Call of Duty: Black Ops

While maintaining the quality standard set by its predecessors, this explosive adventure through the conflicts of the Cold War pushes the series and the genre one step further.

"Quotation Forthcoming"

There is so much content packed into this game that I couldn't even fit all of it into my review. However, even the multiplayer alone is enough to warrant this rating.

I admit I had my doubts about Black Ops. It seemed that Modern Warfare 2 was going to be impossible to top, but Treyarch has come in and trounced that game in every possible way.

Maybe gamers doubted if this Black Ops was going to be on par with the games made by Infinity War, but it even surpasses them in some aspects.

Black Ops is undoubtedly the best online FPS ever put together. [Issue#199, p.70]

After years following in Infinity Ward's footsteps, Treyarch has a chance to show its qualities, and it delivers. Black Ops has everything the community is looking for: a compelling, spectacular and interesting story mode and an impressive multiplayer will keep the players busy for a long time. Add a beautiful design and a great direction in the mix, and what you get is simply a masterpiece in the first person shooter genre.

It was the value added components like this that made Black Ops nearly impossible to put down, so even if the campaign is something that generally doesn't really appeal to you, I think you'll find it hard to walk away from everything else that Treyarch has included in this well-polished installment.

Black Ops is one of the best first person shooters this year, and is a obviously must have for any action fan. Intense, gory and quite brilliant, maybe it's not refreshing but at the same time its a stunning game.

Black Ops' minor flaws won't deter you from its gripping storyline and gratifying multiplayer modes.

It's easy to say that this is Treyarch's best game...when it's not just trying to imitate Infinity Ward.

Whatever your gameplay preference is, Call of Duty: Black Ops has you covered and is a must-have title for any shooter fan.

Call of Duty: Black Ops still represents one hell of a hefty package. It's bursting with hundreds of hours of entertainment that caters to every conceivable configuration of gamer out there, be they an adversarial gamer, a co-op connoisseur or a staunch offline soloist. [January 2011 p60]

There are more highlights in the first two missions of Black Ops, then in Medal of Honor. The requirements of Treyarch seemed to be better, than in the past few years. They made an interesting setting. In addition, there's a nice zombie mode and an overwhelming multiplayer. No doubt, this is Treyarchs best Call of Duty ever!

All in all, you simply cannot find a better package out right now.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is a great game, despite not being as perfect as we could believe. The single player campaign presents some narrative solutions that make it boring sometimes , but on the other hand everything on the multiplayer side is pure gold! The new modes can provide a lot of fun and if you liked the previous CoD for the online, Black Ops will be your next divinity to adore.

Thanks to an intense storytelling, a thrilling plot, and a redefined multiplayer, Black Ops is the best Call of Duty developed by TreyArch studio, and one of the most interesting chapter ever. Year after year, this great series keeps on arousing a huge amount of videoplayers.

Treyarch honors the Infinity Ward heritage in the best possible way with exiting single player and outstanding multiplayer. A must-have for all action fans out there.

Black Ops is quite a pleasant surprise: On the one hand former second class developer Treyarch reaches the Infinity Ward's standard of gameplay quality and inventiveness for the first time. On the other hand Treyarch manages to set a course of their own through the unusual story and a ton of tributes to other masterpieces of action, be it movie or game. Plus Activision conceded the time and resources to Treyarch to aspire a really great game. And that's something you'll notice immediately. You'll recognize the passion and the effort that went into making this new episode. Black Ops delivers Call of Duty gaming at its best as well as a distinctly individual approach to the whole scenario. Infinity Ward will have to put their shoulders to the wheel to outplay Black Ops with the next CoD.

This is Treyarchs Masterpiece! It may not blow you away like Modern Warfare did back at its time, but it shure as hell is an intense shooter-experience with a multiplayer-part, that will keep you busy for months!

Call of Duty: Black Ops managed to raise even more the quality of the whole series.

There's little to complain about here. The singleplayer, multiplayer and zombie-mode ensure you won't be able to put down your controller for a long time to come. Black Ops isn't just a great game, it's a great Call of Duty. A bigger compliment can't be given to Treyarch.

A super package with a clever story. Some patchy execution. [Christmas 2010, p.68]

A nearly flawless package.[Christmas 2010, p.90]

Black Ops is a must have for any fan of first person shooters.

Even though there are some inconsistencies with the single-player elements, the overall scope of the Black Ops package overwhelmingly puts this game into the category of a must buy.

While overly familiar, Black Ops offers a compelling package of intense multiplayer action and a gripping single-player campaign that will ensure fans have plenty to do until next year's iteration.

What we have here is a refined and extremely confident product from a studio that has found its feet in the FPS world.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops features an exhilarating campaign mode, arguably the best in the whole series with a compelling narrative.

