COD: Black Ops – It was always going to be good - By Jimmy

Black Ops was always going to big, no doubt. It had very big shoes to fill since Modern Warfare 2 broke nearly every gamer record going. There’s an increasing number of FPS’s being released and it’s felt for quite some time that it’s hard to tell where one starts and another finishes; there’s often little originality and clear distinction between them.

Then once in a while a game comes along and rewrites the rules on how to make a game. My complaint with Halo REACH in my last post was that you wander predictably from point A to point B then to point C, encounter predictable foes, and then it ends without you remembering anything about it. Black Ops however, keeps you guessing every step of the way, unlike the usual linear progression, your cast backwards and forwards in time, reliving memories of missions in different countries, with different objectives, with different vehicles and weapons, and even as different people. The story is gripping and the graphics, adrenaline pumping game-play, and sense of satisfaction all together make this a game worthy of praise!

In the last post I didn’t review the multiplayer, mostly because I wasn’t interested enough to play it. However, it’s the multiplayer that defines modern FPS’s, unlike MW 2 where you’re cast into any map and any game type from the start, in Black Ops you have to work hard to unlock most games building up your XP points, in many ways that’s a good thing, means the noobs can get in the practice in the lower levels and the pro’s can battle it out in the higher levels. Not that I managed to get that high as my Xbox scratched the fucking disk!!

It seems the major difference in Black Ops vs Battlefield 2 multiplayer is that Black ops is short-lived, on small maps and literally a few minutes of utter bloodshed, you can’t stand still for a second without someone stabbing you in the back or fraggin’ your ass! Very little in the way of tactics or strategy. Battlefield is the opposite, long games on big maps, tactics and strategies. In Black Ops, it’s hard to find a game where you could actually make use of a sniper rifle or any large machine gun, in Battlefield you can and I like that. In Black Ops you have a lot more flexibility in customising yourself and your kit, you can set what kill-streak rewards you get and can also make wagers on your battles so it’s all swings-and-roundabouts, it’s really hard to pick a winner. Let’s just say they both win. HALO still fails.

-- Jimmy