This game, simply put, isn't worth the money. If you have MW2, keep it, you'll be playing it soon. I have seen so many glitches it's unbelievable... I once watched a replay of me sneaking up on someone shooting him, having him turn around and shoot me in the foot and i died... thats quite the game... As for the single player... its mediocre at best... easily passable. The maps are bad... you still need to level to unlock guns... where here i thought that we would be able to buy them... COD points are basically useless, a pointless mechanic added to the game. Most of the guns are crap compared to the ones you unlock later. For example, the AK47 and the Commando are far superior to any other assault rifle, putting you at a great disadvantage until your level 38... of 50. The killstreaks are garbage and will get you the odd kill here and there but realistically are useless. The list goes on... save yourself the headache and $60, forget about this game and just wait for MW3...… Expand

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

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

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

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

I wish I could give Black Ops a higher mark for all the new features, but it's dropped too many old ones. Split Screen, for example, used to seem like an actual game mode. Now it's basically a practice mode. You can't even edit the gameplay options. The new online multiplayer features are pretty fun and interesting, but COD was one of the last FPS series to have a good split screen and now so many features are ignored. Another problem with the game are all the bugs and glitches. If they could fix a lot of them then maybe BO would be better, but Treyarch pretty much killed off all fun in split screen mode with this game and hopefully it will be made better next year.… Expand

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Shocking effort, worst COD game ever. Im shocked that some people like this, its awful. What eyes are they looking through? What game are they playing? Is their TV better than mine? I have a HDTV Toshiba Regza and MW2 looks and plays spot on. This game makes me feel like i have entered a time warp and gone back to playing PS2. Im disgusted to be quite honest. I returned my copy saying my Mrs had already got me it and bought another game instead. I seriously think some of the 'official' reviewers have been bought off. Outrageously bad game.… 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!

Preview:
I have never looked forward to any game this much in over 20 years of gaming! I never imagined I could be this disappointed! Online is a shambles with all the server problems! Zombies is really boring, if I want a zombie game, I'll play resident evil! So i pinned my hopes that the campaign would be good, started ok but then the siege of Khe Sanh, is this the worst designed level ever? I wanted this game to be so good, bought it on release day and reserved opinion despite the views of friends but they were all right, and now I'm going back to MW2 online to play a game that is actually fun!!… Expand

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

Honestly, M3chaGr4n hits it right on the head. I could not agree more. I have been playing online shooters for over ten years and this game would have been awesome.. about 8 years ago. If Black Ops had not had the CoD tag on it & all of Activisions money for the over-whelming ad campaign no one would really care about this game. In 5 years we are going to look at this as a sad joke. I pre-ordered in April and was looking forward to this game the whole time. I really thought they would fix the issues that plagued MW2; ( namely all the glitches & boosters,...etc) and give us something we have been waiting for. Instead I spent $60 to get a bargain bin reject. I bought the Hardened edition because I like the extras & the metal case. For my extra $20 bucks I got a metal case and a cheap piece of kids jewelry. Really Treyarch? I played through the campaign on veteran and took it for what it was worth; i.e.- it was okay. But, there was nothing memorable about it and was an uninspired shooter on rails with several downright bad moments. At least modern warfare had a decent campaign with some exciting moments. Black Ops consisted of; "Take this gun, shoot those guys." and ...cut scene. The AI was downright bad. I felt like I was beating on kittens. Slow, drunk kittens. But, I really bought it for the MP. Which is where I saw how big this game can truly fail. The guns all act about the same; range & accuracy rating seem to be just pretty space fillers. When I can snipe across half the screen w/ the lowest range weapon (scorpion) something is wrong. They pretty much ruined the sniper class in an effort to limit quick-scoping (which I've never been a fan of) and made the LMG's into a long-range power house. The only real difference in weapons is do you want semi, 3-rnd burst, or full auto; every thing else is pretty much the same gun with a different on-screen look. The spawn mechanic feels like it was developed during bring your kid to work day. The maps are overly cluttered with useless junk they put in, apparently just cause their intern figured out how to render it.The environments look like Black Hawk Down rebuilds. An the game-play is clunky at best. I spent two days playing MP; I did pretty well at it actually- good k/d ratio. before I just gave up and felt like I had wasted my money and was playing the same game I played like 6 years ago. Save your money, look elsewhere for your shooting fun. And hope Activision learns from this and takes the CoD franchise elsewhere. If they stay with Treyarch I am not going to waste my time and money. Seriously, the players have been pretty loyal to this franchise and we deserve a much better game. In short: uninspired, reworked rehashed same old same old that s main arrangement is that it isn't MW2.… Expand

Ive always been a fan of treyarch releases. I enjoy their games being that tupically they are more balanced. Though this game fixes alot of the game-breaking elements introduced into MW2 (not a tall mountain to climb as many know) it fails to come anywhere near COD4 and WaW. Treyarch made some much needed adjustments and removed alot of the frustrating elements that outright ruined MW2. Sadly they played it TOO safe and in the end made a bland game. I was very happy to see the unholy trinity of martyrdom, juggernaut, and stopping power removed completely. This could have been enough to make the online leaps and bounds more playable than MW2 but, put simply, the included perks are boring, recycled, and unimaginative. It was also refreshing to see Treyarch practice some sanity by removing dual-wielded shotguns (really Infinity Ward? REALLY??) and issuing major nerfs (handicaps) to the grenade launcher and assault rifles. Hit detection is as abysmal as any cod game so cant count them off there. the weapons are incredibly balanced each with a relatively different play-type leading to more diverse games where not everyone is using the same thing (I'm talking to you famas, m16, SCAR, .50cal, dual rangers). It was nice to see more than one semi-auto rifle but they are much too weak to compete in a fully automatic world. Another issue is snipers were pretty much written out when it came to map design and balancing. Sniper rifles are difficult at best and just dont pack enough punch to be useful. Sniper Players may find themselves snagging some assists but thats only if they can post up long enough to pick off ignorant and unaware players before getting gun down from behind by a newly spawned player. That brings me to BO's next downfall. The spawning is abysmal. You can game confidently knowing that you will have enemy players spawning behind you. around you, and sometimes even right next to you. Very frustrating when you journey to a quiet corner of a map to drop a carepackage or other dropped killstreak. There is a complete absence of a "front" so be prepared to scramble, keep moving, and watch your back (even if it placed securely onto the edge of the map). Moving to the customization. its safe to say Treyarch was intentionally vague and misleading on the amount of customization. im sure i was only one of many that were disappointed to see that you could not, in fact, change many aspects of your character. It was nice, however to see perks actually affect the way the character looks (ghost, flak jacket, lightweight, etc). Though some may be sold on adding a happyface to their reticle or sculpting male genitalia out of the hundreds of playercard symbols provided, one could not help be feel how absolutely superfluous it all was when there were guns, perks, and killstreaks to buy. The campaign was solid. it didnt break any ground but it was no more superior or inferior to the last 3 COD campaigns. Most dont purchase Cod for the campaign so i wont go into it The crown jewel that has come to be associated with Treyarch releases is the acclaimed Nazi Zombies. Treyarch has outdone itself again with much more complex maps and even 2 separate "storylines" You have the ww2 cast of characters from WaW and a new cast of which i will not disclose. The new cast is hilarious and the voice actors are excellent. Its much more challenging. Zombies fall out of the ceiling, leap through windows instead of climb, and there is even a new very dangerous breed of zombie of which ill let you discover for yourslelf. The mystery box moves much more often (averaging 4-5 uses before whisking off to a less defendable room). Treyarch also included a competitive top-down arcade zombie killer that is amazingly fun and good for hours of replay with up to a team of 4. Overall the game is solid and offers an amazing amount of content in terms of maps, zombies, killstreaks(trust that if this had been an infinity ward release you would be shelling out some extra dosh for alot of it). Though it seeks to fix what mw2 broke it just doesnt offer enough NEW items to make people drop MW2, and WaW to make the $60 switch. See you in two years treyarch, better luck next time.… Expand

