This operation should remain dark...
Graphically its the same stuff as the past few games but actually in parts its not as great as Modern Warefare 2 and to an extent their last game World at War. The biggest problem with the look of Black Op's are the player models whom especially in the earlier levels and online to a certain extent, you can easily mix up. The game no longer draws you in visually and the time has come for a brand spanking new engine.
The game boasts impressive actors such as Ed Harris & the returning Gary Oldman who played Reznov in the World at War game. The game sounds just like any COD game with gunfire, explosions and boasts a similar though less impressive soundtrack than Modern Warfare 2. I don't believe there is much the franchise can do to take its sound up a level though and they have better things to concentrate on like gameplay.
Black Op's for me becomes the weakest COD game bar COD 3 due to the gameplay department and I can't just help feel that the franchise has gone a step backwards. Gun fights no longer have much thrill to them, the level designs are bland + the amount of cliches are starting to wear thin in the how missions playout. Call of Duty just seems at a complete stand still in how to take the franchise to the next level and it doesn't help that Treyarch just copies many themes from IW in attempting the big Hollywood action esq moves but they now feel stale and underwhelming for the most part. Treyarch tried something new with an attack chopper level, which was on a rail system for the most part but it comes off as rushed and not planned out properly. Your guns feel pretty underpowered at times both in online & offline action though the A.I doesn't help matters either.
In World at War and MW2 their were times when your A.I literally saved your ass picking off a guy who was about to finish you off but in Black Ops it feels like your waging a one man war at times. Your AI seem to provide little support and you are always the one pushing up, which can be a real pain in timed missions and due to the fact the enemy A.I is very accurate. Also the amount of times I saw my A.I just ignore an enemy right next to them thus allowing us to be outflanked...its simply not good enough.
Online play is the worse I've seen to date and thats despite fixing some of the issues with the unbalanced perk system. The maps are largely small bottlenecks plus too many maps were held back for over priced DLC. Combat feels heavily unbalanced mainly due to the pathetic matchmaking system which fails to address lag issues from MW 2 were what happens on killcam is actually different to what you saw before you death, mainly in who actually fired first. The RV car among several other methods of attack scream out the type of young immature crowd the franchise has been targeted towards in recent outings despite the fact many are under the legal age stamped on the games box.
No co-op action besides the poorly paced boring zombie mode is a big disappointment. Medal of Honor despite polishing issues and very small online maps came into the FPS wars at the same time with a more balanced line between action and realism, which was refreshing. I think its time Call of Duty stopped trying to become the Bond of the FPS games and upped the maturity of it's games. I will give some kudos to Treyarch for trying too playout a complicated story with some decent twists unfolding along the way but its too little too late.
Call of Duty is no longer a must buy for me after this game and the removal of the real talent in the IW studio. I feel I have simply outgrown the game, which is rooted in being made for kids for now.