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Call of
Duty: Black Ops
By Jay Williams
For anyone that's a fan of first-person-shooters
or calls themselves a gamer for that matter, it wouldn't be a surprise
if I told you that Call of Duty: Black Ops is one of the years biggest
and best selling games on the market.
Within 24 hours of going on sale, the game sold
more than 7 million copies, 5.6 million in the U.S. alone.
Now, this is very well and dandy, but is the game
any good? Well let's find out...
You start off as Alex Mason, a Black Ops soldier
that is suffering from a case of I can't remember s#*t for the life of
me and is being interrogated for information that he can't
remember.
So the game is mostly played out in Alex's head as
you sift through his memories in search for information.
There are many twists and turns that keep the
action flowing and the varied environments help mix things up also.
The story would have to be one of the strongest in
the franchise to date, with great character design and brilliant voice
acting as well.
I got a real kick out of hearing Ice Cube and
Hollywood heavy weight Sam Worthington on screen behind their digital
characters.
But, Black Ops does suffer from a short single
player campaign with there being around six hours of game play and a
little more if you up the difficulty level.
There were also a few glitches that I came across
that saw me having to restart an entire level. They are minor flaws but
frustrating none the less.
What Black Ops lacks in single player game time
more than makes up for with its online multiplayer and co-op zombie
mode.
The online multiplayer mode of Black Ops retains
the experience points and unlockable reward system that has been kept
since Call of Duty 4.
Earning experience points and leveling up allows
you to unlock custom class slots, Create-A-Class, new modes to play,
and new weapons and bonuses for "purchase." Everything else (weapons,
perks, killstreak bonuses, different colors for your targeting
reticule, clan tag writing, emblems, attachments and camouflage paint)
is bought with CoD Points.
The new Wager Match modes highlight the importance
of CoD Points. Players can gamble with their "COD Points" in a
free-for-all based playlist called "Wager Match", which is composed of
four game modes.
Time limited objectives known as "Contracts" can
be purchased to gain more currency and experience points.
Standard modes include Domination, Headquarters
and Team Deathmatch are great for leveling up and if you put in the
hours and reach Level 50, Prestige Mode is there with some extra
challenges.
The zombie mode of World at War makes its return
in Black Ops as a four-player online and two-player split screen co-op
mode (which can also be unlocked online). I found this mode very, very,
addictive.
The first map made available is based on the
original game called Kino Der Toten ('Cinema of the Dead' in German).
This map features the characters from World at War.
In the map "Five", players fight their way
through The Pentagon assuming the role of John F. Kennedy,
Richard Nixon, Robert McNamara or Fidel Castro.
There is also an unlockable top-down arcade style
version of Zombies known as Dead Ops Arcade. Players simply fight their
way through waves of zombies while collecting gold bars and jewels.
In all Treyarch has done well and delivered a
great game, while Black Ops does have its flaws they are pretty minor.
Plus who could look past the addictive online rewards system. A solid
shooter well worth a look!
Game: Call of Duty: Black Ops
System: Xbox 360
Developer: Treyarch
Distributor: Activision
Rating: 80%
(Ratings Key/Explanation)
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