Call of Duty franchise is the very standard by which all war games are measured up to and strive to emulate. None have ever been able to reach that level of praise and distinction that the Call of Duty name has associated with it. In what seems to be an annual series release by Activision, this year Treyarch takes it on once again, to take us back to the front lines of war with their own unique story in Black Ops.
The story is told from a few different ways in the game through flashbacks and an interrogation room but the focus is primarily on game protagonist Alex Mason. Welcome to the 1960s, you play the role of Special Forces Operative named Alex Mason.
The game starts off with Alex Mason and 2 other operatives during the “Bay of Pigs” invasion of Cuba as a part of “Operation 40” as they try to infiltrate a Cuban stronghold with direction to assassinate Castro. After the apparent successful assassination, Mason is left behind to protect the extraction plane as it takes off. He’s then captured by Castro’s troops and handed over to the Russians as a sign of good faith in the new alliance the 2 countries shared where he is then taken to Russian prisoner camp Vorkuta.
Black ops runs off the same engine that Treyarch used for World at War. From the lush jungles of Vietnam to the cold dreary Arctic Circle and the Vorkuta prison all look and feel incredible. The multiplayer maps vary in size with my favourite being Nuke Town.
Zombie Mode is back and better than ever and of course the multiplayer matches are back but this is where I have a problem. The online match making was more than a little aggravating because it takes long to get into one.
One of my only complaints in the CoD franchise is just how difficult it can be to play online with most users if you don’t start playing right away and for hour after hour at a time. The levelling system is annoying because with higher levels, the better the options are for load outs for more powerful weapons and better perks. This can be extremely annoying because the game doesn’t match player levels very well or even at all.
Did I mention that it seems to me the best way to win any round for most people is to be a camper? Another major annoyance for me is the amount of camping and sniping that goes on in this game. Despite the issues I’ve heard about for PC users, what we have here is a solid performance by the Treyarch team. They’ve taken the Call of Duty name and added their own stamp to the franchise much like Infinity Ward did with the “Modern Warfare” series.
