Call Of Duty: Black Ops Review

Black Ops is the latest title from the massive Call of Duty franchise. Developed by Treyarch (the studio that brought us Call of Duty: World At War) Black Ops is generally set in the Cold War era. The game follows lead character Mason as he fights in various parts of world in a number of different years.

So lets kick-off it’s HOTs and NOTs

HOTs

Presentation
Black Ops is a visually pleasing game with an amazing sounding title which is not often the case with only one half being as good. The graphics have a realistic look, especially with the new explosions which (pardon the pun) blow you away in comparison to Modern Warfare 2. Treyarch has also managed to make the game sound amazing just like they did with World at War; the echoes of the guns when in small rooms or corridors, shouts across gunfights and the music that periodically helps increase the tempo of the mission. It all adds up to make the game sound like a real-life war zone to match the admirable graphics.

The game also has some excellent animations which helps link together the visual and audio experiences. Bullets fly out as the rounds fire from the barrel of the gun. This is even better in the slow motion sequences which show individual bullet cases shooting off from the gun.

Two Players? No Problem
One of the best new features that Treyarch has added has to be the online split screen mode. While on Xbox 360 it is slightly better allowing for dual Live account log in the experience is equally as immense on both consoles. For the first time when a friend comes round you won’t have to pass the controller on or fight for it as the case may be; the 2^nd player concept certainly isn’t new but is a solid feature that aids Black Ops to prove it isn’t just a re-skin of Modern Warfare 2.

Storyline
Call of Duty: Black Ops has a very unusual but gripping storyline. While confusing at first, as soon as the player gets into the story’s full flow which is most likely before the end of the first mission they will want to know how this epic campaign unfolds. You may even be so hooked that you play from the start straight through till the end and this is no quick storyline. A good 5-8 hours of gameplay is on offer. The length is impressive the way it manages to keep the odd theme present and intriguing right up until the end as well as offering major replayability to the title.

If you are likely to be put off by the confusing opening id advice you to play through anyway because it is heads and tails above Modern Warfare 2’s story and ties together at the end leaving the player with a substantial understanding of what just happened. As well as the story itself the campaign’s individual missions are all varied with locations from all around the world and even out of it. Treyarch has managed to seamlessly mix vehicle gameplay be it bike riding or gunship piloting into the blockbuster shootouts. This all helps each mission feel fresh and different from the last making for a classic storyline.

CoD Points
The brand new currency system called CoD Points mixes well into the formula of the ranking system from previous Call of Duty titles and allows players to play on multiplayer pretty much exactly how they want to, as soon as they first boot up. Letting players unlock only the items necessary to them and not having to use a scope they personally find hopeless to unlock their favourite attachment. This means the game quickly has everyone with a great set of weapons perks and killstreaks thus there is practically no balancing issues.

High ranked players have more of the same gun options as those who have just started, with the option of guns with better accuracy but less damage or vice versa. It speeds up the game letting players have even more fun, as well as keeping if not increasing the overall balance.

Balanced Killstreaks
While obviously the game has not been played to the extent of other Call of Duty titles, so far the killstreaks all seem fair and balanced. Air Support especially seems great after Modern Warfare 2 they are a lot less powerful especially when it comes to the redesigned chopper gunner while allows players to not only escape a spawn but also get in cover. This has removed a major irritation in particular the prior mentioned redesigned chopper gunner. Players now cannot rely on aiming in the rough area instead having to shoot directly at the individual players bringing a bit more skill to the heavy air support.

Multiplayer Maps
There are a good variety of maps from large to small and everything in between, located in many different places around the world. So far, none of the maps have any major exploitable problems while things such as grenade spots will over time become apparent the fact nothing is an obvious flaw is reassuring.

A few of the maps have dynamic features in them which add much needed depth to the levels. With the case of Launch a rocket takes off mid game instantly burning anyone below but this is topped by Radiation where players have the ability to open and close giant doors by using the operation panel. While it sounds like a small feature the depth it adds to the maps and also the fact the maps changes itself or is changed by a player is a nice touch which hasn’t really been seen as much in Call of Duty or in other shooter titles.

