Black Ops is cool. It's cool to own it. It's a COD game. It's good. Nuff said. Treyarch did well his time. It has awesome theater mode, better online multiplayer, better everything.

Personally I think it is 100% over-hyped, and an average game at best. Modern Warfare 2 is more fluid and vibrant and more fun to play. Black Ops feels clunky and unresponsive, with dated saturated graphics and glitchy textures. The stereoscopic 3D is very poor as well compared to games like Wipeout HD and Moterstorm which look amazing in 3D. Poor.

I was looking forward to this game after reading about all the new features it promised online. As I am at Uni, I play a lot of split screen mw2 with friends so when I read 'bots in splitscreen' I thought great now we can play team matches rather than all v all. When I got the game, I find that the graphics are worse, the gameplay is slow and boring, the splitscreen offline is limited to no bots with only player 1 being able to create a profile with classes, you START with all the guns unlocked (wtf?) which removes any incentive to play, and only player 1 can even use killstreaks whilst on splitscreen. Furthermore, to fully utilise the splitscreen mode (bots, profiles, unlocks etc.), you need to be logged in to the PS Network, which makes no sense at all seeing as the game you start then, is hosted on your own PS3 not online. I mention being at Uni because I cannot connect to the internet on the PS3, hence playing splitscreen, hence massive annoyance at the 'Online local splitscreen' seriously what a joke. Even the splitting of the screen is done badly as with 3 people the 3rd player's screen doesn't fill the whole bottom half. Why not? Its not like i'm playing profesionally with 2 other professionals for money or something. use the whole damn screen.

The online multiplayer mode is the home of the only new content in the game, and it is good, wager mode is fun and gives new urgency to games. However, all of the equipment, perks and costumes, are dull. None of the guns are as pleasing as the ones in mw2, the snipers look like peashooters and make a similar noise, the M16 looks like a toy and the general sounds of battle are essentially the same bang noise over and over again. None of the perks are appealing, in mw2, you wanted all the perks at once and sometimes took a while to choose which one was best, in Black Ops, 80% are dull and useless and you end up making every class with the same perks and equipment. The costume idea is new, but stupid, as you have to change it every map to blend in. Granted zombie mode is back, this is fun as most people know from WaW. But honestly, 1 map...the same thing over and over again until they make me pay more money for a new one. It's not worth it, and if I wanted zombie mode to be the best part of the game I would just go and play Left 4 Dead...

Ok so the final mode is the Campaign. After having a long few hours trying to make the best of the crap splitscreen and multiplayer games, I decided to start this up figuring it might redeem the game. I get 30 minutes into the first mission, the guy 'Woods' who i'm supposed to 'support' freezes and cant move just moving his pixelly mouth up and down making no sound. Essentially, a bug. I think ok, should be fine if i revert to the previous checkpoint like i'm sure you can do from the menu. Oh wait...you cant. Looks like a restart of the whole mission. F**k that *turns PS3 off*.

Overall the gameplay is slower, worse looking, more boring, more repetitive and less fun than all the other Call of Dutys. Regardless of the fact that 99.9% of the content is made up of the previous 3 put together. I am very disappointed with this game and would not recommend it to fans of mw2 or WaW because it isn't as good. Oh yeah and also, they got rid of quickscoping (something fun).....and replaced it with something much more annoying.....the Crossbow. Enjoy, noob tube fans.… Expand

Awesome game! I don't understand all the haters? The graphics and voice acting is amazing. I loved the story, yes it's a little different but entertaining and well done. The multi-player credit system is brilliant and the customization options are incredible. I'm not even talking about the Zombie mode which is super. Wonderful game if you're a COD or shooter fan.

well after a single session this game looks and feels like a reskinned world at war, which to me was awful.

the game feels slow, unpolished and sounds terrible. grenades appear to be ineffective and the smoke looks awful. I hate to hate, but I would say save ur money or try a friends copy b4 investing as this game just doesn't seem to work.

HORRIBLE graphics. Clunky gameplay. Poor sound. It's a MAJOR step back for COD. I'm very, very disappointed. I definitely wouldn't recommend this game...

Overall, this is a step down from Modern Warfare 2. I think a lot of people are too caught up in the hype to take an objective view. I'm not claiming I'm the objective one, but this game is unworthy of all the 10 out of 10 scores fanboys are so eager to slap on it. On the positive side, Theater Mode seems like a cool idea. I'd love to have a record of any epic moments. Unlocking many items, upgrades, and perks through purchases is a plus for me as well. The weak graphics are an embarrassment to the makers. I think the game would look pretty much the same in standard definition. Back in 2004, these graphics might have been neat-o, but in 2010 they're a bit hokey. The sound is also disappointing. Most everything that explodes, as an example, has a sort of generic "pop." With regard to gameplay, I agree with another reviewer who said Black Ops feels clunky and unresponsive, lacking the smoothness and fluidity I now realize I took for granted in Modern Warfare 2. As a matter of fact, Black Ops' biggest impact on me has been to help me realize just how great MW2 is. A few minutes ago--and without remorse--I decided to sell my copy of Black Ops to a friend. There are too many good PS3 games out there for me to force myself to love a mediocre one.… Expand

Activision must slob a good knob to get such good critical reviews. Critics are raving about this game wherever you turn, but the real story is that the game is quite lacking and hopefully it's garbage enough that Activision has finally slaughtered the golden goose they've been milking for the past 3 years.

Graphics, sound design, and AI characteristics are on par with Call of Duty 2 from 2005. While no FPS to date seems to strive for super realistic AI; MOH and BFBC2 at least have better graphics and sound design. At what point does intensity just become annoying... with an explosion every two seconds and being knocked down with fuzzy vision 3 times a level and more bullets flying than were fired in all of WW2... I'd say it's a bit too much, but hey more is better for some people.

M3chaGr4n nails it and writes a better review than I do, so read his below. Let me just say that you're probably better off buying Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/cabelas-dangerous-hunts-2011… Expand

BLACK OOPS! This game is appalling, do not buy. I have now wasted £40 on something that could have been fished out of the toilet. Bad Graphics, 'Laggy' online play and bad spawn points all contributed to the most overhyped and biggest dissapointment of the century. This game only recieved a 2 because the mildly entertaining campaign amused me for a while. However you buy COD for online, which is this game's achillies heel.… Expand

This game is the biggest piece of garbage, ever since Activision made the mistake by letting Treyarch develop call of duty games. They really hit an all time low by re-skining the same game. Your bascially buying call of duty 4 for $60. Its like buying halo reach which is the same game!. The game engine is just an enhanced IW4.0 engine. Nothing new. The biased critics gave the review to high of a score. They were bribed or just plain old sucking some ****. I was a call of duty fan since the first game came out made by infinity ward. But since they fired the original creators and half of the employee's left infinity ward. Call of duty is garbage now. You guys can keep buying garbage games made by Treyarch. I'll stick to superior FPS games like battlefield bad company 2 and medal of honor. It really is sad. I USED to be a call of duty fan.… Expand

I don't understand all you people giving this game a 10. I love MW2 and the Call of Duty series but please Black Ops is garbage. I mean the campaign is fine but the online multiplayer is horrible. 1. Graphics seem like PS2. 2. Sound FX are awful. 3. The game engine Treyarch uses sucks. 4. It's produced by Treyarch. 5. Gameplay seems speed up 1x and is clunky. 6. When you melee someone the knife doesn't have the same effect like it's going into the guy as in MW2. Bottom line wait for another Call of Duty produced by Infinity Ward. Also the two top guys from Infinity Ward and (co-founder) of Call of Duty set up their own studio, Respawn Entertainment. So keep a look out for them!… Expand

An amazing upgrade to the last game taking the best parts from w@w and mw2 and creating a well balanced online experience. A variety of new maps and de buffing to remove the unfair advantages that plagued the previous games. Obviously treyarch have spent time listening to the community with the addition of split screen as well as the well thought out currency system.

Frankly this game is disappointing. The multiplayer game mechanic is solid, obviously but that's not enough to raise this latest effort from the pit of mediocrity it languishes in. And let's face it.. the graphics are atrocious. This game was supposed to be a cut above mwf2, not a huge step down. It's not as fluid an experience either, instead of the polished, clicking mwf2 fun machine that was expected, this game for all it's good points just goes.... clunk.… Expand

Mediocre!...
First of all, I got This game just to play it with my friends. I never liked COD series and Getting this game mad me see why I dislike so much this franchise.
-Graphics: I'm not so impressed by the graphics of this game, any other big FPS game has better graphics. If you want to see good graphics just wait for Killzone 3. MAG and BO have about the same graphics.
-Physics: The physics are terrible, the characters move like a fast forwarding-movie, the hit-detection is bad, the accuracy fails, it's rubbish.
-Gameplay: The game has the same game modes as always, very fast action, not enjoyable. You die every 15 seconds, no team play, You don't get the feeling of being playing against real people. Very laggy. I keep getting disconnected every single game. Takes to much time to start a game with friends/join them.
Sounds: The sounds aren't improved from the last game and they are really poor. The gun sounds are very bad. I don't feel a feeling of being in a war.
Visual Effects: The lightning effects are really good for this game I love the night time shadows and lights effects.
The multiplayer maps are very small.
The single player campaign is very simple and brief.
You can have I little fun with this game but it won't last.
There are better options for FPS for the PS3 including MAG, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Killzone 2 and Medal of Honor.

