Call of Duty: Black Ops – Escalation Review

By Will Porter Published 6 May, 2011

Die Another Dave.

Version tested: Xbox 360

Hi Eurogamer! Last time we looked at an inevitable and overpriced map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops together, we met Dave, my future brother-in-law. Dave and other (but not all) Daves are the reason that Activision can charge 1200 Microsoft Points for five maps while maintaining direct eye contact and avoiding a tell-tale blush.

Dave is new to gaming, and his 360 is almost exclusively a Call of Duty machine, only occasionally gasping for fresh air on the pitches of FIFA. In terms of the hours of play he'll get from it, the best part of a tenner doesn't seem much to refresh the COD man-shoot experience.

Dave doesn't realise it, but a battle for his immortal soul is about to rage in the gaming heavens. EA is sharpening a trident imbued with runes that spell out Battlefield 3, Activision is feeding raw lightning into the machine that powers the COD conveyor belt and THQ has lit a tealight and whispered a few sad words in front of post-it note on which someone has scribbled 'Homefront!' in red felt-tip.

Just who will win that cataclysmic battle is as yet unknown, but for now, Dave sits firmly in Bobby Kotick's pocket (balancing delicately on the tip of a cigar, sleeping in a fold of hundred dollar bills and forever in fear of being crushed by a small lady revolver). He downloaded Escalation the second it was out, so I rang him for his review. "Yeah. It's alright, I suppose." Score out of ten? "Erm. Seven?" And, don't you know, he's right.

As with First Strike, there are four multiplayer maps here – this time veering even further towards players who favour more exotic gameplay flavours than habitual Team Deathmatch. All the maps are large; there's no map like First Strike's Stadium, where bullets are sprayed so frequently they form a fine mist. As such, even with a full server, TDM can feel a little lonely, while Contract killcounts won't tot up as fast as many would like.

The maps are also a little more complicated than normal. Hidey-holes and snipe spots are often far less obvious than in pre-existing maps, while there are more cover points liberally scattered through levels. It will take time for people to evolve fresh tactics, three days at least, so if you jump in right now, your kill/death ratio could come as a pleasant surprise.

Convoy is built around a fairly familiar crossroads setup: its centrepiece is a broken motorway bridge that's crumbled into the road that passes below it. It's a textbook spot for Domination, HeadQuarters and whatnot, with many points of entry and a sniper's alley up above.

There's a neat touch outside the gas station: a lead that makes a bell ring when cars or soldiers pass over it. This, clearly, leads to a lot of blood being spilt and a fair few naked flames getting close to the petrol pumps. At first, you feel lost in Convoy, but it soon develops into an excellent nuts-and-bolts exercise in point capture and area protection.

Stockpile, meanwhile, is a journeyman affair. A World at War virgin, I was last night reliably informed by a man from Newcastle that it's similar to the elderly Outskirts – so perhaps Treyarch fans (wherever they're hiding) will be happier with it.

It's a Russian village with a central WMD storage depot, a large multi-gantried affair with a vast number of internal windows which mean that guarding its entry points can prove tense and tactical. Aiding and abetting this, meanwhile, are two garage doors that can be shut (accompanied by a loud horn sound) to funnel enemies elsewhere. A decent level, but not one that shall be writ large in the COD history books.

Since 1916, in your head, in your head, Michelle Gellar still fighting.

Next up is Hotel, a rooftop map built with Capture The Flag in mind and hugely reminiscent of Modern Warfare 2's High Rise. (Then again, any map drawn from the model of Team Fortress' 2Fort or Unreal Tournament's Opposing Worlds is going to feel a little familiar). Visually, this is the most interesting level, complete with pool, steamy sauna, casino and a vault that's been busted open leaving high-denomination dollar bills floating on the breeze.

It's a little on the large side but provides a multitude of interesting pathways, as well as those ever-popular opposing snipe ledges. Fun for five minutes, meanwhile, are lifts you can call and – if you're hilarious – plant a claymore in for the unsuspecting. In a map pack that's far lower on patchy gimmicks than First Strike, these are sadly very much a patchy gimmick.

Last on the list is Zoo, with initial and striking similarities to the Modern Warfare 2 Resurgence pack's Carnival. The setting might be similar, but in time you realise that it's an unfair comparison. There's a better and more circular flow through this level – tighter channels, intelligent short-cuts and far fewer backwater annexes.

