(http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/2343/codblackops.jpg) (http://img820.imageshack.us/i/codblackops.jpg/)
Call of Duty: Black Ops (also known as Black Ops) is the seventh main installment of the Call of Duty series. It is currently being developed by Treyarch. The confirmation of the game's development was leaked by David Kim, a senior animator at Treyarch, in May 2009. Black Ops is said to be set in various locations, including Vietnam and Cuba, and judging from weaponry and dates given in the trailer, it is set between 1960 and 2010. It is planned to be released on November 9, 2010. Treyarch has stated that Black Ops will be much grittier than Modern Warfare 2 and that the differences between World at War and Black Ops will be as significant as the differences between Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The trailer released on May 18, 2010 indicated that the game will be significantly more story-oriented and will focus on military cover-ups during the Cold War. Treyarch has also said that Black Ops will feature considerably more stealth than any previous entries in the Call of Duty series.
Official Website (http://callofduty.com/)
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_of_Duty:_Black_Ops)
You don't need me to tell you, but Call of Duty is kind of a big deal right now. Modern Warfare 2 is the most popular online shooter by far, still #1 in terms of popularity after 9 months. Even Call of Duty 4 and World At War are still up there in popularity. And if it's anything to go by, Black Ops is set to smash Modern Warfare 2's records. Not even Halo Reach or the decent looking Medal Of Honour could even hope to compete I predict. Make of it what you will but Modern Warfare 2 is a decent shooter online let down by some unbalanced weapons, and class setups that people exploit to ruin games.
So now it's Treyarch's turn. Long in the shadow of Infinity Ward, it's their opportunity to win back the cynics and recruit players all over again. It's been 2 years in development for them trying to get everything as good as it can be for release. First off, the single player side of things:
The player assumes the role of various characters during the single-player campaign, changing perspectives throughout the story. The playable characters are special forces operatives conducting black operations behind enemy lines. In this way, the player's characters will have their own traits such as voices and shadows.
Each mission features a series of objectives that are displayed on the head up display, which marks the direction and distance towards and from such objectives. The player is accompanied by friendly troops who cannot be issued orders.
Although primarily a first-person shooter, the player will get to pilot a Hind helicopter and guide friendly troops from an SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft.
The campaign is filled with scripted cinematic moments. One of them is a bullet time effect during the "Victor Charlie" level, activated when the player fires toward the last enemy of a Viet Cong squad.
Call of Duty Black Ops Gameplay HD - REAL! - E3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBeTsUnKXKQ#ws)
And for multiplayer they had a full reveal on all of the details last night, many of which is too long to list here, but can be found here (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-09-02-call-of-duty-black-ops-multiplayer-hands-on). Most interestingly is the new addition of in game currency, which is now used to buy your killstreaks, weapons, camo for your character (which is also new), and new game modes that gamble this money:
Call of Duty: Black Ops - Wager Match Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg_8mPoloBo#ws)
I'm disappointed there's no beta though. Not even from the point that I want to play it, but a beta would go a long way to fix some problems or identify exploits that could be worked out before release. I can only imagine Activision don't want one out because it worked so well last time round for MW2. No beta just kept they hype train going and going until people just had to buy it on day one. Can't blame them really. But I am disappointed to hear that there are things from MW2 that haven't been sorted. Last Stand isn't removed for example. Worst of all, tactical insertions remain. I hate boosters in MW2, nobody likes them, yet it's still going on. And I guess I've been so jaded with MW2 that I'm already expecting people to exploit glitches or hacked lobbies. In fact the desire for hacked lobbies will be even greater because of money.
But on the plus side, there's no Martyrdom, no Commando, no One Man Army, no Danger Close, so kudos to them. Also Juggernaut and Stopping Power is taken away so I guess it removes any complaints of guns being too overpowered (though it won't stop people)
But yeh, Call of Duty. You get what you pay for. Is it doing anything groundbreaking or innovative? Not especially, there's a formula, it works, and you can expect another game released same time next year. Doesn't mean you can't have fun with it right?