Don't waste your money, Save it for Killzone 3 or Gran Turismo 5.… Expand

From all the thing it lacked luster being it didn't even live up to the COD franchise benchmark . I would like to add this important news flash when you make a game stereoscopic 3D you need to @ least have 1 3D affect in the game cause it just looked like a bad attempted @ 3D . Infinityward please stop publishing COD games . Have your Developers make a new IP FPS . Killzone 3 alpha code Beta looks sounds & runs better then Black Ops could ever wish too & in 3D too… Expand

It's simple. MW2 scored a 9 for me. In comparison, Black Ops just doesn't measure up. Graphics look less realistic, campaign is weaker, multiplayer is pretty much the same (definitely not any better). I'm just more excited for the next Infinity Ward edition now.

For COD fans, this is fun and new, but if you didn't like COD before, this will definitely not get you on the band wagon. In conclusion, this game was worth the $49.99 deal I got, but I'm thankful I didn't pay $59.99 or $64.99 (Gamestop rip off).… Expand

Call of Duty: Black Ops has worse music than Modern Warfare 2 (and even worse than World at War), but it's compensed with the best campaign mode in the series, tons of extras (Zombies Mode, Dead Ops Arcade, descriptions of the characters/missions in intel...) and the best multiplayer mode in the series too.

Frame rate sucks , graphics far inferior than MW2 that came out a year ago, MP lacks excitement and oooomph, don't even get started on the sound effects, they're horrible , explosions go off with just a generic pop, you barely hear people shooting from 10 feet from you , on a big map you you never get to hear anything unless you're shooting, chopper gunner can be right on top of you killing you and you don't hear anything!!! I would not **** as much if the game was at least fluid , but it controls clunky and just like WAW!! They just used the same mechanics with new guns that's all! And since they used the same graphics engine from more than 2 years ago and they tried to add more detail they ended up making everything blurry it looks almost like you're playing in standard definition TV and also as a result causing the game's frame rate to constantly drop giving you a headache if you play too long. This is coming from a guy that has played previous installments to death and was very much looking forward to this one. I'm so angry and disappointed . I mean Activision should have the funds to make a graphics engine from the ground up and could have made the game run and look at least as smooth as MW2. Now we're stuck with a mediocre COD game until who knows!!!!!… Expand

Call of Duty has truly become the Apple product of fps...

Overhyped.
Waste of money.
2005 Graphics.
PC/Framerate/CPU/GPU issues everywhere even for people with state-of-the-art rigs.
Multiplayer issues.
RC Car.
Poor Storyline/Campaign.

Prepare yourselves, begun has the death of video gaming.

What the hell happened to this game! It used to be greatness on a disc now it's just mediocre, If it didn't have COD in the title you would think it was a different game. This game is **** from a greedy company and ****ty developer. Black Ops was such a disappointment and I can't believe I was taken in by all the hype from reviews! That just goes to show you that you can't trust reviewers they are journalists, not gamers so they wouldn't know what a good game is. I could not believe how ****ty this game looked, there was a gun I was using that looked like it was from Golden Eye N64! That's how bad the textures are, idk if it was the same on the xbox 360 but it was awful on the PS3. Every texture in this game was awful from the guns to the maps and also I noticed that the sound effects were cheesy too, the guns sounded like bb guns and explosions sounded like balloons popping. And the MP maps, wow don't get me started on the MP maps, they were downright terrible I never seen such bad level design I always felt like I was traversing a maze, sometimes I wouldn't even see more than 8 people during a game because of how big and mazy the maps are. Yes there is serous lag, cliping and frame issues. I will never pick up another Treyarch game again I was let down by WAW and now Black Ops. Treyarch is definitely Activisions B team for Call of Duty.â… Expand

This game is an amazing shooter! The multiplayer is really well planned out and fun. The campaign is no better or worse than previous COD entries and is nice and all but we all know that the primary sell point for COD is the great multiplayer experience! The game is exceptionally well made, graphics, story, etc.

I realize I'm probably the only person on the planet that has consistently preferred Treyarch's Call of Duty titles to Infinity Ward's, but such is the case. World at War is my favorite game of the current generation and I expected big things from Black Ops. I was not disappointed in this expectation. Obviously, I have only just started playing the game, but what I've seen so far has been excellent. I have only played multiplayer thus far as that is primarily the reason I play FPSs and, I can say unequivocally, Black Ops is light years ahead of Modern Warfare 2. The first Modern Warfare is a close second for favorite game of this generation and, as such, I had held high hopes for MW2 but it disappointed me on every front. Needless to say, Black Ops gets COD back on track for me. So far, I have experienced none of the rage-inducing bugs and glitches of MW2 and the MP maps are excellent. I am fine with Black Ops system of adding perks. It is not perfect but is infinitely superior to MW2's perk system, which was another major source of aggravation related to that game. I whole-heartedly recommend Black Ops to COD veterans but that's preaching to the choir. I highly recommend the game for any FPS or MP fan as well.… Expand

ACTIVISION JUST STOP BEFORE U RUIN IT look i debated whether i would look at metacritic reviews because mw fanboys are going to proclaim it great anyway..irregardless..so this is my 2 cents.... its a good game why a 5 because if you have played mw2, bfbc2, WaW, hell crash cammandos got offline bots, halo got theatre, WaW got zombies, bfbc2 got vehicles...recycled waw zombie maps..... this game is just those games on 1 disc....i expect a different story and some add ons..because its new anyway....BUT ALL OF THIS IS RECYCLED...if u are new to the genre THIS is a great 65 dollar purchase because u get a little of everything. personally i am disappointed as not much ORIGINAL wuz added. sorry black ops u shouldn't have released until u came with something more...ps. their starting on the next cod...uggghhh... i vote cod/anal rape/every year...as long as we keep buying it...they are not motivated to creative use of a good liscense.......and if got very little DONT BOTHER ...ahem... medal of honor....super ps. bfbc vietnam u have been warned...here is why im angry...other than being an annual basketball/football update with a few new stats and mechanics, if u have or have played, some of the other games u already played this. WaW gave zombies, mw gave us a new era, bf destructible environments and vehicles, mw2 great multiplayer...black ops currency to buy wot i already was getting its just a different way to unlock...W T F!!! FURTHERMORE this game is meant for teens, college kids people who stay in the house and only play cod...i got a life and a job and other games...so i suck because im working and u playing but i should continue to spend my money so u can ALWAYS BE AHEAD AND ALWAYS WIN. NO! I didnt ask u to revolutionize but black ops is a 18 oz steak with 16 oz of fat on it. IM NOT DOING THIS NEXT YEAR. mw2 is still king at least if u win its because u were faster and better not because u played longer and got game given developer made stuff. UR VISION on this game is slight.… Expand

best game ever for online it is nonstop fun i dont think u can not have fun in this game it is amazing all the new stuff they added makes u trying to get em plus the perks are more balanced now and it is just very good and the chopper gunner looks way way more better because u can see the map its beautiful

I thought the game was great. Its by far better than MW2. The campaign is great, Nazi Zombies is back and better than ever, and the Multiplayer is balanced.

I understand what people who give this game a low score are thinking, in terms of this not being a completely new game, not enough updates, etc. I look at it this way: I think of the whole series of games as one entity, with each yearly release serving as an addition to the collective. Basically, I'm going to be playing Duty one way or another, and I appreciate having a new coat of paint being slapped on every November. As long as it feels and plays like a Call of Duty game should, I'm happy to stand in a cold-ass Gamestop line at 1 in the morning to fork over my 60 bucks.… Expand

The gaming industry journalism is at it's lowest these days. A game like this having so many 100% is completely ridiculous. Con 1 - AI is incredibly stupid. 2 - Physic system is completely inconsistent. Enemie shot dead fall trought walls or barricades ?! 3 - Veteran mode is completely ridiculous. 4 - Online experience is still a dodging grenade simulator like Modern warf 2 5 - Small maps
6 - Already cheaters on day one ...

