Light theme

Call of Duty: Black Ops review
Meh
by Kaido98

If it is WW2, then I hoped It would be historic fiction based ops. First op, killing Castro, was promising, but then it went some fictional ops way which even wasn't interesting ones.

Other reviews13

Best story in a CoD game, still top two zombies, and pretty dang good multiplayer too.
The online multiplayer was pretty good. The campaign is not even worth playing. The zombies are the best ones. It gave me a lot of hours of fun.
Call of Duty Black Ops 1 is honestly one of the best first person shooters I have ever played. Everything from the campaign, multiplayer, and the zombies is nothing short of exceptional and I’m gonna tell you all about it.

The first mode I’m going to dissect is the campaign. The story mode is easily top 5 in the franchise. The setting picked for the game is unique and is one that is barely seen in video games. The way the Cold War is portrayed in this game is very accurate and they do a great job of blending reality with fiction. This COD campaign was the first to have the playable protagonist actually talk and it felt refreshing to have a protagonist who the players can relate to.

Seeing Alex Mason kidnapped by the Russians and being put through brainwashing to be used as a sleeper agent is honestly insane. The overall plot is the villain of the game, Nikita Dragovich, has made a lethal gas known as Nova Six and plans to release it in every US state. The majority of missions in the game are flashbacks and the present is taking place with Mason being tortured by the CIA in order to decipher a series of numbers from a broadcast that will sequence the attack.


 Throughout the majority of the game, the identities of the interrogators are kept secret. In all these flashbacks, Mason is doing tasks for the CIA and he is accompanied with characters known as Frank Woods, Bowman, Hudson, Weaver, and Viktor Reznov. After Mason is kidnapped by the Russians, he is thrown into a gulag named Vorkuta. He befriends a WWII veteran named Viktor Reznov who was previously in COD WAW, making it canonically related.

Reznov explains he and the USSR were supposed to extract Nova Six from the Germans and also extract Nazi scientist Freidrich Steiner. In this flashback, Dimitri Patrenko from WAW accompanies him in the mission. Dragovich was the squad commander of Reznov’s team, showing they have history. As Reznov and his team are about to extract Steiner, Dragovich uses the gas and tests it on his comrades, killing Dimitri in the process and betraying Reznov.

Reznov escapes but is shortly thrown into Vorkuta after. Reznov and Mason escape Vorkuta but Mason ends up leaving Reznov behind. After that, Reznov is believed to be dead until he reunites with Mason in Laos. Near the end of the game, Reznov convinces Mason that Steiner must die so they head to Rebirth Island and plan to kill him before the CIA get to him. This mission is played twice, through the perspectives of Mason and Hudson. Hudson reaches Mason and Reznov preparing to kill Steiner but is late to stop him. In Hudson’s perspective, Mason is seen killing Steiner by himself while Reznov is not present.


That’s when the game reveals the biggest plot twist and reveals that Viktor Reznov was dead the entire time and Mason hallucinated seeing him. Honestly it’s a clever twist that no one saw coming. It is also revealed that Reznov hijacked Mason’s brainwashing to have Mason carry out his revenge. In the buildup to the final mission, the interrogators are revealed to be Hudson and Weaver, they tell Mason that Reznov was dead the entire time. The numbers revealed a ship called the Rusulka where Dragovich will be broadcasting the numbers.

They attack the ship, Mason strangles Dragovich, and saves the day. The ending is spectacular and the games hints at the possibility that Alex Mason might have killed JFK. The campaign has solid voice acting, amazing gameplay, and outstanding writing.





Next mode I will dive into is Multiplayer. Multiplayer is absolutely fun, the customization options are endless, and the for the first time, you could create your character and emblem. The maps are all uniquely designed and never feel worn out. The gunplay is fun and it felt rewarding earning the highest killstreak possible.

DLC maps add a lot to the multiplayer and make it even better. It was nice to unlock weapons without having to pay micro transactions. The biggest issue I have is sound design since shotgun blasts, car explosions, and grenade launchers can get annoying. Overall, BO1 offers a strong multiplayer that is still being played till this day.



Zombies mode in this game has a lot of positives. The game offers three maps at launch which are Kino, Five, and Dead Ops Arcade. Kino is a perfect starter map at it appeals to casuals and keeps you wanting more. DLC maps are great and IMO, worth spending the money. The best of the DLC is either Ascension or Moon. Treyarch decided to bring back the WAW maps and those are fun to play. Overall, zombies innovated and is still a joy to play.

Overall, this game is a strong entry in the COD series and kept the formula fresh and clean. 

