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Black Ops is where I initially stopped. After the release of Call of Duty 4, I bought each subsequent game when they came out and Black Ops is where I got off the train. At the time, I was just tired of the formula and I even remember the moment I stopped. I played it for maybe a half hour before putting my controller down and asking myself “why do I keep buying these?”. I took the game out of my 360 and never looked back until I started doing these reviews. Back then, I would play the campaigns, jump into the multiplayer for a bit, and eventually move on. I just didn’t appreciate the series as much as I do now because after playing through the previous games again, I’ve come to the realization that there is some really cool stuff here. These are good solid action games. Most of them are not innovative but they always deliver the goods. You know what they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
At the time Black Ops came out, the franchise was split into two subseries, Modern Warfare and Black Ops, and the releases would alternate annually. Call of Duty: Black Ops is a sequel to World at War and released during a time when the franchise was really on a roll. Call of Duty 4 was a monster, World at War was great and introduced zombies, and in my opinion, Modern Warfare 2 offers one of the best campaigns in the series. And then we get to Black Ops. Developed by Treyarch and published by Activision, Call of Duty: Black Ops was released for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Nintendo DS in November, 2010. For this review, I played the PC version.
The campaign centers on the CIA’s black operations during the 1960’s and their efforts to stop a chemical weapon from being released in the United States. Players are put in the shoes of multiple protagonists but the plot primarily revolves around operative Alex Mason. In my opinion, this is by far the best story in the series up to this point. In fact, the campaign is much more story-heavy than any of the previous campaigns and feels more focused. I thought the writing was good, most of the characters were interesting, and the globetrotting and different events make for some interesting and exciting gameplay situations.
Black Ops includes quite the cast of celebrity talent including Sam Worthington, Gary Oldman, Ice Cube, Ed Harris, and Andrew Divoff. Furthermore, the game sees the return of the Zombies mode and one of the maps inspired by the work of George A. Romero centers on characters fighting for their lives at a Siberian outpost and features the talents of Danny Trejo, Robert Englund, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Michael Rooker.
When it comes to the gameplay, as expected, Black Ops is more of the same. On the surface, it looks like any other Call of Duty game. The amped up violence and gore from World at War returns so you’ll get to burn enemies alive and blow off body parts. This does help make the gunplay feel satisfying and the game lets you wield a good variety of firepower with different accessories and attachments like different optics, double mags, extended mags, and an AK-47 with a flamethrower attachment among other things. You’ll also get your hands on a Crossbow and a shotgun that fires incendiary rounds and that was a lot of fun to use.
I think the developers have figured out a way to keep the campaigns interesting from game to game despite not altering the gameplay all that much. New and exciting situations and set pieces. Black Ops is another case of running and gunning broken up by set pieces and scripted scenarios and that’s what single player Call of Duty has always been. It’s another fun shooting gallery. Another guided linear action-packed first-person shooter experience.
What really makes this entry stand out is the plot, believe it or not. Not only is the story good, but the 1960’s setting, Cold War, and Vietnam War are all refreshing considering the series was primarily focused on two types of conflicts before this, World War II and modern warfare. Instead of only focusing on historical battles or an entirely fictional conflict, it utilizes both concepts. The developers used real historical events to tell a fictional story and the way it’s told and presented allows for the series tradition of taking the player to various locations around the globe to continue. In this case, you’ll participate in battles during the Vietnam war, take part in Operation 40 to assassinate Fidel Castro in Cuba, and even disrupt the Soviet space program at the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Even though I like the story, I don’t think the campaign reaches the same highs as its predecessor. I’m of course referring to Modern Warfare 2. From a gameplay perspective, in my opinion, that campaign is top-tier action-packed greatness. It’s an excellent thrill ride from beginning to end. Black Ops is more story-heavy which is one of the reasons why I think its campaign is not at the same level in terms of gameplay. The action does slow down more often here to convey plot points. For example, one mission has Mason simply walking around the Pentagon.
In typical Call of Duty fashion, most of the game you has you running and gunning around linear environments. Bigger firefights are often set in more open-ended areas that are just big enough to give you room to maneuver and try different routes and positions but you and the action are always contained. Once again, the action is flashy making for cool-looking encounters. Certain structures can be destroyed and bullets will rip through certain parts of the environments and small objects and debris will go flying through the air. One thing I do think is cool is that protagonists are more vocal during gameplay this time around. So firefights not only include a lot of the typical shouting but you’ll frequently hear characters yell out when they spot and drop enemies and characters will yell at you to get behind cover when you’re taking damage.
The environments are diverse and I think Black Ops is the most atmospheric entry up to this point. The plot helps but the way certain areas are presented makes for some cool and immersive gameplay. You’ll run and gun across rooftops and through buildings in Kowloon City during a storm, navigate through the underground tunnels with a flashlight and pistol in Vietnam, and pilot a boat up river in Laos eliminating enemies along the way with the Rolling Stones playing in the background.