Pro
1 - Zombie mode
2 - Graphics
3 - Acting
4 - Weapons

Very good challenger to whom who want to take time and give a try is Medal of Honor and Bad company 2
Specially Bad company 2 seem to be lightyear in front of Call of duty Black Ops.… Expand

Call of Duty Black Ops is a Fantastic Game!
Story: 10/10 It has the best story of all the COD Games, it is easy to understand and very straightforward.
Graphics: 9.5/10 While it does have some Glitches and such, it improved on the Graphics of MW2 and it is a beautiful game to look at!
Gameplay: 9.9/10 If it aint broke,dont fix it. Yep this is the same COD you knew and loved. But it is starting to get old.
Multiplayer: 10/10 In my opinion COD has the best multiplayer for a FPS, and it has even improved with introducing a fun little feature Cod points.

Verdict: COD Black Ops redifines every little fun old COD mechanics and improves on it. But if you already have the past 6 COD's you wouldn't be impressed by this next installment.… Expand

Being a older gamer i have come to the conclusion. That i have become more critical of all games. Which brings me to Black ops. Its the same old same old. I feel i am giving activision money to be lazy and not to push the bar higher. When i play games i want ground breaking, i want unique. This has neither of that. It has new perks but really all the same just new names, it has new maps, could have just put this on a map pack for MW2, This has custom guns big deal. I guess if you need a change from The quick scoping and hackers then buy black ops. its still fun and it does have new maps. That is all that has changed. I expect more from a game maker like activision. Positives: New game, new rank up system ( sort of), customize guns. cons: Plays like all the rest. To sum it up buy it, play it, and i guess enjoy it. For what its worth. I for one will be counting the days until the next big Fps.… Expand

Black Ops summed up. -AK47 looks like a motherf**kin duracell battery, no joke. -rolling thunder lags more than a virgin in bed
-I swear I bought this game on N64 before, yep, I remember, it was on NES! -Yeah um RC cars...yeah.NO. -dolphin diving. WHO'S F**KIN IDEA WAS THAT?!
-COD pts, if I gave a sh!t about shopping I would play hannah montana the game and chop my d**k off. -Guns noises sound like some cheap magician's prop you'd buy at a Mexican's drug dealer's shop. -Oh yay no more nuke boosting! TOO BAD THIS GAME IS BORING AS F**K! -Nuketown = what came out of treyarch's as*hole after smoking 2 tons of crack -Servers - I don't know BECAUSE I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO GET INTO ONE GAME WITHOUT SEEING THIS F**KIN SIGN "UH OH! Lost of connection! Sorry for the inconvenience we're just to busy being jews to give a **** -Map names: JUNGLE, Oh this maps has bushes and sh!t so we're just gonna name it jungle, DERP
- Single player - no, just...no. victor resnov was a figment of his imagination?! OH I DIDN'T SEE THAT except WHEN I TOTALLY F**KIN SAW IT. Zombies - Luigi's mansion anyone?
Sniping - yeah, i decided that swearing would be too much to handle so will leave it at that. DLC - rofl. Wait you're serious? Summed up: I don't know what to say, if you want to give your money so the penny licking jews at treyarch can wipe their ass with it then go ahead. As for me, I'm gonna get drunk so I can forget this huge steaming pile of whale's vagina ever existed.… Expand

COD: Black Ops is overall pretty good. I am an up-to-date movie critic and I am starting to do the games I own on PS3. The multiplayer was O.K., the setup took a while to get used to. The zombies was very addicting and fun. Then, the campaign. Any negative reviews for this game are because of the campaign! It was horrible! In every mission, there is about 12 minutes of talking, and only 3 minutes of playing! The storyline was also screwed up and didn't make sense.… Expand

Call of Duty: Black Ops is a fun Action packed First Person Shooter that is addicting to play. The single player campaign is as intense as ever as you battle through deadly scenarios set in the cold war. Because this installment is set in the Cold War, Treyarch is no longer limited to WW2 history and the guns they have to design. There is a massive selection of arsenal to use including AK-47's and Ballistic Knife's and the sound design of these guns is probably the best I've heard in the series. The graphics are fantastic to use in both Single player and Multiplayer and some levels in the single player campaign's environments are massive (although you are still restricted to a linear path sadly) and adds to the war intensity of the atmosphere. The character models and faces are so realistic and fluid and the motion capture is so well done. The story is told through flashbacks which can be annoying sometimes because the flashbacks interrupt the game play at times but it is a good way to present the story. I do prefer this campaign to Modern Warfare 2. Multiplayer is where this game is at: It seems to be (to me) more balanced than Modern Warfare 2. There's no stupid game ending killstreaks (Tactical Nuke) or stupid AC-130's raining death from above but the RC-XD killstreak can get on my nerves sometimes. The maps are nicely designed and Black Ops brings new equipment to Multiplayer like the Camera Spike and Nova Gas to the mix to make the multiplayer even more interesting. A nice touch is that now you purchase guns, equipment, Perks and weapon attachments with Black Ops currency system instead of unlocking things as you level up. Currency can be earned by regularly playing Multiplayer and getting kills, completing challenges or leveling up. Gambling is introduced into Black Op's in the form of Wager Matches in which you put forward some of your currency and take part in Wager Matches and try to win more currency and this provides some tense battles where you can either win and buy some more stuff or lose and have to build up your currency bank again. The currency system means you can purchase what you want and play the game how you want to play it which is great. This gives you more freedom of choice: What guns you want, what perks you want etc. Customisation is taken further by letting you apply face paints to your character, customise red dot/ reflex sights (colour, sights etc), add your clan tag to your gun, design symbols for your gun and your gun colour pattern which are awesome so you can let your artistic skills go wild and really make your classes your own and unique. There are a few problems though: Treyarch didn't add any new multiplayer modes which is a shame: Black Ops justs cuts and pastes multiplayer modes from MW and MW2 and adds pretty much nothing of it's own. The Zombie Mode from World at War is also present in this game but has received very few tweaks but it provides some co-op fun with your friends. The spawning needs sorting out: At times I seem to spawn and then shortly get killed again. The Chopper Gunner killstreak is really annoying as well: Really frustrating when you spawn and then get killed by a Chopper gunner and then spawn then suddenly get killed again. Some of the matches I've been in have been really laggy and it's such a pain at times. The single player was at times disappointing and doesn't really offer much more than previous Call of Duty games although it does offer some intense set pieces. Call of Duty: Black Ops slices some frustrations from Modern Warfare 2 but the series is starting to grow tired now.â… Expand

Call of duty: Black Ops was one of the most hyped games known to the gaming community. But when i play this game it reminds me of another version of World at War. When I play this game i still see the crappy graphics that COD5 had. Sadly this game did not live up to the "excitement" that was created when it came out. On the positive side, it is a new game and yes there are some positives. No more quick-scoping,, painkiller, and painkiller. The weapons are changed around for the good. And the kill streaks do not stack on top of each other to encourage campers. It is nice to see a new game on the market and it unites the gaming community. I still have faith, only time will tell how this game turns out.… Expand

Wonderful array of options. Superbly balance weapons and perks. Great variety of multiplay game and game modes. However no 'X' factor. Overall a solid game which isn't as slick as the 'supposed' broken modern warfare 2.

This game could've been a great game, but it isn't. Animations are stiff and boring and makes pretty much all of the gameplay feel unrealistic. In game scripting is horrible and could've used quite a few tweaks. (Pre scripted paths that doesn't change regardless of how many VC soldiers you kill, enemies that despawn once you enter triggers, inadequately placed save points etc.) More coding support could've been used too. (Seriously - check the suger canes in the sugar cane field on Cuba and notice how they don't move in the wind with their roots being connected to the ground, they all have a swiveling point about a meter up from the ground which makes it look like the roots are moving back and forth in the ground. This and the fact that they all pretty much move at the same time makes this part of the game feel like it's tilting to your right, it's hilarious.)
Sound is utter crap, how can you make a game and pretty much have the same random set of sounds regardless of whether you're hitting a concrete wall or a metal pipe with your knife? Gun sounds are weak and bland, pretty much like in CoD3. They simply don't feel like guns. Indoor reverb is horrible and does not change when you move from a small corridor to a large warehouse, it all sounds like a huge tin can. What made it completely horrendous to me was the attempt at plot/story. Why? I'd rather run around and just shoot at stuff rather than replay this game with a story, considering the quality of the script and the acting.… Expand

I've been playing COD for a very long time. I am not sure what all the hatred for B.O is, but I promise you that to me, B.O was the best in the series. I didn't notice any difference in the graphics of the last 4 COD titles ( maybe that is bad...fine with me) but the storyline of this game was awesome. If you like the other COD games...don't pass this one up. The Multi-player is something different but a welcomed change. In essence, it does feel like a COD game...with a new map pack but the way they go about trying to make fresh changes, it has stepped above the rest and ventured out on it's own. Don't listen to the haters. If there is one thing in my life to be revered about, it's my honesty. I promise that if you give B.O some time, you WILL love it. Give it a whirl, you won't be disappointed.… Expand

This review is solely based on the mutiplayer aspect of the game since Im expecting the solo campaign to be much of a muchness in terms of call of duty, ive never really been blown away or bored into sleep with the campaign modes on any cod games before, feature wise the game brings a lot to the table, in fact I dont even know where to begin, features everywhere, not to sure about the credit system where you win credits to buy features but well see, map wise there is a good variety of them and from what ive seen all provide exactly what youd expect from cod multiplayer games which is intense in your face mayhem, be it from a distance, down an alley or right up shotgunned in your face :) what i feel does however let the game down is the graphics, yet again treyarch dont seem to be able to provide a cod game with polished graphics, mw2 was far superior in that department, it really spoiled the experience for me. The zombie mode made me laugh the most, as soon as it starts, nazi flags in front of you that look so blocky it reminds me of the old wolfenstein games from the 90's. All in all though a half decent effort that wont dissapoint if your into cod games... if your not expecting mw2 with new features that is...… Expand

This is best Call of Duty to date due to it's shift to the more hardcore player, as Modern Warfare 2 allowed even the beginner to breeze through the game without any trouble. This is not the case in Black Ops, one must actually possess "skill" in order to be successful.

how do you delete a review or your account? ****

OUTSTANDING in every way! Fascinating single player campaign story and multiplayer rocks. Wager Match is the BEST! I absolutely love this game! It's the BEST CALL OF DUTY EVER!

