Call Of Duty: Black Ops Review

I say 'Shooting Game' you say 'Call of Duty', of course you do. It's the biggest gaming franchise of all time and every year the CoD games seem to get better and better. With the huge success of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 last year, developed by the now iconic Infinity Ward Studios surely Treyarch, the second Call of Duty developer would struggle to step up to the plate and deliver something even better - with a better storyline, better graphics and just as importantly a better multiplayer experience? After all, if Treyarch were to fail, it may well be the fall of the greatest ever franchise as we know it. No pressure.

It would be extremely naive of you to think that Call of Duty: Black Ops wouldn't be a good game,because it most certainly is. However (yes I did just say however), the game isn't immune from flaws. Black Ops falters subtly on a few early fences whilst still winning spectacularly as an overall package. None of these issues are glaringly obvious and many avid CoD fan boys will fight tooth and limb arguing that there are none but the fact of the matter is there are problems.

Artificial Intelligence (or AI) is one of the things that distinguishes a well made game to one that has been made cutting corners. As much as I would hate to admit it, Black Ops falls into the latter category on a couple of occasions. The game doesn't suffer from absolutely dreadful AI but some of the instances I have come across have been far less than impressive for a multi-million pound game. Team-mates will often run directly past enemies in the campaign without even taking a second glance at them, leaving me with a bucket load of soldiers to fend off single handedly. It seems once a team-mate spots an enemy, he will continue to shoot at them narrow-mindedly until they fall, without any intention of killing soldiers five inches away.

Other than the AI and a couple minor animation glitches, the game is fairly problem free; which is surprising considering how big the game actually is. The campaign should take you around 8 -10 hours to complete which is considered the norm these days for anything that isn't Mass Effect.

Even with this average lifespan, the campaign is infinitely better than any other previous Call of
Duty title. As soon as you jump into the game you are immersed with graphics that are at the
pinnacle of gaming today along with, in my opinion, one of the most breath-taking prologues ever seen in any game.

The storyline itself is very well written as you are taken back from the present day, playing
out various points in time as different operatives around the Vietnam period. Even though the
campaign runs over several years is still manages to retain sense and narrative the entire way
through. Unfortunately, many players of previous Call of Duty games were discouraged by the
lack of appeal in the single-player game modes as they simply weren't up to playing standards
compared to the multiplayer side of things but finally, this year should see a change as the solo
game mode is such a big selling point without even touching on the massive online multiplayer
mode.

You can't talk about Call of Duty without saying the word 'Multiplayer'. Year, after year, after year millions of players around the world dedicate the majority if their lives to playing COD online.

From whiny children too young to play the game, to middle-aged men that have nothing else to do in their lives, you will encounter at least five of each in a single hour online. Oh, but the fun you will have! There's something about the multiplayer on all Call of Duty games

that just makes it so appealing, and this year, Treyarch have included many new features to
differentiate the online experience from previous years. One of those big changes being Customisation, allowing you to alter everything from your emblems to your player models, giving every online gamer a piece of individuality.

Another big step forward for the newest edition of Call of Duty is the credits system. Instead of unlocking gun attachments, perks and various other unlockables by playing games and gaining experience, you are given the option on what you want, in contrast to unlocking everything once you reach level 50. Some weapons are still unlocked only by levelling through standard experience earning but in my opinion it's a much more improved system, allowing players more control over how they want to play their Call of Duty, as opposed to waiting 30 levels to unlock their favourite perk.

There's a whole bunch of new online game modes thrown into the mix aswell. The greatest
addition being Wager matches. In Wager matches you can test your skills and bottle against other players by betting credits in a variety of match styles. In Sticks and Stones, you are equipped with a Crossbow, a Tomahawk and a Ballistic Knife. The aim of the game is to get as many kills as possible but if you get a knife in your back, you go bankrupt, losing all the money you bet. It's a high adrenaline game mode with plenty of outcomes making it super addictive and fun to play.

Treyarch have saved themselves from something of a cock-up. I personally wasn't optimistic of another Call of Duty game that wasn't so modern, but it seems the gamble was a successful one. With all the pressure the company were under to make this game work, they have managed to make something truly epic with tonnes of new features sure to keep eager fans and new players happy for many, many months. Even with its minor bugs and problems, Black Ops has revitalised the Call of Duty single-player magic whilst continuing to reign supreme over online multiplayer. The Call of Duty name it seems, remains standing firm, ready to fight another day.