Final rating: 9.2/10
Read more...
«Blew my mind»
«Time-tested»
Easily my favorite cod campaign. Just ridiculously badass. Soundtrack freaking slaps. + best Zombies experience. The easter egg songs MMMMMMM

My recommended cod playthrough order:
- If yr new u could either start with Cod4 or WaW but u simply HAVE TO play WaW and Black Ops. Could play Cod4 and MW2 first tho, just follow yr interests
- After that u can finish out either of those series if u want with either BOII or MW3. BOII is more worth playing imo
- Could play Cod2 after that
«Beaten more than once»
«OST on repeat»
Best campaign in call of duty history, this was the last good COD game 
7/10 - This was my first CoD campaign, years ago. 
«Time-tested»
«Better with friends»
Recommended
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Call of Duty: Black Ops-a loud Revolution! Even the Announcement Trailers, the Game released in 2010, Announced something special. The 7th Installment of the Call of Duty series was supposed to put the Player in the Role of Alex Mason, who wakes up tied up in a gritty Room and is formally bombed with Questions. The Creators of Kampange have done a really good Job, besides the Modern Warfare triology, the Story of Black Ops is a true Masterpiece on the part of Treyarch and so far probably, in addition to the aforementioned Triology, the best thing Activision ever Has put out. Multiplayer is also a noteworthy Achievement. The Fact that there is an In-game currency that can be purchased exclusively by playing has been a small Revolution in the Call of Duty Branches. The easily changeable Appearance of the Figures caused by the Perks is also an Innovation that has even managed to gain a Foothold in subsequent Parts. The Maps are pretty well implemented and are partly reminiscent of the Storyline. Guns, Perks and Killstreaks Are pretty balanced for the new Call of Duty parts, even if a Helicopter shooter and the self-maneuverable Attack Helicopter are pretty strong. In addition to the aforementioned In-game currency, Golden Weapon Arins cannot be purchased until Prestige 14. However, as well as Essays, Emblems and other Camouflages, they cost Call of Duty Credits (representing the In-game currency). The golden Camouflage costs 50,000 Credits. The maximum Prestige count in Black Ops is 15. For the purchase speaks In Addition to the MW Triology the best Story Of good Playable Multiplayer Official there is hardly Hacks/Cheats On PC running the Multiplayer over Server Multiplayer cards are well implemented weapon/perks are balanced Solid Number of Killstreaks Solid number of W Affenmodifications In-game currency regulates the acquisition of Weapons, Essays, equipment and Camouflages zombie mode offers lots of fun Against buying talks speed level resets admins can Banish a permanently from the Server The higher Killstreaks In part unfair But even in the Context of Bher gameplays, It Is relatively easy To play Personal Conclusion Story: The Story of Black Ops alone should be filmed at some point, because it is quite complex for a Call of Duty. Emotional Depth, Brutality and Action keep the Player happy during the Storyline's completion. Personally, I had never reached a listless low. Multiplayer: The Multiplayer mode Is pretty well implemented. I never felt I had had an unaltable Disadvantage with a lesser level. Every Weapon feels solid in some Ways. The In-game currency makes it a bit harder for Beginners to find into the Game, yet it enriches players to play the Black Ops longer. That the golden Weapon camouflage from Prestige 14 for 50,000 Credits can be purchased is also a nice Gimick, as you have to do something for the gold camouflage and don't just get it for nothing. Remarks: I still like to play the Multiplayer and I'm glad there are still some People who, like me, still play the Game. I hope that At some point Black Ops will be remasterd. Rating 8 out of 10 possible Points. "A lie is a lie. Just because they write it down and call it history doesn't make it the truth. We live in a world where seeing is not believing, where only a few know what really happened. We live in a world where everything you know is wrong. " Alex Mason If you liked this Review, you can check out my Curator Page.
Read more...
Translated by
Microsoft from Dutch
What a mockery. The multiplayer is very slow and just not playable. I am running the game on an iMac 5K from February 2015 so it will not be the system. Internet connection is also fast (120MB / s) but even at a resolution of 1280x720 the game remains laggy. For 40 I expect a good working game. In addition, you can only play against others who also run the game from a Mac, and there aren't many. I would like my money back.
Translated by
Microsoft from Dutch
Too bad, I expected a lot more from this game. On the screenshots it seems a bit, but they are not representative of the actual game at all. I have the latest Mac Pro with a 27 Cinema Display on which the menus do not run full screen. The game itself does not match the presented quality. The details are very poor and despite the high fps the gameplay is poor. Many controls are not assigned by default and you can still adjust that yourself. Furthermore, there is an annoying bug in which my screen resolution goes to default when I adjust another setting. Absolutely not worth the money.