Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Platform(s): Xbox 360, PS3, PC,Wii, Nintendo DS
Release Date: November 9, 2010
Another year, another Call of Duty. It's something we as gamers have become accustomed to, for better or for worse. With the last year's juggernaut, Modern Warfare 2, it's hard to see any game even coming close to matching it in terms of hype and sales, but it seems Treyarch was determined to do just that with their Cold War inspired Call of Duty: Black Ops. The real question is, did Treyarch succeed in holding up the Call of Duty name, or is this just another First Person Shooter that will end up falling by the way side.
Story
Call of Duty: Black Ops is set in the 1960's Cold War era, but instead of focusing on the very political aspects of the time period, players are instead thrust into a series of secret, black ops missions that were undertaken by the main character, Alex Mason. The big difference between Black Ops' campaign and previous Call of Duty games is the heavy focus on narrative. Treyarch brought in screenwriter David S. Goyer, who's worked on scripts for Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Flash Forward and plenty of other titles, in order to tighten up the games story and make the overall narrative flow together. Seeing as most of the game is told through a series of flashbacks, it's no surprise that Treyarch sought out Goyer and it really shows in the final product. The story is well executed, fast paced, and has plenty of twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up until the very end of the game.
Overall, the story in Black Ops turned out to be my favorite Call of Duty campaign so far. It may be filled with over the top, blockbuster moments, but that's what I love about the Call of Duty campaigns. They've become sort of a mini summer blockbuster movie of their own, and I can't help but enjoy them, and the twists and turns will have you guessing right up until the very last seconds of the game. If you enjoyed any of the previous Call of Duty campaigns, Black Ops will not disappoint. There's even a few nods to the World at War campaign, but I'll let you figure those out for yourselves.
Gameplay
Black Ops does not shy away from the Call of Duty formula. If you've played any of the previous Call of Duty games, especially World at War and Modern Warfare 2, then you should feel right at home. The controls are almost exactly the same, so you don't have to worry about any new button layouts. The only really new gameplay change that I can think of, is the ability to dive into prone by running and holding the crouch button. It's not extremely useful, but can provide for some great moments when diving through openings and windows during multiplayer.
Other than that, there's not much to add as far as gameplay goes. Call of Duty has the FPS down to a science and they don't appear to be deviating from the formula anytime soon.
Multiplayer
Of course, the one thing everyone wants to hear about is multiplayer. Call of Duty has become an unstoppable force when it comes to FPS's, rivaled only by the Halo franchise, and rightly so. They've created one of the most addicting online experiences to date, and Black Ops does not disappoint. Before I get into the differences in Black Ops' multiplayer, let me just give a quick rundown of what hasn't changed.
Perks are also back, but Stopping Power is out of the picture, as well as Juggernaut. You've still got your good old Sleight of Hand, Scavenger, Marathon and everything else you've come to expect, and there are even Pro versions of each of the perks but they take a little more time to unlock than MW2's Pro Perks.
The biggest change in Black Ops' multiplayer is the addition of CoD Points. Instead of unlocking guns and attachments, in Black Ops you can pretty much buy whatever you want. You still have to wait til a certain level to buy weapons, but once they're unlocked, as long as you have the CoD Points, you can buy away. I've personally really come to like this new system. Now, instead of having to get X amount of kills with iron sights to unlock a Red Dot Sight, I can now just buy the Red Dot Sight as soon as I purchase the weapon. It takes some getting used to, and is a little difficult to explain, but I think it's a nice little change from the constant unlocking that we've become accustomed to with Call of Duty.
Customization has also been revamped in Black Ops. Instead of having a set amount of emblems, you can now buy layers and emblems and manipulate them to create your own unique emblem that no one else has. You can also customize your reticle, reticle color, and lens color providing for some really unique sights that are for the most part asthetic, but really help to create a sense of identity in the game.
