Call of Duty: Black Ops Review
Redaction stations.
Version tested: Xbox 360
"Remember, no Russian." When the dust settled, Modern Warfare 2 took as much of a shoeing from critics as it did from politicians for its controversial terrorist smashup in an airport terminal, but while Call of Duty: Black Ops has the potential to cause even more offence – blending real and fictional events during the Cold War, even impersonating JFK and Robert McNamara to add gravitas – the closest it comes is during a pre-credits cut-scene revelation that is more "gotcha!" than grisly.
Instead, finally freed from the shadow of Infinity Ward (albeit by something of a PR mushroom cloud), Treyarch takes us back to the sixties for the birth of the US Special Forces. The action jumps between a few characters, but the story is about Alex Mason, a CIA operative who ended up in a Russian labour camp following the Bay of Pigs fiasco, which saw him captured and handed over to villainous bad guy Nikita Dragovich by Fidel Castro.
At the start of the game, Mason wakes up strapped to a chair being tortured by unknown silhouettes hiding behind frosted glass windows, and through this interrogation you relive various chapters of his adventures and those of his handler, sunglasses-loving iceman Jason Hudson, who is voiced well by a throaty Ed Harris. Mason's recollections take you through Cuba and his pivotal spell in prison, to a Russian space centre and all over East Asia as you hunt Dragovich while the game reveals his ghastly plan.
We may be deep behind enemy lines, but the scriptwriters do their best to leave no cliché behind as we leap from moving trucks to speeding trains, float down jungle rivers listening to the Stones and stealthily infiltrate mountainside communication outposts. There isn't much character to latch onto in Mason, Hudson and company, and occasionally the game is so blatant about lifting things from spy stories and Vietnam films that you develop your own thousand-yard stare. Still, at least you understand who everyone is this time, and the final reveal is confident enough – even though you see it coming, the writers can't help ramming it home five times in a row, and it's been done before on numerous occasions.

Gary Oldman is back in the recording booth and he's Russian again. His Reznov is the game's most memorable character.
But of course none of this is the point. The point is that you have to shoot a large number of people in the face to advance along a linear path while all hell breaks loose around you, and in this regard Black Ops is as good as expected – and Treyarch is just as qualified to fill your peripheral vision with supersonic flybys, doors being blown off hinges, armies surging over hills, rockets taking off and napalm lighting up tree lines as Infinity Ward ever was.
Call of Duty arguably laid itself bare with the original Modern Warfare training level aboard a wooden ship and its pop-up cardboard enemies – the irony being it was very effective training for a game where enemies won't ever do much more to block your path than merely pop up. Black Ops doesn't try to break free of this model. Enemies (Russian, Vietnamese, Nazis, even British commandos at one point – it doesn't make any difference) take up positions behind cover and it's up to you to iron-sight them to death. If you fail it's because of your impatience or lack of observation rather than their tactics.
It's incredibly slick and spectacular, and you're always surrounded by comrades running in the right direction and yellow objective cursors to drive you where you need to go. The one occasion where the game does a poor job of signposting your next move, failing to notify you that you can kick over some napalm barrels, only stands out because it's the single exception to the golden rule: never leave the player in any doubt what to do next.
But while the campaign is little more than a very nicely decorated corridor, there are lots of fun things to do inside it. There's the Dragon's Breath shotgun with incendiary shells, shooting enemies off motorbikes with a shotgun and cocking it one-handed while jumping over a ridge, a snowy stealth section where you have to avoid detection and silently eliminate patrolling soldiers with a crossbow, and even a sequence where Black Ops almost resembles a strategy game for a few minutes. Forget the setting, the JFK impersonator and the birth of the black ops – Call of Duty is about shooting fast, dying often and watching a good-looking set-piece, and on that level Black Ops unquestionably delivers.
It's not just about that though; it's also about leaving a long-lasting multiplayer legacy, and Treyarch goes a lot further to achieve that than it did with Call of Duty: World at War. Firstly, the Horde-style Zombies mode is back with three expansive, secret-filled new levels (one featuring Nazis, one set in the Pentagon and one we'd rather not spoil) and should keep you and up to three well-drilled friends busy for many hours.