Very disappointing game. Feels like a rubbish map expansion pack of Mw2 with added in crap. Single player is very average and the multiplayer is riddled with issues.

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Singleplayer is horrible as it is still plagued by horrible ai, but this time the problem lies with programmers as well. There isn't even close to enough triggers on the maps to make the teammates to appear even semi real. Finding the trigger point after flanking enemies can be pain. On top of that the respawning enemies still exist and teammates are still firing blanks at a guy standing 3 feet from you completely visible.

Multiplayer is faster due to making snipers unusable which is good in a arcade shooter like this and the game modes can be conceived as fun. I don't think its enough to merit buying the game if you own mw1, mc2 or even mw2.… Expand

I have a Q6600 at 3.4ghz and a hd5870. I can play the single player no problem. Just passed it on veteran. (theres a bit in Vietnam that was insane.) Went to try multi player and it was a joke. Was quite excited for a cod with dedicated servers after the mess that was mw2 multi player. I connected and found it un playable. Massive lag spikes where I would accelerate or slow down then get shot. I understand it has just been released and may need a patch but has it been tested at all? Honestly don't buy it for multiplayer untill it gets fixed, If you do like me your waisting your money.… Expand

I love this game. If you are a COD fan check it out, if you hate COD don't. simple as that. I've heard people complain that "features" from MW2 aren't in black ops but really they've just fixed issues like 10 ft knifing and ridiculously overpowering guns. When you add in a fun zombie mode, the best storyline to date and multi-player as addictive as ever, you've got a really fun game to play with friends or by yourself. The campaign is pretty short but everyone buys this for the online experience, and while you may love or hate the addition of cod points the new wager matches are the best and most fun way to get them. The big amount of customization is one of my favorite parts of the online, and you can really spend a lot of time perfecting your custom emblem. Maybe the most overdue feature of all is split screen online. Theres been countless times when you have a friend over or something and you want to play with them and still level up. Now you can. I could go on about the new modes and features forever but all you really need to know is that Treyarch has done a fantastic job and is every bit as capable of making a quality game as infinity ward and you should not miss this game.… Expand

I wish people would stop rating this game so low. Yes it's similar to MW2 but it's the same franchise!
This is the best FPS multiplayer game available on any system at the current time. The vast majority of the MP annoyances from MW2 have been resolved. Well worth picking up.

This is for all of the negative reviewers: stop whining And go back to playing MW2 like the newbs you are. I've logged almost 45 days combined from CoD4, WaW, MW2, BFBC2, MoH, have a life, a wife, and a job. Yes, there are youngsters running around that can out play me, but I'm better then most at FPS, and this game, I can say honestly, is incredible! In every poor review you will find a mention of poor graphics, or a comparison to MW2, the campaign, or the frame rate, or some other lame excuse as to why you are most undoubtably getting handled in this game. I'm writing this in hopes the reader reads this after they read everything else: below you will find a matter-of-fact review of this brilliant game.

In short, no one buys a game for the campaign anymore so stop filling your reviews with critiques on it; post it on Facebook or something because no one cares. The only time anyone decent at these games play the campign is when they need to unlock something, or their Internet is down and they need their fix. Stop comparing it to the superhuman, camper/tube paradise that is MW2: that game is crap and everyone who still regards it as good should go pitch a tent in Summit and stop badmouthing a good game because you suck. Same goes for you quickscopers since I'm sure contributing to the bad reviews...don't worry I'm sure you'll find some way to exploit this game as well in order to make up for your lack of skilll. So let's be honest, the game is great. The game is also harder then MW2. There are hints of both MW2 and WaW, but the game is closer to CoD4...which is a good thing. Yes there is room for improvement, but overall, the stats, the customizations, the difficulty, and the gameplay in general, make this game a must gor any FPS gamer...don't recommend if you are a newb toobing camper.… Expand

Best CoD yet! Great customisation. Great maps. Sound is superb (I was sat by rotting food in multiplayer map and could hear the flies behind me - surround sound).

I would definitely recommend this game to anyone.

Why is this game getting low scores? Could it be that it is everything that MW2 isn't? Black ops is an incredibly well balanced multiplayer that puts everybody on a level playing field. You upgade your custom classes by purchasing your equipment with points earned in game, which is really addictive. The killstreaks are not too overpowered and do not count towards other killstreaks; which is the main reason that this game is very fair and balanced. The 14 maps are well designed because the do not cater to campers or snipers.… Expand

This may be the best game I've ever played. reading all the negative comments, it seems most people have just given up after only playing for an hour or two. It may feel too hard for someone who has only played modern warfare two before this but once you get the hang of it, it is really very fun. The weapon balance is pretty good, the increased viewkick when you get shot means that 9 times out of 10 the person who gets the first shot will win the firefight, even more so than other call of duty games. Multiplayer will most likely be the thing that keeps you coming back all year. but on top of that you have an insane story mode, longer than other cod games, and just as fun. It includes many cool effects and set pieces. The third mode, zombies is an upgraded version of nazi zombies from WaW, the maps are much bigger and there is more to buy. Some other notable features are bots for spilt screen and practicing, with 4 difficulty settings. Many, many customisation options for multiplayer and theatre mode.… Expand

Feels like a toygame after MW2. Sounds lack depth, multiplayer has lag issues, it looks uglier than it's predecessor. Nazi zombies are still a lot of fun, too bad the multiplayer isn't as good as MW2's mp.

Graphics: Very Decent in my opinion. On par with MW2, textures and "build" of the spaces in the game were detailed and thought through. Sound: In a word; HORRIBLE. It seems to me that 3Arc decided to cut the budget in the sound department, and only record 2 sounds for every shotgun, grenade, assault rifle, claymore etc. Everything sounds the same. Game play:
Not great, not bad. In comparison to Modern Warfare 2 (which I thought was brilliant) they screwed up a few key elements. For one, when running then attempting to slouch into a prone position, instead, now you do a Superman jump and baseball slide an extra couple of body lengths from where you expected to be prone. Also, they changed the function of the d-pad to control more of the introduced elements, in a very annoying way. I team killed a few people when erroneously throwing semtex near them, instead of placing a claymore. Which brings me to...
Features:
While having a lot more to offer than previous titles in the way of customization, many of those features are useless in multiplayer. Worse, there is a lot of ambiguity amongst all the assault rifles and sub machine guns. Unless it's one of the 3-round burst weapons, or single shot, the differences between the automatic weapons are a split hair from one another. Sniper rifles are next to useless in multiplayer. Partially because none of them offer much advantage over their single-fire assault rifle counterparts. Partially because recoil and idle sway ruin any attempt for a refire or second hit. And partially because staying hidden and remote enough to make a scoped, slow weapon useful is impossible. Shotguns are too limited in range, and don't offer enough punch to make them effective in anything but urban maps in hardcore mode. For all of these faults, there should be some gaming worth playing in COD:BO multiplayer, but unfortunately it plays really, really badly. As evidenced in many a kill-cam, persons killed without being hit, knife thrusts that strike at shadows of enemies somehow getting the win. Of course this is all a product of lag, and poor connections, but its so pervasive in Black Ops that it infuriates and frustrates to no end. To this end, the game would have scored a full 3 or 4 points higher for me if more attention had been payed to making multiplayer sharp. At the end of the day, once you've beaten the campaign, and you want to play the other $50 of your $60 game, multiplayer is only worth about $6.50.… Expand

From a multiplayer perspective, I cannot understand people such a weak game. Yes, the ability to buy weapons and perks was a great idea and allowed for customisation. Additionally, the ability to vote on a map to play was very cool. HOWEVER... 1) The graphics were a total step back from Modern Warfare 2. 2) The audio was very weak. Explosions almost sounded apologetic. 3) The gameplay was slow.
4) The framerate dropped on almost every game I played, despite selecting to play against local people.
5) Not being able to drop your secondary weapon to pick up another primary weapon makes no sense.