Not only is the monorail it features a neat pathway to capture points, but you can't help but be amused by the bodies that tumble down around you as you scoot along below it. Whatever gameplay mode that's been spat out by the Mosh Pit, Zoo seems to fit – easily making it the best all-rounder of the new maps.

And so, just before we wrap up proceedings and plunge into comment anarchy, we come to Call of the Dead. This is a rather unique zombie map that stars the likenesses and glib comments of Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund, Danny Trejo and Michael Rooker (who's in The Walking Dead, apparently – no, I didn't know him either).

The idea is that a George Romero movie, being filmed in the snowy wastes of Siberia near an ominous shipwreck, has gone wrong. The man himself has become a roaming uber-boss, bashing those who dare to shoot at him with a lighting rig while wave upon wave of zombies flood into a vast level that your team gradually unlocks.

It's nothing but a pleasure to be chased round and round a gloomy lighthouse by a giant septuagenarian Hollywood icon shouting 'Let's do lunch!' while you're trying to board up deadhead entry points. Escaping zombie rushes by sliding down wires gives more pace and movement to gameplay and results in some great moments when you accidentally leave a member of your crew behind.

The enraged George can seemingly only be calmed down by leading him into icy water, so there's always a heightened degree of back-and-forth as rounds roll on – and forever the distant and tantalising prospect of being powerful enough to take the almighty bearded bastard down.

It must be said, however, that the premise of the trailer – that of the B-Movie gone wrong – is one that suits Escalation's marketing far more than the map itself. For a zombie map built to venerate Romero, it seems a little strange that it takes place in a frozen wasteland rather than the shopping malls and small-town Americana that made the man famous.

The celebrity faces and voices that make up the cast, meanwhile, never become the Left 4 Dead foursome you dearly wish they were, their repetitive chitter-chatter rarely raising a half-smile. It's a great map and a great premise, chock-full of the secrets that the COD zombie community adore, but it very much feels like the map concept came first, and the Romero overlay second.

In conclusion: another good map pack. The Daves (and, as you might have guessed, muggins here) will get their money's worth. There is, however, a twist to this tale.

Over the weekend we were discussing the ructions after his first Eurogamer appearance, during which everything kicked off. Not everyone was keen on Dave as a human being, while others questioned the inference that Dave's taste in games automatically meant that he was the type to frequent the local branch of Liquid and Envy ogling women, his left hand clutching a bottle of blue WKD and his right suspiciously deep in his pocket. (In fact, Dave generally drinks lager.)

Having scrolled through the pro- and anti-Dave comments and scratched his balls a little, Dave's reaction was: "People are weird, aren't they? You've got to worry about people on the internet." Then, though, he dropped a bombshell. "Thing is, I'm going to give up on this Black Ops lark once L.A. Noire is out."

Ladies and gentlemen, behold Darwin's evolution at work. The sea slug is about to crawl out of the ocean, the monkey is poised to climb down from his tree and the Neanderthal is about to sort out the crick in his neck. Through the gateway drug of Blops (and an article he read in Nuts), Dave is about to enter a deeper and more meaningful world. Sorry Activision, this one's getting ready to fly the nest.

7 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Will.

About Will Porter

Will ‘Velvet Owl’ Porter is a roaming freelance writer who occasionally appears at EG’s back door asking for scraps. You can find out how cold/hungry he is by following @Batsphinx on Twitter.

Read more articles from Will by visiting the Will Porter archive page.

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Comments (78) Latest comment 11 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Breakwhore #1 1 year ago

    yup

  • Ultrasoundwave #2 1 year ago

    Or, you could buy Super Meat Boy........or Shadow Complex........or Limbo..........or pretty much any other top XBLA title and get much better value for your money.

    / coat

  • ucankurbaga #3 1 year ago

    So anyone buys the brand new Call Of Duty Black ops with all its map packs has to pay ฃ40+ฃ12+ฃ12 = ฃ64
    Edited by ucankurbaga at 06/05/11 @ 09:14

  • Jazzy_Geoff #4 1 year ago

    More sneering and patronising. You sound like a complete twat.

