Reviews: Call of Duty: Black Ops Video Review

It actually looks far more interesting than I anticipated - the multiplayer that is, not the singleplayer. I might get it once they fix it up for the PC. 

´´ By the time i reached level 20 i felt i unlucked everything i needed to´´ 
 
Is this something negative? because if it is thats bullshit on your part. 
 
You still need to level up to 50 to buy ALL the weapons, and by your standard the gun you start out with is all i need because it shoots bullets and kills people. 
 
Really jeff gerstmann? 

" ´´ By the time i reached level 20 i felt i unlucked everything i needed to´´  Is this something negative? because if it is thats bullshit on your part.  You still need to level up to 50 to buy ALL the weapons, and by your standard the gun you start out with is all i need because it shoots bullets and kills people.  Really jeff gerstmann?  "

" ´´ By the time i reached level 20 i felt i unlucked everything i needed to´´  Is this something negative? because if it is thats bullshit on your part.  You still need to level up to 50 to buy ALL the weapons, and by your standard the gun you start out with is all i need because it shoots bullets and kills people.  Really jeff gerstmann?  "

" @LiquidSwords said:

" Don't understand people who buy games just to jump right into multiplayer. What a bunch of boners! "

damned boners!  always popping up in my cod points when they're least expected! "

Why is The Announcer from TF2 at the end of the video?

God dammit, I wouldn't have noticed the lack of Spec Ops until you reminded me of it. Fuck.

Wait, Alex Mason? wasn't the dood in Red Faction Guerrilla named Alex Mason? lol

 Is it just me, or are the HD vids on GB not looking all that Hi-Def these days? Maybe they dropped the quality a tad because the huge vids were gobbling bandwidth.
 
Ahhhh, who knows, maybe it's just me.

i pick mine up tomorrow...yaya
im liking reviews from other game sites more lately ,giant bomb doesn't do enough video reviews and there getting a little boring...come on jeff do it like you did in blood in the sands...fucking best review ever!

I for one am glad to see the static leveling go. It should lessen that feeling of futility when facing off against a team of level-capped kiddies when you're still in the teens.

Looks like more of the same. I will wait for hell to freeze over and for this game to be on some Steam super sale and pick it up for $20 down the line, but no way am I paying $60 for MW 2 again. I will say though that I love the idea of earning money instead of xp and being able to gamble it in games.

dammit i knew i heard the name reznov somewhere before

" Wait, Alex Mason? wasn't the dood in Red Faction Guerrilla named Alex Mason? lol "

It's kind of saddening to me how video reviews have basically been reduced to being used almost solely for the hyped up games of the big names out there, but I guess it's good to see another one regardless.

i got myself really hyped for this game, cause WaW was my favorite call of duty.. but the multiplayer maps go in the opposite direction that i was anticipating. WaW was great because it has a lot of open outdoor areas with big fields and battlegrounds... theres like no long range battles in this.. just running around and shooting guys who come around corners and hoping someone doesnt pop out of a corner while youre running to the next cover spot.. i would have liked some variety..

" ´´ By the time i reached level 20 i felt i unlucked everything i needed to´´  Is this something negative? because if it is thats bullshit on your part.  You still need to level up to 50 to buy ALL the weapons, and by your standard the gun you start out with is all i need because it shoots bullets and kills people.  Really jeff gerstmann?  "

" Man, that accent is TERRIBLE! Sam Worthington is the worst. "

" @Edin8999 said:

" ´´ By the time i reached level 20 i felt i unlucked everything i needed to´´  Is this something negative? because if it is thats bullshit on your part.  You still need to level up to 50 to buy ALL the weapons, and by your standard the gun you start out with is all i need because it shoots bullets and kills people.  Really jeff gerstmann?  "

The point is that by the time he got to around level 20 or so he had already purchased all the weapons/etc that he cared about, meaning all the stuff left was stuff he would use maybe once, if that.  That, in turn, makes the leveling beyond that kind of pointless,  if all you are doing is getting stuff you don't care about or don't plan to ever use.  Personally, the main weapons I used in CoD were the G3 and the Uzi.  So, as soon as I purchase whatever their equivalents are in Black Ops, then I don't really care about any of the other weapons. "

Steam sale for this one. Although, I do love period piece games- this just seems like an adrenalin dumping twitch FPS. So it will have to wait.

" @Lazyaza said:

" Wait, Alex Mason? wasn't the dood in Red Faction Guerrilla named Alex Mason? lol "

Alex Mason is the new John Shepard. "

I think you've become to old and jaded for video games, Jeff. If you can't enjoy driving a boat down a river blowing shit up with The Stones in the background then maybe it's time to move on... :) 
 
Seriously though I've enjoyed the game. The missions have been varied; the story good and to be honest it's packed with great content a lot of which Jeff never even mentions. Also, I don't play on-line shooters for a levelling "carrot", I played MoHAA, Quake etc. for years on-line without any such systems because I enjoy running around shooting things so I don't think that a perceived lack of progression in the system is a fair complaint. 
 