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

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

I'd like to start this review off by simply stating forget just about everything you knew about call of duty modern warfare 2 because black opps is here and it's awesome. From what I've read most of the negative reviews on this site are coming from angry fans who can no longer newb tube the whole game or quick scope from across the map and to the exclusion of that in this new title I believe we can all lift our hands to our chests and say amen. Black opps is a refreshing new title that is sure to have a say in the game of the year title right next to halo:reach. Like any game it has it flaws like small technical difficulties some multiplayer mess-ups such as.... Who am I kidding the multiplayer is almost seamless the grenade indicator is much more helpful then in the last game as well as the overall balance in the title. In MW2 it seemed like every gun was incredibly overpowered players even had the ability to dodge bullets with the tactical knife and the right perks. Speaking of which bye bye commando and (exhale breath) rejoice my brothernno more magical teleporting from 30 feet away. Now in all honestly what this game does is deliver a creative multiplayer experience with a masterful campaign filled with a storyline sure to keep you trigger finger happy and an ending that will keep your mind racing. Then just when you think that's too much hello Nazi zombies one of the most famous mini games is back and it's better then ever. Never before have I gotten to see Richard Nixon pump 6 rounds of shotgun shells into a zombie corpse or John f Kennedy blow holes through a hell hound. All in all it's an amazing game with very few flaws lots of great extras and a great campaign. This game in my opinion gets an 9 out of 10.… Expand

Although Call of Duty Black Ops is a fun game for its fans and FPS fans i feel that some gamers will be disappointed with the lack of changes that Treyarch has done with this game. The game sticks to the standard formula that anyone who has played a Call of Duty since Modern Warfare will know, both in the campaign and the multi player. Although the disk has tons and tons of content (Zombies, Online, Offline) it will soon wear thin, its still a very fun game and always will be but how long can Activision keep on pushing out these FPS before gamers become tired of them and start craving something more or just different from the game industry… Collapse

Black Ops is unfortunately a victory of hype over reality. The best thing about it is the zombie co-op game which can be a great laugh, but I honestly think this is game is a real let down. Considering the praise heaped upon it, I was massively disappointed. The graphics are rubbish in comparison with BFBC2 or even MW2. I might just be utterly rubbish, but the lack of resolution means it is actually harder to hit people. The multiplayer (why I bought it) is badly broken, I spend too much time trying to get into games with friends and failing. It quits mid-way through matches. Need I say more. I will be getting rid of it quickly, before others wake up to the gameâ… Expand

Judging from what Killzone 3's beta had to offer and from what I have seen from Crysis 2, COD Black-ops is about to get a black eye but putting poor graphics and mediocre sound aside COD Black-ops fails in much more important areas of the game for instance the AI, especially the buddy AI, too often I found my self being pounded in the head by a rifle while the squad members at my side will keep firing away at some distant enemy it also happened a few times that my squad members would run past the enemy lines to get to the objective marker leaving me stranded to see off the enemy.Getting to the story I have to say its not the worst story ever told but by no means near the standard of what we have gotten use to,I could rant on and on about the disappointments of this game but I wont I just want to conclude with this, Is the critics completely open with us and they truly believe that this is a great game or is there something deeper going on here.Its your call.… Expand

Black Ops what everyone at fist thought WoW then the developer comes up TREYARCH the bubble is popped.. But did they proove everyone wrong being calling in this care package,yeah well its quite similar to MW1 but it is still an adrenaline rush from the campaign or to the hardcore kick ass multiplayer.. The game is a full package and should of deserved more recognition instead people just check the Developer,this is wrong!! If you are looking for a true sequal (similar to MW1) well then here is where the bus stops for you as it stopped for me "this is the true COD experience"!!! 10/10..… Expand

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

There have been mixed reviews about this game, some saying it's the best thing since sliced bread ( and giving it a 10) and others that are saying it's absolutely horrible and giving it a 3 or below. I will never give a game a 10 because there is no such thing as the perfect game and you really have to put out a **** game for it to get a 3 or below. (Rogue warrior deserved that not Call of Duty) As a non-hater and non-fanboy of the Call of Duty series, this is how i thought it played out.
STORY: The story was solid. I didn't think it had the character development like modern warfare or modern warfare 2 but was definitely good. Great plot with great twists and turns along the way. Your character finally voices his opinion in this game rather than the past few Call of Duty where he was the (I'm never going to say a word ever) silent protagonist. Also the game is just as long as the other Call of Duties lasting about 5-7 hours depending on which mode you are playing.
CONTROLS: If you played World at War you have played Black Ops. There are a few new weapons which is the only difference besides the option to dive into the prone position which is a nice touch.
GRAPHICS: About the same as World at War. Online seems to have taken a hit but it's because they have to compensate for all the face, gun, and outfit modifications you can make to personalize your arsenal. (Which is quite awesome I thought)
REASONS ITS BETTER THAN ITS PREDECESSOR: You use money rather than a leveling system to purchase your guns, face & gun paint, and attachments. I thought the Campaign was better than World at War because it made you feel like you were a real important character rather than Kiefer Sutherland's **** And also, who doesn't want to control a remote controlled car with C4 strapped to it!

Overall, a game definitely worth playing. I think it kept the good name of Call of Duty and lived up to it's expectations. Even if you are not a big multi-player gamer, it's campaign is worth a playthrough.… Expand

Very good game well worth a play. Enjoyment to be had on some of the new online features. Doesnt quite live upto the hype and is not quite upto the standard of mw2 but still a great game on its own.Also the new theater feature is without a doubt one of the best new features in games in the last 5 years. well done treyarch

I enjoyed the single player side to Black Ops waaay more than MW2,I thought there were more memorable moments ,and It has a better storyline,the multiplayer is an improvment as well,not that MW2 had bad multiplayer,but I like the level of customization you can do,and once you have played a wager match its hard to go back to the old types of matches like your free for all,s and team deathmatch.I think every FPS with a multiplayer componet comming out from now on is gonna have some sort of wager match type option because its just that much better than anything you,ve played online before,zombie mode is awsome as usal,I do miss the Co-op missions from MW2 I feel they could of added that to make this a flawless game,but CO-Op split screen multiplayer with a bunch of bots is still a lot of fun,although the bots sumtimes pull of head shots that Neo would laugh off as impossible;) Pick this game up.… 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 game is good only when you play it with your friends, but if you don't have a console or you don't have any friends don't buy it. Few words about the campaign: It sucks...

