It's not easy to do justice to war. Make a game too realistic, and you threaten to make it so brutal that it's simply not fun to play. Make it too bombastic, and you risk making a mockery of the soldiers that risk their lives every day in the real world. In this writer's opinion, Modern Warfare 2 is guilty of the latter. "Heart" was replaced by in-your-face Bruckheimer-inspired drivel that made me swear off the Call of Duty franchise for good. I went into Black Ops knowing full well that I would hate it.
I was wrong.
In many ways, Black Ops is everything you'd expect from a Call of Duty game. The gameplay certainly looks unchanged: duck, take cover, fire down the sights and throw back grenades. It's still a heavily scripted experience, with set piece after set piece. And, of course, there's no shortage of explosives -- The Expendables would be jealous of Black Ops' abundance of helicopters and missiles. At first glance, Black Ops struck me as "just another Call of Duty." For series stalwarts, that's enough to buy back into Activision's annualized franchise. For me, I needed more.
It's not easy to do justice to war. Make a game too realistic, and you threaten to make it so brutal that it's simply not fun to play. Make it too bombastic, and you risk making a mockery of the soldiers that risk their lives every day in the real world. In this writer's opinion, Modern Warfare 2 is guilty of the latter. "Heart" was replaced by in-your-face Bruckheimer-inspired drivel that made me swear off the Call of Duty franchise for good. I went into Black Ops knowing full well that I would hate it.
I was wrong.
In many ways, Black Ops is everything you'd expect from a Call of Duty game. The gameplay certainly looks unchanged: duck, take cover, fire down the sights and throw back grenades. It's still a heavily scripted experience, with set piece after set piece. And, of course, there's no shortage of explosives -- The Expendables would be jealous of Black Ops' abundance of helicopters and missiles. At first glance, Black Ops struck me as "just another Call of Duty." For series stalwarts, that's enough to buy back into Activision's annualized franchise. For me, I needed more.
#impressions
The line one of the makers of the next Call of Duty uses about the series is that these games are movies we can play. This one will be a war thriller that hides a mystery. More »
#impressions
The line one of the makers of the next Call of Duty uses about the series is that these games are movies we can play. This one will be a war thriller that hides a mystery. More »
The zombies from Treyarch's Call of Duty: World at War DLC will make a return in Call of Duty: Black Ops, according to a listing at Best Buy Canada's online store. The description for the Hardened edition of the game details the four maps included with both collector's editions, describing them as "Four Zombie Maps Pack made famous from COD: World at War."
This information is further evidenced by multiple accounts at Black Ops fansite CODBlackOpsNews.com, where GameStop employees at several stores revealed marketing materials for the game (people even snapped pics, as seen here). The maps are said to be remakes of the World at War zombie maps "updated for the Black Ops engine." While we're glad to see the mode making a return in Black Ops, we're really concerned with something else -- zombies that can travel through time. That sounds, like, double terrifying.
#rumor
The listing for Call of Duty: Black Ops' "Hardened Edition" looks to have inadvertently revealed the return of a previous Call of Duty game's beloved zombie mode. More »
#clips
If you can have this much fun with Call of Duty: Black Ops' remote-controlled vehicle in-game, imagine how much fun you'll have with the real version included in the game's newly-revealed Prestige Edition. More »
Modern Warfare 2: Prestige Edition? Forget it (along with the money you spent on it). With the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops just a few months away, Activision has announced new and elaborate special editions to sit alongside the regular package. As you can see above, the ultimate package (again dubbed the Prestige Edition) comes with a working RC car complete with a camera that provides TFT color video and audio to its operator. You might recognize it as unarmed replica of the vehicle seen in the game's multiplayer trailer.
In addition to the perv mobile, you'll get the pictured Black Ops medallion (not to be confused with a Medal of Honor), an exclusive Xbox Live Avatar outfit (we've contacted Activision to find out what PS3 and PC can expect as a substitute), and four co-op multiplayer maps. The Hardened Edition will include everything listed above, with the exception of the RC car.
Neither edition has been given a price at this time, though retailers seem to once again peg the Hardened Edition at $79.99 and the Prestige Edition at $149.99. We'll let you know as soon as we learn more.
#callofdutyblackops
Due out this November, the special edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops will include a tiny remote control "video surveillance vehicle" inspired by the games multiplayer. More »
#callofduty
The multiplayer trailer for the latest Call of Duty game had some gamertags featured, and some unscrupulous souls are taking advantage of that to scam people on Xbox Live. More »
If you've been waiting for someone - anyone! - to challenge Bungie's heretofore uncontested dominance in online multiplayer features, you'll want to watch this video for Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops. Sure, Modern Warfare 2 wins if you're looking at the numbers, but anyone familiar with Halo 3's excellent Forge and Theater modes knows they should expect more from the top franchise in multiplayer gaming.
This "multiplayer teaser" doesn't reveal much, but here's what we spotted: remote-detonated RC cars; a "ballistic" knife; and, most notably, a video recording and editing feature. Pore over the roughly 90 second video and let us know what you spot. Except a "full multiplayer reveal" on September 1st.
#clips
We know very little about the multiplayer in Call of Duty: Black Ops, except that there will be competitive multiplayer, separate co-op and, for PC gamers, dedicated servers. Any other facts or hints may be in this debut multiplayer trailer. More »
Last year's "Hardened" and "Prestige" editions of Modern Warfare 2 set a precedent -- a precedent apparently being reinforced by similar "limited editions" for Call of Duty: Black Ops, as spotted by IGN. The listing was seen over on Buy.com (it has since been pulled) for "Hardened" and "Prestige" editions of the forthcoming CoD sequel for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, though unfortunately no details are given in the listings.
For its part, Activison told Joystiq "We haven't made any announcements to date," but we would be downright shocked if the two editions don't pop up in a press release in the coming weeks; we're only a few months out from the game's release, after all. As for what we can expect to be packed in with the two versions -- listed at $79.99 and $149.99, respectively, just like last year's MW2 Hardened and Prestige editions -- we're not so sure. Perhaps an actual, working ghillie suit to combine with those night vision goggles? We can only dream.
Last year's "Hardened" and "Prestige" editions of Modern Warfare 2 set a precedent -- a precedent apparently being reinforced by similar "limited editions" for Call of Duty: Black Ops, as spotted by IGN. The listing was seen over on Buy.com (it has since been pulled) for "Hardened" and "Prestige" editions of the forthcoming CoD sequel for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions, though unfortunately no details are given in the listings.
For its part, Activison told Joystiq "We haven't made any announcements to date," but we would be downright shocked if the two editions don't pop up in a press release in the coming weeks; we're only a few months out from the game's release, after all. As for what we can expect to be packed in with the two versions -- listed at $79.99 and $149.99, respectively, just like last year's MW2 Hardened and Prestige editions -- we're not so sure. Perhaps an actual, working ghillie suit to combine with those night vision goggles? We can only dream.
#ds
Developer n-Space returns to the Call of Duty franchise this November with a portable companion to Black Ops on the Nintendo DS, complete with helicopters, stealth jets, and six-player online multiplayer. More »
Much like the other Activision-published current-gen wargamez that preceded it, Call of Duty: Black Ops will make an appearance on DS. The handheld game will arrive alongside all other versions of the title on November 9 and is being cared for by the professional portable porters at n-Space -- the same studio called to handle all the other DS Duties.
Black Ops DS iteration will see the return of six-man multiplayer matches, which will adopt the unlockable "Perks" from the home console versions of the franchise. Now you can complain about how cheap Commando Pro is ... on the go!
Check out a few teeny-tiny screenshots of the game in the gallery below.
