Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, and macOS. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC versions were originally released on November 9, 2010 worldwide, and the macOS version was originally released on September 27, 2012 in North America. It is a sequel to Call of Duty: World at War and was later followed by Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Amazing graphics for its time that still hold up nicely.
 * 2) Unlike other COD campaigns this one is more focused on story than the gameplay. In it, you play as a CIA agent who is forced to remember prior events in order to help the US find a Russian terrorist who is using sleeper agents to prepare a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, which would result in World War III and Mutual Assured Destruction.
 * 3) A great plot twist at the end. Viktor Reznov, the man who helped Mason escape Vorkuta and had been with him up until the death of Steiner, was never there. It's revealed that Reznov had "reprogrammed" Mason to kill Dragovich, Kravchenko, and Steiner as revenge for killing his men and taking him to Vorkuta. All the time that Reznov was with Mason after the events of Vorkuta was just in his mind and he was suffering from a case of Dissociative Identity Disorder, which is why he thought he saw Reznov kill Steiner when really it was him.
 * 4) For the first time in the Call of Duty series, player characters speak throughout the campaign while you are controlling them (earlier Call of Duty games had it limited to single missions like "Liberators" in Call of Duty 2: Big Red One and "Death From Above" in Call of Duty 4).
 * 5) Great voice acting, especially from Gary Oldman and Sam Worthington.
 * 6) * The Nintendo DS version had voice acting, in which was impressive since many Nintendo DS games rarely had any. Although it wasn't that great.
 * 7) The game nicely links up with World At War by connecting the events that occurred after the Russian campaign.
 * 8) The missions in the game covers a wide variety of geography and gameplay.
 * 9) Great online multiplayer experience.
 * 10) Multiplayer introduced many amazing and iconic maps in and out of the COD community such as Nuketown, Firing Range, Summit, Radiation, Stadium, and WMD.
 * 11) 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.)
 * 12) 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.
 * 13) Despite the technical limitations, the Wii port is among the best shooters in the system, just like its predecessor (Call of Duty: World at War). It even includes a Zombies mode (though it only features one map: Kino Der Toten, which is a bit disappointing).
 * 14) This game introduced Combat Training, which is good for people to practice before going into multiplayer.
 * 15) 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 nunchuk 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.
 * 16) There is 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:
 * 17) * Pick Ups
 * 18) ** Gem - Gives the player more points.
 * 19) ** 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.
 * 20) ** 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.
 * 21) ** 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.
 * 22) * Vehicles
 * 23) ** 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.
 * 24) ** 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.
 * 25) * Power-Ups
 * 26) ** 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.
 * 27) ** 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.
 * 28) ** 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.
 * 29) ** 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.
 * 30) ** 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.
 * 31) ** 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.
 * 32) ** 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.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The PC version was notable for having a lot of game bugs. They could get so bad that many players consider the multiplayer on PC to be virtually unplayable.
 * 2) The Nintendo Wii version while it plays exactly like the console versions, due to console limitations, some mission cutscenes and some of the missions were reduced to video cutscenes, and the graphics look poor as many of the characters look like they do not have eyes.
 * 3) * One of these said missions is "Revelations" in which the mission was replaced with a video cutscene.
 * 4) * As mentioned above, "Kino der Toten" is the only playable zombies map in this version. No DLC was actually released on this version to have the rest playable (despite Activision promising such, but was possibly canceled due to the size of them), and the map "Five" along with the "Dead Ops Arcade" game were also cut out of the game.
 * 5) The PS3 version runs at a noticeably worse internal resolution of 960x544 compared to the Xbox 360 version which is 1040x608. Even previous Call of Duty games on both platforms run at 1024x600.
 * 6) Many anachronistic elements in the campaign set in the 1960s, especially weapons such as the FAMAS, AKS-74U, SPAS-12, CZ 75, etc.
 * 7) Newer PSN accounts playing multiplayer through PS3 can no longer have their progress saved as the game resets their stats and rank to 1 as soon as you leave it. This is also a big problem on Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer.
 * 8) The Nintendo DS version is inferior as it lacks blood and it has poor voice acting.