There's also the traditional range of modes familiar to those who answered recent Calls of Duty, including old favourites like Search and Destroy. The progression system now relies on COD Points rather than raw experience, and the range of unlockable perks, killstreaks and modifications is staggering. Maps are visually and spatially varied, and Treyarch is keen that you're always exposed from multiple angles whether you're sneaking around a hotel in Havana, trudging along mud tracks and over rope bridges in the jungle, or darting in between fuel tanks in a missile launch centre.
Mindful that Call of Duty is contested rather ferociously online, there's even a Combat Training mode where you play against computer-controlled adversaries, allowing you to get a taste of every mode and ability before you head online and start playing for real.

The few vehicle missions - Russian HIND, motorbikes, a gunboat - are a nice change of pace but lack the punch of Medal of Honor's equivalents.
Black Ops' great revelation, though, is Wager Matches, where you gamble COD Points in a series of free-for-all modes. Sharpshooter, where everyone uses the same weapon and it changes randomly at intervals, is rather perfunctory, but the others are gems. Sticks and Stones gives you a crossbow with explosive bolts, a tomahawk and a knife, and the result is carnage, while One in the Chamber gives everyone a pistol with one bullet, a knife and three lives, and the tension isn't so much palpable as saturating.
Gun Game is the big favourite, however. Players start with a pistol and receive a new weapon with each kill, although being knifed will knock you back to the previous one. On paper it sounds as though the early leader should prosper while those stuck with the pistol for longer than a few seconds flounder, but in practice the order you move through weapons creates helpful changes in pace, as the leaders struggle with sniper rifles just as the chasing pack come up through shotguns, SMGs and assault rifles.
Call of Duty has long since settled into an enormously successful rhythm, and the good news for Activision is that Black Ops does little to disrupt it. The campaign is relentlessly aggressive and spectacular – a Jerry Bruckheimer tribute act stuck in permanent encore – while the multiplayer modes are a mixture of smart tweaks to working formulas, as focused on protecting that guaranteed bottom line as the campaign's yellow objective cursor is on making sure you never falter. The results are never less than entertaining whatever you choose to do, then, but not exactly brave and bold either. Say what you like about No Russian - at least it was something different.
8 / 10
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Comments (206) Latest comment 1 year ago
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Will be giving this one a miss for now.
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Those were my first thoughts. Lets how long it takes... Been said a million times but 8 is a decent score.
Seems to be solid enough, but again following the same tired old (for me) formula. If you release the same game year after year scores will eventually begin to drop.
On the positive side at least xNick won't appear for a while, should be at school all day.
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The EG review score seems about right. It's a by-the-numbers Call of Duty game made on an existing template and as such it delivers exactly what the fans want (i.e. more of the same) without doing anything clever or innovative of its own.
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Does sound like just more of the same, albeit very polished stuff.
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Can't wait to play this hopefully later on. MW2 was such a mess on PC at launch it left a bad taste in my mouth on COD (although to be fair later Nvidia drivers and a settled down IWnet improved the game greatly). This sounds like it will wash that bad taste away and my love affair with COD will be back on track. I've not even played it yet but know from the feautres and little bonues that Treyarch have put in a wonderful effort that was lacking from MW2. COme on posite don't let down today!
Oh, sorry I should say "down with COD" or something.
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I don't think anybody could have expected anything more than "The Same" and thats not a bad thing for me.
MW 1 & 2 did exactly what it said on the tin, as with WAW.
Sounds like Single Player should be a hoot. Online should have some legs too.
Looking forward to it.
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I'll do it now for you if you like. PC wins
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Also, Ease up on the 8 chaps. It's a decent score. None of these FPS really do that much more than the next.
They cant or dont really push the envelope anymore its all about "Blockbuster Entertainment" which this is.
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Without spoiling anything specific:
the ops are not "black" at all, was hoping for some deniable operations mixed with conspiracy history, instead there are even more large scale front battles than MW/MW2? And despite what the trailers may say, the protagonist exists, and his existence is so firm might as well say "Manson, Alex Mason". The antagonists are simply forgettable. Also the premise of the entire plot is simply stupid, even more than MW2.
