Call of Duty: Black Ops - Xbox 360

Vomit Flies In New Call Of Duty: Black Ops Zombie Trailer

Andrew Reiner — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:00:00 GMT

Over the last few months Activision has shown more new content for Call of Duty: Black Ops, the Treyarch developed game that released last year, than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the upcoming Infinity Ward title slated to drop on November 8. You gotta love the support Black Ops is still getting, but also question why we're not seeing more of Modern Warfare 3.

The new Black Ops trailer called Zombie Lab Phase 2 shows undead enrolled into NASA's training program, as well plenty of their ranks getting blown away in low gravity. I cannot wait to get my hands on this Rezurrection add-on, which adds five maps to the experience. Also, somebody should get this video in front of George A. Romero's eyes. A Dead film on the moon would be bad ass!

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Zombies Infiltrate The Moon In Black Ops Rezurrection Trailer

Matt Bertz — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:10:00 GMT

Watch as developer Treyarch breaks down the lunar invasion of the undead in this new video.

Zombies on the moon?! That's right. In addition to re-releasing the four World at War maps that kicked off the Call of Duty zombie craze, the Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection DLC pack includes a new map that takes the zombie invasion into orbit. Check out the brain hungry astronauts in this video:

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The Rezurrection DLC pack is coming to the Xbox 360 on August 23 for 1200 Microsoft Points. Expect the PS3 and PC versions about a month or so later.

Annihilation Extends Black Ops' Replay Value With Solid New Battlegrounds

Dan Ryckert — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 23:03:00 GMT

As Black Ops' third post-release DLC pack, Annihilation follows the formula set by its predecessors. Four new maps are added to the standard multiplayer fray, and a new zombie experience rounds out the download. We played around with these new battlegrounds today, and they should please fans of the mega-successful shooter.

Hangar 18, Hazard, Silo, and Drive-In are the new maps for standard multiplayer. Set in an Area 51-inspired environment, Hangar 18 features some interesting details like an SR-71, decontamination rooms, a room with an odd floating ball of electricity, and a bodybag that contains a corpse of questionable origin. It's a visually interesting map, and its variety of obstacles and rooms are more conducive to run-and-gun gameplay than they are for sniping.

Drive-In takes place in a nearly destroyed drive-in theater with a 50s aesthetic. It's one of the smaller maps in the Annihilation pack, and it's suited to virtually any play style. You can run and gun amongst the debris piles near the theater screen, or you can perch up in the projection booth and fire on opponents below.

Perhaps the least interesting of the new maps is Silo, a fairly generic battleground that contains missile silos and a small command center. It kind of reminded me of the Bunker area from Goldeneye with less interiors. With the unique locations offered by the other Annihilation maps, this is the least noteworthy for sure.

My favorite of the new maps was Hazard, set on a Cuban seaside golf course. It's the most open of the four, and you'll find yourself shooting over sand traps and golf carts in an effort to take out your enemies. It's uncharacteristically colorful for the Call of Duty series, and interior areas like the bar and practice range help to mix up the rounds.

Treyarch's trademark with their Call of Duty entries has been their zombie modes, and Shangri-La is their newest offering. You'll know what you're getting into if you've played previous zombie maps, but this is still one of the best I've seen. Fun additions like water spouts and mine carts help to spice the map up, and you'll have to keep a lookout for zombie monkeys that want to steal your powerups. There's a lot of space in Shangri-La, making it fairly easy to get separated from your crew if you're not careful. Zombie mode has never really been my thing, but I found myself having more fun with this map than I had with previous efforts.

Black Ops fans most likely know what they're getting into with the Annihilation pack. For $15, it offers three very good maps, one average map, and a solid zombie map. It's well worth it if you're still playing the game over half a year after its release, and it might just get you back into it if you haven't picked it up in a while.

Black Ops Goes Hollywood With Call Of The Dead

Matt Bertz — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:47:00 GMT

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation expansion pack's zombie map features a star-studded cast that should pique the interest of any horror fan.

