Game Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is the latest in the line of the enormously popular FPS series.  The last installation, Modern Warfare 2, was my first venture into the FPS genre as I had never been a big fan of them.  I don't think I need to say that MW2 changed my mind on that.  Having said that, I had very high hopes for Black Ops and I will be comparing the two here.

I'll start with the story mode as that is where I always start and is also my favorite part.  I will say that the story itself is pretty well executed.  Using flashbacks as a base for the missions is a good idea and the segues from the interrogation room to the gameplay are well done.  I do not do much research on games prior to buying them because there are too many people out there that give away the farm and ruin it for everyone else, so I was not aware going in that the story would be taking place in the 60's.  I wasn't crazy about that because one of the aspects I really liked about MW2 was the high tech weaponry and gadgets, but you get used to it quickly and you don't notice or miss it as you play.  The individual missions are engrossing and fun to play and, perhaps most importantly, quite varied in what you have to do so as to keep you on your toes.  There are plenty of missions in which you run around and shoot your way through the enemy but even these levels are well varied by location and surroundings.  You will fight from the rooftops of buildings in a rainstorm, through a villa in Cuba, out of the Gulag in Russia, through the jungles of SE Asia, in the trenches and even underground tunnels of Vietnam, and on and on.  You also will have differing controls to work with.  When you're not fighting the grunt fight, you may be giving orders from an overhead spyplane via heat signatures, flying and fighting with a helicopter, driving or firing from the back of a truck, or even piloting a riverboat while blowing up riverside enemy camps.

As with MW2, I was disappointed in the shortness of the story mode.  It keeps you engrossed and, as I said, is my favorite part of the game but I know that's not the biggest draw of these games.  We'll get to the multiplayer in just a minute.  I will say this for the story mode, there is a pretty good twist at the end that I kinda had in the back of my mind but was very impressed with the way it unfolded. I wish they would make this part last longer for those of us that really enjoy it.

Okay, on to the part most people play these games for, the multiplayer.  I will preface this by saying that I am horrible at the multiplayer.  I mean epically bad.  I have gotten better but I attribute this to the fact that I never played a FPS until the last year.  Maybe I just suck, but I'm sticking with my assessment.  Anyway, I will say that the multiplayer in Black Ops is much better than MW2.  This may be due to the fact that I literally couldn't do anything in the MW2 multiplayer and got annoyed and didn't play it much at all.  I have actually gotten better so I imagine that adds to my enjoyment of it, but I still get my ass handed to me pretty much every time.  Whatever, the point is I actually enjoy the multiplayer and continue to play it so, advantage Black Ops.  The levels are very different just like in the story mode so there is plenty of variety for everyone.  I like the customization options for your player as well.

***Spoiler Alert*** - If you don't want to know about the extra hidden games within the game then skip to the last paragraph to find my summary.  There are two hidden games that can be reached the same way.  For both of these you will need to be at the menu screen where you are strapped in the chair in front of the video monitors.  If you look down you will see your hands are bound to the arms of the chair.  Alternating the left and right triggers will cause you to work your arms and break free from your restraints.  Once you have done this you can walk around the room.  There isn't much to see other than a computer you can access.  Access the computer and here you will be able to find your two hidden games.  The first is an overhead arcade style shooter that pits you against hoards of zombies.  It's straight out of 1988 and it's pretty cool that they included this.  I don't know if this makes me feel old or just nostalgic - then again those are probably the same thing.  To access this game type "doa" at the computer terminal.

The second game is even older school and is even before my time.  Zork, the text based adventure game in which you are likely to be eaten by a grue, can be accessed by typing "zork" into the terminal.  I've played this game before and it's kinda fun but quickly loses its novelty after about 30 minutes.  The keyboard interface is a pain to use through the XBox controller and if you really want to play zork, just google it and there's plenty of places you can play it for free from your computer.  Again, cool that they included it though.

SUMMARY:
Black Ops is a fun game that I have enjoyed and will continue to play (multiplayer).  I would even go back and replay the story mode but probably not until after I went back and replayed the story mode for MW2.  I have spent many hours with this game and would say that I have gotten my money's worth.  The better multiplayer overcomes the little things I liked better from MW2 and, while I wouldn't say I liked Black Ops better than MW2, there are some reasons to.  In the end, I give them the same score:  9.0