Graphically it starts low, quite low, but get progressively better until reaching MW2 single player graphic quality in later levels. Strange, why?
Oh, and epilepsy inducing flashing flashbacks are out of style, didn't you get the memo Treyarch?
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8 is a perfectly acceptable score.
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Although it's hahahilarious reading on various boards about the pc master race version having framerate issues on top end pc's whilst peasant console gamers laugh and play on.
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The single player is as expected, utterly linear and scripted and I don't think many people will be buying the game for that, I certainly won't.
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Although it's hahahilarious reading on various boards about the pc master race version having framerate issues on top end pc's whilst peasant console gamers laugh and play on.
I haven't looked into it, but if there are widespreed performance issues that basically means Tryarch screwed up somewhere which, yeah, is totally sidesplitting...
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The FPS genre is very mature and as a result its hard to see any developer be brave and bold. The only thing that devs can do at this point is to tinker around the edges. This time its wager matches, contracts, combat training mode and unlocking new perks in the order you want rather than a pre-set sequence.
Its not a bad thing to play a mature genre but we are not going to see "shock and awe" innovation either.
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The review reads like a 9
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A game critics opinion is no more valid or important than any of ours and what one man deems an 8 out of 10 game another might deem a 10 or a 5 or 6 at the other end of the spectrum.
Don't be told what's good or bad just decide for yourself.
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Yet when the awards come around they'll either give it to this game or last years MW2 .
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Consider the hand that feeds not bitten.
+1 to you sir, bang on the money
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Best.line.ever
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..wait? OH,Wager matches, well they don't sound as much fun at all... *sulk*
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This looks at least a lot more interesting setting wise. I'll never play it though. After not enjoying the last 2 I'm not even touching this unless I can get it for free somewhere.
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More original games please.
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Don't be told what's good or bad just decide for yourself. A game critics opinion is no more valid or important than any of ours and what one man deems an 8 out of 10 game another might deem a 10 or a 5 or 6 at the other end of the spectrum.
Very true, but most of us don't have the money or time to buy/rent every game released, so you have to rely on reviews to make purchasing desicions.
@jimmyhill11
The review reads like a 9
Kind of get annoyed at these comments, whats the point? Seem to appear several times in the comments of EVERY EG review. To me it did read like an 8. Don't feel the need to post that though...
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Yeah I don't get the fuss about it either, sure it's fun killing holiday makers but is was more a hassle s-l-o-w-l-y crawling around the airport.
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EDIT: Or with a 2100 point MS card, don't know what this costs though (expects about Ł20)
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Anyways, good review. Told me everything i wanted to hear. Looking forward to playing tonight.
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The game of 2 halves analogy is perfect for this series. A turgid SP experience (Doom was better FFS), and quality - if now falling in to the 'more of the same' category since MW1 - MP element. There are other games I'd rather play, and if I fancy some FPS action then this won't come close to Reach :0)
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Recession on don't you know, I'm not rich!
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Just a quick explanation and not from a fanboy. BC2 has vehicles, which you control through your own skill and destructible environments, which result in tactics which cannot be used on cod. Hence, the difference is obvious.
Sorry if that sounded rude.
Edit: talking about mp by the way. Yes, Treyarch have tanks in waw but not the range and type made available in bc2. Vehicle skill and gunning skill both go hand in hand.
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I won't be buying it, I loved cod 4 and mw2 and own both, but for some reason Treyarch's games never really did it for me.
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http://ww w.metro.co.uk/tech/games/846513...
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No not rude at all, my post may come across rude to but I was geniunely curious after being disappointed after a year of hearing it how awesome it was.
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Black Ops is a better game than MW2, yet it scores less. This is why review scores need to be removed"
It has scored less because we are twelve months removed from that game with little in the way of *significant* improvements and like it or not in that interim, BFBC2 arrived and is a major competitor to CoD, meaning that by proxy, the goalposts have been shifted and CoD:BO should be judged accordingly.
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However, I don't play multiplayer anymore since the advent of voicechat (and the realisation that annoying acne riddled 12 year olds are massively playing this M rated game). And this being the tenth(!) Call of Duty game in four years time, in a genre which has already been done to death, I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will bomb miserably.
