I seriously don't understand some people? While Modern Warfare one and especially two were unoriginal neo-con wet dreams, some enjoyed it because as one put it on COD website: 'We get to nuke Arabs'! Pathetic simple minds, yet sadly common on xbox live. Treyarch for me are extremely under-rated as WAW and Black Ops are better more compelling games, yet because of mind-less fan boys they get smashed. This is the best game in the series without doubt, the longest yet best story mode, excellent and IMPROVED multiplayer, and comical (in a good sense) Zombie mode. Though yes it doesn't really stray from Modern Warfare template too often, so if gamers have any sense they would stop buying the yearly update and buy it every two years, as hopefully that's how long I'll be playing this for.… Expand

Some of the scores given here by fellow gamers are stupid.Black Ops isn`t the best in the series as that goes to Modern Warfare 2,but this is a decent effort.The campaign has a good story although it is very short.The mutliplayer is decent,but for me not a patch on MW2 as some of the maps seem more camper friendly than ever and the respawn system can be a pain in the backside.Some of the weapons feel a little odd and i feel like they lack abit of punch,and they feel kinda light to me,but they are the only failings to me.People putting scores of 1 are just stupid in my honest opinion.Black Ops isn`t groundbreaking,but it's a decent effort by Treyarch.Although Infinity Ward still have the edge on the development side of the COD franchise.If you want a mix of Modern warfare 1 and World At War then this is for you,if not then don't bother.… Expand

Hoorah! This game is gonna sell like gangbusters due to a great marketing campaign and franchise recognition. Sad, as this is just about the only positive thing I can say about this game. First off, it is not half the game "Medal of Honor" is, especially the single player. True, the plot might be intriguing, but the execution is laughable. Just by virtue of being a Treyarch game that doesn't completely suck, this somehow translates into being on par with the best in the genre? Right...

Going on, the color palette in "Black Ops" is horrendous, the graphics are generally bland and the scripting just as present as in every other title out there. However, this game gets away easy in reviews when it comes to this. Why? It's "Call of Duty".

Aside from the visuals, the sound design is also mediocre. Listen to this next to "Medal of Honor" on a sound system (or heck; just your TV) and tell me which has the better sound mix. Hint: It is not "Black Ops". In fact, "Medal of Honor" has the best sound mix I have ever heard in a game. It is truly an acoustic marvel, and deserves to be heard.
Adding insult to injury, a set of spastic, drugged-out-of-their-minds and pathetically acted scenes is what we get to tie everything together. "Black" did this in a much better way in 2006. On the Xbox and PS2, nonetheless.

Also, many have made a point out of the ethical dilemma one faces when setting a FPS to a real world war. How the situation demands respect and thought. In this regard, in whatever way "Medal of Honor" failed to do so in regards to the current war in Afghanistan absolutely pales in comparison to the travesty Treyarch gives us here. JFK as a zombie-killer side-by-side with Castro? Now there is respect and historical accuracy for you! The Infinity Ward games, while being ridiculous at times, at least knew where to draw the line. Not so here. "Black Ops" is a dumb game by design and proud of it.

In short:
I will return "Black Ops" to my game retailer and get a title worth playing instead. "This years Biggest Disappointment"? Achievement unlocked.… Expand

This game is everything I'd hoped 4. They have taken everything great about this series and taken it up[ 2 a whole new leval. It just makes one wonder where the next one will go to top it but I'll look forward to finding out. Its pretty interesting the range of user reviews here to btw. It seems to vary between people who actually played the game and appreciated it for what it is and the rest seem to be just lookn 4 something 2 hate on and mostly sound childish and resentful. Especially the ones who go out of their way 2 give this a 1 rating and then say how inferior it is 2 MW2 and nobody should buy it. I suspect theres alot of kids who cant afford 2 get this yet & hate that the MW2 community that they've investd so much $$ in is gonna be a virtual ghost town now. Get over it, theres a new king in town !!… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Before the release.i thought Black ops could never top Modern Warfare 2.. boy was i wrong.
Although campaign is a tad short.it has more diversity then Modern warfare 2 had and its just a little bit more appealing. although the lack of Campaign co-op is disapointing,the addition of zombie mode co-op makes up for it. but enough about that,lets talk about the multiplayer!,there are the old modes like capture the flag and such. but the new game modes in the wager modes is where its at. with games like sticks and stones,Gun game & one in the chamber among others,especially sticks and stones came across as one of the more fun modes,in sticks and stones you only have a crossbow with exploding tipped arrows,a hatchet and a ballistic knife to use in battle. and this can lead to various situations you can hardly get anywhere else. the game is just so much better then any of the predecessor already and then i havent talked about other things like Dead ops or theater mode. COD:Black ops has enough content to satisfy the shooter needs for awhile IMO.… Expand

By Far the best Call of Duty Game I've ever played. The Campaign is Excellent, The Multiplayer is Outstanding and any game that lets me play a JFK killing zombies is just freaking Epic ! And if its not enough you get lots of secrets giving you more solid extras for a $59.99. It might not be a MW2 but when it comes to to a SAW-scenes, Hours killing people around the world and dead politics killing for some reason Nazis dead people you can't ask for more.… Expand

This game has a monster **** It's by far one of the best of its kinds. It's only a shame that medal of honor couldnt have been this good. If you havnt already got it do so.

It seems to be the cool thing to hate the newest Call of Duty nowadays. I can tell you, if you have ever enjoyed a Call of Duty game, you will have a blast with Black Ops. The multiplayer is balanced, there doesn't seem to be any weapon or perk that really stands out as overpowered. The customization is amazing, the emblems, weapons, and character can all be customized as you see fit. However, I have a few gripes. The framerate tends to drop during intense moments or particularly in the map Jungle, and there are a few bugs, like the infinite care package glitch (which I imagine will be fixed). It's not as "solid" a game as Infinity Ward's previous titles. And Treyarch is still not as good at creating maps as Infinity Ward's, but it's by no means bad.

The story is a bit short but really cinematic and intense, it's very similar to Modern Warfare 2's, as you might expect. Also, zombies is always a welcome return. Point being, if you're a Call of Duty fan, you'll love it.… Expand

Damn, this is a great game! Ok, let's get serious. MULTIPLAYER is the STAR here and raises the bar for all subsequent games. Not only are there loads of new features, but all the details are well thought out and the gameplay is SMOOTH and WELL-BALANCED. It is WAGER MATCH, however, that blows everything out of the water. INGENIOUSLY CRAFTED and BRILLIANTLY EXECUTED, the WAGER MATCH MODES are INCREDIBLE FUN and SERIOUSLY ADDICTIVE. The single player plot is intriguing and suspenseful and keeps you guessing until the last revelation. Altogether, Black Ops is an outstanding piece of work and NOT TO BE MISSED! In my opinion, this is the BEST CALL OF DUTY YET!… Expand

I don't get all the negative user reviews. Clunky controls? Its the same setup modern warfare 2 had. Bad graphics? Graphics are amazing. The campaign is great and so is the nazi zombies. The only reason I did not give it a ten is that it requires you to be online for the combat training. I can't get online so I would have loved to play with bots on the map. Anyway, best call of duty yet.

This is a review for for XBOX 360 version. Yes it's more of the same but it's still the best MP shooter available. Some people commented that the graphics were bad and I agreed at first. The smoke effects in particular looked horrible. Then I realized that I had mis-adjusted the brightness in the configuration. Once I fixed the brightness the graphics looked fine (or the same as the other COD:MW games). Same basic combat engine with new maps. A few are available to begin and additional maps are unlocked as you level up. The big change with the experience system is that you no longer have to "earn" attachments and perks. You receive $ for playing each match and use this currency to buy attachments, perks, and other items. One new item that looks interesting is the sticky cam. You can place it around a corner and then watch for the enemy. If you enjoyed the previous COD:MW game you should enjoy this one as well. The one gripe I do have is that the cut scenes between levels in the campaign are too long. Most last for several minutes or at least it seems so.… Expand

Call of Duty black ops is simply put one of the better shooter out right now. It trumps the dying Halo brand and even trumps its previous creation in Modern Warfare 2 (in the multiplayer aspect. The online gameplay is challenging and fun. It offers new maps that give every style of playing an equal chance. The maps vary in size from very small to fairly large. The new wagers and customizations are just the icing on the cake. Of course their are going to be nube tubes and campers in every game. There will be no ridding that. People that give this game a negative rating for that are just ignorant. However all in all this was a very good game and im looking forward to investing some time in it.… Expand