As if you ever doubted it, Call of Duty is still the best military shooter out there and by quite some margin. It seems its competitors can only watch from a distance and take notes as this juggernaut of FPS gaming ploughs a wide path towards the genre's future.

I've considered myself a Call of Duty fan for many years, and I've held a deep-seated distrust of Treyarch since Call of Duty 3. No longer.

With the hype and excitement surrounding Treyarch's first Call of Duty where they aren't bound by a World War II setting, it's a shame that they went for more of the same MW2. This isn't say it's poor but personally I feel they've missed an opportunity to really stamp their authority with Black Ops. Still, as a complete package with a great story, strong FPS action and a killer multiplayer mode, Black Ops remains unmissable.

Call of Duty: Black Ops bears the series' standard superbly, delivering an engrossing campaign and exciting competitive multiplayer.

Although it's certainly got Infinity Ward's fingerprints all over it, Black Ops is definitely Treyarch's baby. As a fan of the franchise, I'm happy to see that the future of the series is in good hands, and it'll (hopefully) be nice to see the folks at Treyarch finally get some respect from hardcore gamers.

"Quote Forthcoming"

Black Ops doesn't quite live up to the hype in all aspects, but that's only because it was so ridiculously overhyped. It certainly lives up to the promise of a greatly improved and enhanced sequel to World at War.

If you're new to the Call of Duty series, you're in for a real treat with the single player, and the multiplayer will welcome you with open arms. If you used to like the series and have either gotten fatigued with the template or turned off by the last entry, this game deserves at least a rental, but I'd recommend a purchase. If you simply love the franchise, period, you've probably already prestiged once or twice already devoting countless hours to the online portions.

A worthy addition to the franchise, despite its few kinks. The multiplayer is where the game shines the most, delivering an outstanding replay value.

The product perseveres on the strength of its "oomph" alone and in short, it's not everything it could've been but nevertheless, the entire experience is one well worth your time.

Black Ops is a solid addition to the Call of Duty franchise that really puts Treyarch on the map. You won't get anything original out of it, but if you liked what came before, then you will have a blast.

Right next to Medal of Honor, this one's struggling to be your action game of the year. It's more suited for veterans than for beginners, and the ending smells roughly like DLC. Nevertheless, great game!

This new part in the famous Call of Duty franchise takes you on a rollercoaster ride again. The singleplayer is full of action and the multiplayer is great. The new features like the Wager Matches are great and the gameplay is as usual fantastic.

Black Ops is another addition to the Call of Duty franchise but shows the same flaws as its predecessor. The multiplayer has improved, but a franchise of this stature should know how to get rid of the mistakes from the past.

Single-player is as exhaustingly fast-paced as ever with large set pieces that try to take the attention off of the lackluster AI of both friends and enemies. That withstanding, the story is the best I've ever seen from a Call of Duty game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is not the most original game on the market but what it offers is a fun package filled to the brim with content.

On its own, it'd be hard to argue that Black Ops is anything less than phenomenal. But compared to the last couple Call of Duty games, Black Ops doesn't really do anything to set it apart. It is still a great game that shooter fans will love without question – just don't expect it to change your perspective on the long-running series.

Black Ops is neither a revolution nor a revelation, almost scaling to the summit of a stale genre, while not quite managing to plant the flag.

The captivating story earns our most distinguished kudos, with the multiplayer offering coming second. Sadly, the number of technical bugs and A.I inconsistencies are well present and cannot be overlooked in our final evaluation.

While Call of Duty: Black Ops isn't without flaws it does still maintain that core Call of Duty goodness that we've all come to love from the game.

Do you want to play more Call of Duty? I'm guessing the answer is yes, and by all means, Black Ops is worth playing. But for all its ambitious steps to set itself apart from the previous games, it flounders in a few too many of those areas to be a total success.

Ultimately, there is little doubt that Black Ops will sate the hunger of those simply wanting more Call of Duty, but beyond that it seem unlikely that it will broaden the palettes of gamers or indeed the genre; and for such a big budget, high profile release, we can't help but feel a little disappointed with that.

It's still not MW2, but it's a good try.

Black Ops does well, mostly due to the sheer amount of exciting and fun multiplayer content, but I've got some serious concerns over where Call of Duty is headed.

I'll be playing the multiplayer for months to come, and I'm sure quite a few folks will as well. I'm a little burned out on the single player experience though, and while I feel like it's a decent enough romp for a FPS title, the storyline did little to grab my attention, and the whole Call of Duty formula is starting to feel a little tired at this point.

By dint of obstinacy, Treyarch delivers probably its best with Black Ops Call of Duty to date - but probably not the best in the saga.

Yes, it will sell like crazy this holiday season, and it's certainly not bad, but I find the game's potential to ultimately be more exciting than the game itself.