Oh look, hell's freezing over.
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I'll stick with BFBC2's new maps and Vietnam add-on this autumn/winter. None of this will stop Black Ops outselling everything this christmas though.
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Also is there no spec ops mode?
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Also the ending twist (not the zombie one...) is lol in a good way
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ban this filth!
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ban this filth!
Aye, and that after they made MI6 agent Mason from The Rock a 'Murican!
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Medal of Honour currently has the best FPS single player campaign for me thou, absolutely loved it.
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I now find it really difficult to play a game on even a large TV, such is the experience of playing a FPS at near 1:1 scale..!
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.... and the upcoming face-off
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5: yeah
4: very good
3: average
2: crap
1: OMG
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Am i the only one who didn't get that at all? Was Tom Bramwell the Eurogamer writer who like BC2 a lot? It would be heresy afterall, for him to like Black Ops.
@carlitoswagon
I would like to see destructible environements - but Red Faction style! Don't think the vehicle sections are that great.
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Wow! That is a radical move for Activision setting the game in the London borough of Merton. Can't wait to take out terrorists in Morden town center car park.
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Also, No Russian may have been different, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't shit.
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Know where you're coming from.
+1
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For anyone who's mainly interested in multiplayer this sounds like a complete waist of time would have preferred they just released the maps as DLC and patched in any "tweeks" they've made to the game modes. How much better would it be if we could have the maps from MW, MW2 & BlackOps all playable from one place.
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Review scores need getting rid off, it's cringeworthy watching how people react to them.
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All I know is, I'm still laughing at all the people that were queued up at midnight at my local Sainsbury's only to be told THEY HAD NO GAMES DELIVERED!!!
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Personally, the game doesn't have to be the best ever, as long as it's fun for me and my friends to play together.
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forcing me to buy them anyway
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Edit: Just read Kotaku's review. I might be unable to resist.
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The only reason I bought WaW was for the nazi zombie mode. The single player campaign turned out to be pretty good though, apart from that annoying flamethrower / trenches bit, grrr.
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A sensible review, well done.
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Let it sell millions and millions I say. Next time it will be Infinity Ward playing catch up for once.
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EDIT: Or with a 2100 point MS card, don't know what this costs though (expects about Ł20) "
Just been to my local Tescos to take up this offer.... The PSN/XBL points cards are priced at Ł17.49 and you get the game for Ł25. Same deal online too.... http://ww w.tescoentertainment.com/store/...
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Although I suspect my early gift was a ruse, something to do with the Mrs and her Beauty And The Beast bluray tonight. ARGH girlie Disney Nooooo!
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I wonder how that will work out?
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Expensive?
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You only get negged if you admit to liking COD. The trick is to slag it off to sound cool then buy it anyway.
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Seriously though, I know what I'm getting with COD, I preffered World at War over MW2 so I have no problems putting faith in to Treyarch.
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http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Z63HHvqp4
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How about you just ignore the negs?
They don't mean diddly-shit.
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I shall, from this day forwards. Thankyou.
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And you need more than 90 frames per second WHY exactly? And if the FOV is capped for everyone then nobody has an advantage.
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Like, ever? '
The Cold War is over my friend, everybody loves the Ruskies. Except fps developers obviously.
In Soviet Russia, comments neg you.
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Does a good mp and crap sp really warrant a good score in both these cases?
Lets face it this game was always gonna sell well. A new box new skins and maps does not to me deserve my Ł40+.
I have been playing and enjoying moh. The sp is great and mp excellent, just given a lower score because shock horror you can play as Taliban killing US marines.
My money is going on Hot Pursuit.
Btw the guy who was laughing at the collection of bods in the queue at sainsbury's, I was just wondering wot u were doing there at midnight. Food shopping?
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'In Soviet Russia, comments neg you.'
Ghehe I lolled. Best comment in this thread (so far).
+1
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What a twat.
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EDIT: Although that Tesco deal does sound Jolly tempting!
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I'm sorry what?
Less than 100 FPS feels slightly sluggish when you're used to higher?
I WANT YOUR EYES.
