Its that time of year again. The games season is well and truly upon us, and many find themselves answering the call. "What call?" you ask? The Call of Duty, my friends.
This year players find themselves not playing through World War II scenarios, nor are they battling through this modern warzone. No sir, Treyarch have taken the reigns on this one again, and we're getting a behind the curtains look at the cold war. This is Black Ops.
STORY
One of the biggest changes to this years installation is in fact the setting. No WWII, no Modern Warfare; this is a period almost untouched by many video games. While a few games centre on Vietnam, Black Ops. goes beyond this and provides a story about classified, unmentionable missions undertaken by Special Forces teams during the time of uncertainty between the U.S and the USSR.
The campaign begins with Alex Mason strapped to a chair in a dark, intimidating interrogation room. Bombarded with questions by unknown captors, Alex must relive past missions to provide the information that may stop an international terrorist act. It's a nice twist in the usual COD formula and it's nice to have something fresh, without sounding way over-the-top (flying snowmobiles anyone?).
While this doesn't really follow the formula of a typical COD game, it certainly does feel like one. You have big battles that are mostly dependant on the actions of your character; and you occasionally switch between the perspectives of Mason and his CIA handler Hudson. Don't be mistaken though; this is a truly character based story, and theres no mistake that Mason is the focus here.
PRESENTATION
Now, its no secret that Call of Duty games look fantastic, and have done since COD4 (at the very latest). So while it may not be worth dwelling on for very long, I must say that the high quality lighting effects in this game stand out in particular. Even in the multiplayer, the light of a stage may indeed be the difference between you seeing an assailant around the corner, and getting knifed in the face.
Sound effects in the main campaign are really great, but its all been heard before. Explosions, gunfire, the noises of war-machines... COD games have them down to a fine art. That said, last month's MoH inched past them with sound effects, and playing through them side-by-side, i noticed a difference.
Voice acting throughout the campaign is stellar and it features work by Ice Cube, Sam Worthington, Ed Harris and in particular, Gary Oldman (reprising the role of Reznov from World at War). The script that they perform is also pretty fantastic, though theres alot of swearing. This is just personal preference, but I'm a bit over "realistic shooters" needing to have gritty and often vulgar dialogue. However, this didnt hinder my enjoyment of the story.
Oh, and as well as the original soundtrack (masterfully composed, i might add), the soundtrack features "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones, and "Fortunate Son" by CCR in the Vietnam levels. Those songs really made the experience feel authentic for me.
GAMEPLAY
Black Ops. feels as straightforward as any COD game; you'll often follow your squadmates from checkpoint to checkpoint, point and shoot at enemies, and for some reason, every important action falls to your character. But hey, where would the fun be if someone else had to do this crap?
Shooting mechanics still work well, and enemy AI is still fairly smart. On the harder difficulties, enemies will flank you or charge you; forcing you to change your strategy every so often. Apart from the usual run to cover and shoot enemies gameplay, there isn't much to Black Ops.
There were a few vehicle sections that were fun, and did well in changing the pace of the campaign; but we as gamers missed out on epic Sniper missions like we had in COD4 ("All Ghillied Up") and World at War ("Vendetta"). While there are missions that go for the "Stealth" feel, they don't pull it off half as well as those missions.
Another thing that bugged me was that certain things aren't really explained during some missions. The only truly aggravating example of this, is during the defense of Khe Sahn, where you must clear out the opposing trenches with barrels of Napalm, however, you aren't told how you are meant to do this. Aside from this, there aren't many things I have a problem with in this game.
Multiplayer gameplay is still bit iffy, but treyarch are working on patches to deal with lag and unstable maps as i type this. So yay for all you gamers who plan on skipping the campaign and going straight to the multiplayer.
The biggest changes with the game overall are probably with the multiplayer setup. CODpoints are now used to buy weapons and perks, and alot more emphasis is put on personalisation.
I have two gripes with these changes. One, if you're going to let me buy guns, have them available from the beginning. Unlocking each gun by levelling up was the way that previous games did it, but now Treyarch are forcing me to both unlock my weapons, THEN buy them? No thank you.
Two, the new pro-perk challenge system is... well.. its annoying to say the least. For example, in MW2, you could unlock Marathon Pro by sprinting 26 miles. While this feat wasn't the hardest thing to do, it was time consuming.
In Black Ops, to gain marathon pro, you must now sprint 26 miles (with marathon being scaled back, meaning you are now unable to sprint continuously), AS WELL AS get first blood ten times AND win 15 capture the flag medals.
I DON'T PLAY CTF! I DON'T WANT TO PLAY CTF! FUCK OFF.
Rant Over.
REPLAYABILITY
As you may well know, Black Ops is relying heavily on its multiplayer content to get sales. And while this may be worth your $100, Black Ops also offers a co-operative Zombie Survival mode as seen in WaW. Very addictive stuff. Especially since it gives you the options of playing as Nixon, JFK, Castro Fidel and Secretary of Defense Mcnamara. Awesome to the MAX.
New variations in MP matches, such as the wager match types are a nice addition, and you know what? Shooting some kid who lives on the other side of the world in the face... that is a good feeling. And its something to do when you're bored.
There are also loads of Intel items to find in the campaign, so collectible hunters will have some fun here too.
OVERVIEW
Strong story, solid gameplay, amazing presentation.. Sounds like a COD game to me. Annoyance at the online community of douchebags, minor hiccups in the campaign and some poor creative decisions (in my mind)? Sounds just like a COD game. While not perfect, it is certainly one of the better games to see the light of day this year, and I can recommend this title with no doubt in my mind that you will probably enjoy this.
If you don't, either you have a massive hard on for Modern Warfare 2 and need to go to fanboy counselling, or you dislike "realistic" war shooters, in which case, why are you reading this? Go play Fable 3 or RDR Undead Nightmare.
We're at a very good stage with video games, where many great ones are out these days. And you know where to hear an honest opinion on those new releases. Right here, on Tophat-game-reviews.blogspot.com. So see you next time!
cod is sick
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