PSW via CVG writes: Midway's first stab at turning Area 51 from a blazing arcade lightgun blaster into a first-person shooter was a formidable one when it gunned its way on to PS2 back in May of 2005. With a twisty, turny storyline, Marilyn Manson as Edgar the alien, Powers Boothe as a kick-ass Major and David Duchonvy in a career-killing performance as the game's hero with a gun, Ethan Cole; aside from the latter, Area 51 was actually pretty damn good and a solid hit for Midway.
Known issues
Naturally, a sequel, BlackSite, was green-lit. Unfortunately for Midway, this follow-up has been fatally tarnished, no thanks to one of the game's designers, Harvey Smith who thought it might be a smooth career move to stand in front of an audience weeks after the game's Xbox release and a few before the US PS3 shelf date, publicly slam his game and welcome the impending lukewarm reviews it was to go on and receive from US games mags and sites.