Treyarch should be ashamed to have created such rubbish. Never again will I buy one of their games. Thank god that EB refunds for games you don't like.… Expand

My friend had a PS3, so I played "COD: BO" in his house. I played every console there is for Black Ops (except for the DS and Wii), and I could conclude that the PS3 version was slightly better than the PC and Xbox version. The controls are smoother and the frame rates rarely drop. However, its the Play Station that makes up these points; the game itself is a solid copycat of MW2.

The worst of this game is supersedes even the best of MW2 in every aspect. It took what MW2 should've been and made it twice as good. I can honestly say this is the first COD that I've played and have actually had "fun". Pick this up guys, it's amazing.

Played this game at a buddy's house, and watched him play online. Was not impressed, to say the least. Stupid A.I., bland level design, horrid graphics, idiotic storyline, cheap looking and sounding guns, heavily scripted combat, and lackluster, laggy online multiplayer. Nowhere near as good at MW2 (and that's means quite a bit, seeing how the MP in MW2 was unbalanced crap). Stay away.

What is going all with all haters? The game is AWESOME!!! Multiplayer is the best! 10/10! And no more cheating streaks and perks like in mw2. Best Game of 2010. And zombies are cool, especially when u playing with your friends!

Just what you'd expect out of CoD. It's not different at all but it's still just as fun as every other CoD out there. If your complaining that the game sucks then why would you buy it when you knew that CoD is the almost the same each and every year. BUT IT'S AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!1

Call of duty black ops is exactly what it was shooting,FPS of the year, and It achieved that with gusto. MULTIPLAYER: Black ops's online play is amazing its is perfectly balanced. It is filled with great maps, and amazing guns. The customization if perfect, and the currency system works quit well. The kill streak system even that there is no nuke works great because the fight dogs are a one hit one kill, and that evens it out. CAMPAIGN: The story mode in black ops is brillant it is very well planned out, And I can say if you loved the series "24" you will absolutely love this game! It takes a complete different and I think much better way then any call of duty game EVER. Now the main character is sam Worthington from *shiver in disgust* avatar ,but other then his girlish screaming and disability to keep a steady American accent if comes though.

ZOMBIE MODE: There is nothing more i can say about zombie but if you loved the hell out of the original zombie you will love this one ven more!


Overall: this game is well worth the money It perfect other then a little beat of graphic issues ( same ones MW2 had) But therefore it is a close to perfect game. I am rating it a ten because 9 is way too harsh my official score is )( 9.8 ()… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Call of duty black ops is a good game if you like thriller and intense gaming this game lacks a lot of potential and also it is very life like if you like games which show really good and a lot of graphics show then this is the game This game is an amazing shooter The multiplayer is really well planned out and fun. The campaign is no better or worse than previous COD and is nice and all the main point of this game is the great multiplayer. The best thing about call of duty black ops is the weapon ranges and the character building also there is a lot different matches such as a wage match which lets you play the game in multiplayer mode but the downside to this kind of match is if someone knifes you in the back the all your money that you have earned goes to that player in this type of game it learns you to be quick on your feet with the player also be very stealth and you also have to watch your back as you could get stabbed this game gives a lot of qualities out to other people. This game is rated 9/10 because of everything it has this game can be quite addicting after you have played it once there is another type of match and that is death match this is when you and another team has to shoot each other you can either be red or blue more people you kill more points you get but if you kill 1 after 1 then it is called a strike and you can get prizes such as a helicopter or some type.… Expand

Call of Duty black ops is over all an okay game. Graphically wise it looks very out dated compared to a lot of the newer titles these days. Guns sound great, some of the voice acting and dialogue is a little stupid sounding in campaign, but its still ok. Campaign story seems like it's too mixed up you go back in time you go forth in time and the whole process keeps repeating it just seems out of order. It was set up poorly but for what its worth it is still decent.
As for multiplayer it's hard to make something better when it's already been nearly perfected but for what it's worth adding more depth to the multiplayer and zombie mode are probably the saving graces of this title.… Expand

Graphics: They wanted a game running at 60 FPS, so it's not a big surprise that the graphics are not really amazing. It's OK.

Sounds: I played Black Ops right after playing MOH and let me tell you, the sounds in COD:BO are FAR behind. Every gun sound in Black Ops sounds just like a Nailgun. And the music is terrible as well.

Singleplayer: What I hated the most about the single player is closely related to how I play FPS games in general. I tend to stay back a bit and eliminate ennemies BEFORE rushing in a room full of enemies. The problem is that the flow of ennemies never ends and you can easily spend 20 minutes trying to clean a corridor before you realize that. Maybe if my buddies would rush in after some time (like Halo:Reach for instance) or if there was any sound indications (like MOH) it would have worked just fine. Multiplayer: Nothing new. Really. "Wager Match" is probably the best addition to the multiplayer. Should you buy it: If you have MW2, not really. In fact, if you do have doubts about the game (and that's probably why you're reading this right now), maybe you should try it before purchasing it.… Expand

This a fun game. It lacks the proper sound effects and graphics of this generation. I've put in a few hours of each the campaign and multiplayer. Unfortunately, the online playing was lagging and did not make it a fun experience. I have high hopes for this game, once it runs as smooth as MW2. The sound effects really kill me and caused me not to rate it as a 9.

Think of it as an add-on to MW. If you're like me, addicted to MW2, then you will probably like this game.… Expand

The game has gained so much expectations because of previous success of the COD series,but I think Black Ops was definitely a major disappointment for me.

The game suffered from very serious graphic lags in both SP and MP on my PC,which can run Modern Warfare 2 at maximum setting without any problem. Even the intro movie and all the video clips between levels lag. In multilayer games, the graphics also lag so bad that I find sniper rifles almost useless. Disabling demo recording might help a little bit, but the lag is still quite an issue.

The sound effects of Black Ops is terrible. In MP games, the weapons sounded like fireworks and the flash bangs make a really weird sound when you throw them.In-game voices sounds very retarded. Sometimes your own footsteps sound like someone walking behind you.The announcements from radio sounded like cheap ass recording too.

MP maps are ridiculously CQB-focused.

In-game texts look so ugly that it looked like some cheap ass rip-off of MW2

When you hit shift to start sprinting,you can't stop sprinting by hitting shift again.You have to stop moving or wait till stamina runs out.

The way characters move are much less realistic than MW2. It made the game seemed like CS.

One tiny but retarded thing is that when you change the resolution,no matter which arrow you click,the resolution will always change in ascending order.

There are also issues with connections as a lot of official servers are very unstable.

The perks have been rearranged into different categories,and the categories didnt make much sense.

The COD point was a good idea and I liked the new modes in wager match. just wish they had it in MW2. After a little while i realized that COD points are just worthless, since they are so easy to earn in ranked games and there's no point of gambling in wager matches at all.

Anyways the above were my major complaints. Overall the gameplay experience is terrible compared to MW2. I'd say its a very average shooter, and because of being overhyped, my score of this game drops from average to bad.… Expand

Ignore the trolls here, COD BlOps is unashamedly Call Of Duty so if you don't like the series you won't like this and it's dumb spamming the reviews.... For the game itself it's at least as good as the Modern Warfares with extras such as the Wager Matches and COD Points system piping the MP ahead IMO. Zombies and Dead Ops are much more enjoyable than MW2's Spec Ops as well

So the IW fanboys hate it? Who cares? If you wanna play MW2 again, then this isn't the game. The story is unusual, yet interesting (if a bit predictable, like all COD games have been), the new multiplayer tweaks make it a lot more fun, and overall it's a pretty decent game. If you're gonna pass it up just because the IW fanboys hated it, then you might miss out on a great game. Try it for yourself first, before you listen to all the haters. I'm not saying this game is a 10, by no means is it so, but overall, it's not the most offensive and terribly put together game in the world like many are saying. The engine still needs to be updated, which it hasn't been for years now, and the graphics could use a little polish. As for clunky controls, I didn't think they were really any worse than any of the other COD games and that meant they worked just fine for me. Maybe I'm too old for all those fast-twitch, trigger-happy kiddos out there. The cash bit and buying your upgrades and goodies for multiplayer works out awesome, and it levels the playing field a lot, no more of the overpowered guys picking on the newbs. If you can build a strategy, then you can succeed in the trenches, which may be another reason the haters are so abundant: they like the system where they got to be king all the time. I loved MW2, I like Black Ops, I think it deserves a solid 7, that's just my opinion, what the heck do I know?… Expand

The multiplayer is balanced and made the emphasis on gunplay but the maps are pretty bad and huge with plenty of hiding spots (you'll constantly be shot from the sides when traveling unlike MW2 where maps weren't so open) and everyone is silent. It's not bad, it's very fun, but it's not worthy of the hype. The engine is showing it's age, the graphics are plain and a step down from MW2 and the action is slower. Still a blast, but COD needs innovation fast.… Expand

What was Treyarch thinking... I now understand why they had a closed beta!

