Call of Duty Blacks Ops

Gameplay

Black Ops is a first-person shooter, retaining the same gameplay mechanics as previous Call of Duty titles. The player assumes the role of a foot soldierwho can wield various firearms (only two of which can be carried at once), throw grenades and other explosives, and use other equipment as weapons. A player close enough to an enemy can kill with one knife blow. A character can take three stances: standing, crouching or prone. Each affects rate of movement, accuracy, and stealth. The player can drop to the prone stance from the standing stance while running, and can momentarily sprint before having to stop. The screen glows red to indicate damage to a player's health, which regenerates over time. When the character is within the blast radius of a live grenade, an on-screen marker indicates where it is in relation to the player, helping the player to move away or to throw it back. Among the weapons new to the series in Black Ops are crossbows with bolts and explosive ammunition, Dragon's Breath rounds and ballistic knives.

The player assumes the role of various characters during the single-player campaign, changing perspectives throughout the story. The playable characters are special forces operatives conducting black operations behind enemy lines. In this way, the player's characters have their own traits such as voices and shadows.^[10] Each mission features a series of objectives that are displayed on the heads-up display, which marks the direction and distance towards and from such objectives as it has been in the earlier versions. The player is accompanied by friendly troops throughout the game. Although primarily a first-person shooter, certain levels feature sequences where the player pilots a Hind helicopter and guides friendly troops from a SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft.^[19][20][21] The campaign features several scriptedcinematic moments. One of them is a bullet time effect during the "Victor Charlie" level, activated when the player fires toward the last enemy of a Viet Cong squad.^[22]

A screenshot of Alex Mason firing aSPAS-12 Dragon's Breath rounds

Multiplayer

Players can customize their weaponry in the game, as seen with this customized FAMAS.

The online multiplayer mode of Black Opsusually revolves around two teams on a specific mission. For example in Team Deathmatch the team with the most kills wins, while in Capture the Flag, players take the other team's flags and return it to their own base. Additionally, there is Free For All in which players aren't separated into teams.^[23] Not including Downloadable maps, there are 14 different maps.^[24]

Black Ops retains the experience points and unlockable reward system that has been kept since Call of Duty 4. The game's multiplayer focuses on socialization and customization.^[10] "Create-a-Class 2.0" allows enhanced personalization with appearance items as well as upgradable perks;^[20] weapons are extensively customizable with writing, emblems, attachments and camouflage painting. Even reticlescan be modified. There are more than one style for an attachment, which allows for a lot more personalized weaponry; for example, the player can choose between a red dot sight or a reflex sight, both of which share many of the same traits, although the red dot fills up less of the screen (something desired by many players). Character models depend on the first tier perk instead of the weapon's type. Furthermore, face paints can be unlocked.^[25] New custom killstreak rewards include explosive R/C cars, guided missiles and controllable attack helicopters.^[26]

A currency system has been implemented allowing players to buy weapons, accessories and clothes. Players can gamble with their "COD Points" in a free-for-all based playlist called "Wager Match", which is composed of four game modes.^[27]Time limited objectives known as "Contracts" can be purchased to gain more currency and experience points.^[25] The progression system is not featured in local split-screen multiplayer. In local split-screen play, all character customization options are already unlocked. Players can no longer define game rules such as win conditions.

Players can play alone or with friends against AI opponents in "Combat Training" with a separate progression system.^[28]Online split-screen is re-introduced on Xbox 360 and PS3. The guest account can rank up but is reset after each sign out. Only on Xbox 360, a second Gold Xbox Live account can be used to keep the second player's progression.^[29] Aside from the Combat Training mode, Xbox users can also have up to four players in split-screen mode play against AI opponents even without having an Xbox Live account. This is done by configuring the Local Split Screen settings and setting the number of enemies to a value greater than zero.^[30]

For the first time in the series, clips from online gameplay can be recorded. Some specific features that have been removed from the PC version of Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 return, such as lean,^[31] mod tools, the developer console^[32] anddedicated servers.^[33] Dedicated servers are exclusively provided by Game Servers.^[34] Steam is the exclusive platform forBlack Ops on PC, and the game is protected by Valve Anti-Cheat.^[35]

The Wii version of the game includes in-game voice chat. This is the first Call of Duty title to include the voice chat feature for the Wii. Nintendo and PDP have partnered to release the first headset to be used with the Wii known as PDP's Headbanger Headset.^[36]

Nazi Zombies

A zombie cooperation mode, titled "Zombies", is included in the game. Originally featured in World at War, it was revamped to be included in Black Ops.^[37] It is a four-player online and two-player split screen co-op mode (which can also be unlocked online). Based on the original game, in the map "Five", players take the roles of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon,Robert McNamara, and Fidel Castro as they fight zombies at The Pentagon.^[38][39] Another map, called Kino der Toten("Theater/Cinema of the Dead" in German), features the characters from World at War – Edward Richtofen the German, Tank Dempsey the American, Takeo Masaki the Japanese, and Nikolai Belinski the Russian. Limited editions of the game offer graphically-enhanced versions of the four zombie maps from World at War, featuring the newer weapons from the rest of the game.^[40] There is an unlockable top-down, two-stick arcade-shooter version of Zombies known as Dead Ops Arcade.^[41]

Included in the First Strike Map Pack is the Zombie map Ascension. Ascension takes place in an abandoned Soviet Cosmodrome, and like Kino der Toten, features the characters from World at War. Additionally, it includes two new weapons (the Gersch Device and Matryoshka Dolls), as well as two new perks (PhD Flopper and Stamin-Up), and one new power-up (the Random Perk Bottle).^[42] A new enemy, the Space Monkeys, appear in this map, replacing the Hellhounds and the Pentagon Thief.^[43]

Included in the Escalation Map Pack is the Zombie map Call of The Dead. Call of the Dead takes place in an abandoned part of the Siberian coast and centers on a shipwreck and lighthouse. This map features new characters, modeled after and voiced by real-life film actors Danny Trejo, Robert Englund, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Michael Rooker.^[44] The actors provided voices for the game. It includes new weapons (the VR-11 and the Scavenger), and a new perk called Deadshot Daiquiri. Another new enemy, George Romero, replaces the Hellhounds, Pentagon Thief, and Space Monkeys of previous maps.

Included in the Annihilation Map Pack is the Zombie map Shangri-La. Shangri-La takes place in a jungle and once again features the World at War characters. It includes a new weapon (the 31–79 JGb215), new enemies (Shrieker Zombies, Napalm Zombies, and Zombie Monkeys which steal power-ups), and new traps and utilities such as a mine cart, waterslide, and Punji Spikes.

The fourth and final map pack, Rezurrection, is made up of only zombie maps. The Rezurrection Map Pack includes the first four maps from Call of Duty: World at War ( Nacht Der Untoten/"Night", Verruckt/"Asylum",Shi No Numa/"Swamp", Der Riese/"Factory") and a new map called "Moon."^[45] Moon takes place on a fictional Nazi moon base and features the original World at War characters. Moon is the largest Zombie map in Black Ops and features new weapons (Wave Gun and Quantum Entanglement Device), new enemies (Astronaut Zombies and Phasing Zombies), new equipment (Hacker and P.E.S.) and an extensive Easter egg. The Rezurrection pack allowed players who had not purchased the limited editions of Black Ops to gain access to the original maps.