Call of Duty Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is a 2010 first-person shooter game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It was released worldwide in November 2010 for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360, with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space. Aspyr later ported the game to OS X in September 2012. It is the seventh title in the Call of Duty series and a sequel to Call of Duty: World at War.

Description

Set in the 1960s during the Cold War, the game’s single-player campaign follows CIA operative Alex Mason as he attempts to recall specific memories to locate a numbers station set to instruct Soviet sleeper agents to deploy chemical weapons across the United States. Locations featured in the game include Cuba, the Soviet Union, the United States, South Vietnam, Hong Kong, Canada, and Laos. The multiplayer component of Black Ops features multiple objective-based game modes that are playable on 14 different maps included with the game. Improvements to loadout options and killstreak rewards are made.

A form of virtual currency, COD Points, allows players to purchase weapons and customization options for their in-game character, as well as attachments and customization options for their weapon. Black Ops is a first-person shooter, retaining the same gameplay mechanics as previous Call of Duty titles. The player assumes the role of a foot soldier who can wield various firearms (only two of which can be carried at once), throw grenades and other explosives, and use other equipment as weapons. A player close enough to an enemy can kill with one knife blow. A character can take three stances: standing, crouching, or prone. Each affects the rate of movement, accuracy, and stealth.

The player can drop to the prone stance from the standing stance while running (colloquially known as “dolphin diving”), and can momentarily sprint before stopping. The screen glows red to indicate damage to a player’s health, which regenerates over time. When the character is within the blast radius of a live grenade, an on-screen marker indicates where it is in relation to the player, helping the player to move away or to throw it back. Among the weapons new to the series in Black Ops are crossbows that shoot typical bolts or explosive ammunition, a kind of shotgun that fires Dragon’s Breath rounds and ballistic knives.

The player assumes the role of various characters during the single-player campaign, changing perspectives throughout the story. The playable characters are covert operatives conducting black operations behind enemy lines. Each mission features a series of objectives that are displayed on the heads-up display, which marks the direction and distance towards and from such objectives as it has been in the earlier versions. The player is accompanied by friendly troops throughout the game. Although the game is primarily a first-person shooter, certain levels feature sequences where the player pilots a Hind helicopter and guides friendly troops from a SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. 

In addition, the campaign features several scripted cinematic moments. The online multiplayer gameplay of Black Ops consists of one of several styles of team-based action, depending on the chosen game mode. For example, in Team Deathmatch the team with the most kills wins, while in Capture the flag, players take the other team’s flag and return it to their base. Additionally, there is Free For All in which players are not separated into teams. Not including downloadable maps released after the game´s launch, there are 14 different maps.