Call of Duty: Black Ops

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Call of Duty: Black Ops
File:COD Blackops.jpg
Developer(s)	Treyarch
Publisher(s)	Activision
Release date	November 9, 2010 (NA)
Genre	First Person Shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Age rating(s)	ESRB: M
Platform(s)	PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Template:Infobox/media
Credits | Soundtrack | Codes | Walkthrough

Call of Duty: Black Ops is the confirmed seventh main installment of the Call of Duty series. The game is said to be set in various locations, including Vietnam and Cuba, and , guessing by the dates given in the game's trailor, will be set between 1960 and 2010. Treyarch has stated that the game will feature more stealth than any previous installments in the Call of Duty series.

Gameplay

Overview

Black Ops is a first-person shooter. The player assumes the role of a foot soldier and thus has access to various firearms, of which two can be carried, as well as explosives such as grenades and other equipment to fight enemies. When players are close enough to an enemy, they can perform a melee attack which ensures a one-hit-kill.

A character can be positioned in one of the three stances: standing, crouching, or prone; each affecting the character's rate of movement, accuracy, and stealth. The player can directly dive prone from a standing position. The player can momentarily run faster before getting tired. When the character has taken damage, the screen glows red. Health regenerates by avoiding damage. When the character is within the blast radius of a live grenade, a marker indicates the direction of the grenade, helping the player to either flee or throw it back.

The game features weapons like crossbows (with alternative explosive ammunition), Dragon's Breath rounds and ballistic knives. Brutality and gore are present, with a dismemberment feature.

Campaign

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 will have their own traits such as voices and shadows.

Each mission features a series of objectives that are displayed on the head up display, which marks the direction and distance towards and from such objectives. The player is accompanied by friendly troops who cannot be issued orders.

Although primarily a first-person shooter, the player will get to pilot a Hind helicopter and guide friendly troops from an SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft.

The campaign is filled with scripted cinematic 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.

Multiplayer

The online multiplayer mode of 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."Create-a-Class 2.0" will allow enhanced personalization with appearance items as well as upgradable perks: weapons will be extensively customizable with clan tag writing, emblems, attachments and camouflage painting. Even reticles can be modified. There will be more than one style for an attachment, which allows for alot more personalized weaponry; For example the player can choose between a Red Dot Sight or a Reflex Sight, both of which share the same traits only visually look different. Character models will depend on the first tier perk instead of the weapon's type. Furthermore, face paints can be unlocked.

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. Time limited objectives known as "Contracts" can be purchased to gain more currency and experience points. New custom killstreak rewards include RC explosive cars, guided missiles and controllable attack helicopters. For the first time in the series, clips from online gameplay can be recorded. Players will be able to play alone or with friends against AI opponents in "Combat Training" with a separate progression system.

Some PC specific features that were taken away from Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 will return, such as lean, mod tools, the developer console and dedicated servers. Dedicated servers will be exclusively provided by GameServers. Steam will be the exclusive platform for Black Ops on PC, so the game will be protected by Valve Anti-Cheat.

There will be a distinct four-player online and two-player split screen co-op mode. It is said to be closer to Nazi Zombies of World at War than Modern Warfare 2's Special Ops. Limited editions of the game will offer the four Zombies maps from World at War for this mode

Storyline

Call of Duty: Black Ops takes place during the Cold War. The player mainly controls two characters: Mason and Hudson who are Studies and Observations Group operatives on missions behind enemy lines, in locations such as the Ural Mountains, Laos, Cuba, and Vietnam.

One of the characters from the Soviet campaign of World at War, Reznov (voiced by Gary Oldman), is returning. Ed Harris will play Jason Hudson.

Development

In May 2009, publisher Activision was rumored to be looking for licensing regarding Vietnam War-era music which led to speculation that Call of Duty 7 would be set in Vietnam. In May 2009, Treyarch employee David Kim revealed on his LinkedIn profile that he will work as a senior animator on Call of Duty 7. In November 2009, only a few days before Modern Warfare 2's release, Activision officially announced a new Call of Duty title for 2010 through their third quarter financial call. In February 2010, a casting call for Call of Duty 7 led to speculation that the game would be taking place during the Cold War era with some battles taking place in South Vietnam. On April 30, 2010, Black Ops was officially announced.

For Black Ops, Treyarch is focusing only on this game unlike past practice. However, it has different teams, each working on separate game modes. Treyarch is using a motion capture technology similar to the one used in James Cameron's film Avatar, which allows accurate facial expressions, capturing the whole performance of the actor. The studio also consulted special forces veterans from both belligerents of the Cold War: Major John Plaster (US Army-Ret.) who served in the MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War, and former Soviet special forces operative Sonny Puzikas. The latter taught Treyarch how Spetsnaz soldiers would react in combat, such as rolling out of the line of fire. Spetsnaz AIs in the game have been modeled after him, from his tactics and his movements to his face. Although having a historical background, the classified aspect of these Cold War black operations allowed the studio to create its own fictional story.

Engine

The game runs on an enhanced World at War engine (which itself was improved from Call of Duty 4Template:'s) at 60 frames per second. It features a streaming texture technology (also seen in Modern Warfare 2), making bigger levels possible such as "Payback" where the player controls a helicopter. Lighting effects have been improved as well.