  • wise #5 1 year ago

    "Michael Rooker (who's in The Walking Dead, apparently – no, I didn't know him either)."

    You don't know much about film, do you?

  • TheLittlestHobo #6 1 year ago

    I know a Dave. My friend has played nothing but COD on his 360 since MW2 came out; played it exclusively for a whole year then just switched to BLOPS, which he has been playing ever since.

  • metallicol #7 1 year ago

    Michael Rooker. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #8 1 year ago

    Before this inevitably gets out of hand, there are a couple of things that I would like to point out.

    Our reviews of Call of Duty DLC are popular. They are read by lots of people, suggesting that there is a demand for expert reviews of Call of Duty DLC - and by expert, I mean reviews by active COD players (Will is one). This is the main reason we do them.

    A second reason is that they are among the most commercially successful video game releases of the year, and that makes them important.

    Our judgement of the DLC's quality and value for money is made from the perspective of an active COD player, because really, nothing else would make any sense.

    I'd like to add my personal opinion that multiplayer map design is one of the hardest and most undervalued tasks in game design, and it's absolutely worth charging for. (Although maybe not that much!)

  • GamesConnoisseur #9 1 year ago

    LittleHobo ^

    I have a mate also who did the same! Almost exclusively MW2 and then Black Ops on XBL all the times, gotten to the point I regularly check if still the case!

    Yep

    Still, whatever we think, there are lot of COD fans able to keep the franchise going and Acti know it.

  • Geordiemp #10 1 year ago

    And so Farquin, the pretentious condescending games writer from brighton, walking with a little bit of a mince, wonders how to do a steriotypical send up of COD players.

    Lets call him dave, says Farquin, wearing his favourite tight shorts and cut away vest top, and lets say he drinks lager and plays COD all the time, sniggering away to himself.

    Oh we are so funny.
    Edited by Geordiemp at 06/05/11 @ 10:13

  • Zerobob #11 1 year ago

    So is this 1200 Microsoft Points again, rather than 600 - 800 MS points like it should be?

  • BeersOfWar #12 1 year ago

    LA Noire review by Dave please.

  • Whitster #13 1 year ago

    @Oli

    What I think most people take umberance with regarding the cost is that the more companies like Activision try and attach this kind of value to small expansions and succeed, the more companies with follow suit, where as companies like Valve put out whole new campaign levels for their titles for less than half the cost or free on some formats.

  • Wheatley #14 1 year ago

    I think ฃ12 is an absolute bargain considering the hours of replayability these maps give to the multiplayer.

    And the Call of Duty franchise is number one for a reason - not because people who buy it are a bunch of cretins, but because it's a cracking good shooter.

  • Scopeh #15 1 year ago

    Nice review Will, i'd love to see Daves thoughts/review for LA Noire as well. Im guessing his mind will be blown.
    Edited by Scopeh at 06/05/11 @ 09:48

  • KayJay #16 1 year ago

    Yeah, Well said Wheatley.
    I buy these packs and put lots of hours into them, I pay ฃ15 odd quid for a BluRay or ฃ10 for a DVD and I don't get 15-20 hours out of those.

  • Ryboy #17 1 year ago

    You must be mentally retarded if you buy this.

  • Golgo #18 1 year ago

    Go Dave!!!

  • Rarehunter_idol #19 1 year ago

    I don't get the hate for CoD players, personally. I enjoy a Black Ops game here and there - not a rabid fan but its fun for a half hour here and there. But in my personal view, it doesn't matter if someone plays nothing but Call of Duty. If they're really happy playing that game for a year plus, then all by means i say go for it. If they want to pay a chunk of money for extra maps to enhance their experience and fun, again go for it.

    At the end of the day, we're gamers. Whether we play one game religiously or many, if we're having fun then nothing else matters.

  • SandyMcD #20 1 year ago

    Dave's going to go mental when he switches from 60fps Blops to 15-25fps LA Noire.

  • CaptainQuint #21 1 year ago

    If Will is indeed an "active" CoD player, then the contempt he shows for the franchise in this very review shows just how much of a sucker he is.

    I can only speak for myself, but I do not play games which I have so much cynical feeling towards.
    Edited by CaptainQuint at 06/05/11 @ 10:02

  • rashes #22 1 year ago

    @Ryboy
    You should be banned from commenting for a while for that kind of rubbish.