Call of Duty is a Great serious, but this version does not deliver a product we are used to. (although Treyarch never seems to impress with its version of the series anyway) However i felt this version would change they're streak, it failed to do that in my mind. The sound effects first off are so anti climatic and pathetic it made the game seem funny. The health system baffles me when I turn red sometimes to let me know I'm being shot but other times I just die within a half of second. The new weapons and maps and perks are all fine and nice but those should be present in the game. They just failed to go above and beyond with the multi player. It seemed like I was playing Modern Warfare 2 all over again, but with lesser quality graphics in my mind. The campaign was an overall improvement from World at war but still didn't match anything Infinity Ward has done. All in all the series is going to be on a decline with Infinity Ward and all the critics know and are just trying to save this beloved series for a little longer by giving it decent reviews. Infinity Ward is gone, Activision is still pushing out the game too often, and no company has been brought in to take over the vacant spot. Hopefully something is done soon to change this or the most popular shooting series of our generation won't be around for much longer.â… Expand

I don't play Black Ops myself. HOWEVER, my roommate plays it online all the time. I am writing this from his perspective, and he seems to enjoy it. The graphics are good and the play style seems to work for him. As for me, I play World of Warcraft. While there are some similarities, the plot in Black Ops is lost to me. I will be content to play my own game, that's why I'm giving it an 8.

I feel compelled to write a review that shows the game makers that we will not stand for sub-par games. CoD Black Ops multi player was the only reason I bought the game and what a disappointment. Lag spikes, disconnects and low frames per second maybe able to be fixed with server upgrades or patches, but it wont fix the poor physics, laughable graphics and terrible gameplay. Lets just talk about the ridiculous spawn points. The fact that I have been spawn into a fire already there is funny but still disappointing. Pushing through enemy lines with strategy and superior skills has been totally removed for a free for all style game play on almost every game-type. MW2 is the only game really worth comparing it to and MW2 stands far superior. Those that review this game as more fair or balanced as far as multi player goes are probably the ones with not enough skill to make it in MW2. Black ops maps are as bad as the rest of the game; small and boring. The larger of the maps are confined to gun fights in the same places because the spawning is so bad. The gloss of customization is just that. Its fun and cool, but does not add to the gameplay. Hit markers maybe just bad due to the horrible servers, but still are bad enough to make it nearly unplayable at times. The actual mechanics of shooting an opponent are clumsy, unresponsive and lack the polish of MW2. Most of my online friends have laughed at its gameplay, so even in my circle, its not just me. For all of you that gave it a 10, what game are you playing? I saw one review that called those that don't like it noobs. Ha! Any real gamer will tell you the same as I. This game is a joke. The only hope I have is that the remaining programmers at Infinity Ward save of from Treyarch's sub-par efforts.… Expand

First and foremost, I'm new to COD so take this as you want. I've played every type of shooter I could find. This game is complete, it definitely has some bugs. Over all though the game is amazingly detailed and the game play is overall pretty fluid. Story line is awesome. As far as how it compares, no idea but as an introduction title to COD I'm pretty content. When a update comes out for the game, I can see some of the issues currently in the game being corrected as it's been done with other titles.… Expand

Call of Duty: Black Ops deserves only one word: Rehash. If this was Activision and Treyarch's first Call of Duty game together, or even the first CoD game in general, it would be well deserving of that 88 the critics gave it, but this is not their first, it's not even their second. There has been 6 CoD's since this gen's platforms have been out, Treyarch has developed 4 of them (CoD2, 3, WaW, and BlOps) and they still haven't perfected it. I have to agree with some of the others who have written reviews, this game is very much a slightly dumbed down version of CoD: MW2. First complaint would be the graphics. Shades of gray and brown fill the screen with pasty and dull environments, my first thought was "wow, this is ugly." Second, $59.99 USD for this game is an utter crime, the 4 to 6 hours of campaign you will pay is no where near that, but i know most, if not all of you, are purchasing this for the multiplayer, which brings me to my final point. Number three, the multiplayer is fun, yes, i kinda enjoyed it, but the set up is nothing but polished MW2 leftovers, in other words, same ole crap, different title. Game modes don't really feel any different from each other, and neither do the weapons. The first weapons they give you in every class aren't the best you can get, but are darn close to being the best, and on a side note, for realism sake, I about died laughing when I saw the stats for the Makarov (pistol), it had more "power" than the 1911, ha. But anyways back to the multiplayer. The points system is a joke, why should i be rewarded every time I lost a match? I was getting at least half the points the winning team was, I leveled up to level 13 in less than 2 hours of playing time. It was a rather casual experience to say the least. All in all I didn't hate the game, I had fun with the multiplayer, but not $60 of fun. If this was an expansion pack with a $14.99 price tag, I'd consider picking it up, but i know that will never happen, so I give this a 5/10.… Expand

Are you all playing the same game I am? This is without doubt the best ps3 game ever created. It's almost like buying 2 games in one with the new zombie mode. It's just an incredible game that everyone should buy and try it out for themselves.

Many of these problems with graphics seem to be PS3 specific. I have an xbox and have had no problems, next door at my mates we play it on the PS3. It looks better, but there are seriously limiting frame rate issues? Which is weird.

On to the game..

Granted, 1 player mode isn't very inventive, pretty rubbish dialogue etc... but seriously. It's a fps called 'Call of Duty' what did you expect? Multiplayer is far far superior to MW2 and after playing about 10 hours, I stand by that statement. Played all the COD games to death and in my opinion they have done everything right here. Removed the annoying commando class (although, replaced it with RC cars which are a bit annoying, but in their defence they're no different from predator missiles in the last game).
What they have done is force people to stand up and fight with guns, not run around stabbing people in the back. That's got to be a good thing? Shotguns can no longer be your 2nd weapon, again, removing the annoying in door shotgun battles from the last game.
Treyarch have put COD on a par with Bungie for multiplayer detail with the customisation, game recording (so nerdy but amazing), guns, face paints, logos (see who can design the best penis) and post game stats.

The critic reviews say it all. Not perfect by any means, but the best in the series by far in my opinion. Is it worth buying if you don't play it online? No. But was it ever?
x… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. well. first off, i am a bit of a socialist, so it is inevitable that i would have problems with this game. but other than the commie bashing, there is little wrong with this game. while the vietnam parts are all gung ho gung ho, it would be boring if it wasnt right, were you not entertained. though the pyrotechnics are still, on a scale of 11, the storyline is much more likely to have been real, compared to MW2. and as far as the stroyline goes, i though that it was very very good. a beautiful twist, and some epic set pieces makes this a must have for many people, though if you are a commie or a socialist, then i recoment that you go into this game remembering that it is set during the cold war and it is made by Americans, so beware. and onto multiplayer. well, its prety similar to MW2, possibly even worse, but the big new feature is the training, where you can fight AI bots instead of online. this. is AMAZING. you will not belive that it is an AI. though the drawback is that you have to be connected to online even if you dont do the online figting.

and of course there is the age old argument that this game is bad because it is influencing our children. the answere to that, dont buy it for them.… Expand

Overall it is a great game with lots of extras with a good campaign and multiplayer. The campaign is one of the best in the series as well as the zombies and dead ops. But multiplayer is what one pushes it to be possibly the best call of duty yet. Despite the graphics which are down a step from mw2 the multiplayer comes through with all its new features. Split-screen online, Cod points (an in-game currency used to buy a number of things), split screen with AI bots, wager matches, and possibly the best part is a more balanced weapons system. They also bring lots of great maps, weapons, perks, and killstreaks to make it, in my opinion the best call of duty yet.… Expand