The only fault I have with the multiplayer at the moment is the party system. Partying up with players in Call of Duty games has never been great, and sadly Black Ops is no exception. I've found myself gathering up a party of players for a couple matches of Search and Destroy, only to repeatedly get kicked and disbanded from each other. It's a problem that I hope Treyarch can fix with a patch, but for now it's just an issue that players will have to deal with.
Theater
Theater has been something that Call of Duty fans have been craving for, ever since Halo 3 debuted it back in 2007. With Black Ops, Treyarch has finally come through for the fans, but it still has a few kinks that could be ironed out.
For the most part, Theater is just what you would expect. You can replay previous games, and record clips and screenshots and upload them to your file share. There's really nothing to set it apart from Halo's theater, but then again, why mess with something that obviously works.
There are still a few hiccups I've noticed in Theater mode. Sometimes matches won't show up in your game history, which can be extremely frustrating. My brother has had plenty of instances where he wanted to save a game only to find out that the servers didn't save that particular match. There's still a lot of room for improvement in Theater, but it's nice to see Treyarch taking the initiative to get it out there to the fans.
Zombies
Having not played much of World at War's Zombie mode, I can't really do an in depth comparison of the two. What I can say, is that Black Ops' Zombie mode is incredibly fun, but at the same time very difficult. Talking with the other VGH guys about World at War's Zombies, it seems that everyone agrees that Black Ops is much harder. The difficulty doesn't detract from the experience, but it does make the mode that much more challenging.
Other than that, Zombies is extremely fun, and the cast of playable characters, Kennedy, Nixon, McNamara and Castro, provides for some funny situations.
Graphics
As for the multiplayer, the maps look great, and on the consoles the frame rate is as solid as previous outings. Over that past few days that I've been playing, I haven't really noticed any lag during matches which is always a plus.
Overall, the game looks solid, and while it might not be a huge jump in graphics, it's still a great looking FPS.
HOW DOES IT LOOK? Black Ops is definitely not a bad looking game. Lighting is great and textures are what you would expect from a Call of Duty game. It's not a significant jump from previous Call of Duty titles but it does look great, especially the facial modeling and character animations.
HOW DOES IT SOUND? The soundtrack to Black Ops is as good as ever, combining orchestrated pieces with heavy guitar riffs, making the game feel and sound as cinematic as possible. The music keeps your heart pounding during those high-adrenaline gun fights and never lets up. The voice work is also as good as ever, implementing the voice talents of Sam Worthington, Ed Harris, Gary Oldman and other high profile actors.
HOW DOES IT PLAY? Black Ops plays and feels just like a Call of Duty title, which isn't a bad thing. There are some great sequences during the campaign that provide for a nice break in the action, but for the most part, Treyarch doesn't mess with the patented Call of Duty formula. So if you were hoping for a deviation from past games, you may be a little bit disappointed.
HOW LONG WILL IT LAST? The single player took me around 7 hours to complete, and I feel like it was the perfect length. The pacing never let up and had me hooked from beginning to end. The multiplayer is where Black Ops truly shines. If you liked previous Call of Duty multiplayers, you should have no problem investing days even months into multiplayer.
HOW IS IT PRESENTED? Black Ops looks, and feels, like a summer blockbuster movie. It has everything, from over the top, action sequences, dramatic slow motion and a gripping single player story. Not to mention the in-depth multiplayer that we've come to expect from the Call of Duty franchise.
Final Verdict:
If you enjoyed any of the previous Call of Duty games, you'll love Black Ops. It has everything you would expect from a Call of Duty game and then some. The single player is the most memorable of any of the CoD campaigns, and the multiplayer is just plain fun. Zombies is a nice addition and Theater mode, while not perfect, is a great tool that fans have been itching to have included. However, if you were looking for something a little more out of the box with this latest Call of Duty, you might be a little disappointed, seeing that it is pretty much just another Call of Duty game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing is it?
Highly Recommended
I don't play but I watch my family play and it seems like they have 2 major problems parting up with 2-4 players and getting killed when they spawn. Hope they atleast fix the party issues or its back to the old cod game atleast that's what they say.oh and they seem to really HATE campers