Well first of all im giving this game a 10 although its really not a perfect 10 because of the complete childish negative reviews of this game. You people are gonna give the game a 0 because you think the "graphics suck". Really? Thats your only reason? Yes the graphics arent as crisp as Modern Warfare but since when has treyarch been about graphics? Do a little research or just use some common sense before buying a game. Has anyone actually played the single player mode? THe graphics are awesome and they arent even bad in multiplayer just not as good as modern warfare...but who cares!? This game has some incredibly deep content so no one should say they are already bored with it. Intense SIngle player campaign, Zombies, Dead Ops, Wager Matches, contracts, new weapons, currency, new killstreaks, practice mode....i mean what more could you ask for? Not to say this game is perfect and doesnt have its problems. My major complaint is the respawns in multiplayer...countless times i have been spawned right in front of an enemy. I hope this gets fixed....but honestly thats my major complaint with a few other small complaints i will not get into. Im giving this game a 10 just to outweight the stupid negative reviews for this game...i mean if someone can give some legitimate reasons for giving this game a 0 id love to hear them.… Expand

What can i say that the others haven't already? I've been playing all of the cod's for years and this one keeps me coming back for more just like the others did. Love the customization, the theater mode is incredible, and the zombies kick ass as usual. If you don't like zombies, don't complain about it to us. We zombie lovers don't want to hear your whining asses cry about it one more second. We pure fps shooter fans know that this game is quality, and that's all that matters. Yes, the graphics are a little dated, but they are still more than acceptable by this gamer. Buy it with a smile on your face knowing it's money well invested in countless hours of vicious gameplay. My GOTY selection for sure.… Expand

I own all the call of duty games in the series for PC. Played them til my eyes crossed at times.
The single player game was fantastic challenging without being too frustrating, astounding plot, phenomenal graphics, compelling characters. It felt like a six and a half hour interactive movie. Single player campaign was miles above MW2 in my opinion, and I thought MW2 could not be topped.

The Multi-player has a very WAW fell with modern weapons even some that did not exist in the time frame of this game setting, but I'm glad they stretched reality there it makes for a better experience.
Updated but not revolutionary is the best way to describe multi-player.

The co-op portion was very disappointing, I like the zombies don't get me wrong but I wanted
the co-op experience similar to MW2. Not to mention just endless waves of zombies gets old quick. The co-op in MW2 had hours of excitement for me and my friends. We had to function like a small Spec-ops team to complete the maps. You needed: communication, precision, and teamwork to do the missions. Not like Multi-player where no matter what organization an communication you try to establish everyone runs around and does there own thing. There is a "Combat Training" mode you can play privately with your friends, but event the AI runs around like decapitated chickens. If they offered non-zombie co-op maps in the future maybe ill buy them (maybe) or hold my breath waiting for it to return next year.

Overall a great game. I'm glad to see the franchise grow and improve. It would be a perfect 10 but
multi-player did not blow me away like COD4 & COD6, and no good co-op which makes the game playable again and again.… Expand

The only reason i'm not rating this higher is ,because even though this game is pretty good.The story for the campaign is pretty hard to understand if your not paying attention,and the multiplayer has some good maps.Yet like all the other COD games that have come out recentley this games multiplayer is plagued with glitches and booster. So if you get you this game for the multiplayer be prepared with a different game in the aspect sof new modes and cool customization options,but be prepared for the same campers and other glitches that plauged MW2. :) (awesome music to)… Expand

Where to begin... Well first off this game is WAAAAAAAAAAY better than Modern Warfare 2. I do not understand why people keep saying 'If you have MW2, keep it!'. MW2 was a HORRIBLE multilayer game. MW2 had nothing on CoD4. I did not like WaW that much and was not too into Treyarch at all. BUT now I Treyarch took me for a spin! Black Ops so far has been one of the best and most fun FPS games I have ever played. I enjoy it as much as I did CoD4 and that takes ALOT for me to say that! So far the campaign is AMAZING and I am not far at all. Zombies is 10x better than WaW zombies. And the multi player... Is very fun too! Love how the guns actually sound more 'realistic'. Love love love the Create a Class 2.0. I like how you can buy your attachments and perks so you don't have to be a certain level to achieve a perk because that was lame in the other CoDs. This game is FUN! There is just too much to say about the positives of this game (like kill streak kills not adding on to your kill streak!) Why didn't they do that in every CoD!? Keeps like punks from camping to just get kill streaks. Pros: Campaign, Zombies, Combat Training, & Multi player Kill Streak Change Create a Class 2.0 WAYYYYY more balance than MW2 MUCH MUCH MUCH More Cons: No game is perfect by all means.. But I have yet to see anything I can complain about in this game. Recommend: YES I highly recommend this game!… Expand

Honestly, its an 8.5/9 but with people giving it a zero for no reason I had to up the score. Campaign can be a little disjointed, but overall is compelling and the cut scenes make you want to continue playing. The arcade zombie and normal zombie mode are fun side games to just shot some fairly intelligent AI with friends. Multiplayer is a little slower and methodical than previous games. The sound (low to no footstep noise) is a little annoying, but Treyarch is looking into it. Sniping isn't ruined as some claim, it just requires more patience. You are rewarded for playing more mutliplayer...but isn't that the point? The graphics are a little low in terms of human models, but I am getting higher fps. All the "slowness" people are referring too is just server lag due to the massive amount of people playing over the past two days. This is obviously not the worst game ever as a 0 means...its also not the unicorn of gaming. Something along those lines is never gonna happen, you cannot please every single person and avoid every single bug. This is a solid game that is packed with content and has a rewards system to keep you busy for months to come.… Expand

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

Treyarch have done an excellent job with Black Ops. The single-player campaign is enthralling and extremely frantic. In my opinion, it's the best story in the Call of Duty franchise. The back and forth between stories might get confusing, but if you pay enough attention to it, you'll be in for a treat. It's pretty much set piece after set piece. When it comes to multiplayer, Treyarch does an extremely good job. Tons of customization, right down to face paint and logos on weapons. They introduced a credit system in the game that serves as a form of currency. After each match you get a certain amount of credits based off your performance. In turn, you spend credits on purchasing, pretty much, everything in the game: guns, attachments, camo, reticle, perks, etc. There is also much more stat tracking that you have to figure out on your own, because it really does seem endless.

Overall, Black Ops is a fine first-person shooter. It has that same COD quality that keeps people coming back each year, plus more. It's single-player is fresh, and original, taking around 6-8 hours to finish (play of hardened your first time). Treyarch made multiplayer even more user-friendly with crazy amounts of customization and the added wager modes give Black Ops even more that it already has...Oh, yeah...Zombies have returned too.

It's a complete package. If you have MW2 and are wary, don't be. It's a great game.… Expand

Terrible in every aspect. Themultiplayer is so dull, and repetitive it makes you want to commit. Want a decent FPS? Buy BBC2 Vietnam. Biggest letdown of the century. Period.

A pretty pathetic re-hash of Modern Warfare 2. It seems like yet another game that was built around the multiplayer first, and the single-player second. Not only was the campaign an apparent afterthought, it's a bad rip of the MW2 campaign. You can play them side-by-side and see where the two have the same traits. Not to mention an "infinite care package" glitch was discovered mere hours after the game's release. Go figure. I'm done with Call of Duty altogether, I'm glad I only rented this.… Expand

Call of Duty Black Ops has made the largest strides of created a new and improved Call of Duty experience, and succeeded with flying colors. The gameplay finally is balanced, no more will you die via UMP across the map. All weapons are balanced, but automatic weapons have a sight advantage due to the more shots it takes to bring down and opponent, but the M16s are best for long range shooting anyways. Also, the fact that killstreaks do not stack anymore focuses more on the shooting nature of the game, as CoD4 did. This is a huge relief, and rises out of the killstreak heavy MW2 gameplay.

The best addition is the way you buy weapons. They are unlocked regularly, but now you can buy the attachments, instead of playing countless games, slaving to get fmj for a weapon. This addition helps the game focus more on the gameplay. The addition of diving to prone is also a helpful addition to get a jump on the enemy.

The addition of theater mode is a nice touch as well, giving players the halo treatment. Also, custom matches finally organize private no scope matches. Also, the ability to personalize weapons and emblems really gives the player a larger sense of creativity.

Finally, with the addition of split screen online multiplayer, players can also entertain their friends with an online experience that was only provide before by halo. This is a feature that fans screamed for and someone FINALLY listened.

The campaign in this game is much better than the previous games. The player is put into the middle of a grand mystery of the main characters mind. The government is trying to exract information that was wiped after your character went missing in action. The player goes through their characters past experiences and finds unique twists.

The Zombies mode is slightly bumped down from WaW, with the addition of wierd crawling zombies that disorient the player. It seems Treyarch tried to complicate this mode more than it should have been. But the fact that players can control Presidents JFK and Nixon against Nazi Zombies is as humorous as it is fun. The downfalls of this game happen in the multiplayer maps and graphics department. The half the maps are fine, but some maps are too large for simple team deathmatches. Expect games to go on for the full length of time due to the large amounts of places players can hide. No one finds anyone for 30 seconds sometimes. Also, the graphics seem like a major step down from MW2. This game lost MW2's realism, but that does not mean that the game looks terrible to any extend. Just different.

