With its first “Modern Warfare,” famed developer Infinity Ward has created an entirely new breed of shooters that have become a pop-culture phenomenon. Selling over 20 million copies worldwide according to Activision, the multi-billion dollar video-game publisher has stumbled upon a gold mine that is being exploited regardless of the very real risk of turning it into a soulless annual event that people will eventually stop caring about.
While (former) second-class “Call of Duty” developer Treyarch’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops” doesn’t answer the imminent question of whether the series is going to be obsolete in a few short years or not, it does prove that it’s too good to be crushed by the surrounding hype that so many games fall prey to.
“Black Ops” puts players in the shoes of Alex Mason, a U.S. special operations task force member who is being held captive by a mysterious organization. Treyarch took a rather unique approach to storytelling by basing everything around Mason’s interrogation from which the player jumps into Mason’s past. It’s an interesting concept that’s presented and executed to near perfection, once again outlining the unique freedoms the medium provides to storytelling when the narrative is given artistic license.
The story begins strong, but instead of stalling becomes more complex, interesting and convoluted as Mason’s interrogators get more impatient. The interrogator digs deeper to unveil the secrets locked away in his mind and forcefully steers toward a climax that brings the narrative to a satisfying and visually interesting conclusion.
On the gameplay side of things “Black Ops” is no revelation, especially when held up against previous games in the series. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as Treyarch has not reinvented the “Call of Duty” formula, but instead given it a few unique twists along the way that do a stellar job of adding the studio’s own charm and character to the equation. There are some phenomenally scripted sequences as well as an excellent feel to the controls and weapons.
The weapons are, in fact, a major draw of the game. “Black Ops” takes place mostly during the Cold War of the ‘60s, which means the enormous arsenal of guns and modifications are similar to the fully automatic high-tech gadgets we’ve seen in the “Modern Warfare” titles, while not yet as technologically fleshed out and sophisticated. Each individual weapon’s look and feel is underlined by their unique reload animations, and more importantly their own distinctive impact on the enemy. It’s a delight to discover the different strengths and weaknesses the guns offer, especially in context of the mission at hand.
While the graphical technology underneath is largely untouched from “Modern Warfare 2,” the environments are much more varied. From the jungles and rivers of war torn ‘60s Vietnam to the arctic pole and even deep sea underwater stations, the visual variety is impressive and the way Treyarch plays with color, light and sound is formidable. Whether it’s the prominent voice cast delivering their lines superbly, the nicely timed anti-war songs during the Vietnam missions or simply the realistic sounding weapons, the sound design only deepens the experience.
But it’s not all perfect. Bugs are an issue with Treyarch’s campaign, hinting at the timing element the studio obviously had to deal with in order to get the game ready for the holiday season. However, they are just small irritations in the grander scheme of things.
Multiplayer is a beast of its own. It’s no secret that the “Call of Duty” series features some of the best multiplayer out there and “Black Ops” is no exception. But let me give you a fair warning here: Treyarch doesn’t reinvent the wheel and if you’ve burned out on “Modern Warfare 2,” then you won’t find much here that is worth the price of admission.
It’s not like Treyarch just copied everything over and replaced the old maps with new ones. The basic way you unlock guns and attachments is now focused around virtual credits that are earned by winning matches, scoring kills and most remarkably by taking on contracts. In order to make more money you can buy contracts that expire after a certain amount of time in the game. If you manage to fulfill a contract, like killing 20 people with a certain weapon or winning two matches in a row, you earn more credits, but if time runs out you lose the money you paid to take on the challenge.
The old standard challenges are still in place, but these optional contracts are a great way to freshen things up a bit by giving players the freedom to play the game the way they want it, rewarding different talents and play styles.
With “Black Ops” Treyarch was given an opportunity to assert itself as a studio that deserves as much praise and recognition as Infinity Ward does for its involvement with the “Call of Duty” brand. They’ve seized that opportunity impressively, offering both an excellent single-player campaign as well as an incredibly deep, if not entirely fresh, multiplayer experience. If you like first-person shooters there’s almost no way around this game.
Contact Parjanya Holtz at [email protected]