Ok, let me begin this review by saying I love shooters and have been playing them ever since I was a kid and Wolfenstien was on PC. That evolved to Goldeneye on Nintendo 64. That all changed when Metal Gear Solid came out for PS1 and I now wanted a good story to go along with my gameplay. I have always kind of liked the COD world war series, but never got into it. When MW1 came out I was blown away, I loved the game and it had a good story to tell. My only complaint with MW2 was that the story was not only lacking, but down right stupid. I never got into multiplayer because I don't have the time to train myself to compete with a bunch of 5th graders who spend 40 hours a week playing the game.
This all leads me to Black Ops, as with all 1st person shooters the campaign is short, yet good. The action is intense and the overall gaming is fun. What made the campaign even more fun was that I felt fully drawn into the game due to the compelling story. I actually wanted to check out zombies but I could not draw myself away from the campaign in order to check it out. The story was that good; I wanted to find out what happens. I'm not going into detail what the story is about because you probably already read that somewhere else. As far as the graphics, I thought they looked sharp. The scenery was not as sharp as MW2 because their seemed to be a haze in the air everywhere I went but it was still looking good. My favorite part was in Vietnam they started playing rock music from the time of the Vietnam War, which made it fill even more authentic.
As far as zombies go, it's fun to shoot zombies every now and then when I have a few free minutes so it's a nice add-on bonus.
Bottom line, if you are a lone wolf player like me, this is definitely the game for you. If you are a strictly on-line player, read someone else's review. Call of Duty: Black Ops
It seems interesting how much Call of Duty has grown from the original, yet at the same time, some of the mechanics that had made the series so popular are still alive in their latest release from Treyarch, Call of Duty: Black Ops. I'm moreso of a casual gamer, and since I'm certain most of the reviews are by outright gamers whom always get the latest FPS (first person shooter) games, I hope I can provide a different perspective.
First, I can say I've played most of the Call of Duty series, but wasn't really "hooked" until Modern Warfare came out. I loved the current yet slightly futuristic gameplay of it; the storyline was, for a FPS, amazing. The game mechanics were great. But, I can say I didn't really try out the multiplayer aspect of the series until Modern Warfare 2, which I purchased for the PS3 on release. MW2 was notably geared towards its multiplayer, offering a decent but incredibly short single-player, so I decided to suck it up and play multiplayer, and let me say, I was hooked. There were so many failed aspects to MW2 multiplayer, yet for me, it didn't compete with the absolute wins of multiplayer. It was fun, and it was visually amazing. That being said, its biggest setbacks for me were lag/glitching (peer-to-peer gaming I still don't think is the way to go for FPS), and cheap hacks that never fixed (so, the biggest setback was the lack of support by Infinity Ward).
Developer Treyarch seems to have listened to the gaming community, and has made an excellent effort to bring an excellent gaming experience. Here's my personal veiwpoints:
*Graphics: Overall, the graphics are still a stunning next-gen presentation, but as many have noted, they lack slightly compared to the polish of MW2. Namely, there is jaggedness in much of the visuals, although I think the scenery settings are more robust than MW2, which was purposely scarce of scenery objects overall. Online is also slightly worse, but after playing for a few hours, its not really even noticeable. Not knowing the specifics, the engine seems to be far more similar to BFBC2 than MW2, I actually think a lot of Black Ops is really an in-between of those two games (saying this will probably get me flak from both communities, but it's just my opinion).
*Sound: I thought the sound was overall very good in Black Ops, I love that it asks for your sound setup type. I thought MW2 had "better" sound, but it was more theatrical. The reality is, most of the SMGs sound like firecrackers in the game, but its also somewhat more realistic than the roaring "boom boom boom" every gun would make in MW2.
*Single-player: I don't believe the storyline to be as great as MW, but it's certainly an interesting take, and I applaud them for the effort. The gameplay is good, but you'll find the AI to be lacking, particularly on the enemy side, making it slightly less-than-believable.
*Zombies: A welcome addition; essentially worth it on its own, and for being included in the game makes it a great bonus.
*Multiplayer: The meat of the game resides here in multiplayer. First thing to note is the small-scale of the maps. Teryarch seemed to want less of a "campers" paradise, although there are plenty of spots to take cover in, you won't be running for a minute only to be sniped and have to do it all over again. I think the many places for cover are well suited, and even without hardened perk, bullets can go through much of cover, an aspect I enjoy for being more realistic. I would say people are a little too difficult to kill sometimes, but as usual the "hardcore" mode provides a much more realistic representation.
Some of my favorite aspects have been the removal of commando and danger close perks, the "weakening" of quick-scoping (sniper rifles can still be used quite successfully, even in close combat, but requires more skill in Black Ops), and fun maps (although it'd be great to see more, and some larger maps would be great additions as well).
There are several issues I will point out about the game. First and most importantly, while there was much hype about the end of glitches and lag, it still runs rampant in the game (in my experience, the first two days were great, and has gone downhill since). This means its anybody's guess if you will actually hit the person you're shooting at, providing random advantages to different users; some games I can easily skate to a 20+/2 K/D ratio, many of my kills even I'll admit were less than fair, while others I'll be unable to kill anyone, despite shooting point-blank. I haven't had too many issues with disconnections/host migration, but I'd say it's close to as frequent as MW2. Knifing is currently somewhat of a guess/luck as well, as many times I'll see others or myself go flying by the person they're knifing, essentially knifing the air even though the guy hasn't moved, only to wind up being knifed yourself. While there is no "commando" in the game, having the ballistic knife out significantly improves the speed and ability to melee somebody.
The largest thing I can do is have a "wait and see" attitude; I've heard Treyarch is more responsive to the community and patching, so hopefully they will improve gameplay (I don't expect perfect, but sometimes it can be ridiculous how off it is).
*Multiplayer Training/Practice: Wow, I wish MW2 had this! Seriously, to me this is such a welcome addition, I just wish I had been able to use something like it in the past. When I first made the multiplayer leap in MW2, I went with trepidation that I would be slaughtered, and screamed at for being a n00b. Well, all those things happened. Multiplayer, for the first time you try it, is very different from an idiotic AI in single-player campaign modes (don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of idiots). The goals are very different, and thus playing is ultimately very different. Well, if you were hesitant to make that jump into multiplayer, Black Ops provides the ability to practice against AI of varying difficulty, some of which I found to be even better AI than in campaign mode (still stupid, but it does the trick, starting off very stupid at beginner difficulty, great for learning).
*Overall: The game is excellent, albeit with its shortcomings. I hope they patch the flaws, that will really prove to the lifespan of the game for me. If you are on the fence, new to Call of Duty or online gameplay, this one is truly the one to get, since it has most of the best aspects of the series, and many improvements.
I really would give this something along the lines of 4.4/5.0 or 8.9/10 if I could.
Feel free to ask me questions in the comments section, I will try to check back, and even update if patches resolve the issues. I purchased this pre-order here on Amazon, and it was, as usual, a great experience. - Fps - Ps3 Games - Black Ops - Playstation 3'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