One of the worst COD games I have played in the last 4 years. Biggest mistake made was losing Infinity Ward! Only reason I gave a score of 2, is the campaign mode. Do not buy unless you have lots money to waste and don't mind getting an inferior product.

** -- >>> I wanted to clarify to people that take issue with others saying that the reviews are bribed / paid off, that the claims of bribed scores are CORRECT, and it isn't just ActiVision who do this.
Review sites make revenue by having people visit their site, and if other sites are putting up the first reviews of the latest hot game, people will go to them instead. Game publishers buy off high review scores by telling sites that they will receive an advanced copy of their game for review ahead of the retail release date ONLY IF the game receives a score of >80, or >90. They won't make this condition to all review sites, but they will to the popular ones, whose reviews will affect opinions the most.

The incentives given for high scores also go beyond that. If a review site gives a score the publisher doesn't like, they won't receive an advance copy for future titles, putting that review site at a disadvantage to other sites that can review the game ahead of them - and when a site is blacklisted by a large publisher like ActiVision, that can mean a LOT of titles that will be missed. Call of Duty is ActiVision's biggest title, you can be damn that sure they've put more score manipulating muscle into this release than any other release has seen before it. This score manipulation regularly taints big-name games, and you should know to not trust review sites all that much, because their noses are often firmly up the arses of the companies whose games they depend on being able to review early to generate their site traffic for revenue. User feedback has become far more valuable that site reviews. However, a lot of simple users out there who don't have much game experience will assume that the game they're playing that got fifteen 100/100 scores is truly the best, and those don't-know-better easily manipulable people are the ones the score-doctoring tactics aim to influence.

Metacritic, itself, has been lobbied by publishers to remove various negative scores from its site, to make games look like they were received better than they were. As far as I know, Metacritic has rebuffed all such lobbying.

Now my review:
I've played only the sp so far, and it's typical CoD boredom, for me. I hardly feel like I'm playing, and what I'm watching isn't very exciting, either. The graphics are bad, but hey, it's designed for ancient console hardware, and not contemporary PC hardware, so it's not very surprising. Frankly, I loathe the cheesy cliche Vietnam characters and lines, which now (if not already ages ago) seem like a bad parody of a bad parody. I have some un-ignorable performance issues, the same ones which many others are also experiencing, detailed on various forums (Steam forums, ActiVision forums, & others), despite having a robust PC. This game will satisfy the kiddies, who are wowed more by the constant scripted business of this rail-shooter than by involved and in-depth gameplay.… Expand

Call of duty black will have your heart pumping like it never pumped before The single player is fantastic. Awesome game! This is an amazing upgrade from call of duty mw2 and call of duty back. Everything in the game is just so balanced. To me this is the best call of duty ever.

I got this game the day it came out and have been playing it since then so far from my experience i have decided that this game is ultimately a step back and a step forward. While this game is easily better than world at war and is a step forward for Treyarch, it is a complete step backward from games from infinity ward and the Call of Duty franchise as a whole.

Black Ops is an insult to FPS gamers. My rating of 0 is based only on the MP as that is the only reason I buy COD. The design and concept of the game is the best I've seen but the lag makes the game completely unplayable at a competitive level. This is not the first time Treyarch has pulled this crap at release and I don't care if its later patched they knew how many players would be on the servers day one and the were completely unprepared its amazing that this is legal $60 for a broken product times 6000000.… Expand

I fell for the hype and pre-ordered the hardened edition of Black Ops. I wanted the extra zombie maps, and based on how good MW2 was, I didn't think I could go wrong. After about a week of playing Black Ops I am very dissapointed. The poor graphics were the first thing I noticed. A sequel should at least maintain the same level of quality in graphics, if not improve upon them. The sound quality also seems below par compared to MW2. These aren't even my biggest complaints. I could overlook the sound and graphics if the gameplay was improved. In my opinion the maps are not designed as well as those in MW2. MW2 maps have more variety and combine close quarters fighting, sniping, etc... into the same maps. Because of the map design I can't find a reason to use the sniper rifles on any of the Black Ops maps. The spawn system is much worse than in MW2, especially in team deathmatch. I thought the spawn system was one of the major issues they were supposed to address in this game. Also, apparently they haven't stopped boosters and other cheaters. Within a few hours of release I was playing against people who were level 48 or 50. Really????WTF??? And as far as noob tubers and campers, I have been noob tubed more in one week of playing than I have been in my last several months of playing MW2. Also, camping is still a big problem. I think that in order to get their 9 or 11 kill streaks people are camping more than ever. The kill streaks are seriously overpowered. The chopper gunner and gunship lay waste to the other team on these small maps. I do not understand why they put the "dolphin dive" or "dive to prone" or whatever they want to call it in the game. All that move is good for is getting killed. All they have succeded in doing is messing up the smooth gameplay of MW2. The feel of the guns is not as good as MW2. The guns all feel similar. Each gun in MW2 had its own personality. They have also ruined the sniper rifles. Now when you scope in the crosshairs are off target and you have to correct. This was done to stop quickscopers. I don't quickscope, but this ruins it for me too. You are at way too much of a disadvantage using a sniper rifle. There seems to be many redundant or useless attachments for the guns. The ACOG sight would be an example of this. The ACOG sight has no magnification and there is an annoying reflection and fisheye effect when you look through the lens that obscures your view. You are better off with iron sights. In general the attachments in MW2 were better and actually did something for the gun. The gun customization also seems to be a joke. You can clownify your gun with wacky colors/camo and emblems. You can also clownify your character with facepaint. Now those are some great innovations that have improved the game! I am a fan of first-person shooters and the Call of Duty franchise in general, but this game is not better than MW2 or any of the other preceding Call of Duty games. I am shocked at the lack of honest reviews. I guess there are a lot of fanboys out there and it is not in the interest of the gaming media to not promote this game. I hope people continue to play MW2, because thats were I'll be until something better comes out.… Expand

I haven't played a Call of Duty since the first Modern Warfare, and to be honest it feels exactly the same. I was expecting it, and I expect the next couple installments to play and look very similar which is something that happens when they pump out a new game every year. I know there are new features, weapons, and some other things I'm not sure of because I haven't played a lot. It's still fun though, you can find some game mode and play the **** out of it. The story for the campaign is solid and challenging which is something I look for in a game. I'm more of a Socom guy because I like the intensity of it, but I still enjoy the more mindless Call of Duty experience. If you got people to play with and time to kill, I'm sure you'll enjoy Black Ops.… Expand

What a disappointment!
I expected this game with great anticipation as the marketing machine has been very well orchestrated. I even preordered the game, I regret it now.
I play in full HD on a video projector and I have the unpleasant feeling to play in 570p. The textures are very poor, the soldiers are not detailed, everything is pixellised. The movements are not fluid. this is unacceptable in 2010.
I do not understand how this "detail" could have escaped all reviews ...
Although some interesting innovations come with Black Ops, everything is ruined by the graphics.
I am going to sell Black Ops and instead plans to buy MW2 map packs… Expand

Get this game. It is a blast! You people expect too much. Go back and replay front line and see how far things have come. If you like the other COD games you will be good to go. Enjoy!