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Seems a bit underdeveloped as a review as this time the game is clearly not JUST a mod pack for COD MW but the developers seem to have genuinely tried to add extras in and change things up -- i hope there will be a long term MP review. And since when has exciting, slick and spectacular in a LINEAR corridor game been bad? It's almost like it's taken for granted but it can easily be messed up.
The commenters who said it seems like EG phoned in a token review about a game that the reviewer had no interest in have it nailed.
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BTW, has anyone had any luck with the Ł25 Woolworths deal? Apprently mine arrived this morning, but I'm struggling to believe it...
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Six 100/100 scores on metacritic already.
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EG - review released first thing this morning
IGN - review released first thing this morning
gamespot, the Guardian, ...
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Sadly all I'm getting from this review is the "biggest game ever" didn't do anything to push the boat out and warrant that accolade
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It's called a press embargo. Publishers ask reviwers not to release a review until release date in the terms and conditions of supplying a review copy.
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Given that this sounds like more of the same (which doesn't surprise me), I won't be buying this.
I can appreciate however, that this isn't the main thrust of these games which is why sometimes I wish I loved multiplayer, because It'd be nice to actually share the excitement people have for this series.
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How are people finding the single player?
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Get "Day of Defeat Source" cheap from Steam. There are servers out there running this mod since years.
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So why the hell is there not a single, solitary mention of 3D in the review?
I mean, I'm not adverse to reviews that focus more on game content than graphics quality, but surely the whole point of making the game 3D was that it had the potential to improve the gaming experience?
Obviously not many people have 3D screens yet, but given the new technology's potential to make a game more intense, I for one would have liked to have been told at least a little bit about how 3D works with Black Ops. Even if it only gives you a headache, that's still worth telling us about, surely?
Oh well. Looks like I'll have to get my Nurofen at the ready, and find out for myself...
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Need for speed review has shocked me and thinking maybe wait for that next week instead.
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-Visuals are dated, light years behind Crysis, ArmA II, Metro 2033, Shattered Horizon, Just Cause 2, Mirror Edge, etc.
-Sound is bad: bland OST (no Hans Zimmer or Harry Gregson Williams this time), no EAX, no 7.1 support, dull sound capture.
-Inexistant A.I., only scripted events, infinite respawn, linear maps with no alternatives.
-Lack of physiscs: all is no interactive.
MP looks promising, with tons of customization, but at last is merely a deathmatch game without objective based game modes and lacking in teamwork.
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Game won't refund anything that has been opened unless it is faulty.
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-Visuals are dated, light years behind Crysis, ArmA II, Metro 2033, Shattered Horizon, Just Cause 2, Mirror Edge, etc.
-Sound is bad: bland OST (no Hans Zimmer or Harry Gregson Williams this time), no EAX, no 7.1 support, dull sound capture.
-Inexistant A.I., only scripted events, infinite respawn, linear maps with no alternatives.
-Lack of physiscs: all is no interactive.
MP looks promising, with tons of customization, but at last is merely a deathmatch game without objective based game modes and lacking in teamwork.
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Six 100/100 scores on metacritic already. '
REALLY?!
Holy crap. I get it that people like the series, but damn.
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yeah... but look at the sites that dish out a "Perfect 10" to black ops! all dodgy sites, whose only intent is to be at the top of the metacritic chart (to promote themselves).
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I still not opened it mate. Got it delivered at work!
I probably will keep it for the multi-player but Ł45 for a multi-player experience is damn expensive. Honestly dont think I will even touch the single player mode.
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I own the PS3 version, hence the disappointment. Why does 360 get better framerate and AA solution? Riddle me that?
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Remember, HD starts when Sony says it does.
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-Sound is bad: bland OST (no Hans Zimmer or Harry Gregson Williams this time), no EAX, no 7.1 support, dull sound capture.
-Inexistant A.I., only scripted events, infinite respawn, linear maps with no alternatives.
-Lack of physiscs: all is no interactive. "
Its badly seeded too
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as long as MP works but there I am not sure about them COD points thing....
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Exactly, so why doesn't the review come out and say this? It should say 'what this game does is fine, but it does nothing new and the whole formula needs a serious shake up' but it just kind of says 'it's good, it's COD. The end'.
