Call of Duty: Black Ops

[BD2003]

Also, thought I'd mention that the audio is fan-fucking-tastic. The gun sounds are so much better than anything before - they actually finally sound like guns. The audio engine in general sounds like its been completely overhauled, the reverb sounds great for instance. You also have a few audio options that you didnt have before.

I'd say the graphics are on par with MW2, which is to say, very damn good, and butter smooth. I dunno what wizardry they do to get it to run at a solid 60fps, but it never drops a frame. Unfortunately I dont have a 3DTV yet so I cant test 3D, but I would imagine it would look awesome.

 

[BD2003]

Oh and one more thing to mention about the campaign - unlike WaW, the enemies rarely chuck grenades at you. At least on regular difficulty. This was a serious issue in WaW, but I have yet to be killed by a single grenade toss. Its simply no longer an issue.

 

[ciproxr]

Also, thought I'd mention that the audio is fan-fucking-tastic. The gun sounds are so much better than anything before - they actually finally sound like guns. The audio engine in general sounds like its been completely overhauled, the reverb sounds great for instance. You also have a few audio options that you didnt have before.

I'd say the graphics are on par with MW2, which is to say, very damn good, and butter smooth. I dunno what wizardry they do to get it to run at a solid 60fps, but it never drops a frame. Unfortunately I dont have a 3DTV yet so I cant test 3D, but I would imagine it would look awesome.

great review man, i too often wonder how a can it look as good as it does and still run at 60 fps, specially on the xbox.

 

[blurredvision]

I was reading something the other day about the devs at Treyarch saying that they could've made the explosions and other effects a lot more grandiose, but they opted not to in order to keep the series-staple of 60fps. I guess it's just a solid engine they're working with.

 

[blurredvision]

I'm pretty sure at this point that I'll be picking up Black Ops next week, so if I'm not on your friends list, feel free to send an invite. Gamertag: peritusONE

I'm not typically that great even though I have my moments. I played a lot more MW1 than I did MW2, but I did have this gem of a match in MW2 shortly after it launched:

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/2558/img0060u.jpg

That wasn't from camping, I was actually mobile the entire match, but didn't really venture out of a particular section of the map. I'm usually so concerned about my k/d ratio that I don't even play that much because I'm afraid of having a few bad games and trashing it. I'm working on not caring about it and just having fun, so I'll be up for anything.

 

[Trevor311]

Grenade tossing on Veteran difficulty was always a complaint for a lot of gamers in most CoD titles. I think MW2 was the first in a while where this was less of an issue. It always seemed like a cop-out to make the game more difficult by lobbing infinite grenades instead of improving the enemy AI, especially when friendly AI was often nothing more than fluff and eye-candy.

 

[BD2003]

I was reading something the other day about the devs at Treyarch saying that they could've made the explosions and other effects a lot more grandiose, but they opted not to in order to keep the series-staple of 60fps. I guess it's just a solid engine they're working with.

Well, there is certainly no lack of grandiosity to be found. Its a good thing they stick with 60fps - it makes the game far more playable and fluid. I think its another one of those intangible reasons why CoD is so popular where other FPSes cant get a foothold.

They definitely trying to tell a more coherent story than MW1-2. MW2 was completely baffling, but how could you tell a proper story with a main character that doesnt talk and zero cutscenes? It was like they took an action movie and just showed the action scenes.

In BO, your character has a face and a voice. There are actual cutscenes in the third person perspective, as well as in the first, in addition to the standard being spoken to and forced to follow a character in game. The cutscenes are short and sweet, but theyre there. Theyve gone with a pretty interesting way of justifying the whole "jump around the world" thing CoD is known for. Still, like every other CoD it's not a story driven game, story has always been used as a means to justify the game more than an end in and of itself. I cant find too much fault in it unless its completely baffling, and so far it's pretty standard fare, just told a great deal better than in games past.

What I really want is to play MP, and even though a title update was pushed this morning, still no dice. Last year MW2 was up and running the friday before, so I've got my fingers crossed.

 

[Kabob]

Great info BD!

I know what you mean about IW vs. Treyarch feel for the campaign. It seemed to me that CoD 4 was grandiose without really trying, while (for me at least) WaW tried to be grandiose but took it too far.

So, any of the weapons stand out as vastly superior to others thus far? I know you've not finished it yet but how long will it take (guesstimation) to finish the campaign?

 

[JoPh]

how many zombie maps?

 

[RavenSEAL]

how many zombie maps?

There is no "official" number, but the hardened edition includes 4 extra maps.

 

[JoPh]

There is no "official" number, but the hardened edition includes 4 extra maps.

since BD has the game he should be able to check it out

 

[BD2003]

Just leaving work now. When I get home I'll check the num of zombie maps...haven't tried it yet. If mp is up I'm prob gonna crack out on it all day, but if not I'll go through system link mode and give a rundown of all the guns and such.

Ask your questions now.

 

[Kabob]

Gun info plz!

 

[JoPh]

Gun info plz!

i dont know what exactly you are looking for about them but this has a basic rundown on the weapons

http://www.cod7blackops.com/weapons/ or http://callofduty.wikia.com/wiki/Call_of_Duty:_Black_Ops#Weapons

 

[Kabob]

On paper the Tar-21 was by far the best weapon in the game in MW2, in reality not so much. Just want to know his impressions of recoil, damage, mobility, etc, and any personal favorites. Not the ranks that it shows you when selecting a weapon in-game, but how it handles.

 

[GrantMeThePower]

BD2003- Was the zombie mode unlocked right off the bat or do you have to get through the campaign to get it?