Zombies
The zombie mode returns from Call of Duty: World at War and once again is a thoroughly enjoyable heart-pumping experience. Not only has Treyarch brought back the winning formula of zombies but it has improved on it. The mode has been redesigned to include the new weapon set and is faster paced than the original.

New types of zombies such as the on all fours zombie as well as the new features which include the gun turrets that can be activated, allow for one of the best 2-4 player game modes in recent years. If you liked what zombies offered in World at War you will love what Black Ops offers.

Movement
Due to the brand new diving animation, Black Ops offers players a much larger sense of freedom when it comes to movement. The dive which can be used to quickly get from cover to cover or hurl the character away from a grenade is easy and slick to do and is most importantly easily pulled off by players in both single and multiplayer. It seems such a small addition to the move sets of the player but in reality it makes movement feel more free and realistic; it really shows what previous Call of Duty title have been missing when it comes to the animations.

Listened To The Community
Treyarch really have targeted many of the major complaints for Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer when developing Black Ops. The top things the community often moaned about have been either tweaked or just plain removed. Grenade launchers commonly known as noobtubes have been majorly tuned down this time around while still effective players will have to be slightly more accurate with their placement that in previous titles.

Commando and the One Man Army perk have been completely removed which many Modern Warfare 2 players saw as game breaking. Although in the case of commando the lunge is gone but the no fall damage has lived on in the form of another perk.

Quickscoping has also been, using Treyarch’s Community Manager Josh Olin’s words, “gimped”. While this may have gone too far there is a large proportion of gamers that are very glad to see the back of Quickscoping.

The way Treyarch has done these tweaks to multiplayer shows they have listened to the community so we can hope if any future problems occur they will be quick to patch the title.

Improved AI
Black Ops features a vastly improved AI from previous Call of Duty titles. Enemies can now roll and slide out of the line of sight and also often predict when a player attempts to flank and change position or cover accordingly. Although occasionally enemy AI still stand oblivious without cover it happens infrequently especially compared to the recently released Medal of Honor.

NOTs

Poor Snipers
While the fact Treyarch did listen to the community of the case of Quickscoping is definitely good the way that it has been implemented has almost completely driven every sniper from the title or at least from sniper rifles. Even scoping for a second before shooting sometimes causes the bullet not to hit with the way the game has been patched players have to be fully scoped in for a number of seconds before the bullet hits where the crosshairs lie. Personally as a fan of Quickscoping this is a annoying factor the game has completely removed it instead of just making it harder to hit it has made it impossible even from centimetres away from an enemy fully scoped. It could have been balanced instead of being removed like other sections of the game allowing everyone to still enjoy the title in the way they want.

Respawning Enemies
While it may be acceptable on multiplayer for your enemy to respawn, when playing through the storyline there are a number of occasions where waves of enemies will keep on coming unless you push forward. This can force players into a situation which gets them killed due to being outside of their playing style and also means that long range weapons of certain sections are a waste as before the player can get to the objective the next row of enemies have already respawned.

VERDICT

Treyarch have excelled themselves when it comes to Black Ops. While clearly any exploits will only slowly come to light Black Ops offers the best CoD storyline to date which is a reason to buy the game in itself unlike previous titles. Alongside the epic campaign Zombies makes a brilliant return with the classic survival formula topped up with new features and different weapons for all to enjoy. Then it comes to the multiplayer which undoubtedly is Call of Duty: Black Ops’ biggest selling point. Treyarch has gone out of their way to balance the title and the result is that the game feels fun and hugely entertaining. The game has hardly any of the frustrations of previous titles and all the new features fit in well and expand on the well known Call of Duty experience making it a joy to play.

[Editor’s Note: Call of Duty: Black Ops was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 platform. Played the campaign mode through completion and spent a plethora of time on multiplayer, zombies, combat arena, and Dead Ops. Game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]