With a great story, and awesome online multiplayer, "Black Ops" is a winner, despite some noticeable issues.
Concept: "Black Ops" had a lot to live up to, and deservingly so. The series has been so successful, that each new launch brings out the insanity in more and more people each time. Surprisingly, "Black Ops" exceeded my expectations on just about every level. Everything about it is great. The story is unquestionably the most surprising piece of all. Not because I assumed Treyarch would focus mainly on multiplayer (even though I did), but because of how well it was done. Never in my life have I experienced a single player war game that does quite what "Black Ops" does. Almost the entire game is played through dream sequences that your character experiences while being interrogated for important information regarding some hidden meanings. Without spoiling anything, the game takes place during the infamous Cold War. You mainly play as Mason, a traumatized soldier, who experienced countless tragedies throughout combat. That is all I will say regarding the story itself. What makes the single player so phenomenal, however, is the fact that it is the only "Call of Duty" game I've played that is NOT redundant in its style of play. In previous games, it seems like 99% of it consisted of getting from point A to point B, with a tedious story in between that never really gets interesting. In "Black Ops" this is non-existent. Rather than the constant, overkill combat, you do a little of everything. There's dogfighting (as in AIR - RELAX!), stealth missions, endless amounts of level exploration, and the standard gunfights. The gunfights are much different than the past, though. Treyarch focused on making the gunfights differ from one to another. One moment, you could be hiding behind a cement wall, trying to clear the area of all enemies so you can pass through, and the next may consist of you jumping between rooftops and dodging gunfire the whole time. That's what really made it awesome - unpredictability. Plus, those scenes were you had to do the little "extras" required a bit of practice and luck, so it made each and every moment of success memorable. The last time I felt so awesome accomplishing tasks was in "Mirror's Edge", and that's saying a lot. The story is also very emotional (funny, sad, scary), and that certainly doesn't hurt the overall willingness to participate. Along with the single player, the online multiplayer is MORE than successful. This is obviously what most gamers are playing for. As much as I do wish more people could give the game's story a chance, the multiplayer certainly doesn't disappoint. Everything is extremely well done. The maps are awesome for the most part, and don't seem to have too many places to camp, which is nice. There are a few maps that undoubtedly frustrate, such as "Nuketown". Actually, Nuketown is one of my favorite maps, except for the fact that it is probably half the size of "Dome" from "World at War". Yeah, I am really not even kidding. You will get a lot of kills, but also a lot of deaths. This makes stats there pretty inaccurate. Also, the spawn spots are way too easy to come across, and can supply you with a death as soon as you respawn. That is obviously quite frustrating, especially because so many people just want to cheat to improve their stats. Other than that, though, the maps are very well done. There was obvious amount of time spent on each and every one, and that's really a huge plus. It does have its issues, however. The weapon selection is way too uneven. The difference between the guns you are allowed usage of in the beginning, and the ones you get as you progress, are really unbelievable (in a bad way). My first few online games were horrendous because of this. It was only when I would get my occasional kill that I would be able to steal the opponent's weapons and "do work". I just find that very unfair, especially since the people at lower levels are either more inexperienced with the game, or not as good. Weapon selection should not be reason to negatively affect them. Also, the fact that the game requires you to reach specific levels to do even the most basic things is ridiculous. For example, you are not allowed to even see your K/D ratio until you reach level 13. Reaching level 13 takes a bit of time too, and that's just unfair. I want to know my stats whenever I want, so I know what I can improve on. The new options, such as killstreaks, emblem art, perks, etc, are pretty much flawless though, and go well beyond making up for the issues, even though they were so easily avoidable in production. Oh also: Zombies rules.
Graphics and Sound: "Black Ops" is an absolute visual gem. Everything is so crisp and clear, that it really can leave you speechless. Yes, that's what we've come to expect from games of the series, but this is even amazing in comparison to those terms. The extensive variety of environments are all so different from one another, and yet possess such beauty. They really made sure this game looked top notch in every single possible level/mission/environment, and they deserve a lot of credit for such success. The sound is also very good. The background orchestral score isn't anything special, but it definitely gets the job done. The voice acting is also perfect. I don't think anything could've changed, really.
Gameplay: I've mentioned all the game's positive features in terms of gameplay already, but there are some issues I need to address, primarily with the single player. As well done as the single player was, the friendly AI are absolutely worthless. I can't tell if Treyarch's intentions were to make the game more challenging or something, but this was NOT done the way it should've been. The friendlies are so stupid, that sometimes you don't even know who is and isn't on your team. There were times when the scenery was dark, so it was hard to tell if I was looking at a teammate or an enemy, but since my teammate right next to him was shooting aimlessly in the wrong direction, I would assume he was on my side...only to then be brutally decapitated. It's quite ridiculous and totally unacceptable. The game also suffers pretty heavily from technical issues. The game is littered with bugs, and the single player will make you experience some horrid frame rate drops when action is high. The missions also tend to be quite unexplained. There was one part that I was stuck on for a solid hour, because I was just trying to kill every enemy possible. But they kept respawning! Little did I know that I was actually supposed to do something completely different, and not even really kill any enemies unless they were in my way. Thank God for YouTube walkthroughs! I could still be stuck if I hadn't looked online for help. Aside from these issues, though, the game is pretty much flawless, and does much more than required to overcome them.
Overall Opinion: Bottom line - if you are even slightly interested in shooters, or are hesitant in picking this one up: don't be. This game is the best of the series despite the little hiccups here and there. Pay the full $60 for it, too. Don't wait for the price drop, or pick it up as a rental. Just buy it, because it is absolutely worth every single penny you pay, and even more in my personal opinion. That's why this game gets a 9/10 by me.
The Good:
Amazing online experience; Beautiful graphics; Terrific voice-acting; Surprisingly solid (and emotional) story; Addictive
The Bad:
Lots of minor bugs; Horrendous AI