The new bits aren't even mentioned or given a proper going over, like the 3d, customisable MP, combat training bots (Can you play local co-op and fill out the game with bots? who knows.) etc etc.
I've found out more about this game from reading the previews and fluff pieces than this review tells you...hell even the loser 13hr hour queue guy's energy drink fuelled excited interview is more in depth
*edit* has anyone played this in 3d? there must be a rich bugger with a flash tv on here somewhere...
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Are there dedicated servers as promised?
How many players at once?
What game modes?
Are there vehicles?
Etc.
Also the single player part if the review doesn't say much.
Is it more linear then Modern Warfare 2?
I found that game's single player surprisingly open after playing the World at war demo.
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whats the point of commenting on a review in the comments section of a review?
hmm, dunno. you got me there.
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Onto the next game review...
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SP has been less than steller. It's enjoyable I suppose but lacks substance. The scripted events and re-spawning makes it all feel a little, erm, fake.
Had a quick blast of Team Deathmatch. Seem to be pretty funny.
As I thought, it's CoD through and through. I'm sure I'll get some mileage out of multiplayer, but really, if you have played one CoD, you have played them all. This is especially true since CoD 4.
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And can someone please clear up for me whether the new game modes (One in the chamber etc) are playable with bots?
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MP is a 6 or 10 depending on wheather your a loud mouthed 13 year old obnoxious american twat who enjoys camping a lot.
BFBC2 is far superior imho, the actual SP campaign feels more real, not just a string of setpieces thrown at you. Black Ops just feels so fake. Plus Dice really know how to do large scale enviroments.
The multiplayer in BFBC2 is stiil the best out there, it's a game that's purely about your skill as a player rather than silly killstreak buffs, that totally punish new players.
Tactics, skill and teamplay have a much greater impact on the overall game, plus it never feels like your a one man army. You always feel like your part of a team even when your with strangers, when playing BFBC2.
I guess it's the more realistic approach that BFBC2 has that i prefer, especially the destructable enviroment.
Plus the Frostbite sound system is still the dog's, especially through a home cinema set-up.
For me COD is well and truly dead.
to paraphrase "Once youv'e tried BFBC2 you can't go back"
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Most of the reasons to complain about cod have been removed with the multitude of options which will suit the game style you're loooking for. If annoying kids talking shit is one of those things just use the mute option.
Think Treyarch have done a great job. They've listened to community feedback regards mw2 and have created a bit more balance. Maps are excellent as expected.
Have spent more on lesser games so can't compain.
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The only thing that concerns me is the speed. As someone else said on here, the MP does feel a bit slower than previous games. Let's hope this is a teething problem rather than some fundamental flaw.
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Still, I'm sure the developers were pretty hamstrung with how much innovation they were allowed to bring to this franchise.
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Black Ops is bloody fantastic, and no, I'm not a chav or a 12 year old American 'gangsta', I just know a good game when I see one.
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I've only played a little of SP and the zombies so far, but, I'm aghast to discover the most annoying SP feature of WAW (for me) is back in this version, which is on veteran, enemy soldiers waltzing past a line of my electronic teammates to take pot shots at me, It's like the guys on my side don't exist. What's worse is my guys let them walk past too!
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I'm also very pleased with the way you just buy what you want with your CoD-credit-play-moneys, rather than having to play how the game says you have to in order to get what you want (shooting 40 people through walls with FMJ, an addon that itself requires 300 kills with that gun IIRC, to unlock extended magazines - that's just stupid). One day CoD will do something really revolutionary, like just letting you spend your XP points on what you want, when you want, totally eliminating grind and boosting in a stroke, rather than letting leveling and challenges and points and accolades and all that fluff overshadow the idea of enjoying playing the game, as in MW2. Heretical? Probably.
I hate killstreaks, but I do enjoy pissing on the parade for people who use them. That's why I used the cold-blooded perk and took my Stinger and blew people's air support up whenever possible. The deployable SAM turret is a good way to make killstreaks more balanced.
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It's by artist Cliff Lin and it's called ""And Your World Will Burn."" You can download it at this link:
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SP- 4/10, MP- 7/10
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