  • Eighthours #23 1 year ago

    Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. I rather like this fictional Dave character.

  • local_celebrity #24 1 year ago

    'Then...he dropped a bombshell. "Thing is, I'm going to give up on this Black Ops lark once L.A. Noire is out."

    Ladies and gentlemen, behold Darwin's evolution at work...Sorry Activision, this one's getting ready to fly the nest.'

    He'll come back though. They always do.

    Bwahahaha!

  • Eraysor #25 1 year ago

    Anyone who pays ฃ10 for 5 maps is completely mental in my book. All you're paying for is a slightly different layout and colouration on a bunch of boxes. It's not like they change the actual gameplay.

    Anyone who played Unreal Tournament or Quake 3 back when people were churning free maps out for them all them time will see the insanity here. UT is a far superior game than CoD anyway.

    EDIT: Not only that, but if you want a good multiplayer zombie game you could probably find L4D2 for this price of this map pack alone.
    Edited by Eraysor at 06/05/11 @ 10:13

  • JunglistVIP #26 1 year ago

    Black Ops is the Eastenders of videogames.

  • metalangel #27 1 year ago

    My office has half a dozen Daves.

    The "real" Dave, meanwhile, sounds like a thoroughly decent guy who is smarter than he's being given credit for.

    The comment about going to Liquid made me laugh... independently (as it was ten years ago) I also had a stereotype of guys called Dave... hair gelled into spikes, Ben Sherman shirt with top two or three buttons undone, fashionable prefaded jeans from Topman, ridiculous brown "scoop" style shoes, guzzles lager, loves Judge Jules and Dave Pearce, supports Everton, ends every sentence in "mate", has a fake tanned bleach blonde missus called "Clare" or "Sarah" and like works in sales. Mate.

  • Duallusion #28 1 year ago

    Dear Mr. Porter; stop what you're doing and go watch a genre classic that is Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, so you'll always know who Michael Rooker is. Pronto!

  • linea #29 1 year ago

    My brother is, perhaps, a bit of a Dave.

    I bought him Demon's Souls for his birthday and he completed it in 35 hours to my 90.
    Edited by linea at 06/05/11 @ 10:27

  • linea #30 1 year ago

    By the way, I also don't get all the people assuming that because someone says that a person has populist tastes in something that that is automatically sneering at them.

    Most people have cultivated tastes in some areas but less so in others. I would, for example, assume that many gamers with highly cultivated taste are perhaps not quite so sophisticated in the culinary department.... but that's OK, there's room for everyone.

  • arcam #31 1 year ago

    Black Ops is the Eastenders of videogames.

    Nah, CoD used to be excellent, but it sold out when people who cared more about money than video games managed to get in charge. Black Ops is the Black Eyed Peas of videogames.

  • RedPanda #32 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Zerobob #33 1 year ago

    @linea

    You can hammer any game all the way to the end, but I prefer to enjoy it fully, notice the subtleties, and explore the extra bits. I can't sit in front of a game for the least amount of time possible, blinking once every hour just for the sake of completing it. I like to savour a game and soak it in if there's any atmosphere to be had.

    CoD is a wonderfully fast-paced game, great artwork and graphical implementation, great control response and framerate (apart from online lag, argh) all coupled with unmatched and addictive online progression. Why does it have reputation of the Fred Perry tracksuit top of the gameworld? Just because it's accessible and appealing to everyone?

  • coolbritannia #34 1 year ago

    This review was horribly condescending and treats all COD fans as retards.

    Right on brother, right on.

  • mukki #35 1 year ago

    Mnnn passing on this one to play
    portal 2
    brink
    la noir

    good bye Black ops its been fun....

  • arcam #36 1 year ago

    This review ... treats all COD fans as retards

    But the reviewer is a CoD fan...

  • linea #37 1 year ago

    @Zerobob that's the case for many games, I agree, but my brother didn't complete Demon's Souls in 1/3 of the time it took me because he rushed through it without savouring it. If anything, from talking to him about it he saw much more content because unlike me he's actually got a quite high level of skill and so spent much less time repeatedly dying (possibly honed through all that COD multiplayer)

    EDIT: (I mean, personally I don't play COD but that's because I'm excrebly bad at anything that requires reactions or coordination. I like BFBC2 multiplayer because it gives lame-os like me ways of picking up points for things other than being good at shooting. I think COD multiplayer is excellent, it's just not for me )
    Edited by linea at 06/05/11 @ 10:55

  • beastmaster #38 1 year ago

    Normally I'd be onto this like a lapdog of Satan. The game is fun for a few hours here and there. However, Portal 2 has taken over my life. I will get around to this eventually.

