Call of Duty: Black Ops (PC, 2010)

For starters the PC genre is slowing starting to fade away and while we (PC users) do have a few exclusive titles to brag about, fewer and fewer big budget games are making their way on to the PC platform in favor of consoles. It's not all bad on the PC playing field though, FPS's are still king here. The mouse/keyboard combo still has the upper hand over analog sticks, user created mods can freshen up the way the game feels and plays, but the big ace in the hole would have to be the graphics. Console games are limited on this front due to the inability to upgrade their hardware were PC gamers are only limited by the amount of cash they have to spend.


This is just one of the reasons why I bought Black Ops. With a well equipped PC, the details, textures, frame rate, and overall beauty of this game shines over its console counterparts. It's all about the game play though. Navigating through the menus feels more intuitive using a mouse and creating the perfect class takes no time. The single player campaign mode is nothing to write home about but don't fool yourself, you didn't buy this game for the campaign, you bought this game so you can go online and frag. For what it's worth, the campaign isn't bad though. Set in the cold-war era, you'll be exchanging bullets with Russians, Cubans, the Vietcong, and even a few evil Brits have turned their site on to you. It's fun and more than competent enough to keep you entertained should your internet connection ever go out.


Dedicated servers run the multiplayer world, which is a bit of a bummer if you were wanting to host and run your own personal clan server (servers can be rented), but aside from that, the multiplayer feels and plays very solid. If you're like me and play a lot of TDM, then the majority of servers you'll come across usually run set map rotations. I've noticed the Nuketown and Firing Range maps are a popular combo (both maps are fairly small and encourage confrontation.) I'm not sure if it's just bias towards Treyarch (developer) but I heard a lot of bad things about this game before I purchased it, particularly about campers. I don't know if it's just a console thing but so far, playing online, I haven't seen any overwhelming abuse of camping.


Coming from someone who has strictly played the first Modern Warfare online for the past 3 years, this game is not only fun but refreshing. It's both addictive and rewarding at the same time. The intense firefights will keep you on your toes and engaged in the combat while you're online. Then when you're offline, the stats, immense amount of class customization and theater section, which stores replays of your past 100 matches, will have you dissecting your every move. In other words, it's hard to put this game down.


You're free to take my word for it or not, but this game is great. The only thing holding it back from a 5/5 would be the online community. It's a small grip but so far the most players I've seen online at once is 8,000. Might sound like a large number but it's only a fraction of the amount of traffic the console versions get.

If a good review isn't enough to sell you on this game, maybe the price will. Since this game has been out for awhile, you can easily find a copy of it for about half the asking price of retail. If you choose to go with a used copy BE SURE THE SELLER GUARANTEES IT COMES WITH A VALID KEYCODE or you will NOT be able to play online.

Being an old time gamer who only plays FPS games, I was going to pre-order COD Black Ops, but was glad that I didn't after the initial user reviews came out. After reading that it was an unfinished product that had numerous flaws, I decided to wait until the issues were fixed and the retail price dropped before purchasing it.

The Black Ops Single Player storyline was weak, actually stupid would be a better description. The campaign was too short and didn't deliver more than a few hours of entertainment. Too much effort was made in cut-scene animations to back the weak/stupid storyline. It was nothing less than disappointing.

Of course, most of us don't buy FPS games only to play the campaign, we buy them to compete with other players online, and that is where the meat of this game is, in multiplayer.

As expected, COD Black Ops plays and feels like COD MW and COD MW2. Being a noob to Black Ops, I haven't quite yet figured out all the changes made in the perk settings/weapons options. The one positive improvement I like so far, is the idea of being able to purchase the weapons attachments you want, instead of having to earn them by using attachments you don't like. Although I would prefer to have full customization of my character, weapons and perks, instead of being stuck with complying with those the designers come up with.

The weapons are Cold War era, although there is an inconsistency with the M-16, the only assault rifle that is available at the beginning of multiplayer, which only fires in 3-round bursts, although the M-16 rifle at that time period had the option of being fired in single or automatic.

As is usual with the COD series, it is lacking in map variety, unless you want to purchase the add-on map pack, which means the game will become less interesting once you memorize the maps. So your only option is to either buy the map pack, or wait and spend the money on MW3.

The maps themselves are okay, although there seems to be much less interactivity with objects, such as exploding cars and barrels. There are a few large maps, but none that compares in size with those of MOH 2010. One map that is particularly disappointing is called 'Nuke Town,' which for some reason is the only map that numerous servers host. Seriously, what a waste of bandwidth!

And speaking of servers, although I really didn't like the hosting method of COD MW2, where it was like listening to an 8-track tape player that switches tracks in the middle of a song, I was actually getting used to it. I forgot how many losers there were hosting gaming servers. Not only do you have servers that only host one small and stupid map, like Nuke Town, but you have real idiots that make up stupid rules, like no running, no jumping, crouch only, no tubes, etc., as well as all the morons trying to push political correctness or their religion down your throats.

Overall, COD Black Ops is disappointing, but it does have a few redeeming qualities. At $60.00 retail, I would pass it up, but if you can find it for less than $30.00, then it may be worth investing in.

The Good - this game is a really fun game this looks good but isnt too demanding on the visuals side of things so many computers would be able to run this with decent setting. the story mode was interesting because of the time period and the take on all the events that happened. i found it was more entertaining the first time i played it through.

The Cons - if youre playing online beware. the servers are a mess to figure out but once you save a few into your favourites its not that difficult to understand the layout. it will be very challenging if youre coming from a console like i did. people can set rules on their servers that are really stupid and youll get kicked if you break the rules... i didnt find that to be a pleasant experience.

Overall - despite the fact that many people complain about the build of the game and its entertainment value, i found it to be very satisfactory. online is very enjoyable even though i dont finish nearly as well as other players and i have a high level of patience so like i said, i get my value of out of the game. there are always people online so finding a server is never an issue. on a scale out of 10 i would have to rate this as an 8.25 out of 10.

The Good - this game is a really fun game this looks good but isn't too demanding on the visuals side of things so many computers would be able to run this with decent setting. the story mode was interesting because of the time period and the take on all the events that happened. i found it was more entertaining the first time i played it through.

The Cons - if you're playing online beware. the servers are a mess to figure out but once you save a few into your favorites its not that difficult to understand the layout. it will be very challenging if you're coming from a console like i did. people can set rules on their servers that are really stupid and you'll get kicked if you break the rules... i didn't find that to be a pleasant experience.

Overall - despite the fact that many people complain about the build of the game and its entertainment value, i found it to be very satisfactory. online is very enjoyable even though i don't finish nearly as well as other players and i have a high level of patience so like i said, i get my value of out of the game. there are always people online so finding a server is never an issue. on a scale out of 10 i would have to rate this as an 8.25 out of 10.

It is a great game and it is extremely fun to play. It never really gets boring. Zombies, reagular multiplayer, and the campign are all great and keep with the great standard of Call Of Duty. I suggest this game for anyone looking for a game that will keep you enjoyed for a long period of time. But if you have a slow computer then this game might not be for you because of its lagging and sudden freezes. You also might want to check the system requirements first and make sure you computer is up to snuff. Overall, this is probably the best game in my PC game library.