Skratchman
CAG Veteran
@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } I don’t usually buy games on the day they come out, but somehow I fell victim to the lure of Call of Duty: Black Ops. This title had a lot of expectations hanging on it; it’s the sequel to one of the most successful video games of all time, and it’s the first call of duty release after the infinity ward debacle. Of course, Treyarch was already working on Black Ops when the shit hit the fan at Infiniti Ward, since two studios working on the same IP means less time between sequels and more money for Activision. Background drama aside, Treyarch continued Call of Duty’s streak of excellent titles with this installment.
The multiplayer, the main draw of the game for many players, maintains all the mechanics we have come to know since 2005, with added polish and a clever new upgrade system. In addition to earning XP in each round, players now earn in game money that’s used to buy new weapons and attachments. I find that the new monetary upgrade system provides a faster path to a setup that compliments your own playing style without wasting time trying to complete challenges to unlock your preferred equipment. In the two installments of Modern Warfare, if I wanted to attach an ACOG scope to my rifle, for some reason I had to earn it by getting 10 kills using a silencer attachment. What does one have to do with the other? Now I simply rake in some cash and go straight to the scope. To help with the cash-raking, there’s the added “contracts” that players can buy for small amounts of cash. These amount to challenges that have cash rewards. Since you buy the contracts, you can choose challenges that suit your playing style, rather than trying to adapt to a challenge so you can earn a given piece of armament. The addition of in game currency also allows for the new Wager matches, which offer a whole new variety of game modes. Extra multiplayer depth FTW!
After a week I have finally played through the single player campaign, and aside from a few minor (and one major) frustrations, it was fantastic. The story is compelling, and the environments amazingly detailed. The friendly AI was my one constant frustration. Perhaps it was the “Veteran” difficulty level, but they did not seem to do much damage to enemy NPC’s. At several points in the game I found myself melee’d in the face by an enemy while surrounded by “teammates,” sometimes while they were having scripted conversations. Ridiculous! These “friendly” NPC’s also have the extremely annoying habit of pushing the player out of cover if you happen to be in their scripted path. Treyarch was the first to use vehicles in the multiplayer mode of a Call of Duty game, and while they haven’t brought that back, the vehicular sequences in the campaign are extremely dope. I especially loved driving a gunboat down a river in Vietnam listening to the Stones while Ice cube yelled with excitement. Oh yes, Ice Cube is one of the voice actors, & his familiar voice made me laugh throughout the game. After slogging through 20 hours of the campaign (for me, at least), Black Ops rewards you with more than just the credits – there’s a zombie survival mode! What’s better than fighting zombies? Fighting them as Fidel Castro, of course! Hell yeah.
The multiplayer, the main draw of the game for many players, maintains all the mechanics we have come to know since 2005, with added polish and a clever new upgrade system. In addition to earning XP in each round, players now earn in game money that’s used to buy new weapons and attachments. I find that the new monetary upgrade system provides a faster path to a setup that compliments your own playing style without wasting time trying to complete challenges to unlock your preferred equipment. In the two installments of Modern Warfare, if I wanted to attach an ACOG scope to my rifle, for some reason I had to earn it by getting 10 kills using a silencer attachment. What does one have to do with the other? Now I simply rake in some cash and go straight to the scope. To help with the cash-raking, there’s the added “contracts” that players can buy for small amounts of cash. These amount to challenges that have cash rewards. Since you buy the contracts, you can choose challenges that suit your playing style, rather than trying to adapt to a challenge so you can earn a given piece of armament. The addition of in game currency also allows for the new Wager matches, which offer a whole new variety of game modes. Extra multiplayer depth FTW!
After a week I have finally played through the single player campaign, and aside from a few minor (and one major) frustrations, it was fantastic. The story is compelling, and the environments amazingly detailed. The friendly AI was my one constant frustration. Perhaps it was the “Veteran” difficulty level, but they did not seem to do much damage to enemy NPC’s. At several points in the game I found myself melee’d in the face by an enemy while surrounded by “teammates,” sometimes while they were having scripted conversations. Ridiculous! These “friendly” NPC’s also have the extremely annoying habit of pushing the player out of cover if you happen to be in their scripted path. Treyarch was the first to use vehicles in the multiplayer mode of a Call of Duty game, and while they haven’t brought that back, the vehicular sequences in the campaign are extremely dope. I especially loved driving a gunboat down a river in Vietnam listening to the Stones while Ice cube yelled with excitement. Oh yes, Ice Cube is one of the voice actors, & his familiar voice made me laugh throughout the game. After slogging through 20 hours of the campaign (for me, at least), Black Ops rewards you with more than just the credits – there’s a zombie survival mode! What’s better than fighting zombies? Fighting them as Fidel Castro, of course! Hell yeah.
