Recently my friends successfully peer pressured me into buying Call of Duty: Black Ops. The Call of Duty IP has no doubt received its share of publicity, so it seemed obvious that with a few good reviews backing my decision I should try it. I had tried Modern Warfare 2 with some friends and played some local games and some zombies in World at War, and it was pretty fun.

Now I am currently a college student paying for my education entirely on my own, but making an "investment" in Black Ops would surely pay off with hours upon hours of entertainment. I had never really gotten into multiplayer on any game because my old man never let me through the firewall on our PC (that changed when I bought a console). Upon making my purchase, I did feel like I had to cut off and sacrifice an organ or finger just to pay for this game (a lump sum of $64+), but still peer pressure and hype fueled me on.

I decided that in order to be good enough to play online I had to play the campaign first, all the way through, on at least normal difficulty. I have to admit the campaign was pretty well written, for a game not known or remembered for plot. Again, the missions were pretty good, and fighting through Khe Sanh was one of the best FPS moments I can remember (despite enemies spawning in front of me on occasion).

I've played through my fare share of shooters for the PC, and plenty of other genres, and I seen great bounds and leaps made in the gaming industry. This is not what I saw in Black Ops.

What I saw was the typical run and gun typical to just about every game in the FPS "genre," as I now call it. There was nothing, and has not been anything, groundbreaking in these run of mill shooters for at least the last 5 years. Leveling up, earning an in-game currency, and purchasing upgrades is absolutely nothing new. Sure, the graphics have been improved but that is to be expected...no, demanded; improved graphics are no achievement but sure as hell better be improved after a few years of development.

I am disappointed that the masses purchased so many copies of "COD: BlOps" and many are not even a little unsatisfied with what Activision delivered.

I feel like I am missing out on something, there must be some point or activity I haven't seen or missed with this game. I need help comprehending just why this game even deserves to me mentioned or discussed beyond its above average campaign and its single plot twist.

I gaming,consumers need to demand improvement, new ideas and new concepts. With no motivation to change, companies like Activision and EA will continue to do what is profitable. What is profitable is not always the best for consumers. Every time someone brings up the argument that games should be ignored as art they fail to mention the truly innovative aspect of the industry, citing the most popular and mostly violent side of what games have to offer.

I need help: Please, help me understand what I am missing with Black Ops. There has got to be something I have overlooked. Editor Chris Watters gave this game and "Editor's Choice" rating, and I've watched the review numerous times looking for something of interest or innovation. I've found none.

We need more independent publishers, more Bioware dialog or Bethesda options. I crave something new. Many believe that motion sensing will not satisfy this craving. So we must look onward, to the future.

If Black Ops is perfection, then I think we need to discuss definitions of perfection. Here the one I use:

Definition of PERFECTION

the quality or state of being perfect, freedom from fault or defect, the quality or state of being saintly, an exemplification of supreme excellence, an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence

[Source:http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perfection?show=0&t=1290880044]

The nature of perfection is nearly impossible. That would mean that a game, or any other noun for that matter, would have NO flaws. I have never played a game where I haven't thought to myself "Gee, I wish that wasn't the case" or "If only this one thing could be changed." Now, no, I don't make my own games, but perfection is a goal or a tool for comparison. I can't think of anything perfect; that state of being is beyond my grasp.

Before we describe something as "perfect," we need to take a much closer look. This isn't a word we should just throw around, but use as a means to move forward or make improvement.

The "Coward's way out": More of the same, courtesy of Activision.