Also, is there a separate coop mode aside from zombies?

Did you try the MP w/ bots? I wonder how the AI is in imitating human players...

 

[BD2003]

On paper the Tar-21 was by far the best weapon in the game in MW2, in reality not so much. Just want to know his impressions of recoil, damage, mobility, etc, and any personal favorites. Not the ranks that it shows you when selecting a weapon in-game, but how it handles.

Thats exactly what I'll do...I'll go into system link, and fire them up against a wall and such to get a good feel for them. The in game charts and data dont really give you a good feel for exactly what to expect.

As far as zombies go, it only shows me one map, but I have to imagine theres at least a few more than can be unlocked at some point. Itd be particularly outrageous if they left all the maps to the hardened (which I couldnt find even at gamestop) and DLC.

MP is still down.

 

[JoPh]

wow. one zombie map.. that really sucks if that is true.

if its like any other cod ill just be using the m16. my fav cod gun.

 

[BD2003]

wow. one zombie map.. that really sucks if that is true.

if its like any other cod ill just be using the m16. my fav cod gun.

I swear I've seen a video of at least another new one online, so I'm almost certain they just havent been unlocked yet.

Looks like MP just went up - and theres 15 players online. So I'm gonna go through the guns first which should take a little while, and then hopefully hop online and go nuts.

 

[BD2003]

Here's an attachment list for those who havent seen it:

MP5K:
Extended Mag
ACOG Sight
Red Dot Sight
Reflex Sight
Suppressor
Rapid Fire

Skorpion:
Extended Mag
Grip
Dual Wield
Suppressor
Rapid Fire

MAC11:
Extended Mag
Red Dot Sight
Reflex Sight
Grip
Dual Wield
Suppressor
Rapid Fire

AK74u:
Extended Mag
Dual Mag
ACOG Sight
Red Dot Sight
Reflex
Grip
Suppressor
Grenade Launcher (Yes, an SMG with a Grenade Launcher!)
Rapid Fire

Uzi/Spectre:
Extended Mag
ACOG Sight
Red Dot Sight
Reflex Sight
Grip
Suppressor
Rapid Fire

PM63:
Extended MAg
Grip
Dual Wield
Rapid Fire

MPL:
Dual Mag
ACOG Sight
Red Dot Sight
Reflex Sight
Grip
Suppressor
Rapid Fire

Kipris:
Extended Mag
ACOG Sight
Red Dot Sight
Reflex Sight
Grip
Dual Wield
Suppressor
Rapid Fire

Assault Rifles:
M16/Enfield/Famas/Galil/AUG/FN FAL/AK47/Commando:
Extended Mag
Dual Mag
ACOG Sight
Red Dot Sight
Reflex Sight
Masterkey
Flamethrower
Infrared Scope
Suppressor
Grenade Launcher

M14:
Extended Mag
ACOG Sight
Red Dot Sight
Reflex Sight
Grip
Masterkey
Flamethrower
Infrared Scope
Suppressor
Grenade Launcher

G11:
Low Power Scope
Variable Zoom

Olympia:
(none)

Stakeout:
Grip

SPAS-12:
Silencer

HS10:
Dual Wield

HK21/Stoner 63:
Extended Mag
ACOG Scope
Red Dot Sight
Reflex Sight
Infrared Scope

RPK:
Extended Mag
Dual Mag
ACOG Scope
Red Dot Sight
Reflex Sight
Infrared Scope

M60:
Extended Mag
ACOG Scope
Red Dot Sight
Reflex Sight
Grip
Infrared Scope

Dragunov/WA2000/L96A1/PSG1:
Extended Mag
ACOG Scope
Infrared Scope
Suppressor
Variable Zoom

ASP:
Dual Wield

M1911/Makarov:
Upgraded Iron Sights
Extended Mag
Dual Wield
Suppressor

Python:
ACOG Sight
Snub Nose
Speed Reloader
Dual Wield

CZ75:
Upgraded Iron Sights
Extened Mag
Dual Wield
Suppresor
Full Auto Upgrade

 

[Kabob]

Thats exactly what I'll do...I'll go into system link, and fire them up against a wall and such to get a good feel for them. The in game charts and data dont really give you a good feel for exactly what to expect.

As far as zombies go, it only shows me one map, but I have to imagine theres at least a few more than can be unlocked at some point. Itd be particularly outrageous if they left all the maps to the hardened (which I couldnt find even at gamestop) and DLC.

MP is still down.

Sounds excellent!

wow. one zombie map.. that really sucks if that is true.

if its like any other cod ill just be using the m16. my fav cod gun.

There's more than one, I want to say there's 4-5 that have been shown. The idea though is that only one comes pre-unlocked and you have to unlock the others. One through beating the game, one or two through various feats, etc.

Not saying I like that, but it's the way of the world I suppose.

 

[JoPh]

what is masterkey attachment?

 

[blurredvision]

wow. one zombie map.. that really sucks if that is true.

I know of at least 2 more maps. I've spoiler tagged the following URL since it will not only spoil the maps when you go to the link, but will spoil something else as well just by the text. Take the spaces out of the URL if you want to follow it.

Spoiler

http ://www. zombiezonenews.com/ archives/black-ops-zombie-maps-play-as-jfk-fidel-nixon/

 

[GrantMeThePower]

what is masterkey attachment?

I think thats the under-barrel shotgun.

 

[Kabob]

what is masterkey attachment?

Masterkey is a shotgun you attach under the barrel of a rifle.

Knights Armament Company Masterkey