All in all, Call of Duty Balck Ops is the greatest of the series so far. The improvements shadow the minor glitches and out dated graphics. But the largeness of the maps, typical in Treyarch games, really bring down online gameplay. If you are looking for a strong predessor to the worlds top selling game, look no further than Black Ops.… Expand

** -- >>> 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

Earlier I posted an inquiry about Metacritic's removal of a negative review from escapistmagazine.com (the only one for Black Ops). I received the following response, which actually sounds pretty legitimate, so I rescind my prior inquiry and comment (especially in the hopes that the person who posted it does not get reprimanded in any way). In any event, here is his explanation for the removal of the negative review:

"I posted it before I realized that it's not a review of the full game - it was single-player only. We don't carry reviews of partial games. I posted it without realizing what they were doing there."

So, again, it makes sense to me.… Expand

Downright awful game. The campaign is a bit longer that of MW2's, but what it has to offer are simply a few shoot-outs and scripted cinematics collabed into an awfully written story. So, what is to expect next, the multiplayer? It's balance issues are unbelievable. It's as if Treyarch took everything that Infinity Ward put in MW2 that sucked, had it give birth, then tried an abortion and it managed to survive. It's a hideously ugly and deformed baby with things that make the multiplayer unbearable. Do not buy. Waste of your money. This is, by far, one of the reasons for the downfall of gaming.… Expand

Single player has some rough parts, but overall is decent. The multiplayer is much better than MW2. Killstreaks not contributing from higher tier killstreaks is nice, it keeps people from hitting a kill streak like a helicopter then hiding and waiting for it do to all the work for their next killstreak. And thank god for fixing QSing, I have no idea why anyone thinks it's skillful to put a dot on their TV screen and aim by using that.… Expand

Copy/past from Call of Duty 6(((((There are not ANY brainf*ck moments(But it have story!!!And first in history i like fire and gameplay really different

Legitimate opinions aside, there are a lot of people giving this game bad scores for the wrong reasons... and ludicrously low scores at that. This is slightly reflected in my score, trying to restore a tiny portion of balance, tacking an extra point or so on to the score... but the game does deserve high praise. It's got a great campaign and a fun multiplayer experience. It's only flaws are few and they lay on the multiplayer side of things, as far as I'm concerned. As far as I can see there's a lack of an option along the lines of Halo: Reach's "Psych Profile," which would make playing online more pleasant... if I could only set it up to filter out people with headsets.… Expand

This game suffers from the been there done that syndrome. Cod Fans will shower it with praise and anyone searching for realistic combat will be left with a bad taste in their mouths. The game boasts Black ops in the name and falls flat on it's face when it attempts to deliver. This is an expansion pack not an actual game.

There is no doubt that Activision marketing scheme also includes paying off gaming critics. This game is sh*t , there is not one aspect of this game that is worth paying $60 for.

I have played every Cod game and have enjoyed the single player campaigns but this one takes the cake at being the worse.

I have to give this game a 4 because the graphics suck. The audio sucks. And the multiplayer. Has to much crap going on. The guns are a joke and look like garbage. And sniper rifles are pointless in this game. And the worst thing is that online is laggy as hell. And campaign sucks with no depth

COD BO stinks. The only thing that changes with these guys is the maps. The game is still a big, run around and shoot anything that moves game, which completely destroys any semblance of a real combat game. For those of us who only play occasionally, BO is a step backward. The introduction of gambling, what is all that about? And the statistics are laughable. For example, "Players have run around the earth 83 times so far". Huh? Leveling up requires you to buy everything? Again, what the heck? I guess the game makers want you to buy the $19.99 book to figure out what the heck to do. Now the remote control car is kind of cool the first 10 times you get hit with it, or blow up an opposing player, BUT after that, "ZERO enjoyment".… Expand

In online Multiplayer, the enemies respawn behind you, the controls are sluggish, the graphics poor and not as fluid as MW2 and the sound FX seem to have been borrowed from the 1980s. How on earth can they be given the bare bones of a masterpiece and turn it into this pile of rubbish. Treyarch have created a poor relative to the series and taken the whole franchise back-in-time to an age when the N64 ruled the world. What few inspired ideas there are, are lost in this nasty, horrible (and cynical) pixelated mess.… Expand

Not good. Compared to what Infinity Ward has done, Treyarch really shouldnt be making games like this anymore. The very first thing I noticed were the graphics, at the very least the should be identical to Modern Warfare 2, but theyre not. Theyre worse. Second thing was the sound, listen to how a napalm strike sounds and you'll think you're playing a side scroller on a playstation one. And lastly, what did they improve on? remote control cars? really? come on, i'm sick of every other call of duty sucking..… Expand

At this point, I think COD Black Ops is mostly riding on Multiplayer. The single player campaign was a disgrace--I actually felt embarrassed for Treyarch--who designed that ? Didn't anyone from Treyarch actually play the solo campaign? Everyone I know who's played it has found right away all the silly loops you get stuck on, or the wonderful "Barrel of Fail" where what--I don't hit one button right and I'll never get past the level? That's a mistake, not real gameplay. And as most have pointed out, multiplayer is just a new skin of COD MW2 --except with maps that seem a little less thought out. I sure hope MW3 brings something new to the table b/c this is getting a little old especially for the $. Don't even get me started on the Expansion maps that cost a third of the game itself!… Collapse

Not sure why users are giving this one a bad review. This is a solid game, we've just played too much COD in the past few years. This is definately worth the money.

I bought this game having high hopes as many others did as well, unfortunately all i got was the same mess that Modded Warfare 2 already stirred up. Treyarch said they did not want their game to end up like MW2, well Congratulations its WORSE. at least MW2 had decent enough Hit Registration and the Spawn system was not completely broken. MW2 also had balanced maps where sniping was at least possible. When they announced they were removing Stopping Power from the game i was ecstatic i thought they would finally realize that A BULLET IS A BULLET!!!! guns should not have damage stats. They should remove damage as a stat for weapons and focus primarily on range, accuracy, mobility and rate of fire. if you get hit with a bullet you DIE. just because my gun has 4 bars of Damage and yours has 5 does not mean u win a fire fight when i put 3 rounds into your skull. If you, like myself, loved sniping well then your out of luck in order to fight the "War on Quickscoping" that Treyarch believes is happening they made it so if you don't aim down the sights for a full 2 seconds your bullet flies in some random direction like a revolutionary war musket. Threyarch needs to stop making promises they cant keep. they said it would be close to impossible to hack this game well its been a little over a month since the games release and there are already Wall hacks, Aim-bots, God Mode, No Clip, Infinite Ammo and much much more. The spawn system is non existent as well the game will consistently spawn you in the same location so some retard can run over to you place a sentry gun at your spawn and rack up the kills. The lag is also an extreme issue, if you do not have a 4 bar connection then it is virtually impossible to get a legitimate kill. Even at 3 bars bullets fail to register and do almost no damage. In MW2 it felt as if maybe 10-15% of your bullets might go unaccounted for well in BO change that to at least 50-75% of them. That may be an over exaggeration to some people but when you unload 15 bullets into one guy just to have him wheel around and shoot you twice in the leg and kill you something is definitely wrong. This game practically rewards mediocrity, the RC car is the most OP kill-streak ever put into a game, a 3 year old child with down syndrome could get the 2 kills in a row it takes ( i know its 3 kills but since everyone turns hard-line on anyway, you might as well make it 2) to get that reward. people literally can just do completely **** the whole game and towards the end just say, " hey look i have ten RCXD's to spawn kill people with". This game literally has so many bugs that by gaming "law" is Literally considered BROKEN. just to name a few... Railings: the spaces between railings on balcony's and stairs are programed as "walls" so you either can or can not shoot through them while doing minimal damage, Wanted: this is just what I'm calling it since i do not know the exact term, but when people shoot behind you as you run around cover and despite not hitting you at all the bullets almost seem to curve around the corner and get you anyway,KNIFING: its broken now so don't even try. the prime rule is, If you think you got him...you didn't. If you think you didn't get him... then you did. Air knifes are much more common then MW2 and 3arc really doesn't seem to care about it. This game literally did nothing new to the Cod franchise beside steal a bunch of ideas from Halo like their "new" currency system and map selecting in Multi player. Overall this is a piss poor game with outdated graphics and a Company backing it, cough* cough* Activision, that's to greedy to give a **** that their game has some serious problems that need addressing. If you wonder why the graphics are bad then, again look at Activison, they thought it would be a good idea to make the game 3D compatible so they down graded the graphics to satisfy the 2% margin of gamers with 3D TV's. Seriously if your going to market to a certain group then you should pick a larger one then that. This game, just like Modern Warfare 2, was fun at first but now is just another failed project. And to those who might say, "Oh you just suck, thats why ur mad", no, my KD is 2.05 and it i have 15,000 kills so no. I just know what a good game is, and this is not it. I think ill go back to Bad Company 2 and wait for Vietnam in 3 days. Lets hope Sledgehammer games learns from this and doesn't screw up Modern Warfare 3.… Expand