A GIANT step backwards!! Unfortunately I bought into all the hype for this game. Instead of a step forward from MW2, this next installment from Treyarch is a major disappointment. The multiplayer mode is seriously flawed in gameplay as well as graphics.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game doesn't even come close to MW2. Compared to this, MW2 was leaps and bounds ahead of it's time. For starters, the Single player is god awful. You never feel like you're in the action, and you never feel a connection with the characters. Except one, who it turns out isn't even really there. The games enemy A.I. is only surpassed in stupidity by the god awful friendly A.I. Enemies charge right at you, killing you this way about 35% of the time. Why? Because your team mates don't feel like shooting the enemy right in front of them. They're more concerned about an enemy 30 feet away taking cover! The only good thing about single-player was the end, when (for some reason or another) zombies attack. Hearing JFK say "Yep, Zombies." was the brightest part of the game and made me laugh uncontrollably to see Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, And Fidel Castro fighting zombies. All together zombies is the best part of the game. Multiplayer is not. When I heard that you can buy any gun at the start of the game a couple months ago, I was elated. No more bull crap when you prestige, you can buy your favorite gun from the start. I guess Activison didn't like that idea, because it doesn't exist. You still have to level up to get almost any gun in the game, and you have to BUY THEM as well. You want perks, they're yours my friend. But only if you have enough money. Perks don't even help you win games anymore. That's because most of perks are utterly useless. Seems they replaced cold-blooded (a very useful perk in MW2, in order to get away from enemy killstreaks) with Ghost. Ghost is an almost useless perk, it protects you from radar and nothing else. So, what stops enemy killstreaks from being unstoppable, nothing. If it's an open map and they have an Attack Helicopter or Chopper Gunner, you're pretty much dead. The maps are terrible as well. Awful spawns plague them to death as well as camping. Not to mention they're just plain mediocre. At least you don't have to unlock weapon attachments like in MW2 (the one thing this game did get right). Well... and gungame isn't that bad. This will be the last time I purchase a CoD game (unless somehow Infinity Ward come back). This was strike 3 for Treyarch (1 being CoD3 and 2 being WaW).… Expand

Call of Duty: Black Ops, ring a bell? Well it should.
It's one of the most discussed and anticipated games of 2010, much like the recent addition to Call of Duty "Modern Warfare 2" which essentially turned out to be a blaring disaster. I've played the campaign twice, once on Regular and once on Veteran and i've put in a solid 60 hours in total of multiplayer.

Just to get it out of the way, the campaign is plain boring; the 'twist ending' you can see from a mile away, the constant explosions and gun fights just really get boring after about 2 hours, the engine has changed and to me has a very slight Bad Company 2 feel to it, but other then that it's the same engine that Modern Warfare 2 used and really nothing new is to be seen here except for maybe a couple, and may I say ANNOYING AS **** helicopter piloting missions which never cease to frustrate me. But hey, who gives about the campaign most of the customers want to hear about the multiplayer aspect.

Well, here it goes:

When I first played Black Ops, it had that fresh feel you get when you play a game and it's like, "Yeah... i'm gonna play this a lot" much simillar to my first 5 months of COD4, this wore off in about an hour.
From there on it was lag, framerate issues, host connection disasters and just general **** unplayable? I think so.
And even if you get into a lagless game with silky smooth framerate and a wonderful, trust worthy host it's really just Modern Warfare 2 with slightly upgraded graphics and a few new weapons and maps. The currency system is cool, but not buy worthy.
The wager matches are okay, Gun Game and Sharpshooter are my personal favourites but I can't tell you how many times i've litterally shot through someone in one in the chamber but it didn't kill him, and I ended up going broke.
The maps are good but the spawns are just... eugh.
The weapons are generally recoiless and boring.

Overall, this game really isn't very good.… Expand

where should i start??? 'OK' is all i can really say about this game. the single player campaign certainly had a couple of entertaining bugs.e.g. after completing an objective, the next wouldn't click in, leaving me to shoot endless hoards of enemies until i chose to restart the level, losing all progress; after a few restarts, it would eventually go past the objective. other bugs consist of random slow down, where it almost feels like you're playing online with a 512k connection...only offline. the story, although extremely linear, has some quality moments where you think, 'wow!! that was cool', while other parts feel like you're not really in control, as if you are just manipulating a QTE. first playthrough on hardened difficulty took just short of 7 hours, which is a pretty decent length for a multiplayer focussed game, especially if compared with the Modern Warfares from infinity ward, that only lasted about 4 hours. though unlike the MW titles, i didn't feel BO warranted a replay.

as for online, i think most people are already aware at this point; it's a complete mess. by saying its a mess, i mean: unable to join games 2 out 3 times, unable to stay with same party for more than one game (if you are lucky enough to even finish an entire game), host migration is present but incredibly unreliable (more often than not, the game just ends putting you back at the menu).

so from my experience i don't feel this game quite deserves a 7/10 but i would rate it 6.5. however there is one treat in this game and that is the hidden birds eye view zombie arcade shooter that can be unlocked from the computer behind you at the main menu. this game stand alone released on psn, or xbox live would be 8/10 easily,… Expand

This game is far away from perfect, the campaign is awesome (Even if some bugs are making it really frustrating). But were it all goes wrong? The multiplayer, it's full of bugs, campers, unbalanced stuff & the graphics are to cry. Bad job Treyarch. Singleplayer 8.5/10
Multiplayer 5.5/10
Zombies 9/10

Great addition to a FPS collection. The online is a little glitchy, but those issues will be fixed in time hopefully. All in all it is still fun and manages to warrant an upgrade from MW2.
Story mode is very interesting and manages to keep you entertained, even though it seems quite guided.
The addition of zombies and minor tweaks to everything make this a very balanced game. Graphics seem like they could have been a bit better. Anyone griping about this game is just nitpicking, Having a minimum of 250k online at anytime speaks for itself, don't listen to crybabies who take to the net to complain.… Expand

Hi, why the people choose 5.7 to be the mark. This game is so good! The Single player, the multiplayer, zombies! The game is so amazing!! The Platinum trophy is other challenge. Good graphics, good story, Amazing Multiplayer. I like Wager Matches!!!!

I love COD. I loved COD4:MW, I loved W@W, and also MW2.
The campaign for Black Ops is good. I don't know if I would say better than the previous 3, but at least compare to W@W, the game doesn't "cheat" by throwing infinite grenades as much.

HOWEVER, the reason people buy (and keep) COD is for its multiplayer, and this game's multiplayer is:
1) Just "off"... Doesn't feel right... I can't quantify it, but having played for so many years, I can tell you when this games just doesn't "feel" right.

2) The sniping in this game sucks. It is simply broken. Not just for "quickscopers", but also for "normal-scoping" snipers. 3) The introduction of "COD Dollars" devalues everything in my opinion. Previously, seeing someone with a "Red Tiger" would mean that person was quite good with that weapon... In Black Ops? No problem.... Anyone can "buy" any camo for the money they earn in a single match.

4) The lag in the online is horrendous! Don't remember it being this bad in any other iteration.