My bad I ment to put 6 so I'll balance it out. It was my first review and now I shall fill up space until I have written my second. Which is noooooow

Horrible! They've taken all of the little options and niceties of MW2 and gotten rid of them completely. Campaign is still fun, but multiplayer is a F#%^$ING joke! Local split screen may as well not even exist. No individual profiles, no game options, no radar/headshots. And Online multiplayer is also crap, I like the option for split screen online play, but there is no way to mute all the a$$holes online. And when playing split screen you cannot use weapons bought by the other player despite both of you sharing COD points. Its as if there was ZERO product testing for this piece of crap. This could have been a great game if it hadn't been designed by RETARDS!!! Seriously, never EVER let Treyarch design another COD game. They will single handedly ruin the franchise!… Expand

Hmmmm...I'm thinking that I would have much preferred to pay for an add-on(s) for weapons and more maps than to have wasted $60 on that garbage. Nothing at all spectacular about it. Treyarch missed BIG TIME on this one.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Is it just your normal first person shooter or something special? Call of duty black ops released November 9th by developer Treyarch the developers behind Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty 3. Black ops has one of the best story's ever in a Call of Duty game, because after the blunder of the multiplayer based game Modern Warfare 2's almost insulting campaign, I think Call of Duty fans got what they deserved. You play as Alex Mason and you are interrogated so your interrogators can find out the numbers in your head to SAVE THE WORLD! Cliche? Maybe, but it sure is fun. The campaign should last you about 6 hours so it is not the longest game in the world. But the meat of the game comes from the multiplayer. Surprisingly it is a lot more balanced then modern warfare 2's multiplayer. The killstreaks are fun and nice and balanced. One big thing I noticed with the kill streaks is if you have a player on your team having a aircraft in the sky which means you cannot call in your killstreak till that aircraft is out of the sky. Leveling up is easy as well, maybe to easy. Not like battlefield bad company 2 where I just got the game and I am still a level 1 and I have had the game for a week! The new cod points system is a big change to unlocking to unlocking then buying. All killstreaks are unlocked at level 10 and either you love the new system or hate the new system. The only problem I have with the multiplayer is being kicked out of a match or the host left all that stuff that you thought was bad in Modern Warfare 2...is back and worse it is a minor problem but with some people it can be troublesome. The new wager mode is added to this multiplayer and wow it is extremely fun and may be addicting that is how fun this is. Because I played gun game for a straight 3 hours it is that fun, and sometimes and I did not even care how much cod points I had left. 1 in the chamber is one of those games that your having fun when you are winning but when you are losing and you lost all 3 of your lives its not fun after that but if you are a real skilled cod player this may be the mode for you because it is as fun and addicting as the gun game. That is just to name a few modes in the wager mode, moving on we have theater mode where you can grab all the matches that you played watch it on theater mode and then save it so your friends can watch your sexy no scope. Combat training is for new cod fans where you get all the regular modes from the regular multiplayer but against ai team mates and they could be just as deadly as their online counterparts. The guns are a lot more balanced then mw2 even though the ak7u could be over powered and then you have the emblem editor which shows off your personal creativity which I like. That is just to scrape the surface of such a fantastic multiplayer experience. Now onto the extra content you can press both triggers on your controller and you walk to the computer and put a pass code and you are treated to a top down arcade shoot "dead ops arcade" but if you type in "zorks" you can play a fun game with the computer. Now to NAZI ZOMBIES! It is your old favorite characters from waw are back and they do not disappoint. Easily one of the best mini games on a video game to date. You get 2 zombie maps in the game "Kino der Toten/Cinema of the dead" and "five." Five is unlocked after beating the campaign and before you play five after the campaign you see a pretty funny cut scene between some historical figures. That is just to scrape the surface of black ops and it does not disappoint easily one of the best shooters of the year and surpasses the 60$ asking price with all stuff that is included in the game. If you are strictly a modern warfare 2 fan I would not say go out and buy the game since there are many changes to the games multiplayer but if you are a big cod fan yes go out and buy this game if you don't have it already. Yes this game has it's problems but do not let that stop you from buying such a great game Gameplay-9.0 Graphics-8.5 Sound-9.5 Presentation-9.5 Lasting Appeal-9.0… Expand

awseome game, they really out did themselves.took cod to a whole new level in my opinion. great job ..everything frome the campaign to the zombies , to the multiplayer. each one is a own unique level of fun.what will yall do next?

Dissapointing to say the least, this game does not feel any different from MW2, I actually still enjoy MW2 much better. The zombies are lacking and do not stand up to the fun of the W@W zombies. Have not played campaing but i expect it to be pretty good as most COD campaigns are. DO NOT GET THIS GAME, rent it first it is not worth 60$..

WOW! I can't believe all the complainers, whiners, and "Rolling Stone Critics" here. Look at EVERY SINGLE FPS. They are ALL THE SAME!!! What NEW do you expect? Just Shoot and shut up. "It only has new maps, new weapons, new perks, new, new, new" hang on a second... what's EXACTLY THE SAME AGAIN? The Campaign is Amazing. The story is great. I love that the Zombies are back. And Multiplayer is awesome with all the NEW THINGS!! (Why change something that's good... Just add more good!!) For those of you who constantly compare graphics to PS2. Go play PS2 and if you still think it looks the same, go see an eye doctor. Sure it's not the BEST graphics out there, but there is nothing wrong with them either. This game deserves a better user rating than a 5.5. If you liked all the other Call of Duty games, you should like this one. (Not sure what MORE ppl are expecting. Maybe next time the prestige package should come with a blow-up doll for you guys! That might cheer you up.)… Expand

Call of duty Black ops has received more hype than it's predecessor Modern Warfare 2, and as of such many haters have arised because of this.
Black ops is not a perfect game, but has definately got the best story of any call of duty title, and the multiplayer side of the game is flawed, but contains enough addictivity and content to keep you playing.
Black ops is set in the middle of the cold war, you will take the role of Alex Mason and Jason Hudson for the majority of the campaign. The entire story is told through flashbacks of Mason. It is a very different story unlike the previous COD games, mainly because it feels more like something out of CSI rather than war games. The campaign at times is majorly intense and this is not a good thing seeing as it just seemed like it was non-stop action all the way through, making it exahasting. Though when I finished it, all became clear, and I definately found myself inspired by the campaign, as I do feel more lucky to be alive now i've played it.
The multiplayer side is rather the same as the previous games, with perks and unlockable guns, but this time you can only unlock guns and abilities through using COD points, the currency of the game.
You can gain cod points in various ways, a great way is using either contracts, or the fun new wager matches, which basically allow you to gamble your points for more.
Sadly, while the game has fixed glitches and errors from Modern warfare 2, such as Quick scoping, Continuing killstreaks and over powered weapons, Cod points do sometimes get on your nerves, as you have to buy absolutly everything, and I mean everything, this sometimes makes things no worth bothering to get. The maps are now definately not as camper friendly as in MW2, but the bad side is that while the maps are still large, there are lots of objects in the way, this makes almost impossible to get any value out of using sniper rifles, unless you use an ACOG sight, and even using that won't guarrentee you your money's worth.
While it is majorly unsniper friendly, and cod points are sometimes annoying, its a solid multiplayer none the less.
The last main piece of content is Zombies. I felt a bit dissapointed with zombies, the maps you are put in are not very friendly and are quite confusing, they should have included a simple map such as one like Nacht der untoten from World at War. Still, get a few friends together, and it has its moments, though its best to get a Hardened version of the game so that you can get the old classic zombie maps from the previous game.
Overall, Black ops in its gameplay sense is the same as the last 3 games in the series and now it is starting to show its age, though the multiplayer is darn right addictive, so this is what I say.
If your looking for a great game, go for World at War, if your looking for an addictive game, go for Black ops… Expand

Well what can i say. Treyarch have deliverd a masterpiece. The game engine works incredibly. The storyline is gripping and imaginitive, and extreamly engaging. The zombies mode works brilliant, and provides hours of fun running round with an upgraded raygun. And the multiplayer works brilliantly and fairly. Everything feels balanced online, and you no longer need stopping power on every class just to kill someone. There are however a few let downs. the lag on the PS3 version is unbareable at some points, and the zombie maps do feel a little cramped. there are some annoyances, but i do feel that those i havnt included could be to personal opinion. Overall an amazing game. P.S. i love how responcive Treyarch are to our complaints, and how they work so hard to keep us happy...unlike Infinity Ward.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Single Player
Overall good but short. way short, finished in about 5hours of playing over two days. I do run a lot but dang! MW2 took me at least almost a week. levels for the most part are beautiful but very linear. lot less open compared to MW2 which had that even if linear in design i still felt like i could explore and replay in a way different way, black ops no so much. the story was great and was probably the best in the series, but the levels that went with it felt anti climactic. the way they told the story in memories was part of this reason, right when something big was happening at the end of the level it would just fade out and i would be left thinking "and it was just getting awesome." side things were less and not as fun, no climbing up ice walls or sliding down a rope upside down to stab a guy. sling shot was nice but was way early in the game and very easy and short. vehicles were good but definitely not as fun as the ones in MW2. Pacing was off though, a whole lot of action and a whole let down in things that set up the coming battles. swimming ten feet in nam wasn't as cool as riding a torpedo sub thing up to the bottom of an oil rig. Graphics were outstanding other than a cut scene with the SR-71. that scene in particular looked like a HD plane in flying in N64/PS1 space. but other than that minor complaint coming from a 3d artist the levels were great. the jungles were lush and the lighting was fantastic. swinging lamps with dynamic lighting being bounced around while the building shook from explosions really added to the feel. Sound was great with voice acting spot on, minus my personal thoughts of every time going "haha that's Ice Cube and the avatar guy" so overall fun and a good game but by no means i think did it live up to it's hype. glad i'm not a camper, i mean the ones who set up tents outside stores.