My god. This game is terrible. The game feels like it's been recycled due to the outdated engine which has been used since 2005. As we play through the game we notice Treyarch is continuing infinity ward's legacy by killing every main character i see whether it be a monkey or character obviously based off Willem Dafoe's role as sergeant Elias from platoon. As you play through the game you can actually notice objects recycled from world at war such as palm trees, textures, and even character models! At the best this could have been an expansion to World at war. Activision is too cheap to make a new engine or at least use one from another game. To all fans of Call Of Duty let me get this through your head CALL OF DUTY IS A DIEING SERIES!… Expand

Weapon balance is a joke, there are couple smgs and a few assault rifles that overpower all the other weapons in the game. The knifing is understandable for the fast pace action this game strives on but is still frustrating when you put a few bullets into someone then die when he slices your arm. The single player campaign is just a bunch of random scenarios tied together with a ridiculously predictable plot. The multiplayer maps are mediocre compared to modern warfare 1 and 2 maps. But I guess they are designed for people who would rather mindlessly run at each other than climb even a simple learning curve. Why else would nuketown be voted for over and over again for hours before the patch limiting replaying a map was released. Which leads me to spawn locations. In every CoD I have never been killed or got a kill within a seconds of spawning as much as I do in black ops. This games adds nothing new to the series besides tomahawks and wager matches that usually rely more on luck than any skill, so it drives me crazy how so many "critics" sellout and give this game such high ratings just to appeal to the masses when other game sequels are bashed for being just a reiteration of a previous release. Maybe if the next CoD brings back the quality and entertainment of the first modern warfare the "critics" will throw tens at it claiming it is the best fps ever created. Who knows, OXM might even give it an 11, of course then they would start giving tons of games 11 and make a 12 to justify the scores...

Overall I would give this game a 6 just because S&D can be a lot of fun, but every time I play I remember how much more fun I had on better made maps with a wider variety of weapons worth using. But I'm gonna have to go with 0 to balance out the people giving 10's with reasons such as "by far the most complete and deep gaming experience in history" or "I don't understand why so many people are complaining about this game." or my favorite "I detect battlefield fanboys in these reviews. a 0 without any reasoning to back it up?", by the way he doesn't give a single reason why the game deserves the 10 he gave it.… Expand

Great game!! Treyarch made a neat game probably the best game on their works. The campaign is well scripted than any other CoD game,the big explosion parts are there and the funny zombies are back and more deadly than before. The multiplayer is very entertaining but not in the line of Modern Warfare 2 . The zombies already includes three maps one unlocked ,the other locked,meanwhile the third one is a secret . Very creative game but more of the same… Expand

In my opinion the story campaign is about as clever as CoD is ever likely to be. Good to see Zombies return. My one major gripe being that the multiplayer side of the game is horrible, we can all complain about there being no dedicated servers, but this really makes an impact on the core part of gameplay, the shooting. Bullet registration is beyond a joke, it seems like half the time you are lucky to make your mark and even if you try and evade your enemy by running round a corner the bullets are likely to follow you. All in all story campaign, yes, Multiplayer no!… Expand

Call of Duty Black Ops is the latest rehash shooter in the franchise. The game is basically World at War with improved graphics and a new story. The story is presented well, but it's total crap and too short. The multiplayer takes content out of World at War and just releases them as DLC. I highly recommend just buying World at War instead, then use the money left over to buy the map packs.

The campaign is decent, and the Nazi Zombies game mode is very fun. But, as we all know, the multiplayer is where so many points are lost. The hit detection is a joke, where you can be aiming at somebody precisely, and the bullets don't seem to connect. What a joke. The knifing is a joke as well, where you don't even need to be facing the guy to counter him with the knife. You can run right past him, and he'll still hit you. It's absolutely ridiculous, and so stupid. The guns aren't really balanced well either. You can have guns that somewhat powerful, but some much kick and it will just not work at all. But then there are guns that have a ludicrous fire rate, no recoil, and a two-round kill (FAMAS, obviously). Like... What is that all about. It's also bloody boring where everybody just runs around with the damn thing too. It's hard to enjoy. Please, Treyarch, leave it to Infinity Ward to deliver us Call of Duty games where they have delivered us two decent CoD's in a row.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. One of my favorite cods. The campaign is fantastic. The story is far different from cods typical war. It involves hallucinations of people and the images and sounds of random numbers into your head. The disturbing sight of your hand shaking and aiming a gun to jfk with a terrifying screaming in the background, or the multiple hallucinations in the second to last level as you stumble around an empty building as you realize one of your closest teamates was never really with you at all and had been dead for years. The mind bending story is not original, but its fun and different. The multiplayer is good and fixes many problems in mw2 involving balancing. No major flaws in my experience. It is trully an exciting and mind bending game.… Expand

I do happen to enjoy the Multiplayer a lot more than mw2. weapons and perks are more balanced and the maps are very diverse but the lag and TERRIBLE kniving make it somewhat frustrating at times . As for the campaign, I felt it was just playing any other Call of Duty game but in a different era. Although I do applaud the great voice acting and amazing framerate, not that the graphics are pushing any boundaries; but the gameplay and story didnt put me in a mode to where I just had to keep playing.… Expand

Black Ops is thoroughly Call of Duty, and as such there are some truly thrilling and fun moments in the campaign. That being said there are some lingering issues that really hold this game back. 1. The A.I. is just terrible. I know COD has never been accused of having great A.I. but Black Ops really seems to make it worse. There are numerous times where your allies and enemies will simply ignore each other.. I've witnessed an A.I. teammate and enemy literally standing back to back firing in opposite directions, completely oblivious to the others presence. You'll see your teammates run right past enemies, I mean they'll pass each other on a narrow pathway without even a nod. It's just weird, and it happens frequently enough that you can't help but notice it and feel disappointed.

2. Instant deaths... I don't know if the enemy headshot percentages were boosted or what but I found myself dying inexplicably a number of times during the campaign. As in other CODs once you start taking hits the screen starts turning red until you can't hardly see and then die. Generally you have a pretty good idea of how much punishment you can take before you die. But in Black Ops I found myself going from perfectly fine to dead instantly. And the game always tells you if you die from a grenade or exploding barrel or something like that, so I know that's not the issue. The only thing I can come up with is that I was hit in the head, but if that's the case then the enemies accuracy must have really been cranked up. Either way it becomes incredibly frustrating when you die out of nowhere, and it's not something that I've witnessed happening in any of the other CODs.

3. The Story...it's not terrible, but it's not very original either. I was interested at first, there's an air of mystery, but once I realized where the story was going I just found myself going through the motions to finish the game. The game treats the big reveal like a shocking surprise, but really, you saw it coming a few levels back. That's not to say the last few levels are bad, they're actually very good, and the final level is great, it's just the story that accompanies it fizzles out by that point.

Then there's the multiplayer....think of it as a huge map pack for Modern Warfare 2. If you didn't know the maps you'd have a hard time knowing which one was which if you were watching them side-by-side. I almost wish they'd gone back to WWII just for the multiplayer. At least then it would feel distinct. World at War had its own style that I really enjoyed, so I was a bit disappointed when I first saw Blacks Ops multiplayer in action. It's good. It has some great new modes and the wager matches are a fine idea. COD points are a nice touch for upgrading your equipment the way YOU want to instead of everyone at say level 35 having the same things unlocked. So overall I think it is an improvement over Modern Warfare 2 and I'll certainly spend many hours playing.

Black Ops is great package, and will certainly keep you occupied until the next COD lands, but for me, this is the first time I've played a COD game and thought, "I could've probably skipped this one and never really regretted it."… Expand

Let me just say,go back to 2007 call of duty 4 and play it.You will see a core of the same things there.There is still playing that game,thousands online after all this time and it is mid 2011 now.That is why COD 4 and COD 4 II won so many awards and are so good.I'm not going to be bias and knock it harshly on the review side over that but you can see my point.Black ops has an awesome campaign,great multiplayer,great graphics,ect..but for one I would rather put in COD MW 2 any time of the day and there is still up to 100,000 playing that game online and for being a 2009 game that is where you see some of the brilliance behind it.Black ops is a solid 8 but the two before it were perfect 10's so go figure.… Expand

Bottom line, if you've 10th prestiged in MW2, chances are you love that game, and are not gonna like Black Ops. Black Ops is a perfect game. So much options in multiplayer, so many different game modes, so much to unlock. It plays awesomely. I keep hearing :"they've copied MW2." Isn't that what happened from MW1 to MW2? W/e. You can't please anyone. Change it, people get mad, keep it the same, people get mad. Hey everyone, spoiler here......it plays like a Call of Duty game should......nuff said.… Expand

Oh my... I'll write in short and simple lines what i think. This game is ugly and sucks. The campaign is the wrost of all, weapons as well, Multiplayer is simple Camper wars. The only thing cool here is zombies coop.

The solo campaign is short but well made but its the multiplayer and zombies that people really buy this game for. Sure it's alot like MW2 but thats no bad thing in my opinion. Its an improvement on an excellent game.