In short, I'm afraid for the first time in this game's iteration history, I've stopped playing the "latest version" and have gone back to the prior version (MW2 in this case).


Such a shame.… Expand

Well here it goes Treyarch did a kinda better job than COD W.A.W come on Treyarch your just riding the COD name and kinda spoiling it at least Infinity ward put effort into the product..Is just me or does Treyarch designers kinda make the graphics look PS 1 style or look very plastic army men toy like design...I think Treyarch really needs to hire new testers surely some of them would have seen some of the glitches while testing or did they choose to ignore it...Nothing more worse than getting into a mission and having no guide arrows to point you where things are so you end up running around and dying heaps because theres no guide points...The other hate is your right in the middle of a firefight enemies every where but wheres your team mates either stuck some where and not moving or just letting enemy walk right pass them and straight to you it's figgin annoying...Treyarch it doesn't matter how many voices or experts you get in if you don't put the effort to make a decent product then your just your using the name to sell the product. I got so use to shooting through light stuff to kill enemy but to find it doesn't work much on your games Treyarch...That's why I'm going more to Battlefield at least explosives can destroy things plus if I use air/support or rocket launchers I know that building gonna come down and crush everyone inside. Though good points I had fun like the NAM levels watching the Huey's and airstrike dropping napalm and mixture or different environments other than that very over hyped product once again hopefully now more COD really it's getting long in the tooth...… Expand

After playing the last 3 Call of Duty games, I felt like this one really let me down. Without innovation, polish , or any attempt to improve the product beyond MW2 I will be leaving this franchise behind until they feel like its time to produce a solid game. The single players is forgettable, and the multi-player is the exact same thing we have had for 2 years already. Adding new maps wont convince anyone its a new game. 5/10, avoid spending 50+ on a game that should cost as much as a map pack.… Expand

I PLAYED THIS GAME AT MY FRIENDS HOUSE YESTERDAY AND I DIED A LOT IN MULTIPLAYER I COULDN'T GET ENOUGH HALO CREDITS TO BUY THE GRENADE LAUNCHER AND WHY THE HELL DOES THE SHOOT BUTTON THROW GRENADES ITS NOT FAIR THE GRAPHICS ARE SO BAD IT MIGHT AS WELL BE FOUR PIXELS MOVING ACROSS THE SCREEN IN THE THIRTY MINUTES I PLAYED I FOUND OUT WHY XBOX 360 IS 75739476394732 TIMES BETTER AND WHY HALO REACH IS THE BEST COD GAME YET… Expand

don't listen to the haters that wrote negative comments about this game. it's fantastic. it's nothing like modern warfare and isn't as exciting but it's well worth the money. esspecially the online portion alone. hell even the campaign is just as exciting. although it isn't the thrill ride no one expected it is still one hell of a ride

Create Class 2.0 upset me I must admit, because I was expecting full control over customization from the whole look of the character then being disappointed that the look of your character is determined by the first tier perk, like for example GHOST, the character is wearing a full gillie suit, that's fair enough but for me it's weird seeing players who you expect to be snipers running around with a mp5's and such, but I'm just being fussy, that's the only thing that gets me, if you could have full control over it, then that would be ace. Story is fantastic, has the COD twist to it, multi-player and zombies still hasn't disappointed.… Expand

Well it had to happen, you look forward to a game for months and when it arrives its a huge let down, i bought the game at midnight and have given it 12+ hours of game time over 3 days to give a fair opinion.

Treyarch really have messed up with this installment in the COD series, its truly awful.

Firstly the game looks rubbish, i cant believe how bad the graphics and animation are, im playing it on a 42" screen in HD and it looks terrible, its like playing a game on a PS2. When you compare the graphics and the game engine to MW2 its no where near as good, true, graphics should nt be the be all and end all but in 2010 you expect a certain standard, BO just looks awful.

The sound is my biggest problem, its so bad i find myself laughing when im playing, i play with 5.1 surround sound and it does nt work properly, im constantly thinking there is someone behind me but its my own footsteps which are coming out of the wrong speakers, then sometimes you have no footsteps fx at all, terrible. Then theres the guns, explosions, aircraft fx etc, what a joke, how can they have sat in the recording studio doing the sound fx and thought 'this sounds great'? Truly awful, some of the worst sound fx i have ever heard in a game, when you throw a grenade it sounds like you a throwing an empty tin of beans, laughable. The guns all sound the same and i have to turn up the volume 8 or 9 levels higher than MW2 just to get some oomph!

Most of the maps are rubbish, big sprawling boring rat traps, nothing interesting about them at all, and as for nuke town, whats the point?

I know its launch week, and obviously a lot of people are playing online but should nt they have anticipated this and had the servers to cope? The game is juddering around all over the place, i dont think ive played 1 game that didnt glitch, judder, motion blur or have some glitch, so dissapointing.


The point im trying to make is regarding the graphics & the sound, is that in a series (COD) or a sequel, surely the game must at least match what has gone before? and the goal should be to better the previous installment.

The graphics, animation & sound especially, are all a step backwards from MW2. Of course gameplay is the number 1 priority in any game, BUT the enjoyment of playing BO is hampered by a bad graphics engine, jerky animation and some truly awful sound fx.

I really wanted to like this game, every time ive gone to play it ive thought 'maybe this time i'll get it' but i come away disliking it even more, such a shame as there are some great ideas in there, wager matches and the theatre mode are great, but the game itself is a turkey.



Roll on MW3.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As in any Call Of Duty game, Black Ops has the most Campaign mode glitch's I've ever seen, for instance, here's my playing Campaign when I have to kill a few people when a team-mate gets shot, so a soldier goes over to revive him when he is shot 1000 feet in the air, also (SPOILER AHEAD! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-) When Reznov is helping me he gets stuck to the roof and is killed, this happens every time and I cannot complete the mission. Anyhow, BlOps is a great multi-player online game, worth getting for any fan.… Expand

Minimum effort has been put into this game as the technology has been recycled from modern warfare 2. You could basically get this game as a mod on pc for modern warfare 2. It is that bad.

Great game, superb story, good customization options, new modes gun games etc, no more killstreaks gone mad which improves the multi-player (some connection issues, though not come across an online game that hasn't needed tweaked at some point) lastly theatre mode is great for showing off some kills. The amount of people that can play this for maybe an hour or the 1st few days, then come on giving scores of 0 is laughable (all probably on 3rd prestige now), Treyarch haters give it a rest please. I was a little unsure at 1st and yes the graphics are not as sharp as mw2, but this game offers so much more you won't notice after a few plays. If you're a COD fan you'll enjoy this game… Expand

Ill start off with what I love. Zombies is the only thing that tryarch can get right. The new maps suck but playing the original maps with cold war weaponry is awsome. Saddly its not enogh to save this sad excuse for a call of duty. The multiplayer is HORRIBLE weapons are unbalanced, snipers are useless, zillstreaks are way to powerful. Its a real damn shame that this game had to be as bad as it is and as a hardcore cod fan i feel like i was slapped in the face with tryarchs "quickscoping is nooby" attitude. yes Modern warfare 2 was abit unbalanced but completely changing sniping mechanics infuriates me. I am litteraly buying an xbox to play halo reach which is the only game (other than fallout new vegas) that has not dissapointed me. I already bought halo reach legendary edition. I hope infinity ward sees how upset people are not just about the sniping community but those who miss the original modern warfare. Tryarch should just stick to zombies.… Expand

Looks like I'll still be playing MW2. Black Ops = cartoonish graphics, movement that feels like you're gliding around, laughably bad audio, tacky game play like COD money. Can someone tell acitivision to stick with id Software? Every COD game treyarch makes is terrible.

yeah the online multiplayer is okay. it reminds me of halo. FILLERFILLERFILLER FILLERFILLERFILLER FILLERFILLERFILLER FILLERFILLERFILLER FILLERFILLERFILLER FILLERFILLERFILLER FILLERFILLERFILLER FILLERFILLERFILLER FILLERFILLERFILLER FILLERFILLERFILLER

It felt like I was playing addon package. Not worth of full game price. The only positive thing about this game that I liked the plot and most of the places, but big lackluster experience othervise.

