Grade: B+
Call of Duty, which has brought thousands into the realm of online console gaming, has struck digital gold once again in this iteration of the gun-toting, highly explosive, and oddly familiar series.
Call of Duty: Black Ops begins its systematic path of destruction with the attempted elimination of the Cuban commander in chief, the one and only Fidel Castro. The invasion is a success, but the leader of the land of cigars doesn't go down easily, as the Americans are quickly discovered and the assassination attempt is shut down.
The player soon discovers that the communist island doesn't take kindly to attempted murders. Before he knows it, the player finds himself in the barren wastes of the Russian mainland.
As players traverse continents, discovering American undercover involvement in foreign affairs, more and more of the United States' underhanded policies are brought to light.
Levels in this game are as diverse as they come; players are constantly fighting their way through the multitude of challenges that each environment offers. From Russian launch sites to dense jungle combat and battles on the high seas, this game's levels will definitely keep the player on his toes.
The single player is a fun way to get new players into the fray, but as any veteran of the series knows, it's all about the online play, and Black Ops doesn't disappoint.
The game takes a step back from Infinity Ward's design to truly assess what players wanted in the online experience. Some players felt that the developer offered the more hardcore gamers an unfair advantage by giving them the superior weaponry and more useful equipment. This time around, developer Treyarch leveled the playing field by using a point system.
As players win matches online, they can spend their hard-earned points on equipment and perks that best suit them at any given moment. The leveling system still has its restrictions, however, as guns become available to purchase only after reaching certain levels. Plus, the forever-tedious "prestige" option that allows players to start from scratch is still available to players looking to prove their mettle.
The best addition to the online play is that guests can sign in and join the battle, as split-screen multiplayer is brought to life in Black Ops.
Putting glory and honor on the line, players can now compete in Black Ops Wager matches. In this mode, players set initial bets, and the top-slot players receive big prizes while the losers walk away with nothing.
Coming in a close second as the best addition are the new Nazi Zombie levels, one of which includes a certain government building with some rather humorous dialogue between two nations' great leaders.
As random chests spew out a plethora of weapons for players to use in the fight for survival, a few surprising gadgets make their way into the standard first-person shooter arsenal. A crossbow, reminiscent of Turok's golden days as a dinosaur hunter, tops the list as the best weapon in the game.
The ray gun takes second place, as its one-shot, one-kill ratio is absolutely vital in the later rounds of zombie conflict.
Sadly, some weapons have received preferential treatment from their developer, as Treyarch's soon-to-be iconic RC-XD remote-controlled explosive seems to devastate the landscape in most online matches.
Online weapons are divided into their usual sub-categories. One shotgun may be pump action, while the next gets a semi-automatic function. They're both shotguns, and both play relatively similarly.
Also, something feels amiss in the weapons department. A lack of firearms makes the purchasing of every weapon almost a walk in the park compared to Modern Warfare 2's seemingly never-ending choice of rifles.
The game, while it only brings a few new additions to the table, is a pure joy to play. Guns feel like they should, and dropping enemies has never been more satisfying.
While Black Ops falls short of its Infinity Ward counterpart in terms of online players and overall gameplay, it still makes a worthy addition to the Call of Duty series.
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