This is a review coming from someone that has beaten the entire game and has played about 20+ hours of the multi-player as well.
When I first started playing Black Opts, I wasn't sure if I even liked it or not. I bought it mainly to play with a friend online that lives out of town. I also knew that the hype surrounding the game was so large, that I had to take everything with a grain of salt.
Well, I must say, after beating the single player campaign and starting to play the online modes including zombies, I must say that this game is well worth the money spent on it. The level of custimization in this game is great and if you don't jump to any conclusions and adapt to the gameplay in multi-player you will have lots of fun. This is definately a game that you will have to work hard at multi-plauer in, as this game keeps the momentum moving forward and doesn't allow for much camping and stagnant fights. There will be blood. So, after getting a little better at the game, I was having even more fun and enjoing unlocking all the features and cusomizing my player tag. I usually always try to make sure I have played a game a good deal and beaten it before I have reviewed it. So here you have it from someone that has actually put a good amount of hours into it. If you do not like online multi-player however, I would say that is where all the value is in this game. Games like MW2 definately had better campaigns.… Expand

Campaign: Very short around 3.5-4 hours but that's to be expected with the COD series. The storyline itself was alright but nothing groundbreaking. The game play was meh nothing you haven't seen in previous COD titles.

Graphics: Are not up to par. That's as nice as I can put it. There were times when some objects took a while to render (for me anyway). Multiplayer: More of the same with a few added features. Nothing really new here.

Zombie mode: Good addition. Everybody loves killing some zombies.

My conclusion is that this game does not have enough new substance and what substance it does have does not warrant a $65 purchase. Please save your money! I'm thankful I got it for a Christmas gift.… Expand

We all know what we're getting when we buy a COD game cos there's been one released every year in this gen of consoles so I came to this game expecting a lackluster story and an awesome multiplayer but what I got was an incredible story that is easily the best I've played in a COD game followed by a very flat and unexciting multiplayer that felt far to similar to previous instalments. All in all I think the whole call of duty expariance is starting to stagnate and as good as this game is a can't score it more than a seven it's not a bad game it just feels to much like I've played this game before.… Expand

I'll separate this into categories, then rate each of them independently. Then I'll average the scores; some have different weights though.

Gameplay Solo: 8 - Solo is fun and intriguing in the beginning, but you can easily figure out what is actually happening about halfway through, and the story isn't that engaging.
Gameplay Online: 7 - Same old CoD style online since CoD4: MW. Nothing has really changed, and it feels more like a modern shooter in the Vietnam era because of all the modern age gadgetry. This also goes for the campaign.
Graphics: 9 - Same modified CoD4 engine, so graphics are pretty spectacular. They lack some of the polish that MW2 had, but overall very nice.
Playability: 10 - Very smooth control scheme, everything functions properly.
Sounds: 7 - Guns sound odd at times, everything is overly loud instead of finely tuned. Character voices are nice, but the action sounds too fake (Many guns sound like hitting pots and pans with spoons).
Replayability: 7 - If you aren't tired of a 4th CoD4 style online shooter, I guess it is pretty fun. 15 prestiges and 50 levels a piece will keep you busy. If you are like me and have been sick of this type of gameplay since WaW, don't bother buying the game.
Verdict: 7.3 - Since most people only purchase this game for the online, that and the replayability weigh heavily on it's total score. A new CoD it might be, but nothing new is inside, so I don't see how it is a very good game. It is basically another reskin of CoD4. It doesn't FEEL like you're in Vietnam because you are using future tech for most of the time, some of the tech being in MW2, and the story is similarly high tech and awkward.

Even though I dislike the online, I still think I graded this game fairly according to an unbiased perspective. It brings almost nothing new to the table, so I don't see how it can have amazing scores around the board.… Expand

What can you say, really? Call of Duty 4 started a trend of ridiculous popularity, and every CoD game since has followed it step-by-step. There's nothing substantially different between this game and CoD4, aside from some balancing and newer "features". The problem with this game is not that it's another typical CoD game with frustratingly tedious multiplayer (we already know to expect that), but that it's actually WORSE in almost every respect to the game that came before it. It should have come of no surprise that Treyarch is the inferior of the two CoD companies, but it's amazing just much they ruined a franchise that was already so bland. Black Ops suffers from worse balancing, worse visuals, worse maps, worse EVERYTHING when compared to MW2. The only saving graces are insignificant pieces like a theater mode taken straight from Halo, some gun customization, and a couple zombies levels that are sure to excite you for maybe an entire week! Of course, people will buy it, as CoD is the milk that feeds that mainstream non-gamer's hunger for a game where you can literally lie down and wait and still be considered great. So, if you like a game riddled with campers, cheap little "killstreaks", a host of connection issues and bugs, and all that other fun stuff, look no further! For those who are actually willing to earn their wins and work for their glory, try looking at a Halo or Battlefield game. Actually, strike that, even if you love the gameplay I explained earlier, go with MW2, which is better than this game is almost every regard.!… Expand

Call of Duty only really grabbed my attention once it became Modern Warfare, the second world war just didn't appeal to me as a period for interactive entertainment, the setting of Black Ops in the cold war and Vietnam was an interesting idea, one that Hollywood has been more than willing to explore so the games industry taking a look seemed long overdue (no doubt its not the first, but new to me) while the weapons might not be up to the modern whiz bang standards of the recent Modern Warfare / Medal Of Honor games they are not too far off and don't slow things down at all.
The story is a little hard to follow as its mostly seen from your character's memory and the setting of the present in an interrogation suite disrupts the flow a little, everything makes sense but you actually have to concentrate a little which is more than most FPS's would have you do.
Quite a few parts of the game are "on rails" and that gets annoying, gameplay gets very frustrating at times as there is just SO much going on that at times you just end up wondering what the hell you are actually supposed to be doing.
Overall its a decent FPS, not quite as engaging as the previous couple of CODs due to its repeated flashbacks but its definitely enjoyable. 7/10, just missed the 8 due to the frequent overly confusing moments.… Expand

The single player offers a great story, but the game never calms the f*ck down. All the high-octane action sequences that occupy every second of the game lose any trace of realism. Fans of the COD multiplayer formula won't be disappointed, but I feel that it's more about reflexes than actual strategy. Zombies is fun though.

Not sure what people are talking about. This game is amazing. Been a COD fan forever, and this game is by far the best Multiplayer experience I have had with the COD series. Buy it. You won't be dissappointed.

I hold a completely different view then ColdSpike(not saying he's wrong he's entitled to his own opinion) you can't just rate the game for its campaign qualities you most certainly need xbox live. i think the campaign is the best in the call of duty series yet. Its as if your in a movie due to some stunning gameplay cinematics and an exellent plot line. This is probrably the only call of duty game i was actually bothered about what happened in the campaign. The online is also a high standard with alot more features. Since there is an awful lot to describe its probrably best you watch some gameplay footage. The zombies mode is also very fun with a whole new dead ops mode in which you shoot using the analog stick. To summarize

CAMPAIGN --------- 92/100
ONLINE----------84/100
ZOMBIES---------87/100

OVERALL -------- 88/100… Expand

This is the best video game I have ever played. the campaign's story line is engaging and new. It feels like you are in a movie, which is a good thing. This is done while maintaining the action that we're all expecting from a Call of Duty game. Online game play has also improved. The new weapons, maps, and game modes are awesome. I highly recommend this game.

Here you go, a bit of a read, but please expand and read or skim. CoD: Black Ops is a very good game, not the greatest of all games, but a very good game all the same. Think about it, any one of you who went out and bought it right when it came out bought the game to play, right? If you wanted to see what it was like, why not wait and buy it a day after? Your friend(s) could have bought it, and in the new version, did you know that a player can bring a guest in, who can keep their score, items, etc., with an Xbox Live Gold account, and play it losing their winnings, without? You can also create many types of weapons, clan tags, uniforms and so much more, all by yourself, with points equaling game money earned by playing? Wager your "money" for more against other players, plus? It's hard to "camp" in the new game, you can play against AI NPCs to get used to the newer multiplayer game (with or without friends)? Treyarch has their own anti-hackers and servers to do their best to keep out hackers, you have an even more even playing field for those who are not as "quick on the draw;" new and neater wins for kill streaks (attack choppers you can control, the radio controlled car, the Blackbird, and more)? Phenomenal! I do believe that Treyarch, who really could have blown away all of the other CoD games, set the release date too soon (due to Activision), actually did us a favor. How? The company now will have competition by Infinity Ward, who is creating Cod:MW3? At least hopefully there will be good competition. It has some problems, like the never present footstep sounds from behind, at times the game has glitches, and some other problems, and so on - but it's new! So, did you buy the game to complain about it, or did you buy the game to have fun with? Oh yeah, anyone with major problems about the game, I have a good friend who wants to buy a used copy. Really! So, please turn around and trade it in for another game if you don't like it so that he can buy it. Thanks.… Expand