  • Jonny5Alive7 #39 1 year ago

    Well said Oli! I hate how every COD article turns into a moan fest. I wish people wouldn't get so worked up about it, you don't have to play or read about it if you don't want to.

  • joelstinton #40 1 year ago

    Wow. its actually quite refreshing to see some love in here for COD. Sure, Activision... less said the better, and the COD expereince is now a bit stale, but for what it is, it does a lot right, and its fun to play here and there, in between games, waste a bored hour, etc. I traded it in a couple weeks back, but a small part of me, wishes i still had it just to have a blast on it now and again and i would probably picked up the new maps as well.

  • Physically_Insane #41 1 year ago

    I'm assuming it wasn't your intention, but this is a very patronising review. Well, I actually agree with the score and the descriptions of all of the maps are brilliant, however the Dave part...

    I find it kind of insulting that you believe the majority of CoD players are this caveman like "Dave" character. All of my friends on Xbox Live play a variety of different games, including CoD, and they aren't "hardcore" gamers like myself.

    I'm glad you didn't listen to peer pressure from most EGers that act as if CoD is the worst game ever created and lower the score though. Totally digging these maps atm. Can't wait to get in a party and play with my friends tonight.

  • ResidentKnievel #42 1 year ago

    I know someone who only owns Call of Duty games for his 360, he's tried other games but always trades them in. "They're not realistic," he says.

    He's also called Dave. /o\

  • Olemak #43 1 year ago

    The move to L.A. Noire is interesting. First I thiought that might be because L.A. Noire is this year's version of GTA. But then it occured to me that L.A. Noire has been getting a fair bit of maintream media attentrion, thanks to the use of reasonably well known actores and artsy flavours.

    So Dave is not developing a discerning taste in games, he is simply following the hype.

    After L.A. Noire he might be a further evolved, though. Will should buy him Brink or something for x-mas, just to see how he responds. I exposed my Dave-ish neighbour to BFBC2 the other day, and that turned him off CoD in an instant. He's preordering BF3 I think :)

  • spidermanalf #44 1 year ago

    I know many 'Daves' who I play Cod with and when I see them in real life they tend to say "I killed you loads last night, I thought you were good at videogames, you've been playing them for years" and I always reply

    "I am good at videogames, and I play a lot of them, a lot of different ones, I have not JUST played the last 2 CoD games none stop for 2 years like you have, and that is why you keep killing me!"

    They usually reply
    "nah you're just shit" or
    "nah you're just gay!"

  • AdamAsunder #45 1 year ago

    People are weird on the internet? People tend to be weird wherever I find them. : D

  • carlitoswagon #46 1 year ago

    @Geordiemp

    Likely your comment is quite accurate. Made me laugh anyway +1

  • Daeltaja #47 1 year ago

    I think this 'Dave' thing could stick.

    I know a Dave too, and he lost all tastes for any other videogame since MW2 came out. He was an avid gamer before that. He hasn't played a single title in 2010 a part from MW2. Literally =/ It's like his taste buds broke.

  • maxb #48 1 year ago

    Back to the point,I'm enjoying these new maps a lot so far,Id go as far as saying I think its the best map pack since cod 4,yeah its overpriced but at least there has been more effort put in this time in my opinion.

  • geoneo123 #49 1 year ago

    I am enjoying the DLC so far.

  • thedaveeyres #50 1 year ago

    Please fuck right off with this Dave shit. It wasn't funny before, and it's not funny now.

    Yours sincerely,

    Rodger Dave

  • Moribundman #51 1 year ago

    All I can say is don't try to sound like a smart arse if you don't know who Michael Rooker is, Will. Stick to reviewing the maps - obviously your movie lore and your zombie do-dabs are sorely lacking.

  • doragor #52 1 year ago

    Great review.

