benefit of the doubt for as long as possible until it actually makes me downright tired of giving it more chances.
That's what just transpired for me in BLACKWOOD, the debut third-person action game from AttritoM7 Productions. Hey, I LOVE a possibly hidden indie gem as much as the next guy, but let me be very clear: that motto started to wear thin here because this is possibly the worst game I've ever played this year. I mean, a friend of mine even came by and started questioning my entire patience. And here's the funny bit—the full game isn't even technically out yet, since the main campaign is split into three acts, with the second and third releasing later over the course of the next year.
I mean, look, could you blame me? I adore B-rated action blockbusters and even John Wick, so morbid curiosity is truly a wonderful thing when you're not presented with many choices. If you want to find out just how much more careful you should be about checking out new experimental projects, stay tuned for my review of the silly adventures of John Blackwood in the game's first act.
The basic premise behind BLACKWOOD is honestly one of those ideas that sounds far better on paper than it does once you actually play it. Set in Brooklyn in 2012, you play Anton (or as I like to call him, John Blackwood), a seemingly 'ordinary' guy who runs a small DVD store during the day while secretly working as a contract killer/freelancer at night. It is essentially a story about trying to maintain two completely different lives without either one falling apart. During the day, you have to worry about stocking shelves, dealing with customers, and managing the store alongside your assistant, Amelie. Once night rolls around, however, Mr Anton trades the DVD cases for guns and starts taking assassination contracts.
Anton himself doesn't create much of a strong impression here since, well, he's intentionally quiet and reserved, but at the same time, there isn't enough writing behind that silence to make him particularly interesting. I kept waiting for BLACKWOOD to give me some reason to care about this guy beyond the fact that he's apparently very good at killing people, but yeah, it ended up just being an entire slapstick comedy show. I mean, c'mon, how am I supposed not to laugh at TEMU Robert Pattinson with his forced emo voice lines like he's some kind of extra standee for a My Chemical Romance music video?
There are hints that Anton's past and whatever brought him into this line of work are going to become important later, and the game's own premise makes it clear that he's carrying around unwanted baggage that refuses to stay buried. Unfortunately, Act 1 mostly treats that as setup rather than something worth exploring right now.
Oh, and most of the actual narrative progression comes through Anton's contracts and the presumptuous suggestion that there is more happening underneath his seemingly straightforward life. The problem is that the writing rarely gives these moments enough weight. Characters will talk about something that is presumably important, Anton will go off and murder an assortment of goons, and then we're suddenly back at the DVD store worrying about shelves and customers.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.dualshockers.com/blackwood-review/