Black Ops is a great game, of that there is no doubt. But it's a real shame that many of the problems from Modern Warfare 2 have been carried over into Treyarch's iteration of this series. These problems aren't of hackers, or glitchers, or really anything of that sort. The two games suffer from what I like to call, "Michael Bay-ism," where the games focus more on the action than trying to develop a real storyline. Now this is not entirely true- Black Ops has crafted a story that you will probably care about much more than you did with Modern Warfare 2, and this time you will understand why you are piloting an attack helicopter and blowing the living $^@& out of everything instead of just hanging on for the ride. And the masterfully-crafted multi-player from MW2 has returned, giving any normal player a reason to keep going back to this game even after you've played it for hours and hours on end. And the multi-player has a new couple of twists- for one, practically every weapon is available early on, but you have to spend points you earn from playing matches to buy them. You also must buy your perks, attachments, and kill-streaks. Plus, the best kill-streaks only send out a pack of dogs or give you control of a gunship, scrapping the extremely overpowered Nuke from the last game. Also new were the Wage Matches, a type of game-mode where you could bet your hard-earned points and play in one of four match types. If you place in the top 3 spots at the end of the game, you earn your money back and some more. Honestly, this game isn't perfect. Hell, it could do with some work. But what it is is an unforgettable experience that must be played.… Expand

Call of Duty Black Ops is a good overall package, however it does have some issues. The campaign has a good Hollywood story taken from the minds of conspirators everywhere. The campaign has a lot of great moments but don't expect a true to life story like Medal of Honor delivers. I found some technical problems with the campaign such as poor hit detection and crappy AI. One of the biggest problems with the campaign is they didn't add the 4 player coop that was in World at War which is really too bad. The zombie mode is great as long as you have the secret code to get the two other maps. Also I was hoping they would let you win zombie mode this time like halo reach added with firefight but they didn't. Its still a great mode, however it will get old fast. That brings us to multiplayer this is the bread and butter of the call of duty series and it does deliver a solid call of duty experience. Just like modern warfare 2 there are a ton of lag issues and I also have found some hit detection problems as well. It doesn't make sense why the biggest multiplayer game on the market doesn't fix there network problems. The multiplayer has some great new modes which change up the experience such as wager matches and gun game which are both fun if you have a good host. The new customization is a great addition but would of been better if you could customize your character on what you want and not what perk you choose. The way you unlock weapons and attachments is fun but I liked the modern warfare 2 system better overall. Overall its a solid FPS would good multiplayer and a decent campaign.… Expand

The game met the expectations, the story filled with trivia and lots of action, adapting all the good things and improve his predecessor, have cost it a multi-player addictive.

the new call of duty is worst of the last one in this various things:
1) graphics is less accurate (see explosion or car... they are very bad)
2) weapons and accessories

but is better in 1) customization of your character
2) big maps multiplayer

Hands down, the worst X360 game I've played, to date. The campaign is ok but, I found it to be repetitive. Ah yes, now the multiplayer. It sucks, I only found only that...uh, I forgot the name but it's a little "town" with models of people in it. Avoid please. Don't be suckered in. So much hype all for nothing.

This game is over hated! This has the best campaign over any other call of duty game even though it still is quite short. It is interesting ot see many historical people such as Fidel Castro and John F Kennedy. The voice acting is impressive Sam Worthington (Avatar) being the main character Alex Mason. However there are plenty of other game modes to keep you busy. Combat training is extremely addictive and it helps you get better at the game. The online multiplayer is very fun. The maps are nice but personally I prefer the maps on modern warfare 2. Zombie mode is alot of fun. Black ops has more modes than any of the games in the series which is why recomend you buy it.… Expand

From a guy who has played every Cod game from Modern Warfare to now (except Wii versions or classic) and this game had a lot of moments that really amazed me, it might no amaze veterans who stuck with it from begging to end, but it still has a satisfying story. The multiplayer feels a lot better with the currency system, but waiting for that one gun to unlock to bu it is still the same as waiting through levels to get the gun. The gameplay feels solid and good, the secret guns are awesome, and Zombie Mode is a excellent addition. All in all, this is a must buy for new Cod players, and one veterans should try out.… Expand

Extremely disappointing. All the things I found cheesy in the first Modern Warfare and were changed for the second, are back. Players move like they are on speed, when a grenade goes off all you get is a quick poof and then it's gone and the list goes on. If they had just stayed with the game play of MW2 and just beefed it up a little, they could have knocked it out of the park. Instead they dropped the ball and are probably relying on the brand's name for sales. All of these magazine critics must get kick backs for giving a companie's game a good review even when it is lame.… Expand

This game is a major disappointment. The online play is just hands down terrible. It seems that the developers had been playing a lot of that horrible PS3 game "MAG" before writing this incarnation of CoD, complete with the awkward gun feel and horrible sound effects when shooting. I've owned every CoD since it came out, and unlike a lot of people I highly enjoyed the online play from the last Treyarch title World At War. This is a major downgrade from that, much less the Infinity Ward Modern Warfare titles.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I didn't like the first Call of Duty games. WW2 is sooo boring to me. I was huge fan of the Modern Warfare. Then this comes along and wipes poop on the franchise.
Since this game starts int he past it was already a yawn. Then it goes even further in the past and at some point I find myself playing the very WW2 / Vietnam game that I wanted to avoid at all costs.
The game itself is good. The controls and the weapons are fined tuned but having to use them in those boring History Channel missions sux. And by the way, the ending.. Really? Really!? So Lame.… Expand

well what can i say, after being blown away with mw and wm2, i unfortunatley found black ops a big let down. the game is a mish mash of world at war, men of valour, moh rising sun and castle wolfenstine. u play between 1945 upto 1968. u are hearded along the game play, following some one else who never helps out when u need him. there are perfetic sequencies when u have to bord a boat or similar. if u r going to get this game in the hope that u wil be useing the latest weapons u will be dissapointed. what made the first 2 games so good was the massive expanse of the platform and the reality of useing the wrong weapons but in black ops, u can throw umpteen grenades at a hind but it still wont be damaged bcos u have to fly it. the online stuff is more modern but the sounds seem very dumbed down and the the format of buying released weapons is very dull and frustrating. get it as a present, dont waist ur own money as u will go back to mod warfare in less than a week...… Expand

Mp review: I bought it because all my (xbox 360) friends bought it. But c'mon, this game is surprisingly ugly. It actually looks worse than MW2!? That is bizar. And i had more fun playing MW2 as well. BO just irritates me. But it doesn't seems to bother my friends and 3 million other gamers on xbox (more to come)

It must be me, but i rate BO = 6/10

(in respect to MW1 = 9/10 (classic), MW2 = 8/10, BC2 = 9/10 and MoH=9/10)

PS: And the low user score? There are millions of CoD:BO players, if only a small dedicated few show some guts and flood this site with 10/10 user reviews, it would be rated 9.8/10 ... but i guess this shows what the CoD:BO community is made of ... for the most part prolly kids i guess who are not into 'reviewing' only into k/d'n each other with RC carbombs:)… Expand

I give this game 2. 1 point because of the bots available in split screen, and 1 point because of the cool new game modes and weapons. Those are the only good points about the game.

Online- it lags very bad, and freezes up on ps3 and xbox 360 in HD mode. Two of my friends have already had their disks be scratched from the lock up that requires a hard power down of the console.
There are also bugs that randomly reset your rank and weapon unlocks.

Zombie mode is back, and basically the same thing.

Graphicly this game is horrible, The graphics in this title are worse than modern warefare 1. The screen shots of this game are basically the only good looking parts of the game. Multi-player maps look cartoonish and have bad graphics. Single player has bad graphics. They used the same engine as modern warfare 2, but made the graphics worse. Why? my only guess is so they could have more ai on at a time, but that should not effect the online maps. Campaign is very short, easily beat in four and a half to five hours even with taking time to explore ( little exploration since every map is linear.


Basically this game is a huge disappointment. I am a big fan of the call of duty series and this just over hyped let down. This game was clearly over rushed and under developed.

The fact that there is an issue with games freezing and cause scratches in the disks shows a severe lack of beta testing.… Expand

The story had a good twist, but the gameplay was boring, visuals were just OK . The multiplayer was more of the same. I enjoyed Medal of Honor way more than this latest COD installment.

