infexxionCall Of Duty: Black Ops Review
Call Of Duty: Black Ops is the latest, and fourth game in the series by Treyarch, the developers of 'Call Of Duty 3' and 'World At War'
Ah, Call Of Duty. Loved by many, hated by many. My stance on it is somewhat neutral. I loved Call Of Duty 4, World At War was good for one thing: zombies, didn't really like Modern Warfare 2 much, and now Black Ops is upon us. So, is Treyarch still that 'other' Call Of Duty developer? Or have they stepped up their game to full on compete with Infinity Ward?
Visuals: The game looks good. Some people say the graphics are a step back from Modern Warfare 2, but I don't think so. One scene in particular in the campaign where Reznov (yes, the same Reznov from World At War - he returns!) is telling a story and is sitting next to a fire looks especially amazing. The guns (and the different camo you can apply to them) look pretty good, though some better than others.
All of the character models look good, and most of the multiplayer maps look good as well, with a few exceptions. Some of the walls in Cracked look low-res, and I don't think WMD or Array particularly look very good, but none of the maps look 'bad', some just look better than others.
4/5
Gameplay: The single player campaign is pretty good, definitely the best yet in the Call Of Duty series. Despite some rather bland missions, the story does keep you guessing, and is definitely engaging and worth playing. For a Call Of Duty game, it's surprisingly well-done. You play about three or four different characters, they all meet and interact, it's cool to watch play out. The story is told in flashbacks of the main character Alex Mason, and his interactions with other characters like Reznov, Hudson, and Woods. There is a neat little twist at the end too.
I've noticed a couple times where lip syncing gets off, and in the campaign where there was some noticeable screen tearing or slight pauses in the game. This was on the PS3, so I'm not sure if these are present in the 360 version or not.
The multiplayer, is for the most part, similar to past Call Of Duty games, just with different upgrades and improvements. One step backwards is the spawn system, which is for all intents and purposes, broken. Hopefully, nothing a patch can't fix, though. I never really got into Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer, so that may be why I am really enjoying Black Ops multiplayer. I think it's pretty fun. New this year is the ability to customize and deck out your classes's model with face paint, and the perks affect the way he looks. Also new are COD points, which are used to purchase guns and perks. Instead of hitting level 50 and unlocking 2 new guns, you 'unlock' them when you hit level 50, but you still have to buy them. Some of the maps are currently infested with campers, but that's the fault of the player, and I don't blame Treyarch for that.
Coming along with that are Wager Matches which allow you to pit your COD points against others. Basically, you bet your COD points that you'll come in the top 3 in that round, and there are 6 people in each match. Gun Game has been around for years in other games, Sharpshooter has everyone using the same gun for 45 seconds before switching, Sticks and Stones has you squaring off with a crossbow, tomahawk, and ballistic knife, and One In The Chamber gives you, well, one bullet in the chamber to kill everyone else, but if you kill them, you get their bullet. All of these are neat twists, and a lot of fun to play.
Now, let's talk about the reason I bought this game (and the reason I bought the Hardened Edition): Zombies. They are back in full swing, and are still a hell of a lot of fun. One of the main differences this time is now we have Cold War weapons to take on the hoards of the undead, instead of WW2 weapons. On the new maps (there are 3), there are new 'crawling' zombies, the maps are a lot bigger, there's new power ups, the improvements are seamless and very welcome, creating and pitting you against a bigger challenge, which is a lot of fun. At the time of writing this, my highest score on Kino Der Toten is 25 (let me know what yours is!) So, overall, zombies are still amazing, and definitely the reason I bought this game. We get the same 4 characters we became familiar with in World At War, and teaming up to take on the undead has never been funner.
4.8/5
Sound: The guns sound realistic enough, especially the improvements with the M1911, it no longer sounds like a paintball gun, it's got a nice *bang* to it. Conveniently, online, your character will announce to you and your team mates when planting a claymore, when he gets stuck with a crossbow or grenade, when he's throwing a frag, etc.
There's a really cool guitar when you start a multiplayer match, and being a fan of rock music, that's welcome. Props to Kevin Sherwood who has created yet another masterpiece of a song for Zombie Mode, entitled '115'. Great fun to listen to while blowing the masses of the undead to oblivion.
Strangely, sometimes you can hear footsteps, sometimes you can't. The Ninja perk seems a bit useless at this point. But again, these aren't game killers, especially for me and the way I play, I run around a lot so hearing someone's footsteps isn't as high on my priority list as say, point and shoot at the guy running.
The voice acting in the campaign is good, the character's voices match their faces, and overall, is pretty solid.
4/5
OVERALL:
PROS
Solid, fun multiplayer
Surprisingly good campaign
Good sound work
Epic return of Zombie mode
CONS
Not any major changes from past Call Of Duty's
OVERALL: 4.25/5 MUST BUY
