Call of Duty Black Ops XBox 360 Review

Call of Duty, the most fanatically loved and hated first person shooter ever created. For the most part the Call of Duty series have been mostly stellar games in terms of single player story and multiplayer gameplay for years. Unfortunately, there have been a few duds along the way, I am looking at you Call of Duty 3 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Specifically, Call of Duty 3 was the worst game in the series and made the developer Treyarch infamous. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 was created by Infinity Ward and though not really a dud, it was mediocre. The newest entry in the series is called Call of Duty Black Ops and was developed by none other than the infamous Treyarch. As a result, expectations were quite low even with the entire marketing bonanza behind the launch of the game.

The plot of Call of Duty Black Ops revolves around a Black Ops operative named Alex Mason who is strapped to a chair in an interrogation room and has flashbacks of his missions in which the player participates in. The game switches from flashback missions, to the present time in the interrogation room. The present time within the game is 1968, while the missions take place between 1961-1968 in exotic locales from Cuba to Russia, to Vietnam. The campaign consists of 15 missions and can be finished within approximately eight hours. The campaign mode is very buggy with texture not loading in properly, character models not loading in correctly, etc…

Call of Duty Black Ops also has a multiplayer similar to its predecessors. Multiplayer has a total of 14 maps, four large maps, eight medium sized maps, and 2 small maps. Players can chooses from the standard game types of Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Search & Destroy, Domination, Headquarters, Demolition, Capture the Flag, and Sabotage. All of the modes have been in previous games and will be familiar to veteran players of the series. Players can have up to three perks which vary from moving faster and bullets penetrating through walls, to moving silently. Players carry a primary and secondary weapon, and equipment such as grenades, flashbangs, and motion sensors. There are 15 different killstreaks available from spy planes to piloting a gunship. Players also have the option of playing zombie mode which pits the player or players against endless waves of zombies. All multiplayer modes in Call of Duty Black Ops can be played through Xbox Live, Two-Player Split-screen, or System Link. Zombie mode can be played solo.

Call of Duty Black Ops is a mediocre game that has a confusing story line and is full of bugs. The player will never feel any emotion towards the main character and the missions just seem like random disconnected events. Multiplayer is the same old rehash of previous games. The Call of Duty series was known for being the pinnacle of first person shooter games, but sadly that title now belongs to Battlefield Bad Company. Call of Duty needs to reinvent itself before it becomes a memory of yesteryear much like Medal of Honor. Also, Treyarch should not be allowed to develop any future games in the series, as their touch is an instant deathblow to the game being produced. Do not buy Call of Duty Black Ops, do not even bother renting it as it is not even worth the few dollars, buy a sandwich instead, you will be more satisfied.