Call of Duty: Black Ops Review

Intro


Images in this review are from "My Theater" on the official website, and were taken in the theater mode of the game. You may not use these images without permission*.

I step in a line with a bunch of gamers ready to receive their copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops. I notice how everyone gets all hyped about getting the game and starting their cars to speed up the process of actually playing the game. The line gets smaller and smaller every 5-6 min, as I wait people yak about how great they'll be once they get the game, due to their experience with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. I look behind me to see how many more people are waiting, and I could not believe my eyes. There were people of all ages, big and small, from an estimate of 25 year olds mixed with a bunch of 10-12 year olds and then a small pool of 15-18 year olds, but...isn't this game rated M? Pfft, no one really cares these days. I head up to the cashier of the line (in BestBuy), and he gives me a copy of the game, and no my hands didn't shake like crazy, but I was excited. So I head back home, pop open the game box, look at the label and what not and I see the Treyarch sign on the box. I insert the disc into my console and started to play for hours. Soon I notice that my amount of deaths in the game is considerably larger than the amount of kills I have in the game...(I.e. this means I suck).



Gameplay


Summary

Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first person shooter game, and it contains a various amounts of modes and as always, a campaign mode. The game has improved from other previous games in which there is now a much broad area of customization as well as new weapons and abilities added on to the game. Among these new weapons include the ballistic knife, and the crossbow. The player has the ability to move the character by sprinting, crouching, and standing (There's always being motionless, but that will likely get you killed in the game). There a few explosives in the game to pick from as well as perks which define what kinds of abilities your character will have.



Modes

There are three modes to play in, and they include;


Campaign Mode

In this mode you mainly play as Alex Mason, a Special Forces operative, and infrequently play as other characters in different areas of the campaign. The game itself takes place during the Cold War, and focuses on covert operation (known as black operations) which involves things that are outside standard military procedures. The game features a minimum of 4 places in which the game puts you in so that you may play along with the plot of the game in order to complete it, and of these places include; Cuba, Vietnam, Russia, and Laos.



Multiplayer Mode

The multiplayer mode consists of many mini games which have their own rules and regulations, such as capture the flag which is self-explanatory. In this mode you can customize your player in a variety of ways. The basis of customizing your character revolves around the fact that as you play and gain experience points you earn money along the way, and you can use this money to buy new weapons, explosives, face paint, secondary weapons, putting emblems on your weapons, and even buy new symbols and skins for your player card. The multiplayer modes goes by the rules of having hosts (which is not a very good idea //*read "Cons" section for more info*//, this system causes players to find hosts in order to play a specific mini-game in the multiplayer mode. You may also unlock new weapons, face paint, player card skins, and abilities (Second Chance pro, Ninja pro, etc...) as you gain experience points and rank. Oh, and I forgot to mention the rank system, as you gain experience points you also gain levels which corresponds with the ranking system, if you reach lvl. 50 you will have the option to prestige on to the next rank, but you may choose not to //*If you choose to prestige all your weapons and progress will be erased and you will have to regain all weapons and abilities each time you prestige to a new rank*//.



Zombie Mode

In this mode you are expected to fight zombies in numerous waves that go on, and on, and on until you are killed by the zombies. When you start up this mode, you are given 3 people to play with, since this game is a 4 player mini game. There are a total of 4 characters in which the game will choose for you to be and these include; John F. Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Richard Nixon, and Fidel Castro. When you first get the game, you are given one map called, Kino der Toten, and you must unlock "Five" which is basically a map of the Pentagon, through beating the campaign, or do add some kind of code onto a computer in which you have to get off your chair that you are strapped in, (This will also unlock the "Dead ops arcade" map in Zombie mode).//*You can find help on that on Youtube*//. There are more maps, but you will have to pay for them through the market, depending on what console you have, and these include; The First Strike map pack, and The Escalation map pack.



Pros

  • The game has decent graphics which means when playing the game; the maps are very vivid and well done.
  • The game has a variety of downloadable content ranging from map packs to avatars, and backgrounds.
  • The game has a wide selection of game types within the multiplayer mode.
  • The game allows a lot of customization such as face paint, weapon camo, and much, much more.
  • Great campaign experience.

Cons

  • Unresponsive hit markers at times during gameplay.[Multiplayer Mode]
  • A persistent amount of users using Second Chance, and Ghost. This is an annoying thing, but it is quite fair since they added it into the game, but some gamers wish it wasn't added into the game becuase it ruins the whole experience. [Multiplayer Mode]
  • Contains a large amount of lag due to the host system. This is considerably the worst system, the reason why is that if you have a good host who has good wifi, then the game will run smoothe, but if you don't then it will cut you off many times. [Multiplayer Mode]
  • There are a handful of Lag switch users which ruins the game for the opposite team in which there is no lag switch involved.
  • Campers, the largest problem in multiplayer mode.

    Conclusion

    Overall, the game is pretty fun in terms of the campaign mode, and Zombie mode. The game displays vivid and beautiful maps which I truly enjoy playing in, as well as a fun Multiplayer mode experience (at times). Now...what can we expect from MW3?




    Overall

    • Plot/Campaign/Story: 8/10
    • Gameplay: 8/10
    • Graphics:9/10
    • Sound: 9/10
    • Overall: 8.5/10