Black Ops is the worst Call of duty yet. Treyarch took away quick scoping which everyone loves except for the nerds who made this game. the only good part is zombies and thats barley fun. treyarch should stick to games like die by the sword and stop making call of dutys. Infinity ward is a way better company in every single way. I would not waste my money on this game if the person reading does not have the game. id go with modern warfare 2. it may be a little old but it is a lot better. I rate zero on this game. Oh and people please dont waste your time with this game either its crapy with bad graphics and people already no life it. Please rate zero on this game. Bye.

P.S. Treyarch blows complete butt dont buy Black Ops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!… Expand

Over hyped garbage. I really mean that. There has been no difference between the last few CoDs except for a few minor differences. Almost every day, I hear someone saying that Black Ops is the greatest FPS (or even game) ever. Like the best one currently out there until the next rehashed CoD game. It annoys me because these people have clearly never played any other games except CoD and really need to get out into the game market more. They're honestly missing out.… Expand

All in all, I can easily say if you're a fan of COD games then this is a good buy. To talk about the campaign, yet again the AI do not help at all like other COD games, and act really stupid. I experienced enemy soldiers passing by my fellow AIs right up to me and killing me. There at least should be some level of smartness on both sides of the battle, as it gives a more fun experience and does not end up in restarting the checkpoints over and over again to the point of boredom. Black Ops gives us a new environment, which gives out a good signal that the series can be versatile and the developers are willing to take risks in trying new things, which is what gamers are looking for. The return of the famous zombies mode helps in the re-playability as well. What Black Ops and other COD games lack are the actions you must take in situations throughout the campaign. It would be much more rewarding to have to do certain actions rather than just pressing "X". I'm aware this may not hinder the fun of running and gunning, but it would be good to have some of those features in the game since COD games have shown they have the potential to engage in more controllability in the action. Multi player is as exciting as it should be, and the currency system makes it easier for players to buy weapons much faster than actually waiting to level up. The multi player also adds more strategy on top of MW2 items and perks, allowing players to have more options in their load outs. In conclusion, Black Ops is a must have for fans of the series, but I still feel there has to be the extra edge that Bad Company provided at times such as destruction, and or more controllability.… Expand

I have the PS3 version and overall I enjoy Blacks Ops. It's a fun game to pick up and play arcade experience and there's good value for money for all the modes and content compared to other FPS games.

The multiplayer and everything works fine for me and I have little to complain about. My only negative is that there is less depth and strategy in the gameplay compared to games like Killzone 2 or Bad Company 2. but nonetheless Black Ops is great at what it tries to be.… Expand

Let me start by saying I am going to be as fair and unbiased as possible with this review. I am 22 years of age and I thoroughly enjoy the CoD series and each new game captures at least 3-4 full days of my attention worth of game play.

I am currently at about 3 and a half days (according to their online leaderboard statistics) of online game play and I feel that is more than enough time to submit a fair review. I have read some of the reviews here and I have to disagree with the blatant disregard for innovation and substance that this game has to offer.

What Treyarch seems to do well with their CoD games is to add a compelling multi-player that is much more likely to addict the average player than that of the Infinity Ward titles. What MW2 did completely wrong is the absolute lack of enjoyment when playing against a dominant team; what Black Ops has done well is add multiple functions to make this game fun for a wider audience and much more balanced than previous CoD titles.

Yes, there are some serious connectivity issues, and menu glitches that need to be fixed, but there is a new update daily if not multiple times a day to solve some of these problems. I cannot review the single player because I have only played about a quarter of the missions because I am so addicted to the multiplayer. One thing I suggest for people who enjoy previous CoD titles is to allow some time to get into the game. Do not expect your first 10 games to be instantly enjoyable or for you to be getting 10.0 kill to death ratios like some of the people online. This game has a very very high learning curve in which brand new players will likely fall short if they do not give it a little time to adjust to such a fast paced and small environment.

Another thing that most people should know is that there are hundreds, maybe thousands or even hundreds of thousands of different custom class possibilities... This leaves you so many options that makes it possible for you to find your little niche in the combat zone, don't give up just because you fell short the first 5 games you played. Another thing I'd like to mention is that the best 3 weapons in the game do are not unlocked until level 20, 38, and 44... So if you read a review about someone who has only reached level 19 (coughhhh, the reason I am making this review coughhh) then you are being mislead by someone who is either terrible at FPS games or is just too impatient to give this game a chance.

Overall Black Ops runs well and plays well. The multiplayer is FAR MORE FUN than Modern Warfare 2 due to the fact that there is no game-ending killstreak (Nuke-cough cough) and even when there is a person in the game waving their over-experienced 20 and 0 ratio in your face... grab a rocket launcher and knock down their damn killstreaks... plain and simple

Some buggy things that may eventually be patched... The knifing in this game is (in my opinion) worse than any other CoD I've ever played (I've been playing since CoD 3), and the lag and server connect issues can be bothersome after a while. Often you will hear two or three *plink* sounds (meaning headshot) but the enemy player will either not die or will take at least one more shot (this might be purposeful and class based, but its frustrating). Lastly, if you are an avid player and you typically do very well... find yourself a party of people you trust because random kids always seem to disappoint, and more often than not yell, scream, talk crap, or just plain and simply make the game not fun at all.

My vote... Give it a fair chance and I think an 8 rating is a conservative estimate on this game....

Lastly, if you have an Xbox 360... do yourself a favor and buy it for that console... the PS3 version is a port and is slightly more buggy, and I have no idea about how well the PC version runs.… Expand

The game is good but the game have a big network problem in multiplayer game. Solo game is good too I like the story. Most interesting part we can play 2 peoples on the same tv in slip screen in multiplayer online mode!

Quite disappointing and predictable campaign. Laggy multiplayer thanks to no dedicated servers even though greedy Activision would be able to afford them.

Excellent sequel to MW2. Treyarch listened to fans who dodn't like MW2 and fixed almost all the problems. Beautiful graphics and a worthy game for all first-person shooter video game fans.

I used to love Call of Duty. It used to be a landmark in the genre of FPS, but in 2010, it has become so massively popular, that it's not even funny, there is an overdose of these games.

Activision has decided on the terrible marketing strategy that they would release a new CoD game every year, and while this works, this shows on the games.

