Black Ops is a huge success over Treyarch's last Call of Duty game and even surpasses MW2 in almost every way.
+ A fun, explosive, long (7-8) single player campaign
+ The story is so interesting, you will beat it in one sit down
+ Beautiful graphics
+ Voice overs fit their characters perfectly (thanks to Sam Woringhton, Ed Harris, and Gary Oldman)
+ Zombies is back and you play as JFK and protect the Pentagon
+ Wager Matches are fun and addictive, never had so much fun gambling
+ Multiplayer is Modern Warfare + Treyarch's twists - Dual Weilding and Overpowered shotguns = Best Call of Duty online entertainment
CONS:
- Game can freeze for a couple of seconds or completely in some intsances
Its kindof hard to make Call of Duty games funner than the last nowadays. After the huge success of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, it was hard to Treyarch's Call of Duty: World at War to even come close to it. World at War brought us to the pacific battle site of World War II. It didn't seem like the logical choice even with the mature rating on the game. The campaign wasn't anything special and Nazi Zombies was a great add-on to the series. Then Modern Warfare 2 came around, not getting better scores than the first game but definately in close distance. It was going to be tough for Treyarch to come back from the best selling game in history. Call of Duty: Black Ops surprised me. Even though I was disappointed by World at War, Treyarch brought their "A" game this time around and gave us a TRUE campaign, exciting multiplayer, and zombies back into out lives. And if you weren't surprised by that then heres this, Black Ops surpasses Modern Warfare 2.
Single Player - For the most part you play as Alex Mason who is being interregated for information he cannot remember. You play flashbacks of Mason's life as a soldier and boy he goes through some crazy crap. You jump from country to country and go through Mason's memories. The story is excellent as it is full of twists and turns (some better than others). The gameplay in this campaign is literally off the hook. It is full of so many explosions the game may lag (rarely does it happen [happened once to me]). While you play as other players, you mainly play as Mason and the ending is great. If this was a movie, it would be one of my favorites. Score: 9.2
Multiplayer - It's better than Modern Warfare 2 . . . . . but you need reasons why right? Well first off, no more One Man Army and Grenade Launchers do not count towards your killstreaks. No more dual weilding shotguns, overpowered shotguns and no more nuclear missiles that end the match instantly. What Black Ops gives us is a flexible multiplayer experience. While the leveling system is still there, you now have a currency. Yes, this means in order to use the Mini Uzi, you have to unclock it and pay to use it in the matches. What they give you return is all the attachments unlocked but you must pay currency as well. At first I didn't like it but then I figured out it balanced the experience. All perks are unlocked but need to be bought, grenades are unlocked but need to be bought, camos need to be bought and so do killstreaks (they go up to 11). Now you get currency for getting kills, leveling up, doing challenges, etc. Believe me it really works!!!! If you are a gambler, Black Ops now has Wager Matches were you literally gamble your currency to gain money. You get money if you get in first, second, or third. Only six people can play so it's a 50-50 chance of winning money. The matches are fun and addictive:
One in the Chamber - You literally have one bullet in your gun and you have 3 lives. If you kill one person by shooting them, you gain a bullet. If you knife them you gain a bullet as well. Whoever is left standing wins.
Sticks and Stones - You are given a Crossbow, Tomahawk, and Balistic Knives and get as many kills as you can.
Gun Game - you go through 20 levels of guns. First one to use all the weapons wins.
4th Game - You are randomly given guns. You switch guns every 45 seconds. Get as many kills as you can.
There is a lot to offer in multiplayer. There is also Zombie mode which is basically what is was in World at War. But it is safe to say that Black Ops gives you the multiplayer experience of the year, maybe the last three years.
Score: 10
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a game all fans of the genre must have. The campaign is long (well longer than MW2) and better than the previous stories, the multiplayer is the perfect reason to play it. While the game may freeze up on you, Call of Duty: Black Ops is surprisingly amazing and receives my highest recommendation and my nomination in my Game of the Year post.
Score: 9.7