Black Ops is a game full of set pieces. You’ll do plenty of familiar stuff like use turrets on vehicles to blow away enemies, breach rooms, and call in air support to annihilate enemy occupied buildings. Black Ops does introduce some cool new sequences like the missions that have you piloting aircraft. One mission puts you in a reconnaissance aircraft where you can view and command a team through enemy occupied territory during a snow storm and for certain encounters, the game will give you control of one of the characters on the ground so you can participate in the battles.
Moving onto the multiplayer, it’s structured just like that of the previous games but some significant changes have been made. For starters, the Create-A-Class feature has been revamped. Instead of immediately unlocking things to use for ranking up, players earn CODPoints which can be spent on various things including class customization options. You still have to unlock things like weapons but then you have to spend points to buy and equip them. You can also buy various weapon attachments, camo, killstreak rewards, and some other stuff. And some of the attachments will affect your weapon’s stats. If your goal is to purchase everything, I can see it becoming a bit of a grind but from what I played, the multiplayer still retains that addictive quality that’s been present since Call of Duty 4.
In my experience, the multiplayer didn’t seem as active as that of the previous games and was more active at certain times of day. One day, I noticed the two most active servers were dedicated to running Team Deathmatch on the Nuketown map, I guess as a way for players to farm for experience. To spice some things up are the new Wager matches and Contracts. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to try out any Wager matches but from what I understand, they basically let players gamble their CODPoints. Contracts are like a new way to complete challenges and can be purchased with CODPoints and completing them yields higher CODPoints. However, they must be completed within a time limit. So as far as I can tell, these two features add a layer of risk vs reward to the multiplayer system.
One thing I did appreciate is the multiplayer comes with a Combat Training mode which means multiplayer with bots. You can earn CODPoints and rank up just like in standard multiplayer but your Combat Training rewards and progression is separate from standard multiplayer. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with all the game types and features like Wager matches and Contracts. I just think it’s nice that the game supports bots and a way to experience the multiplayer and reward system even if the standard multiplayer isn’t active.
Zombies proved to be popular in World at War and they do make a return in Black Ops. This is one mode I was looking forward to playing with others but I couldn’t get any online games going. Usually one other player would join but not enough to start a game and after waiting for a while, I would just give up and jump into it solo.
If you buy the DLC, there are plenty of maps to choose from including maps that were present in World at War. Much like that game, the gameplay is basically the same. The goal is to survive the waves of zombies coming to kill you. The mode plays out in rounds and you’re rewarded points for shooting zombies and rebuilding barriers. You can spend the points on weapons, ammo, access to new areas, and revives among other things. Zombies will arrive from every direction and you can splatter their blood and body parts all over the environments. Some of them will even drop power-ups and temporary bonuses.
The Zombie mode in general feels a little more fleshed out compared to that of World at War and the variety of maps is excellent. Furthermore, one of the maps is really a separate game mode called Dead Ops Arcade. It plays like a top-down twin-stick shooter and just like in the other maps, the goal is to survive waves of zombies. You can pick up power-ups to aid you and treasure to increase your score multiplier. Honestly, I thought this mode was a lot of fun and a nice change of pace.
Black Ops was another audiovisual feast for its time. I did notice the facial animations look a bit better than anything we’ve seen before and learned that Treyarch used motion capture technology this time around. The environments are diverse and detailed and the texture work and visual effects look good. The lighting and colors used in certain missions really help convey certain tones to make them stand out more like the mission set in Hue City for example. The dark clouds and reddish sky, along with the bombed out buildings and structures on fire help create a sense of dread. On the technical side, I’m happy to say I did not encounter any issues and the game ran smooth.
Black Ops is another fun ride and sticks with the darker tone established in World at War. But where this game really differs is in its plot. It’s not just a tale about war. It touches on some interesting subjects, making for a more engaging and atmospheric narrative experience. So this one basically has it all. A good story, good gameplay, and from what I played, enjoyable multiplayer. I can’t say the campaign is as consistently action-packed as Modern Warfare 2 but I think the more interesting storyline kind of makes up for it. That’s not to say the campaign doesn’t deliver on action because it does and when it really gets going, it’s a lot of fun. I also think this campaign features some of the best set pieces in the series. All of this, plus the additions to multiplayer and expanded Zombies mode make Black Ops one of the best Call of Duty entries by far.
I would absolutely recommend Call of Duty: Black Ops. It may not break new ground but it mixes things up enough to make the repackaged gameplay worth experiencing again. Not only that, I seriously think the story excellent. Ultimately, Black Ops is engaging, intriguing, fast-paced, action-packed and most importantly, fun. Definitely check it out.