Black Ops is a very polished, excellently crafted game. But that's about it. It feels like it's a giant retail patch for the previous CoD games, rather than a title on it's own. It has what it takes to be a good game, but it doesn't offer anything new, different , spectacular, it does the exact same thing that many other FPS can do, and could do for a while now.

And for that, I can't give it a green score, because that territory is reserved for games who beg to differ, or try the hardest to outshine their competition, with something daring that works. Yes, daring. Activision is known for pushing for financial safety with their rehashed flagship franchises. But the games achieving the most success have always been the ones who took some kind of risk, and did their best to make something new work.

And by now, the CoD fanbase has been "trained" to behave the same way, and buy the new CoD, because that's guaranteed to be quality, and they have stopped to buy unique games, because it might be a bad game.

I do not ask Treyarch, to reinvent the wheel. Just try to spice it up one way or another. Shoving in new multiplayer modes is a good idea, but that's not the entire game.It's worth a purchase if you really (REALLY) want to keep up, but there are currently more exciting choices.… Expand

As far as I am concerned there hasn't been 10/10 COD since the very first game, the first MW was good but the maps and online gameplay were very weak and has only grown weaker with each game pushed out as fast as possible to make as much money as possible. Sound effects are weak and the game is buggy as hell. If you want to play a really good FPS, get into Battlefield BC, that game is truely amazing and craps all over COD anyday. MW is for those people who like to spray and pray and run around like a chicken with its head cut off. All up this game and its earlier versions are the worst FPS games I have every played.… Expand

I like the campaign in this game although it is of course very short. It was my favorite of all the COD's. The downside to this game is the multilayer which is what most everyone is playing it for. The PS3 version of this game is plagued with problems in multilayer and it seems to be getting worse as time goes on. I've had problems with the multilayer matches disconnecting midway through. Now since the last patch (Dec.16th ?) its considerably worse. I estimate 75% of the matches I try end up disconnecting for everyone in them halfway through. It's frustrating to say the least. From looking around it seems that everyone is having trouble with the PS3 version. When this is fixed I'm sure it will be a good game but until then I would not recommend buying it. Bad Company 2 is a much better buy.… Expand

This was a massive disappointment not as crisp as MOH with a weak story and glitch filled on-line play. end of a previously great series.........................................................................

A game just like the others. Not a great improvement just the same sort of repetitve gameplay. Theater was a much needed improvement. The money system was cool too. Although a lot of multiplayer mess-ups (especially PS3). Some much needed updates hopefully are in line. All in all same game but still fun.

this is defintley the worst call of duty therss been both modern warfares looked good and the guns looked good they didnt have great campaogns but had amazing online play it was fast and frantic, cod 5 had a very good co-op campaign and zombies and the online was ok not great.
Black ops has none of this campaogn is ok but once youve done it youve done it the zombies i dont like the maps and the online is shocking maps are bad the buying is pointless and the online gameplay is bad activision should stick with infity ward even if they are a bit dodgey… Expand

Ok. After playing this game for a while, I had to write a review. COD: BO continues the popular series that started on the PC by Infinity Ward. This time, the game is made by Treyarch who made W@W and COD3. To me, BO feels more of the same. Nothing new here. There were improvements made to the online component but there are also things that came out worse. The single player is actually fun this time and has a compelling story behind it unlike MW2. The set pieces in the campaign are amazing and definitely keep you engrossed into the campaign while playing it. The improvement made to the multiplayer was that the game is now more balanced. Stopping power was removed completely among other perks that were overused in previous installments. This game makes you want to try other perks and find the best combination for you. Not to mention, the perks are also well balanced between one another and the challenges to unlock the pro versions are a welcome change as it basically forces you to try other online modes. The weapons are also more balanced. Customization options are also nice. You can customize your tags and emblems and even implement those on your weapons. Another nice addition is the COD credits. You can basically buy what you want at your hearts content. Though you have to earn them by playing multiplayer matches, doing contracts, completing challenges, or playing wager matches which I might say is a nice welcome change to the standard formula. It's nice to be able to buy any perk right off the bat and choose what weapons and attachments to buy based on your play style. Some of the new killstreaks are cool. Love driving the RC-XD around and blowing it up killing an enemy. That's pretty much all I can say about the multiplayer. What is worse this time around, is of course the graphics. I've read some of these reviews and people are saying that this game has great graphics. Are you kidding me? This game has worse graphics than MW2. There are Jaggies everywhere and bland boring textures. Not to mention there is alot of texture pop in going on. I don't know what some people are looking at but I've played many games with much better graphics than BO. Granted the COD series is not known for it's graphics. What is also worse is the framerate. Activision wants to tout COD as the smoothest FPS on the market. Well on the PS3, you have a ton of framerate drops and stutters. That's hardly smooth. There are a ton of connection issues on the PS3 version. Many times you will lose connection to hosts or have connection interrupted or even be randomly kicked from a lobby for no reason. When playing with a party, you will sometimes be kicked from that party and have to rejoin it. How could Treyarch screw this up? Better yet, they blame peoples connections and routers for the online problems yet the 360 version doesn't have such problems. Come on Treyarch. Get with it. I have not played Zombies yet to comment on it but from what I hear, it's the best component of BO which is not a good thing in my opinion. Overall, I would rate this game higher if there weren't a ton of problems with it. COD is still the most popular FPS today as shown by how much it sold but I can't help to wonder where this franchise is going to go now that Infinity Ward has basically been decimated and rebuilt into a brand new team and Activision now having a 3rd studio making COD games. One would think that people will eventually get burnt out as that is how I'm feeling right now. COD needs a facelift much like how COD4 was which introduced a fresh multiplayer experience and brand new campaign setting set in modern times. Also the graphics are showing their age. Need a new engine to keep up with the times or COD will be left in the dust by games showcasing far better visuals. If your a COD fan, then you will probably enjoy this game, however, with all the problems, it wouldn't surprise me if people go back to MW2.… Expand

I thought this game was OK..... Then I played Killzone 3 and now ill never look at another COD game again, COD's never changed always same dull graphics with same gameplay sept in black ops they made it worse. Oh well everyone will still buy this **** game because thats all they no.

Although it was so anticipating and expected, it wasn't as perfect as I had wanted. If I think about it, the splitscreen and single player campaign was much better than the online gameplay. Personally, I never liked Call of Duty that much, but when MW2 had came out, I actually took a good interest, but I never showed that much liking to it. Still, Black Ops was amazing, and no major issues to it, but I'm expecting both Infinity Ward and Treyarch to do better on their next games.… Expand

This Call of Duty was a real disappointment, The reason was the campaign and multi player the campaign because it was just not interesting at all, and the multi player because well it was the same thing just new maps.