Controversy
Cuba has condemned the release of the game as it has special forces trying but failing to kill a young Fidel Castro, killing instead a body-double. The Cubadebate website said the game "encourages sociopathic attitudes of American children and adolescents, the main consumers of these virtual games".

Adam Biessener of Game Informer questioned some of the events depicted in the single-player Campaign stating that they push "the lines of good taste." Specifically noted was the scene depicting the torture of a restrained prisoner.

In Germany, the game was expected to be banned from public sale at the end of November due to graphic violence, leading to removal of all promotion and the game itself from public displays in stores, so only adults can buy it on request. The Federal Department of Media Harmful to Young Persons also received an "urgent request" to ban all international versions of the game based upon the "Nazi content". Video games are not treated as art in Germany, hence Call of Duty: Black Ops is classified as propagation of Nazi ideology.

Reception
Call of Duty: Black Ops received "generally positive" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic, except for the DS, where it received "mixed or average" reviews. Several reviewers also complained that the game felt too much like a rail shooter.

GameSpot awarded it 9.0 out of ten and wrote "Call of Duty: Black Ops bears the series' standard superbly, delivering an engrossing campaign and exciting competitive multiplayer."

Edge magazine gave it a 7/10, writing that "As polished and pretty and fun as Black Ops often is, it feels more like a yearly update than a sequel which isn't distinct from its predecessors in any important way". Several reviewers also complained that the game felt too much like a rail shooter, with PC Gamer branding it "barely interactive".

The Daily Telegraph praised Black Ops as a superb experience of gameplay, "the meaty kick of the guns, the blistering pace of the action and the sterling soundtrack of explosions, gunshots and whistling bullets all serve to quicken the player's pulse and tighten their grip on the controller", and mentioned, it is beyond the overwhelming, chaotic action in the game's major gun battles, offers among other things, a stealthy infiltration of a substation in the snow-capped steppes, in which the slow down in action is compensated for by nail-shredding tension and creepy atmosphere.

Official Nintendo Magazine awarded the Wii version 90% and said "Black Ops on Wii is a fantastic shooter packed with all the features of its HD brothers, with the only exception being split-screen multiplayer." Martin Gaston at VideoGamer.com gave the Wii version 6 out of 10, complaining of Treyarch's reworking of in-game sequences as movies, poor AI, and gameplay problems from lower-resolution graphics.

In February 2011, the Xbox 360 version was named the Xbox Live's top title of 2010 by GameSpot.

At the 14th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (now known as the D.I.C.E. Awards), Call of Duty: Black Ops was nominated for "Game of the Year", "Action Game of the Year", "Outstanding Achievement in Animation", "Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay", and "Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering".

Sales
Within 24 hours of its release, Black Ops had sold 4.2 million copies in the U.S. and 1.4 million copies in the UK, surpassing that of Modern Warfare 2 and establishing a new record for largest entertainment launch. Compared to the much anticipated opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, the game earned more than twice as much as the film, earning $360 million. Only five days after its release, sales from the game worldwide reached US$650 million, surpassing the previous record achieved by Modern Warfare 2 which earned $550 million in five days. By November 22, the game remained the bestselling title in the United Kingdom, despite sales dropping by 85%. Some estimates had placed sales of the game as reaching 18 million units sold, earning a revenue of $818 million. This would fall about 2 million copies and $182 million short of Modern Warfare 2. By December 22, worldwide revenue of Black Ops exceeded $1 billion. Sales remained strong months after the game's release, remaining at the top-seller list in February 2011. On March 3, 2011, the news magazine The Hollywood Reporter also reported on the best selling video games ever. It announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops was the best-selling game ever in the United States of America. Black Ops was the best-selling game of all time in the UK until Grand Theft Auto V overtook it in November 2014. In August 2011, Activision announced that the game had sold more than 25 million copies. By November 2013, the game had sold 26.2 million copies.