So it has just been over a week since the biggest release of the year and as the dust is beginning to settle how is the game fairing a week after the release and what could the future hold for the game.
For starters the game is a very impressive entry into the Call of Duty series and as far as campaigns go Black Ops really goes the extra mile and offers a new formula to the campaign that brings a refreshing change of pace to the series and more so what we have come to expect from say Modern Warfare.
The choice of following effectively one protagonist helps brings the story together in a successful way as you spend more time with certain characters throughout the campaign it also gives a better sense of space as being fundamentally the same character throughout the majority of the campaign when the locations change they feel more drastic and it is interesting to see how the characters deal with different situations and such.
It just helps round out the characters and the story rather than switching up between places and characters every level which looking back seems to of watered down the experience to an extent.
Along with the change of environments the action in every level feels unique it never feels like you are doing the same thing or just running through a level shooting, for example one level in Vietnam has you escaping a crashed helicopter swimming to safety taking on a Vietcong village and then making your way through a series of rat tunnels. Most if not all of the levels have a similar formula to this your never doing the same thing for to long so each level has its own tone and feel and it proves to really enhance the campaign.
I would also like to note that the characters featured in the campaign are some of the best to date two stands out being Woods and Victor Reznov who is voiced by Garry Oldmen, his performance enhances the whole campaign I think it would be hard pressed to find someone who is not a fan of Reznov once finishing the campaign the character is that good.
Now on to the main course which really gives the game its legs and that is the multiplayer component. Now a week ago I was impressed with what was in the multiplayer, now some may see it as a previous Call of Duty games with a fresh coat of but it is a very different beast as soon as you boot up the game.
One of the biggest changes has been the ranking and unlocking system, instead of the traditional progression seen in say Modern Warfare 2 now there are Cod Points which you earn throughout the multiplayer modes which you can then use to purchase new guns perks etc. This has proven to be such a welcome change instead of unlocking stuff you know you will never use you can go directly to the stuff you want for example if you like using assault rifles of LMG's you can purchase weapons that fit your play style and the same things go for the perk system the tone of the multiplayer in terms of customisation feels more about the player.
Speaking of the weapons they feel a whole lot more balanced especially in the different variations from assault rifles to light machine guns they each have their own pro cons for example sub machine guns are effective close quarters but at range they are outclassed by say an assault rifle. Now add into this guns have recoil, it takes more bullets to take someone down the whole multiplayer landscape is a lot more balanced than it ever was in any Call of Duty game it is less of a twitch shooter that Modern Warfare 2 was.
Something to mention which has been a love it or hate it thing since Call of Duty 4 are the killstreaks, now something that really makes killstreaks less of a deciding factor are the fact they don't stack in terms of kills you have to earn your kills with your gun which cuts down some of the camping attitude it also means during a game it doesn't feel like there are a million killstreaks affecting the game at once. Take Modern Warfare 2 for example anyone who has played that will of had games where there would be chopper gunners firing down, harriers over head, predator missiles it was way to much. Now Black Ops has toned it down a lot and it feels much better if anything it feels more in the way Call of Duty 4 and in a way when you get one it feels like you actually earned it.
The maps are good some are great they all have a nice feel to them and each one has its own unique features that plays its part my only gripe so far is that the post game lobby system seems a little messed up as the same maps tend to cycle so you end up playing the same set of maps for a few games, this has been my only major gripe with the games multiplayer so far.
In the lead up to the release Treyarch was talking a lot about the community and there commitment to the game post release and it seems like they are staying true to their words as the game has been out just over a week and they have already released two patches so it looks promising it seems like if any glitches are found Treyarch will be out to fix them as soon as possible they are really stepping up their game and to me showing how to support a game post release.
In closing Black Ops is fun simply as that it has an awesome campaign mode which some new things for the series and a multiplayer mode that raises the bar I really can't recommend this game enough.
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