Good, but not for all. the game is like others. the single player is easy to forget and the only reason they got it is for multi-player. offline isnt that great because there is no level system. everything is already unlocked... Next up is online. Its good but could have done better. Pistols,launchers.specials(2ndary) are poorly selected and not often used. For MW2 players you noticed shotguns are missing from this list. well they decided to throw them into primary class. The shotguns are for screwing around and are not that great. there seem to be less weapons and not nearly as many combinations. under barrel add ons disable the ability to add anything else to the assault rifle. only 4 light machines,only 4-5 shotguns(dont remember). add ons are also toned down along with the perks. pro is harder to unlock and often not worth it. the only reall good thing about online is currency. they did a good job with balance and player cards are expensive, but fun to create. Final mode is the zombies. It comes with 2 maps(unlock 1 after sinlge player) and another zombie mode that is good for a little while. the maps are small and cramped making it difficult to move and reach high levels. the new monster nova zombie(what i call it) will explode with nova gas after killed. this combined with tight areas make it even worse. the weapon selection is also decreased, but upgraded. Finally something everyone will love! in zombies they took out the wonderwaffle! so ya they kinda screwed up zombies but it can still be fun for hardcore zombie fans. overall the game should be rented before bought. I like it, but its not for all COD fans. this is a review for the ps3 version.… Expand

The game over all is just god awful to many people use the ak74u. The snipers are under powered. People just spam grenades. The cross bow and ballistic knife had to much hype for such a big let down . The kill streaks are to over powered . The whole credit systeM Is dumb what's the point of making us level up to unlock guns that we have to end up buying? The campaign was not that fun it was ok but has no replay Value .the maps are awful there are to Many places to camp. Teammates don't do anything they don't play the actual game type they just sit there and get kills . Over all This is the worst call of duty out there, this is the last cod game I ever buy… Expand

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

Black Ops isn't a perfect game. It was like the opposite of MW2. Mw2 had a bad campaign but made up for its addicting multiplayer. Black Ops had an awesome campaign. I loved the campaign it was interesting, fun and the story was awesome. But for other players its all about the MULTIPLAYER. The multiplayer wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as I expected it to be. The added cool stuff like wager matches and money but it felt different. The "feel" of the online was different. I wasn't as fun and as exciting as Mw2's. Campaign was awesome. Zombies was good. Multiplayer was just okay.… Expand

I'm a real FPS maniac, and I'm pretty darn good at it. I played CoD MW2 for a very very long time, I loved it! When Battlefield released Bad Company 2 I bought it just to try it out and to tell people the major difference. The campaign mode OWNED, and the online mode OWNED even more after playing it a couple of times. It seemed so much more realistic than MW2. The sound of the weapons, the graphics, everything. But after a while BLACK OPS came out on Treyarchs ordinary SOOO un-original propaganda sh!t! I bought this one too see how it was, if it's as good as the ''critics'' say it is. After playing for 1 hour I got tired, I mean, really tired. I stabbed and ran around with my weapons and I got it to my head that, there's no blood?! I mean, what is a war game without blood?

I continued playing and i did not like it, at all! Too many interruptions within the campaign mode and the creators seemed to just care about some things in the game, the interruption parts when 'Victor Reznov' was talking and that other crap. It was just too much. I've never played a game like this, when I play I play with love, I want to play the game until i clear all the missions, and I enjoy when i do that! But when I played Black Ops... I didn't want to to it, it was so crappy!

I mean, Dice does a much more better job than treyarch do, but they get no cred at all. It's all about propaganda. Yes, BO broke all the records, but they broke one more record, most dissapointed costumers EVER!

Thats just my opinion about this game, and i ought to tell you allt that BFBC2 and -Vietnam is soooooo much better than BO. So much better!… Expand

This Version is a joke. Modern warfare 2 was the ultimate smooth fps, this game is a lag filled nightmare disaster. The producers should Hang there heads in shame at this excuse for a call of duty sequel. I am returning my copy and buying the new battlefield. I truly felt ripped off this is such a let down

I wasn't a fan at first and the connection/lag issues were annoying, but this is a great game. It doesn't quite have the feel of MW2, which I loved, but it's better in most ways. They removed some of the annoying features from MW2 and added far greater depth.

Black Ops in it's own right is a fun game. The story is interesting and is full of memorable (extremelly explosive) set pieces. The online is alright... probably the best part, though I couldn't get into it. They've made it less user friendly than it used to be, now managing multiple types of currency and trying to figure out what stays and what doesnt after prestiging and such. None of the new stuff is explained in anyway, and the amount of new stuff is so little I was having trouble telling it apart from the last few. The graphics are simply... uglier, both on and offline. Jungle settings are muddy and its hard to tell what is human and what is a rock or tree, and thats without camo. In short Black Ops was doomed from the start. Having to follow the FPS behemoth known as Modern Warfare 2 and even worse having to try and top it. It's definetelly still worth a look, and is better than alot of the other 2010 shooters (Medal of Honor comes to mind). But I ended up returning it after a week or so to get bigger better games. If your one of the 3 people who havn't tried it yet, you may be better off waiting until Infinity Ward release their next addition to the franchise. Here's hoping Treyarch just stop with call of duty and go and make another awesome spiderman game. Spiderman 2 the game is still their masterpiece as far as i'm concerned.… Expand

Treyarch has experienced overshadowed success in the past 3 or so years because of the towering accomplishments the Modern Warfare series of Infinity Ward has achieved. With Black Ops entering the fray, I think Call of Duty fans will have mixed reactions to Treyarch's latest installment. If you've been playing CoD ever since Modern Warfare came out, a clearer and more learned stand on how Black Ops fares may be obtained. A lot of players were disappointed at how some aspects of Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops' predecessor, seemed too unrealistic for an FPS game. From Commando to Marathon and even how kills gotten from killstreaks enable you to get a higher killstreak reward, I would say a lot of users were pissed. Thus, Treyarch listened to the fans' cries and they listened real good. If one had experienced Modern Warfare 2's online gameplay, he would be able to tell that Black Ops' is starkly different. I dare say that Black Ops is more balanced when it comes to online multiplayer. The removal of Stopping Power, Commando and Danger Close among other perks is just one of the things Treyarch has done. Therefore, if you're the arcade-FPS type, Black Ops is a superb game if you're sick and tired of MW2. However, CoD's pseudo-lone wolf play style still remains as Bad Company 2 wins the more team-based gameplay.

The online mode is only one aspect of the game and Treyarch definitely didn't want to end there. Black Ops' solo campaign is a more creative and psychological take on military drama than Modern Warfare. It delves into unknown territory as you are taken into the Cold War's secret skirmishes. The campaign offers a lot of promising and fun gameplay as seen in the parts where the player controls various vehicles and guns.
The Zombies mode is also a decent approach to giving players a break from competing with each other and instead, working together to defend against an outrageously weaved zombie apocalypse story. The zombies mode replaces the superb Spec Ops of Modern Warfare 2 but it isn't in any way any better or worse.

With all the tweaks on online gameplay and extra content, Treyarch has put up a surprisingly well-made Call of Duty sequel that may actually rival the peak performance of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. For CoD fans, and those who have had enough of Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops is a decent bang for your buck.… Expand

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

Game is pretty fun. The story is pretty engaging big over the top action scenes. The multiplayer is really fun and has a lot of stuff that you can unlock or not if you don't want to spend your COD points on it. the last kill cam and theater mode was pretty neat features. the Killstreaks and weapon attachments are as good as ever and they added the Galil which is a great gun. Split screen Multiplayer is a plus too. The zombie mode is pretty fun if you have 4 players because it can get difficult. If you're a fan of FPS or the Call of Duty Series I recommend getting this game because its more of the same Call of Duty shootin Fun… Expand

MW2 is way above this one. the online is fun, specially if you play with a friend at your side against the online world, that is awesome but many game have this feature, so, black ops have nothing special. if u wanna a good FPS game, buy a MW2 and be happy ;)