Black Ops is an ok game. I wouldn't give it anything above a 6 for the multiplayer, but I haven't played the campaign. I do know how the game ends, I won't give the ending away but it is a horrible twist. The multiplayer is honestly boring, repetitive, and doesn't bring much new to the table. Other than a new unlocking system, some broken killstreaks, and some overpowered weapons (ie. the automatic FAMAS, the Galil, the RC XD, etc.) there is not much new. I mostly bought the game to play the multiplayer with my friends, and even that can get boring after even less than 8 hours of play. The maps are boring and very simplistic, and often you end up getting the same map over and over again. I'm not trying to sound like an MW2 fanboy or a Halo fanboy, but both of those games improved on and at least added new controls, weapons, equipment, etc. Black Ops is pretty repetitive at best in certain game types, and they are usually dominated by one team that is filled with campers, people that exploit broken combinations, and similar things. The formula can be fun if you have fun players that do not "camp", or use unfair advantages like overpowered guns. I'll probably ditch the multiplayer for now, and stick to the campaign, but after that I will probably go back to playing other games.… Expand

I couldn't help but be very excited for this game because it was so well marketed and the expectation was that it would be better than modern warfare. Needless to say there was a big let down. The campain was good, but felt forced, with no real new ideas. I had hoped that it would be more of a solo mission without your team members which usually only add to the mass confusion when trying to shoot your way to safety. The game is called black ops but it never really felt like Black ops. Theres still a ways to go before Call of Duty will get character development right, and a truly engulfed story line.

That being said, I do think that the multiplayer experience is a improvement. The perks are more even, the maps are better with numerous entry ways into every building, customization is great, stats/leaderboards are well thought out, and the new free for all game modes are fun (but you cannot gain xp, only cod points).

As for Zombies I could'nt be bothered, I miss the spec ops, which was my favorite feature for Modern Warfare 2. Overall: Campain - 6 Multiplayer - 9… Expand

The backlash against negative user reviews here needs to be addressed, for example... "luuek" wrote this drivel - > "metacritic needs captcha, most of the bad user reviews are the same word for word. they are computer generated accounts from a rival company. everything about this game is solid, you just need a good gaming computer ,not a 2 dollar piece of ****" How big an idiot do you have to be to think that a "rival company" is behind poor reviews of this game? And how big an idiot do you have to be to write a rant against the negative reviews and suggest that they are coming from people with deficient Pcs (despite this being the 360 listing)? You guessed it, you have to be a spectacularly gargantuan moron, much like the neanderthals who line up to buy anything in this franchise and any DLC they crap out, despite the fact that the series continually releases criminally short single player campaigns and mulitplayer infected with bugs and exploits that never get fully resolved. These throngs of mindless consumers have built the COD fortune and marred the gaming industry by making it stampede toward the Hollywood assembly line model, chasing the blockbuster profits this series sucks out of gamers, and then they have the nerve to complain about bias and negative user reviews. Poor graphics, poor sound, extreme linear paths you are constantly pushed down and forward (like being on an amusement ride that has no confidence in it's bag of tricks so it keeps pushing forward so you cant get a good look), no innovation, and more standard multiplayer where angry kiddies can rage at each other and dream of being the next youtube sensation that nobody watches ("I wantz to be likez teh Hutch"). This game is the lowest of the low, and the fools that lap up the same bag of crap every year have more of a negative impact on gaming than anything else.… Expand

As a fan of the series, I have to admit, Black Ops just feels like it has been rushed and offers nothing new of any substance. Yes it's good to have new levels to play and yes the new weapon upgrades are a nice feature, but ultimately the game is nowhere near polished like MODW2 is. I have played about 6 hours and I very much doubt I will play much more. I have not tried the single player but the online suffers with lag and you sometimes have to repeatedly play the same level on loop. They have removed some of the better perks from MODW2 (stopping power, one man army etc) and introduced some really poor equipment instead like Camera Spike and Decoy which are ultimately pointless. There also seems to be less difference between the damage inflicted by each of the weapons with most battles being won by who ever sees the opponent first. While the game is not terrible by any means, it is a step backwards from MODW2. If you already own MODW2, my advice is don't waste your money on this.… Expand

I never play the normal online multiplayer, just the single player campaigns and online coop modes. So my review only pertains to the latter two. Multiplayer might be awesome - I don't know. As for the rest - it is anything but awesome.

In fact it is by far the worst COD I have played. Unfortunately.

Had it on pre-order and was bitterly disappointed when it arrived. It has none of the refinement and nuance that the last installment had. I've come to the conclusion that Infinity Ward are easily the more superior studio. By a long way.

1-P Campaign.
I have found tedious and monotonous. You are essentially forced down a very narrow corridor throughout the entire campaign. Meaning you have very little choice in how you approach the different levels. No choice of tactics or strategy - just do what they tell you to. In some instances it goes as far as telling you the exact point in time you have to click a button to stealth kill a guy. What's the point in that? I didn't buy Dance Dance Revolution or some other press-the-buttons-in-a-rhythmical-sequence game. Treyarch's attempts at varying the levels falls way short of the helicopter and AC-130 gunner missions of MW2, to name but two. Online Coop.
And as for the supposed online coop. Despite marketing claims, it doesn't exist. Running around shooting AI bots who continually respawn (obviously) is not by any stretch of the imagination what I would describe as online coop. There is no mission, no objective, no goal to work towards as a team. Just you and a bunch of bots running around aimlessly shooting at each other. You don't even get all the multiplayer modes. Just deathmatch and team deathmatch. Nice work Treyarch. Which marketing genus decided to call that coop?

Here's hoping the next installment is produced by Infinity Ward and is a damn sight better.… Expand

Another attempt from Treyarch to outdo Infinity ward's Modern Warfare series, another failure from Treyarch yet again. Ive played every Call of Duty and this instalment of the Call of Duty series left me disappointed. Why? Because trying to fix something that isnt broken seems to be what most big games companies think is a step forward in todays games market. It almost feels as if Treyarch have tried to be too different from previous titles. The campaign is still an over the top exciting story that flings you straight into the middle of an epic war (or in this case several) and lets you develop an attachment to the characters, only to have them predictably killed. This I can deal with, it's what the call of duty series has been good at, telling a great story. I have no quarrel with that. My frustration comes from other things such as the game mechanics. Heat seeking bullets are back, chasing you around corners and punishing you for the slightest glimpse of the enemy. Infinitely spawning enemies seem to be another needless mechanic to the game to make up for poor level design. The NPC's are completely redundant now and donâ… Expand

One of my favorite games in the world. Not even kidding. I just love the multi-player, and the campaign? It's the best of the series. Zombies Mode is just wonderful. Go pick it up! You won't regret it!

Fantastic game and a big step up from the overly hyped MW2. Great campaign with a nice sci-fi plot twist, with the awesome return of Reznov! Great characters too. As for the multiplayer, the weapons are way more balance as well as the perks, and the challenges are much more specific now and are really relevant to the perk. Cotracts and wager natches are great and interesting, and the money system I really wanted, so ty. Zombies is fantastic and has a great developing story. Enough said there. The multiplayer has been revolutionised and the Dead Ops bonus level with fun easter eggs are much appreciated. Looks like Treyarch listen to their fans and community. My only gripe is the down-graded graphics using WAW's old-engine but sometimes the graphics appear to be better than MW2's, quite strangely. But other than that, it's fantastic all-around. Thank you Treyarch.… Expand

Simply more of the same and certainly not worth $60. Serviceable graphics and sound are not nearly enough to excuse the fact that this title is virtually identical to last year's installment. Also, the lack of local multiplayer options, at least at launch, is inexcusable. Why should a game made in 2010 have inferior customization to a game released in 1997? Or the game's own forerunners no less?… Expand

This game is absolutely terrible. The multiplayer is so bugged and they keep saying they fixed it but they haven't almost every match winds up disconnected or cant connect at all. And the campaign is so cheap. The storyline is so predictable. I couldn't keep myself laughing at the whole numbers dialogue. This is the last time I buy a Treyarch game.

This game is pritty **** bought it solely for the multiplayer and it sux.The hit detection is bodgy and how many bullets does someone need before they drop?.Honestly tho im done with this series and the first person shooter series in general,how many first person shooters have we got now.
Ps:To any of you people that did not like WaW don't by this garbage,what a waste of money..

Who designed this? A monkey? The game is ugly, and uses horribly outdated sounds and visuals. It sounds like perfect dark for the n64. The maps are stupidly designed and failtastic. I have no idea why they even put a sniper rifle in. There is no quick-scoping and nowhere to snipe. Utterly DISGUSTING how obviously bribed the reviewers are.

