Campaign
As is expected with the CoD series, Call of Duty: Black Ops doesn’t let us down with their expansive campaign mode. In this release you play as Alex Mason, an American special operative, working sometime in the late 1960’s.
The game starts with you being interrogated about details you don’t quite remember. With a little bit of prodding (electro shocks to be exact), you begin to remember things. Essentially you replay the memories as missions.
Overall the story line is quite compelling, and it keeps you rather entertained through its entirety.
Multiplayer
While I found the campaign mode to be quite good, like most first person shooters these days, the real value and longevity of the title comes in the multiplayer mode. COD Black Ops is loaded with awesome game modes like Headquarters, Domination, Team Deathmatch, etc.
One of the best implementations is “Cod Points”. Essentially it’s currency within the game that allows you to pick perks and unlocks. Previously you had to reach certain levels, and achieve certain tasks with each weapon to unlock upgrades. Now you can go straight for the things you want.
The online variant also features a Theater system, which allows players to share videos and pictures from in game moments with the rest of the world. Not my cup of tea, but a cool feature for those who like the social networking aspect of online gaming.
Keeping with the last COD, Black Ops also features Zombies. In the main version of Zombies, you essentially defend an area from repeatedly spawning undead Nazi’s. On the way you gather up money to buy weapons, ammo, and unlock new areas. The other features a fun little arcade style game, which is great fun, especially if you’ve got a few mates over and want to mess about in a simple shooter.
Overall
This is quite an enjoyable game. While the game might not be as groundbreaking as others in the series, it still gets top marks from me. I mean, GTA3 was so revolutionary, even if the later releases had better features, can they ever compare?
All in all, I got the game over two months ago, and Call of Duty Black Ops for Xbox 360 still dominates my console. I probably won’t be going back to the campaign, but the multiplayer keeps on bringing me back.