which brings me to multiplayer
Overall great. and different. i could spend all day comparing it to MW2 but i will due my best to only compare the things i noticed the most. yes kill streaks are harder to get which makes them more satisfying to get. but also a little less fun on the operating end. but a whole lot less annoying on the receiving end. at least i can shoot down that heli or that dog in the face. overall balance seems great with a couple stand out guns but you can just go buy it so no worries. customization is fun but i wish camo and reticles weren't all available once you unlock them. it makes the coolest camo way less of a badge of honor to sport. emblems are better at this but still lacking that, yeah i did that and got this and more just oh look what i bought. face paint as far as leveling up and getting more is the best at this i feel and facepaint is fun but wish it was more for gun stuff or more perks or something that effected the gameplay a bit more. the wager matches are a blast and a good change of pace when you are tired of core matches but the disconnected feel makes me not play them too often. yeah you get money but i get way more money just palying a couple good games of domination or HQ. now overall the game feels less hectic in multiplayer. something i kind of liked in MW2, it felt like war. this feels like an older multiplayer experience in actual gameplay. i want a good size nam battle going on online not the lack of jungle in the jungle level. the levels are varied and ok but overall feel very boxed. like i said feels like a dated multiplayer experience. now i am enjoying how it does have it's own unique feel and gameplay but i wouldn't say it stands out as the best. in my tops it might be around 6th or 7th. maybe lower i'd really have to think about that. non the less am enjoying it and playing it a lot mostly because it is new but i feel its staying power will fade with things like bloodlines coming out and next year with things like dead space 2, killzone 3, etc etc. so i give a 7 overall for both single and multiplayer. both get a pass but by no means are they on the honor roll… Expand

It's hard to trust reviews these days. I understand that a review (professional or otherwise) is just one person's opinion but unfortunately game reviews influence people and affect game sales. I'm really confused with this game. First off, I'm too old to be a fanboy of any kind but I like the COD series. I liked the first and loved COD 2. I didn't like COD 3 but I loved COD 4 MW and I think it's the highlight of the series and by far the best game. Then came COD WAW which was alright but nothing memorable and after that came COD MW 2. Now that was a good game, not as impressive as COD MW but still a good game that improved on its predecessor in most aspects, a worthy sequel. I was expecting at least this much from Black Ops, to be a worthy sequel. I didn't care about what studio (treyarch, infinity ward) made what, I was just expecting a good COD game but unfortunately BO is not a good COD game. It is just another alright FPS like COD WAW but that's all it is, nothing more. In fact this game is a class down from COD MW 2. The visuals are worse. Some textures look really bad and there is an overall luck of detail. The environments although varied are unimpressive. The same old factories, abandoned facilities, wrecked buildings and some outside environments that we'seen before again and again. Honestly people who say that the graphics are better than MW2 even MW need their eyes checked.
The story that's supposedly interesting is nothing more than the flashbacks of a CIA operative's memories. People question you about topic A and you are taken to a battle. Then there is topic B and another battle. The battles don't have a start or a finish. You are thrown into a chaos of bullets and fight your way out. You feel very rushed and can't enjoy it. It seems as if they sew together random firefights and big set pieces just for the sake of impression. The sounds are bad. The weapons don't sound powerful enough and don't feel powerful either. The explosions are generic. The smoke is last gen. In fact this game seems like a last gen game with a next gen makeup.
The good thing about this game is the multiplayer which basically steels most ideas from MW2 and adds a few things on top. It is enjoyable and much easier than MW2 but on the bad side there are lots of disconnections. Overall I'd say rent first.… Expand

The customization is great... Otherwise its just a 60$ carbon copy of MW2 with antiquated weapons. The really could have tried a little harder but with the popularity of the last title I guess they really didn't have to.

Black ops is a HUGE step back for the series. I was very excited to play this, but when it arrived and I had tested it out I immediately could tell this was a downgrade. The graphics are sub par. SUB PAR!!?! For a HUGE budget game? Simply unacceptable. Not to mention the broken multiplayer. Shotguns take at least 2 hits no matter how close. Thats simply stupid. Does not live up to hype

I got this game the day it came out and have been playing it since then so far from my experience I have decided that this game is ultimately a step down! Everyone raving about the hype on this game wherever you turn, but the real story is that the game is quite lacking and hopefully its garbage enough. Graphics, sound design, and AI characteristics are not so good! At least have better graphics and sound design. At what point does intensity just become annoying... with an explosion every two seconds and being knocked down with fuzzy vision 3 times a level and more bullets flying than were fired in all of WW2... I'd say it's a bit too much, but hey more is better for some people. So you probably better of buying another war game. The multiplayer game mechanic is solid, obviously but that's not enough to raise this latest effort. Feels like a rubbish map expansion pack of Mw2 with added in crap. Single player is very average and the multiplayer is riddled with issues. Single player is horrible as it is still plagued by horrible air, but this time the problem lies with programmers as well. I donâ… Expand

hello people this my first review so here i go when i played this game the game was hard because your a frist timer playing this game then when you play the game for a long time you get used to and then there the real action the game is amazing and the quality of the game is brillant it like your in the game real life and it is a wonderful fellin so thank you for listing and bye

Call of Duty Black Ops is an action packed game which is extremely interesting to play. It is also a very addictive game which proves how good the game is also the graphics on the game is fantastic. The sound quality is just so real but the disappointment iof the game is that there is not much difference from call of duty modern warfare either than that it is a very impressive game to play.

Way over rated people. Who is giving these 10's, 15 year olds?!

If you are over 21 years old, and have ANY experience playing FPS (Battlefields, Half life mods, etc..) then you will throw up in your mouth playing this piece of crap.

Save your money, play it at your friends house. It sucks!

What is really odd is that this game has easily the most split community i have ever seen. Before its release, the majority was saying that this game could make MW2 look like a beta. Closer to release, people started saying that they have had enough of COD and were going avoid this one. Now that its here, people cant decide if they like it or not. You either think MW2 was better (which that dosnt make sense, because no matter where u looking someone was bashing MW2 for being "too glitched" or "has too many fanboys". or you love this game. It the context of things, this game really will make hardcore fans cringe or jump for joy. What should be said is that this game looks fantastic. Comparison to MW2, this game tried to hold back on the polished visuals for the realistic sense, but still looks amazing. Its useless to go on about gameplay, you either love it or hate it, simple as that. Story in my opinion is better because you focus on one person, not multiple sides. This makes the story flow and you feel more for the characters then jumping back and forth from one person to the next. Mulitplayer is the big selling point, but also is why most people are split. For the first time, a COD game incorporated some RPG element into the game, letting you customize everything but the shape of your body. There is now a money system, where you gain 'money' after a match and completing challenges. These may be to much for the hardcore shooter fans who only want to kill and not worry about how much that new gun is going to cost. I grew up with RPGs, while i dont play them anymore i do appreciate the customization and freedom you have, you really do feel like its your person now. The maps are very well done, though some are more popular then others. One thing i noticed is just how many ideas are taken from another big shooter franchise, Halo. The ability to 'vote' on the map you play next and heavy customization are almost identical to the system Halo: Reach uses. This is not a bad thing, this system is really good, but it feels like some elements were pretty much stolen. The last part to this game is Zombies, made popular to WaW. Only this time you can play online with up to 4 people. This is my favorite part of the pack, very addictive and fun. This game feeling like your are being given three games in one, and you have a 1 out of 3 chance of finding something you like. Is this game perfect for everyone? No, as you can see by the mulitiple 'negative' and 'mixed' reviews, not everyone feels the same about this game. You might want to rent this game first, then if you like it buy it because it will give you hours upon hours of entertainment, then if you dont then no worries, just return it.… Expand

Underwhelming... a lot of cool new content but it feels crammed in. The graphic design is cheap & not clear, game play not as vibrant as MW2. Feels more of an arcade shoot-em-up then MW2 does.

Treyarch is the poor mans call of duty maker.

The game despite using the same graphics engine as the butter smooth running mw2 stutters and suffers from bad framerates, The campaign is a horrible missmatch of playing for a minute then watching a horrible in game graphics fmw then playing for a minute then.. well you know what.

Leave call of duty to infinity ward please.

The single player lives up to the Call of Duty high end gameplay with smart AI and stunning visuals. However, the multiplayer, in comparison to Modern Warfare 2 is substandard and certainly a step back in terms of overall enjoyment, entertainment and sense of achievement. A bizarre new "COD Points" system is hard to understand and will confuse first timers. The graphics in Multiplayer to me were pretty dreadful. Were talking the latest and greatest COD on a HD 1080p Samsung and it felt like i was playing World at War on a CRT. Certainly does not live up to the hype.… Expand

I'll have to agree with most of the other naysayers as this game is just not as polished or refined as we have come to expect from the Infinity-Ward COD:MW series. While I do like the story line better than MW2 as that one was just too "over-the-top", it's still not nearly as intense as the original MW. I had high hopes that Treyarch would be able to pickup where IW left off but it just isn't there. Maybe we'll get lucky and former IW guys will come out with their own new series.… Expand