Are you a real first person shooter fan? Do you love the Call of Duty game series? Well, this game was made just for you. Loads of info on Call of Duty Black Ops have been floating around the internet for months in anticipation of this blockbuster release. About a year ago, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released to the masses to both critical and commercial acclaim. The game on various systems - PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii, and Nintendo DS - set records with pre-orders and overall sales in such a short amount of time. For the past year, gamers have been entertained and addicted by the short but sweet single player campaign and especially the highly sought after online multiplayer modes. Hours upon hours of gameplay have been poured into the latter, making Modern Warfare 2 one of the most played online games, even to this day.
However, despite the large number of sales and raving reviews for Modern Warfare 2, the pre-order info on Call of Duty Black Ops shows that it has surpassed its predecessor already with less than a week until its release. Why are gamers going crazy for this game? Isn't this "just another first person shooter"? Let's dive into its various features to see why:
The Call of Duty series has set the bar when it comes to the cinematic experience of first person shooters. Originally, games of this category were all about running and shooting up the place. These include classics such as the original Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, and Unreal Tournament. Then with Call of Duty, the creators designed the games in a way that you are fully immersed into the battlefield experience. It's like you're there right beside your comrades as bullets are whizzing past you and you're running into safety. Firing your gun onto enemies felt like the real deal, as you felt fear, thinking you'll be flanked any minute. Only a few developers out there can create such an experience.
You actually felt emotions regarding your squad mates, as if they were real people in your life. It wasn't until you paused the game or it was over that you remembered what reality was like. And that's what the Call of Duty teams always accomplish with each iteration of the series. Do you want to feel what it's like to be in the line of fire?
And once the single player campaign is over, things don't end there. There's even more replay value as newer and harder campaign difficulty levels are unlocked, so you can experience the game all over again in a way you haven't before.
The replay value doesn't just stop there either. That's what the multiplayer modes are for. While there are so many ways you can set up multiplayer games with your buddies offline through a splitscreen view, nothing tops the online multiplayer experience. As many of you have experienced first hand with Modern Warfare 2 and other past editions of the Call of Duty series, there's just something that keeps players coming back for more. This makes for endless hours of fun, so you really do get the best bang for your buck with this game. It's certainly worth more than the $60 price tag.
Of course, there are the usual free for all and team deathmatch modes that we have all grown up enjoying all these years, but new info on Call of Duty Black Ops shows that there are new modes to set this game apart from all the cookie-cutter first person shooters out there. There are only so many rounds of Halo you can play.
This time around, rather than leveling up by gaining experience like in Modern Warfare 2, in Black Ops you earn the in-game currency "COD Points" by winning matches and completing various challenges. These earned points allow players to unlock the various weapons, equipment, upgrades, and even perks and killstreaks within the online realm. To make things more exciting, they have some special modes for those high-risk takers out there and for those willing to win big while possibly losing big. For those gamblers, there are Contracts that can be purchased with COD points. These Contracts consist of challenges for the player to complete within online matches. Some of these are time dependent. For example, getting 20 headshots online within a 45 minute period. Complete these challenges, and you'll receive a reward that more than covers the price of the Contract. Fail and you'll be down whatever amount of COD points you invested. Then there are also the Wager Matches. Now, this is where the real gamblers come to play. In this multiplayer mode, everyone participating in a match puts down a certain amount of COD points, wagering against everyone else playing. Once a match is over, the top three players receive a portion of the pot, while the rest of the participants receive nothing at all. What else could you ask for in Black Ops?
If you've been keeping up with the latest news, you know what's making a return in Black Ops. For those who don't know, according to the latest info on Call of Duty Black Ops, zombie mode from World at War will be making a return! Yes, that's right, the awesome gaming mode we love that was missing from Modern Warfare 2 will be back and better than ever. Have you heard about the special characters you can play as? Browse the net for more info on that, as I don't want to spoil anything for you.
Zombie mode is the perfect opportunity to take a break from the single player campaign and online multiplayer games. Treyarch has done it again, creating something so fresh and exciting it could give the Left4Dead series a run for its money. Many fans have been writing many good things about the zombie mode on various forums online, claiming that they would actually buy such a zombie game if Treyarch were to develop a game separate from Black Ops. Only time can tell.
