Call of Duty is one of the biggest franchises in
gaming to date. Each new installment
takes in a huge amount of cash in the copies sold and most people usually play
the games for their multiplayer rather than the single player content. Personally, I have only played three games in
the series, including the game that is the subject of this review, Call of
Duty: Black Ops.
Set during the late 1960’s, the story follows Alex Mason,
who has been strapped to a chair and is being interrogated by a mysterious man who’s
looking for the answer to a series of numbers that have been implanted into
Mason’s mind. From there, the story
jumps back to different points in Mason’s life, with occasional jumps back to
the present to show what progress has been made with trying to get answers from
Mason. The mysterious person finds out
from Mason that a man named Dragovich is trying to release a deadly virus known
as Nova 6 across America, and he’s put multiple sleeper agents across the
country that are acting as the catalysts for Dragovich’s plan, and now the
mysterious man needs Mason to explain the purpose of the numbers.
Black Op’s story is surprisingly good; it’s
intriguing and you find yourself wondering what is going to happen next. To my knowledge, this game is only one of a
handful of games to be set in the 1960’s, and especially one of a few games to
have a focus on the Cold War, which is a key element of the game’s plot. The developer, Treyarch, deserves credit for
trying something different by setting the game in a relatively untapped decade
and for creating an interesting story featuring memorable characters. Through flashbacks, several other characters
Mason meets are introduced, each of which is rather interesting, especially
Victor Reznov, who Mason meets while in a prison camp, and at the camp, Mason
learns about Reznov’s personal vendetta against Dragovich. A key theme, which is present throughout the
story, is that some events that we perceive as having actually happened may not
have actually happened the way we thought we did. Over the course of the game, Mason’s mind
gradually starts to break and through a plot twist, which I won’t spoil, we
learn that someone Mason thought was with him most of the game was just a false
lie created by his unstable mind.
It should also be noted that Black Ops pulls no
punches when it comes to the violence in this game. Weapons in this game can rip enemies to
shreds and in one section of a level, we get an up close view of the brutal
violence as Mason has to crawl through some tunnels while also killing
Vietnamese soldiers that pop up along the way.
Additionally, there are a couple of shocking scenes such as one moment
where Mason witnesses a partner of his in a disparate state after being
tortured and mentally broken by the Vietnamese soldiers who captured him and
Mason. If you’re squeamish about such
brutal moments and violence, tread carefully.
As for the gameplay, it’s nothing mindblowing, but it is
enjoyable thanks to solid gunplay and varied objectives that you’ll complete
over the course of the campaign.
There’s a good selection of weapons to use in the campaign with my
favorite one being an incendiary shotgun you get in one level. Most of the levels in the campaign are fairly
linear, often funneling you to your next objective. Aside from collectible Intel you can find
that reveals more information on the story and characters, there’s not much
else to keep you from straying off the beaten path.
Fortunately, the varied objectives and set piece moments in
the game do keep things interesting.
Besides engaging in firefights with enemies, some parts in the game have
Mason engaging in stealth or piloting a vehicle to blow stuff up. One of the best moments in the campaign
switches perspectives as you play as the pilot of a spy plane ordering troops
on a mission in Russia, while also switching over to the leader of the squad,
Jason Hudson.
The campaign can take about to 7-8 hours to finish, and
besides the campaign, there’s also the multiplayer and the oh-so-fun Zombies
mode. The main goal of Zombies mode is
to earn points by killing zombies and other assorted creatures, as well as
boarding up holes that the undead come from.
Earning points allows you to open up new areas in the map, of which
there are two to choose from on the disc, and you can also buy weapons and
perks to help keep yourself alive as long as possible. There are two maps to choose from, Kino der
Toten, and Five, which is what would happen if four historical figures had to
fight off the undead in the Pentagon.
This mode is a lot of fun because it allows yourself to see how long you
can survive and opening up new areas on the map adds some depth to the mode. In addition to the Zombies mode, there’s also
Dead Ops Arcade, a fun top down shooter in which you collect treasure to
increase your score multiplier and power-ups to help you fight off waves of
zombies.
Graphically, the game looks really good and the framerate is
super-smooth. The only issue I had is
that sometimes it could be kind of hard to tell who was on my side and the
enemy because of their similar looking outfits.
As such, occasionally I would accidentally shoot someone on my side
before realizing that they were one of my allies. The voice acting and music are also great as
well. In particular, actors Sam
Worthington and Gary Oldman give strong performances as their respective
characters, Alex Mason and Victor Reznov.
Props to the game for its usage of “Fortunate Son” and “Symphony of the
Devil” in the levels set in the Vietnam War.
In conclusion, Black Op’s strongest point is its
story and characters, which are interesting and memorable. The rest of the game is also quite enjoyable,
with fun and well-polished gameplay, plus a fun side mode to keep you occupied.
Final Score: 8.5/10
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