It’s no secret that gamers love first person shooters. One quick look at the Xbox Live most played game’s list is pretty much the only evidence you’ll need. At the top of course is genre juggernaut Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and it’s quickly followed by Halo 3 and Call of Duty: World at War at the number two and three spots respectively. But we’re also in a recession, and those games are quite expensive.

Enter Zombie Studio’s budget priced shooter Blacklight: Tango Down. Perfect for gamers hungry for action but short on cash, Tango Down is exactly what you’d expect it to be, a game featuring many of this generation of the genre’s strong points, mixed with a fairly respectable amount of features all for a quaint $15 price tag. Don’t think it’ll replace your favorite FPS game though, as what it has in value, it lacks in creativity, ingenuity and heart.

The majority of Blacklight: Tango Down’s gameplay takes place in a fictional and futuristic Russia.  The Order, a team of US Commandos that’s gone rogue is apparently taking Russian citizens and turning them into a weird race of zombie like creatures (no really!). It’s up to you, as a member of team Blacklight, another team of US Commandos, but not the rogue kind, to take them down. I can just see the creative meeting for this game. Kids love war games, but they also love zombies – is there a way that we can combine them in some kind of hokey plot? Luckily, the plot is all but ignored throughout most of the game and you’ll play a good portion of Blacklight: Tango Down without thinking much about anything but shooting.

"...you’re going to be outfitted in some pretty bad ass gear and weaponry."

On the other hand though, perhaps Blacklight: Tango Down having a ridiculous plot is a good thing. Those who played through Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 know that it was filled with ridiculously laughable plot twists, a departure from the series normally grounded in reality plots. Perhaps when developing Blacklight: Tango Down, Zombie studios just decided to go all out.

Let’s be honest here, most anyone who is going to be playing Blacklight: Tango Down is going to be doing so for the multiplayer – and rightfully so as it’s the game’s strongest suit. The amount of multiplayer content delivered with Blacklight: Tango Down for $15 is pretty impressive and comparable to pretty much any other big budget, full priced FPS on the market. There’s nothing revolutionary, as the suite plays like a best of what’s out there, but that’s not necessarily a horrible thing. I had tons of fun with modes like death match, last man standing and the different capture the flag variations (called retrieval here). Adding to the fun is the fact that since the game takes place in the future, you’re going to be outfitted in some pretty bad ass gear and weaponry. These cool scanners and extra features aren’t just for looks either as they’ll aid in your hopes of being a top ranked player with their cool functionality.

"...the levels are incredibly linear..."

My biggest complaint about the multiplayer by far is the fact that each team has a set series of spawn points that anyone, including the other team has access to, and anyone who has played a decent amount of first person shooter titles can tell you what that means. Before long in each match, players will camp out at these spawn points and just wait to pick off other players as they unknowingly try to re-enter the game. It’s a quick way to up your kill count, but at the same time, it’s also really cheap.

While the game’s multiplayer suite is worth the $15 alone, I wish I could say the same for the game’s abysmal campaign modes. Though you can either go it alone or take up to three friends along, each mission boils down to a disappointing formula – go here, shoot these guys, clear the room, repeat. While that may seem like most FPS titles, there’s no climactic moments like those found in other games to separate the game’s sections and keep them from fusing together.  Another issue with the campaign is that the levels are incredibly linear and you never really feel like you have much of a choice in where you’re going.

With Zombie Studio’s Blacklight: Tango Down, the game’s annoyances and missteps are greatly outweighed by what it does right. It’s a competent and fun multiplayer experience with an absurdly cheap price tag that’s sure to be its best selling point. It won’t replace your current FPS obsession, but it could be a decent diversion.