  • Trent_Steel #53 1 year ago

    From the picture Dave actually doesn't look much at all like a Judge Jules sales-rep lager lout. In fact, I actually have the same pair of trainers as him on right now.

    Much as I'd also sneer at his gaming habits I'd agree that just because someone has a populist taste in one medium it doesn't necessarily mean they' are equally as lowbrow in another. I consider myself quite elitist as far as games are concerned, but have a taste for boyracer cars and banging 2-step garage music.

    I barely ever read either.

  • obihobson #54 1 year ago

    I think the Dave thing is a way of deflecting the reviewers shame about his BLOPS loving. The reviewer clearly see's a bit of himslef in this Dave character, the part of himself he hates. You cant mask your pain through humour, dont hide it from me. Its not your fault, its not your fault. Listen to me, , , , its not your fault.

  • yoomazir #55 1 year ago

    nice makeup in those pictures.

  • swissorc #56 1 year ago

    The sort of people who pay this sort of money for this are the same sort of people who think they are "hardcore" playing probably one of the most main stream commercial games around currently. The only thing hardcore about you is your hardcore commitment to this game. If you truly want to be "hardcore" get out of your local Game and go surfing the net for some truly rare unique experiences that reflect the variety and richness around. Not michael bay the video game. America! Fuck Ye!

  • youhavenomail #57 1 year ago

    These maps are arguably the best Black Ops ones yet. I've really quite enjoyed them all, apart from the usual miserable paint that Treyarch likes to splash over everything. They can't just put you in a zoo, it has to be a filthy abandoned zoo that's falling apart. They even manage to make snow look depressing. It makes me pine for Super Mario Shootyourfaceoff on Project Cafe.

    Hotel and Convoy at least go some way to adding a bit of colour that isn't a shade of grey or brown.

  • Popey687 #58 1 year ago

    And here we go again, why does it upset people so much that some of us gain enjoyment from COD? And the whole argument of cost divided by hours enjoyment plays true here. Just because after a tough day at work I can unwind playing a bit of TDM on COD does not mean I am uncultured. I still travel, love art and music, go to concerts, read books, how dare thee judge me.

  • _tangent #59 1 year ago

    Oli, whilst i don't want to detract from the achievements of those who design great MP maps (and i appreciate the importance of a good map, because i'm a CS veteran) I think its a bit rich to price 4 maps at almost the same level as full on DLC for other titles. It's blatant price gouging.

    On the subject of BLOPS, i tried it on PC and couldn't bring myself to finish it. I found it to be bland, uninvolving, ugly and completely lacking in any sense of immersion whatsoever. It felt like an expansion for an existing title rather than something standalone. I'm not trying to take a dump on BLOPS' players' birthday cake, I just think it's a shit game. And it feels a bit like these days, if a game has enough prequels and hype, it just has to be competently executed to get a decent score (and by that i mean no glaring bugs or horrendous control issues etc). For me, BFBC2 was a far more refined and engaging experience than any of the recent COD games, and i think BF3 will blow the COD series out of the water, present and future.

    But time will tell i guess...

  • Olemak #60 1 year ago

    Call of Dave.
    Or Dave of the Living Dead, I guess.

  • sonicyoda #61 1 year ago

    I think you've all missed the point with "Dave". He's not supposed to be some drooling cretin that only plays games with shooting in them. He's just a casual gamer that isn't a journalist who plays what everyone else does because he likes to game with mates.

    That's why he leaves comments like "yeah, it's alright." Because he's not a journalist! He has no aspirations to be a journalist! He just wants to have a laugh with his mates! This a perfectly acceptable form of gamer.

    Just noticed the zombie in the picture on the front page is clearly a zombie Romero. Awesome.
    Edited by sonicyoda at 06/05/11 @ 16:16

  • actionfitz #62 1 year ago

    "Ladies and gentlemen, behold Darwin's evolution at work. The sea slug is about to crawl out of the ocean, the monkey is poised to climb down from his tree and the Neanderthal is about to sort out the crick in his neck. Through the gateway drug of Blops (and an article he read in Nuts), Dave is about to enter a deeper and more meaningful world. Sorry Activision, this one's getting ready to fly the nest."

    hehe best bit of the review.
    +1

  • Eldandoerino #63 1 year ago

    *cough*Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,Days of Thunder,JFK,Cliffhanger,Tombstone,The 6th Day,The Walking Dead*cough*

  • PaulieWaulie #64 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 14:23:40 06-01-2012

  • WJF #65 1 year ago

    'On the subject of BLOPS, i tried it on PC and couldn't bring myself to finish it'

    The thing is though, on PC it's a bit of a different situation - it doesn't have the exclusive '60fps' thing going for it as it does on the consoles, mainly, because /every/ game has the 60fps thing (if you have a gaming PC).