This is one game you can not miss, Call of Duty Black ops is a absolute play, the graphics are so realistic, i have always been a fan of the Call of Duty series since the first game, and after modern warfare 2 didnt think it could get any better but they just keep suprising you again and again, they bring back alot of new things such as the slow motion action scenes and many types of weapons and other neat things,. the thing that will really keep you interested is the new zombiesmode, you have new maps, new weapons, and new characthers to play as, also is the online multiplayer which also brought back the customizable weapons to where you attach thing such as scopes and other neat things, this is a must buy.… Expand

To be quite frank... i see absolutely no purpose in this game, there is already plenty of C.O.D games out there, why need another?! Well I'll tell you... Money, not your well being it is for the companies well being so go find a new game instead of the same game just with some little extra details... just like a football game

My first impressions of the newest instalment to the Call of Duty series were good. As my friend got it at the same time we both went on multiplayer first and it was a blast. One thing I immedietly noticed was how much more balanced the gameplay was to Modern Warfare 2 and I still hold that notion to this day, and that I think is what makes Black Ops multiplayer stand out. Unfortunately, it doesn't add a great deal of fresh concepts. The singleplayer was one of the best Call of Duty campaigns to date with a very different style tot he other campaigns and this also makes it stand out. Unfortunately, it isn't as good as Call of Duty 4 in my opinion, which, in it's prime, was unbeatable and definitely my most enjoyable Call of Duty experience, although maybe that's just the series not pushing the boundaries very far. I feel that for the next Call of Duty game to be a success, it'll have to do something very different.… Expand

Awesome game! Is what I thought at first , the more i played, the more I realized how much work it needs. After one day of multiplayer you will see they nailed it when they made COD Modern Warfare and they should have kept it that way. The game quickly turns into a HUGE campfest even if you team objective games like capture the flag. The grenade spamming is RIDICULOUS, you can be running around in your own territory and BOOM! Which is fine, up until you see the kill cam and that grenade came from half way across a map from someone who just chucked it in the air. Dont even get me started with the spawn points, its almost like they didnt bother changing the spawn points between the free for all gameplay and the team gameplay, you would think you would be spawned in a safe zone near your team, right? Wrong. I have lost track of how many times I have spawned and gotten shot 2 seconds after and the kill cam shows about 5 enemies around me and my whole other team is on the other side of the map. Or my favorite is when you find a decent spot to actually snipe, and you place a claymore in the one spot they HAVE TO come in, lo and behold I get stabbed in the back (WTF?!) , the enemy just spawned there, claymore still sitting directly in front of the "one way in"..... Anyways you get the picture, one last thing, I think its ridiculous that a sniper rifle , when you are prone , has retarded amounts of recoil, when you can go full auto with an assault rifle and get almost no recoil?… Expand

I can't understand why people love this game so much. In fact, this game is almost as overrated as World of Warcraft and Bioshock. Not saying Bioshock was bad, I was ok, but what was the big deal? I gave Bioshock a 7 out of 10, but that's for another day. Anyway, Call of Duty Black Ops seemed to show promise when people first saw it, even I was a little excited to try it out. Until I found out who developed the game. Freakin Treyarch, when they're the one's making a Call of Duty game, it's never a good sign. I decided to get it and try it anyway, but ended up trading it in literally days after I got it. It was boring, why was it boring? Because it's the exact same thing as any other Call of Duty game. There's nothing new here at all, not even the Zombie mode is new, that was available in World At War, which was also made by freakin Treyarch. If only Infinity Ward were the ones making every Call of Duty game, the series would be so much better, I spit at Activision for firing them. This company releases a new Call of Duty game every year, but they hardly make good upgrades with them, and most of the time, it's the same game that we had last time. The only Call of Duty games that were any kind of upgrade were the Modern Warfare games. Those are fun. But what about Black Ops? Again, same thing we've been playing for a long time, no upgrades other than earning credits to spend on weapon upgrades, but is that really worth paying $60 for, over just playing a Call of Duty you already have that's the same exact thing? The multiplayer is the same, the zombie mode is the same, and the campaign is just plain stupid. Worst shooter campaign I've ever seen. Now this doesn't mean that the game isn't enjoyable by some people. The multiplayer is fun for a while, but it's really not different from what you already have. Here's basically who this game is for, it is specifically made for hardcore fans of the series. It's like the Majora's Mask of Call of Duty, only huge fans will like it alot. As for those who are new to shooters, or those who like playing Call of Duty but are not real big fans of it, like me, this game is not for you. If you want to play a Call of Duty game, just play Call of Duty 4. It is much more entertaining than Black Ops, and unlike Black Ops Call of Duty 4 was a great game changer for the series. NEWS FLASH ACTIVISION: It's time for change! 5/10.… Expand

The campaign was a major disappointment, and the multiplayer didn't live up to it's name. Clearly they spent too much on advertising that the actual game. Infinity Ward makes better games. Hands down.

Call of Duty Black Ops is Modern Warfare 2 with a few balanced tweaks, but in the end, nothing's different. The story still jumps around more than a toddler with coffee, the multiplayer is still incredibly simple with no talent required. If you're looking for an easy shooting game in which you can hold random buttons and get 5000 kills, Black Ops is for you. If you prefer a challenge, look somewhere else.… Expand

Decent story for the campaign, but it's extremely hard on Veteran (hardest), including hordes of respawning enemies. It's even a slight challenge on Hardened.

Zombies is fun as always and this game provides the best maps yet, with more perks, guns and gadgets.

Multiplayer has the same feel, but it plays different. After all, it IS on a DIFFERENT engine than IW's games. (MW2, COD4, COD2) It can be a little laggy like the game depends way too much on the host. There are no dedicated servers, but you still get the solid gameplay of Call of Duty and Treyarch took away 90% of the cheap bullcrap that MW2, like certain perks, certain killstreak, stacking killstreaks and they even provided multiple Barebones playlists. (No perks, killstreaks or attatchments).

Overall, it's a good game. I would give it an 8.5, but since so many losers rated it so low on purpose... because they hate COD because they suck, their connection sucks or they miss the cheap crap from MW2.

To let you know how this game stacks up in my opinion. I'll list my favorite CODs in order.

1. COD2
2. COD4
3. Black Ops
4. MW2
5. WAW
6. COD3
7. Big Red One
8. Finest Hour
9. Classic… Expand

Call of Duty: Black Ops has many things going for it. Addictive multiplayer, descent story, amazing Zombies, and great replay ability. Unlike some reviewers, I do not think Black Ops is similar to previous games in the series, except in the core defining features that make it Call of Duty. I, personally, consider this the best game in the series. That being said, It is hard to argue this game is flawless. While the campaign is the best yet, the easier difficulties are altogether to easy. Honestly, in many cases you can simply sit back and let your bot allies take care of the enemies. The exception to this is veteran, which is extremely challenging. Unfortunately, there really is no medium difficulty for Black Ops. That being said, the campaign is fun and exciting, with a story that is surprisingly interesting for a Call of Duty game. Multiplayer wise, Black Ops is like any other Call of Duty. Addicting, but frustrating. Due to the majority of players buying Call of Duty for the multiplayer, I will review this section extensively. To begin, the multiplayer, like any other CoD, is fast-paced and frantic. Even though Treyarch increased the amount of damage you take, you still die quickly and you will not find yourself getting away from gunfights in most scenarios. In addition, the guns in Black Ops are disappointing. If you are trying to do well, the assault rifles are vastly superior to all other gun's, save the AK74u. That being said, in and of themselves, the assault rifles are balanced and each fun to use in their own way. Additionally, the sub machine guns, shotguns, and Light Machine Gun's are all balanced and unique, if not for the Assault Rifles outshining them in most situations. Finally, the Sniper Rifles are, sadly, useless in this game, and you will not be able to quickscope like previous Call of Duty's. While this may come to a relief to some, because Treyarch made only a couple sniper-friendly maps, the Sniper is a gun that could have easily been left out without being missed. Customization wise,Treyarch brings many new attachments, camos, perks, and kill streaks. Although some could argue kill streaks underpowered, all in all the customization is balanced and, depending on the different load outs you go with, the game can feel very different. Unlike previous Call of Duty games, the grenade launcher has a very reasonable blast radius and, when against Flak Jacket (A perk that gives you extra explosive resistance) its overall useless. On the gameplay aspect, the map's are fun and interesting, the gameplay is fluid, the control's flawless, and the graphics passable. Unfortunately, the spawns could use some tweaking. Depending on the game mode you play, you can easily be trapped in your spawn or, on the opposite side of things, switch spawns to easily and spawn behind enemies, or vise-versa. Additionally, the matchmaking is not ideal. In many cases, when playng with parties, you will get into a game with a few people missing. This never happened in previous call of duties and, even worse, you could get into a game that is already, in essence, a loss. Finally, I will address the zombie mode. Zombie's is arguably the best part of Black Ops. There is something altogether to satisfying by annihilating endless zombie hordes with a couple of friends. On the later rounds, it takes a lot of teamwork to survive. Black Ops comes with 2 map's, Kino der Toten and Five. Although Five is not as enjoyable for me, Kino der Toten is extremely fun and pack's hours of play. In addition, if you purchased the Hardened addition to Black Ops, you will gain access to the 4 zombie maps from WaW with modern weapons. While all fun, my personal favorite is Der Reise. Finally, if you purchase the fifteen dollar map pack you will gain the ability to play Ascension, my favorite zombie map. Ascension is surprisingly complicated for a zombie map, even coming with a side-objective to try if your feeling lucky. Unfortunately, its not easy and you'll need a full party of four. In the end, Black Ops is a very fun game that deserves your purchase, especially if you enjoyed the previous call of duties. Although the Multiplayer will surely attract most, be sure not to overlook Zombies and the Campaign. My only caution is that multiplayer, even the campaign in some parts, will be frustrating. However, if this happens just take a break and come back later. My final thoughts, great purchase, but if your not a fan of shooters I would let this one pass.… Expand