Channeling the '70s camp of House of the Dead: Overkill and Robert Rodriguez films, the Call of the Dead zombie co-op map features Machete arse-kicker Danny Trejo, Buffy The Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Walking Dead actor Michael Rooker, and Freddy Krueger himself, Robert Englund, as playable characters. Night of the Living Dead creator George A. Romero also makes a cameo appearance.

Check out the action for yourself here:

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The $15 Escalation pack becomes available to Xbox 360 owners on May 3.

Treyarch Details the Finer Points of Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation DLC

Matthew Kato — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:00:00 GMT

Call of Duty: Black Ops' latest map pack, Escalation, comes out first for Xbox 360 owners on May 3, and Activision and Treyarch have dropped a video and a bunch of new screens for the DLC. No release date for the other systems nor pricing has been released yet.

The DLC includes five new maps:

Hotel takes place in a Cuban luxury resort
Convoy features an ambush on a U.S. military convoy
Zoo is in a zoo...a Soviet zoo
Stockpile continues the hunt for WMDs
Zombies

Check out the trailer below, as well as some new screenshots (for more, be sure to check out the gallery below).

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The Broadest Call So Far

Adam Biessener — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 06:01:00 GMT

You can’t keep Black Ops out from under the microscope after the high-profile departure of the creative minds that drove the Call of Duty franchise at Infinity Ward earlier this year. Can Treyarch come through with a blockbuster hit in the vein of Modern Warfare, not just a by-the-numbers off-year title like the studio has churned out in the past? Yes and no, but Black Ops is the best game Treyarch has made, and a hell of a good time no matter how you slice it.

The series has always hung its single-player hat on creating spectacular moments that players remember for years. It didn’t matter if you couldn’t remember the name of the faceless Army Ranger you’re playing as, because oh my god they just dropped an EMP on the White House! Black Ops flips this equation around. The story is coherent, and the characters are more than cardboard cutouts. I wanted to keep playing to find out how the plot ends up, not just to see what crazy situation is around the next corner. On the other hand, as Black Ops makes gains in characterization and storytelling, it loses spectacle. Outside of the excellent prison break level, the “wow” moments fall flat. Even blowing up what appeared to be half of Vietnam with an attack chopper failed to elicit much of a response from me beyond making me swear at the controls. Far too much of the roughly seven-hour campaign is spent running through the same pop-and-shoot motions we’ve been doing for years. At least my companions were less interested in running directly into my line of fire this time. Be sure to stick around after the credits, though – the best bit of the game is hidden there.

The campaign puts players neck deep in the close-up brutality of combat. Limbs shatter disgustingly as bullets rip apart flesh and bone. Gore flies in all directions as combatants are popped like meat balloons by the vicious weaponry of the ‘60s. In one uncomfortable sequence, the player has to torture a restrained prisoner. This is an emphatically mature game (in the ESRB sense, anyway). Everyone should make their own judgment on what they are comfortable with, but Black Ops crossed my personal line in its bloody depictions of violence, particularly the torture sequence. I wasn’t able to compartmentalize it as enjoyable cartoon violence like I have with so many games over the years. Call me a wuss if you want, but the realistic gore is distasteful in the absence of a discussion of what should be a careful decision to employ lethal force. I realize that Treyarch isn’t trying to put on a morality play here, but Black Ops pushes the lines of good taste.

None of this carries over to online play, where the faster pace fosters a certain detachment from the violence. For my money, Treyarch has crafted the finest Call of Duty multiplayer game to date. The maps are fantastic and offer great variety in size, aesthetics, verticality, and paths. The core design is largely unchanged; it features the same modes, perks, and a similar arsenal to Modern Warfare. The action is as responsive, technically impressive, and engrossing as it has been since Infinity Ward pioneered it three years ago. However, Treyarch has made a ton of improvements in the margins. Unlocking new perks in the order you want rather than a pre-set sequence is just the start.