    Going from COD to any other FPS (including BFBC2) on the consoles is like running with the wind against your back and then being plunged into a pit of tar.

    I'll be getting this map pack when my replacement HD arrives. Yup, it's expensive, but I enjoy the game and Zombies is excellent.

  • GitSomE_UK #66 1 year ago

    Maybe, just maybe Dave is bored shitless with the same game with a different twist rolling off the main stream media conveyor belt and is sick to death of splashing cash out for something that doesn't capture that block buster film crescendo feeling he gets with COD.

    All Dave wants is the occasional 30min blast before going back to some semblance of normal life down the pub, down the gym or back to the little un and the missus.

    For that COD is perfect and with that Dave is happy to spunk a tenner for something that adds a little variation but doesn't change the core game too much. Not only that Dave can afford to spunk a tenner as he's not blown his spare cash on substandard crap populist titles.

    I like Dave, I think he's getting his work life balance right.

    For the rest of us gamers we see much more into what a game provides. For many of us we look at the advances in the technology, the developments in programming and for a few glorious hours total immersion in a world completely different to the one we live in currently.

    There's room for Dave and there's room for the full on gamer.

  • The_Inquisitor #67 1 year ago

    There's a stereotype about gamers that many of us don't like and could do without, yet why is it OK here at Eurogamer to encourage stereotypes about a particular type of gamer?

  • TheGuvernor #68 1 year ago

    "If you truly want to be "hardcore" get out ... and go surfing.."

    COD hating is the New British Idol.

  • cyber_nicco #69 1 year ago

    Not my favorite review. Not at all.

    The maps are fun.

  • SJGSpook #70 1 year ago

    Have they fixed the terrible matchmaking which puts you in lobbys with anyone but your country despite having locale only? Anser is no. Treyarch are fucking useless.

  • tinners #71 1 year ago

    Guessing this reviewer was too young to remember Days Of Thunder then?

  • trubadman #72 1 year ago

    I bought the first strike pack, and having done that I thought to myself why did I get these new maps (which are only created for proficient gamers playing exotic game types!), the maps that come with the game are excellent already, so proceeded to deactive the map pack and continue playing online with the original maps. Having read this and seen that escalation has also got 7 out of 10, I'll just wait until this pack is half price to consider buying it.

  • FunkeeFresh #73 1 year ago

    I'd say most people who play Black Ops continuously would be the people who jumped on the COD bandwagon at MW2. I used to play COD continuously during COD4, W@W and MW2 and buy all the DLC too. I haven't played BLOPS since Christmas.... I think I'll be flying the COD nest this year, and I think people who joined at MW2 will do the same after 2 more games, at most!

    Edit: Nice touch with getting Dave's perspective!
    Edited by FunkeeFresh at 07/05/11 @ 16:37

  • DRUNK3N-_-DRAGON #74 1 year ago

    utter shite as usual!
    negd for telling the truth...you little dick
    Edited by DRUNK3N-_-DRAGON at 09/05/11 @ 15:54

  • NHDavid #75 1 year ago

    COD SUCKS BALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Batsphinx #76 1 year ago

    For those interested, Dave's twitter is @DaveyCCFC. He might post something in a bit too. Seems keen on the demanded LA Noire review.

    Will

  • blops_fan123 #77 1 year ago

    i don't no why but i think they should make a pink tiger camo

  • ReaperOscuro #78 11 months ago

    I always read all reviews that come up on the rss feed. Regardless if im interested in the game or not, its important to keep abreast for me.
    This is the first one ill pass over: still with this Dave thing? It wasnt funny the first time, it isnt now -repetition doesnt make it any less in bad sense, regardless if its all in good humour, a crappy joke remains a crappy joke. Please, in monty pythons immortal words: get on with it!!