I didn't play MW2 because of the way IW started treating it's customers and the features they removed but Treyarch support their games very well and at least try to meet the needs for the fan base, so good on them. 
 
Finally, I saw the review on MoH which showcased you not being about to kill certain enemies because of scripting and various other scripting issues. Well the exact same thing happens a few times in Black Ops too (most notably after the Russian roulette) but you never mention it. This isn't a complaint but I'm curious if you encountered any of these issues at all?

I really get the impression Jeff would have preferred to give this three stars.

Wager matches are hilarious with friends. Treyarch totally outclassed MW/MW2.

Pretty good review. However, you mention that there's only two zombie maps and I'm pretty sure there's three. I'm not entirely sure on how you unlock the third though.

Good review

I'm surprised again that this didn't get 5 stars from GB since, you know, MW2 was more COD4 than Black Ops was and that got a 5. 
 
Still, respect to you guys for that.

I disagree with Jeff's point at the end. They could keep pumping out these games that don't really change the formula for the rest of this console generation and still sell squillions. I think it's going to take an actively bad game for people to go off it. A new engine would be cool but they run the risk of making a bad engine. People want more of this and the fact that it hasn't changed that much is probably why people still like the franchise, they can hop in on day 1 and be familiar with it.

I hope they get him to kill JFK!

Hey Jeff, remember that time you gave Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess an 8.8?
 
Well I do, so, like, yeah....

" I agree with Dr. tracksuit on Black Ops. "

I'm gonna go ahead and disagree with Jeff. Although I have long since lost interest in the series, "bro gamers" -dudes who tend to only play Madden, COD, and Halo- will continue to buy these games regardless of whether or not there is any innovation because: A. They are new and shiny, and B. They still scratch that competitive itch. 

" @Edin8999 said:

" ´´ By the time i reached level 20 i felt i unlucked everything i needed to´´  Is this something negative? because if it is thats bullshit on your part.  You still need to level up to 50 to buy ALL the weapons, and by your standard the gun you start out with is all i need because it shoots bullets and kills people.  Really jeff gerstmann?  "

The point is, for a carrot and stick upgrade system, if early on you get the carrot the allure of levelling up is out the window. "

" Hey Jeff, remember that time you gave Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess an 8.8?
 
Well I do, so, like, yeah.... "

Play style is generic build, dies a lot, then goes to look at the menus.  
 
Liked the surreal clip to finish off.  Track suit thing for real?  This going to be around longer?  Jeff needs to be bald to pull that off.  Smooth all over.  
 
Smooth....
 
 
All over....

Meh.

Zork!

They might as well start putting the year at the end of the title like Madden.

Track suit: always a good call

" I think you've become to old and jaded for video games, Jeff. If you can't enjoy driving a boat down a river blowing shit up with The Stones in the background then maybe it's time to move on... :)  Seriously though I've enjoyed the game. The missions have been varied; the story good and to be honest it's packed with great content a lot of which Jeff never even mentions. Also, I don't play on-line shooters for a levelling "carrot", I played MoHAA, Quake etc. for years on-line without any such systems because I enjoy running around shooting things so I don't think that a perceived lack of progression in the system is a fair complaint.  I didn't play MW2 because of the way IW started treating it's customers and the features they removed but Treyarch support their games very well and at least try to meet the needs for the fan base, so good on them.  Finally, I saw the review on MoH which showcased you not being about to kill certain enemies because of scripting and various other scripting issues. Well the exact same thing happens a few times in Black Ops too (most notably after the Russian roulette) but you never mention it. This isn't a complaint but I'm curious if you encountered any of these issues at all? "

i have to get this now. 
 
ALL of my friends are getting it. 
 
the next COD game needs to be not exactly like COD4, W@W, MW2 and CODBO though

Guess I'm only renting, then

Is Dr. Tracksuit now officially on Whiskey Media's payroll? Cause I really think Jeff Gerstmann should've reviewed this game.

I really want this now despite the terrible taste MW2 left in my mouth.
I actually thought WAW was an underrated game, and Treyarch has caught up to Infinity Ward when it comes to making these games great.

Something kinda ironic about this. Jeff's MW2 review was pretty much all, "This game looks just like MW1, but things like shooting down UAVs and slightly different perks mean that the game's totally different now!"
 
I wonder if he's changed his tune or if another IW-made COD that's in the exact same mold will have him saying the same again.