Black Ops: Multiplayer- Short Story, It's Worth the Hype

      Alright, the last post was strictly Call of Duty: Black Ops campaign. Onto the multiplayer! I actually got this tactic from the Escapist Magazine, which also had things to say about bth the Campaign and Multiplayer. Remember how a month ago I hated the Multiplayer of Medal of Honor, but LOVED the Campaign? It’s a 180 for this game. I feel the game does such a freakin’ polar opposite from one mode to the other that I had to make two separate posts. Let’s get right to it. The Black Ops Multiplayer mode (BOM) is really, really balanced weapon wise. The MPk5 you start with is one of my favorite weapons, and even seasoned players at level 20+ were still using it. All face to face conflicts are resolved in a matter of 1-2 seconds instead of 15-20 (Looking at YOU Halo!), unlike over FPS, sniping isn’t the game winning strategy anymore. If I do say so myself, the maps in this game are very sniper unfriendly, which is something I can totally get behind. The perk system and the weapon unlock system is still here, but now you have to earn currency by playing the game to buy these weapons. The beauty to that is your player doesn’t just get to level 20 and they have a healthy plethora of weapons. Actually, I got to level 10 using only the starting SMG with a scope on it. It’s not even like it’s a bad weapon, but the game encourages you to find a weapon you like, mod it out anyway you like, and carry on. Coincidentally, the game also has a challenge system, which rewards you more money for trying out new weapons. Then there’s the killstreak system, which you also have to purchase to unlock. Does this mean you will be perpetually broke? Maybe, but not really, or at least not for very long. Due to the way the game rewards you for playing matches, such as usually giving 700-1000 credits just for winning a Domination match and 50-100 credits per kill, and the most expensive thing in the game I have seen is the Attack Dogs Killstreak, which is like 6000 credits, you are never too far away from getting that thing you want. Ah, and the items…there is a huge load of customization options to give your weapons, from color scheme, to skull reticules in the scope, to attaching a flame thrower, etc.

     Basically, from what I have played (I made it to level 12 in 2 hours) it is really hard for me to hate this game. I do have complaints, though…What did you expect? It’s not a Stan post unless I bitched about something. So, the spawn system in this game is…. terrible. I thought MoH had it all wrong, but this game has spawned me in more reticules than I want to think about causing quick deaths without me moving more than a couple INCHES from my spawn point. The Attack Chopper, BTW, is overpowered on small to medium maps. Granted, you start the BOM career with the means to shoot this thing down, but good luck with that since it can shoot in the general spawn direction and kill you. Now, I get it that an 11-10 killstreak is hard to get and the player should be rewarded with the ability to fu** some people up, BUT COME ON! I have seen matches pretty match end once a player racks up an 10 killstreak with Hardline Pro on, then finish it off with an Attack Chopper, while playing the Nuketown map (it’s a REALLY small map).

    Remember what I said about customization moments ago? Remember what I said about the single player one post ago, about how it drops the F-Bombs like it’s overstocked on them? Well, WHY CAN’T I CUSTOMIZE MY CLASS NAME TO ASSAULT! Yes, I just waned to change the name of one of my custom created classes to Assault, as in “This class has my custom Assault rifle in it, use it for Meduim to Long range engagements”. Well, apparently, Assault contains the word ASS in it, so Treyarch, in their INFINITE DAMN WISDOM, has decided that and FREAKING “M” RATED GAME shouldn’t have even that containment of curse words in the custom weapon names. Lemme make sure I got this right…I CAN’T CALL MY WEAPON LOADOUT ASSAULT BECAUSE IT HAS THE WORD “ASS”, AND YOU STORYLINE DROPS THE F-BOMB MORE TIMES THAN I RELOADED MY M-16!

        I know it seems like a meaningless complaint, but I absolutely HATE having my free speech taken away from me in a video game, especially for something as dumb as this. Leaving on a high note, the game is actually great, multiplayer wise. I have friends that never even touched the campaign and just jumped right into BOM. To them I say, good move.