Call of Duty: Black Ops

I had heard a lot about this one going in.

Great voice acting (especially Gary Oldman and Sam Worthington), amazing graphics for its time that still hold up nicely, and a thrilling story with a great plot twist towards the end make this yet another all-time favorite of mine. The game nicely links up with World At War by connecting the events that occurred after the Russian campaign. The missions in the game covers a wide variety of geography and gameplay. What scares me is that there are so many unnecessary anachronistic elements in the campaign set between 1961 and 1968, especially weapons (such as the FAMAS, AKS-74U, SPAS-12, CZ 75, etc.). Also, the Vorkuta uprising as depicted in the second level actually happened a decade earlier than when the level was set.

Because of the unfortunate Bay of Pigs incident occurring in the first level, the game got into controversy from Cuba for depicting US Special Forces trying but failing to kill a young Fidel Castro, killing instead a body-double. This is worse than attempting to kill bin Laden or Qaddafi or Saddam if you think about it.

What I really like is that for the first time in the Call of Duty series, the player characters in the campaign speak while you are controlling them (of course while not counting the one-off exceptions such as the "Liberators" mission in CoD 2: Big Red One and "Death From Above" in Call of Duty 4). I also like this: when the player holds the Space Bar on PC, R2 and L2 on PS3, RT and LT on Xbox 360 and by shaking the remote and Nunchuck on the Wii, they can get out of the chair they're strapped in. This allows the player to move to the back of the room and access a computer console that when activated the player can input a valid user and password combination that gives the player more lore and can play Zork and Dead Ops Arcade.

The multiplayer is one of the best yet, with its great online experiences. It introduced many amazing and iconic maps in and out of the COD community such as Nuketown, Firing Range, Summit, Radiation, Stadium, and WMD. There's even more customization in multiplayer has been added like custom emblems, face paint, custom crosshairs, and more cameos. Your character's appearance in multiplayer is also based on what tier 1 perk you select (if you chose ghost, your character would wear a ghillie suit, or if you chose flak jacket, your character would be wearing heavy armor, etc.). It should be noted that this game introduced Combat Training, which is good for people to practice before going into multiplayer. Even the Zombies mode from Call of Duty: World at War is back, with many great maps such as Five, Call of the Dead, Shangri La, and Moon.

The game even has a hidden mini-game, Dead Ops Arcade, which is a twin-stick top-down shooter, and, similar to all other zombie levels, its objective is to survive for as many rounds as possible against many waves of increasingly difficult zombies. Unlike traditional Zombies however, ammo is of no concern, as the player's main weapon has unlimited ammo and never needs to be reloaded, there is an ending as there are 40 levels, new enemies like sasquatches, and pick ups and power-ups in order to assist players throughout the levels. These include:

• Pick Ups
  • Gem - Gives the player more points.
  • Nuke - Gives the player one extra bomb. The player will start each game with one bomb and each time a bomb is used it will kill all enemies on the map (much like when a nuke is picked up on other zombie game modes). To use the bomb the player must press the button they usually use to aim down sights The maximum number of nukes a player can hold is nine.
  • Lightning Bolt - Gives the player one extra dash attack. The player will start each game with two Lightning attacks and will always start each round with at least one (gaining one if the player had zero the round before). When used, the player will make an invincible dash in the direction they are aiming (using the button used to jump), this attack will launch all enemies into the air that the player makes contact with, killing the enemies instantly. To use the dash the player must press the "fire" button. The maximum number of Lightning attacks the player can hold is nine.
  • Soldier Statue - Gives all players an extra life, though these appear very infrequently. Every player will always earn an extra life (for themselves only) upon exceeding multiples of 200,000 points.
  Vehicles
  • Tank - Puts the player in a tank for 20 seconds. The player is invincible in this state. The tank can run over zombies and fire explosive shells fully automatically. Any chickens following the player will automatically receive China Lakes to further help the player. Because the tank runs on tracks, movement control is slightly different.
  • Helicopter - Puts player in a Hind Attack Helicopter for 20 seconds. The player is also invincible. The helicopter can hover, shoot missiles, and fire its turret simultaneously. It is a stronger and more powerful Power-up compared to the tank. Any chickens following the player will automatically receive Ray Guns to further help the player. If the player that is green picks up the helicopter, all zombies on the map will go for that player in the helicopter and not for any other player on the map. The only things that do not go for the green player in the helicopter are the hellhounds. This does not happen for any other color player in the helicopter. Helicopters do not appear before round 9.
  Power-Ups
  • Teddy Bear - Creates a field around the player for 20 seconds, doing no damage but repelling any normal zombies that come near back to their entrances. All other types of zombies except the Cosmic Silverback freeze on the spot. Note that though this power-up will hinder a zombie's approach towards the player, any zombie coming in contact with the player will still kill the player.
  • Electric Orb - Creates four rotating orbs around the player. Each orb will shock and kill any zombie that comes in contact with it, but the orb will vanish. The effect can spread to other zombies like the Wunderwaffe DG-2. When time is up (after 40 seconds), the orbs (if any are remaining) will fly away from the player.
  • Barrel - Creates two barrels that rotate around the player, killing any zombies they come into contact with. It is most effective when used with Boots or the Fate of Furious Feet. Barrels fly away from player when time is up (after 20 seconds), killing any zombies hit.
  • Chicken - Spawns a flying chicken for a limited but rather long amount of time (40 seconds). The chicken follows the player around, shooting in the same direction as the player with whatever weapon the player is using. If the player is in a Tank the chicken will gain a China Lake for the duration of the tank and if the player is in a Helicopter, the chicken will gain a Ray Gun regardless of what gun the player has. When the chicken is about to expire, it shoots rapidly in a circle formation. If the player finds the armory, it is possible to have multiple chickens at the same time. If the player has the Fate of Friendship, they will permanently have one chicken, and any additional chicken lasts double the normal amount of time.
  • Boots - Provides a significant speed boost for a short amount of time (10 seconds). This will have no effect if the player has received The Fate of Furious Feet, since then it will be permanent.
  • Monkey Bomb - Spawns an active monkey bomb where the player picked it up from, attracting any zombies that are closer to the monkey than the player and exploding after a period of time. Damage is unknown, but it can kill most types of zombies once it explodes.
  • Turret - Drops a sentry turret at the place where the player picked it up from, killing any zombies it lands on, and the sentry will start shooting at zombies with limited accuracy. After the end of a round or when the time is up (after 30 seconds), the turret will fly away. Damage is unknown but likely on the higher side.

This is action shoot-'em-up stuff at its best yet.