Review: Call of Duty Black Ops

G'day everyone.

Now to review probably one of the most refined games in the short history of gaming: Call of Duty Black Ops.

Firstly, I will make comment on one of the first observations as I played through the Campaign: The voice acting was better than ever. The introduction of Ice Cube (Acting as the character Bowman) and James Burns (Acting as the character Woods) were a terrific choice as they brought a depth of emotional conflict with what they do, the unnamed comradeship between soldiers at war and also an experience to the field (Ice Cube has been in a variety of labels, currently working on Gears of War 3) I also noticed the fantastic choice of Sam Worthington as the protagonist Alex Mason. The name of the character, however, is a small disappointment, as a couple of recent games have their protagonist to the same/similar name (Prototype and Red Faction Gorilla for example)

The in-game graphics have been taken to the next level and are extremely satisfying to see a player covered in sweat and their bodies heaving as they draw in air, a customisation we do not see often in games. The gameplay was highly enjoyable and, in some words, a complete Mind "F" to not give away the storyline. The return of Viktor Reznov, voiced by the great actor Gary Oldman (A particular favourite of mine) was a welcomed return and reassuring to hear him scream "URA!" as you charged into battle.

The multiplayer, as all its previous titles, was satisfying for my growing cyber blood lust, with a Disturbed album blaring as I fire at a camping twelve year old who, as Reznov, screams into my ear. 

This also brings up the good points and the unfortunate bad points of the game.

For some who do not know, Treyarch is hanging by a thread as their last few titles have been a complete failure profit wise, satisfying their customers and disappointing their loyal fans once again. Black Ops is meant to turn this around and in some parts, yes, it has. In others, it has not. Black Ops director David Anthony has already seen speculation from Cuba and critics for the in-game content. This time around, Black Ops (more often than not called BlOps) has broken records Modern Warfare 2 had made, making 650 million within 5 days of the release date. 
First the positives; the Customisation of character was in wide depth and I found fantastic, and the new killstreaks (especially the RC and attack dogs) was a brilliant touch. 
But this is also the bad point. It has taken years for Treyarch to realise that customisation of character is what most gamers would like. Also the theatre mode is nearly completely useless. Machinima have used a "Cameraman" for their videos and in such brings Live players together. Isn't this what Xbox Live is about? Meeting new people, making friends and killing time? Look at the first three games the original Xbox released; Halo, Blinx and Jet Set Radio Future. All three of these games have customisation within their character(s) and Machinima's have been made of these games without a theatre mode. 


I quite enjoyed the Campaign and the multiplayer is great with customisation. The faults of this game can be overlooked and while David Anthony hoped that this game would discourage camping, it only helped it more. There can be nothing said about the Zombie mode, as there is nothing more to say than: KILL THEM ALL!


Out of 10, I gave Call of Duty Black Ops an 8/10