Wager matches exist parallel to the standard XP-based progression. These lethal six-player free-for-all matches are throwbacks to the old days of Quake deathmatches in a lot of ways. All of the game types (each of which has unusual rules that work exceptionally well, like forced weapon cycling or one-shot kills with extremely limited ammo) put a huge emphasis on each kill. This breeds an intensity I haven’t felt since playing free-for-all railgun-only Quake. The titular wagering of the in-game currency that you use to buy weapon attachments, perks, and emblem elements only adds to the tension. The only knock is that wager matches are by nature incredibly lag-sensitive. If you get stuck with a bad host or your connection is being Comcastic, get ready for some frustration.

Contracts are unlocked early on, and allow you to purchase a challenge that remains active for a certain amount of time while playing. A simple contract might ask you to knife a dude in the back, while a more expensive, higher-level one might call for a dozen headshots with a specific pistol. Succeed and you can triple (or better) your money; fail and those points are gone. Treyarch will regularly cycle the pool of contracts available for purchase, and you can only take a shot at any given one once in a specified time period (in the case of the contracts I tried, one real-life day). I have mixed feelings about the system. On the one hand, the new challenges spice up the gameplay and encourage players to try different tactics. That said, I’m going to blow a gasket when my team gets torn apart because half of our players are gunning for some dumb contract instead of trying to win the match. Did we learn nothing from the Halo 3 online achievement debacle?

The fan-favorite Zombies mode returns as well, with players cooperating against the undead hordes on two vastly different maps. It works well enough, but Zombies is far down on my co-op FPS list. The objectives and strategies are so far removed from making intuitive sense that I can’t get into it, though segments of the community obviously feel differently. I do love the secret zombie-themed minigame – Geometry Wars with zombies, more or less – and its four-player online co-op, though.

I can’t wait to see what the community creates with the new theater. The ability to save matches, review them from any point of view, detach the camera for free-flying shots, edit clips together, and then share them as a movie all from within the game is incredible. This is a great learning tool as well, since you can see your accuracy chart on a paper doll as well as the heat map of deaths overlaid on the level.

It’s tough to hate on something as skillfully executed as Black Ops. Call of Duty remains the smoothest, most approachable first-person shooter out there, and I had a blast playing it. On the other hand, it’s disappointing that Treyarch’s much-hyped huge-budget entry in the franchise feels like Modern Warfare 2.5. Activision hasn’t Tony Hawked Call of Duty yet, though, and I’m happy to get a refined update. This year, anyway.

Ten Things To Know About Call Of Duty: Black Ops

Dan Ryckert — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:28:00 GMT

FPS fans have had an eventful year - they had the excellent Bad Company 2 to kick off 2010, the conclusion of Bungie’s work with Halo later on, and were disappointed with the lackluster Medal of Honor after that. Even after those three big names, the biggest seller of them all may not have been released yet. Treyarch has a lot to live up to with the highly anticipated Black Ops, but our early impressions indicate that it may be every bit as good as we’re hoping. Here are 10 things to know before heading in.

1. Wager matches are a blast

Whether it’s the awesome Gun Game, the intense One in the Chamber, or the bare-bones Sticks and Stones, these wager matches shake up the multiplayer we’re used to in the Call of Duty series. While the gameplay itself is its own reward, the poker tournament-style payouts are a great way to increase your cash count.

2. More customization than ever

Previous COD games had you setting your callsign and title, but Black Ops takes customization to a new level. You can etch your clan tag onto your iron sights, create your own custom emblem out of dozens and dozens of images, and even change your reticule into a smiley face, if that's your thing.

3. Theater mode

First-person shooters have always featured one-in-a-million occurrences in multiplayer matches. Whether it’s a bouncing knife in Modern Warfare 2 or an insane sticky grenade throw in Halo, there are inevitably moments you’d love to show your friends (and the rest of the gaming world). While they’re not the first to do it, Black Ops will feature a full-scale Theater mode for showing off all the crazy stuff you’ve experienced.

4. Interactive environments

Previous CODs have never lacked great maps, but most of them haven’t been interactive at all. With Black Ops, we’ll be able to alter various parts of the environment, such as the blast doors in Radiation. If you’re holding a flag and want to keep the enemy out, just flip a switch and cut off one of their entryways.

5. Experimental weapons

Being set in the Cold War allowed Treyarch to get a little more goofy with their weaponry, as the era was filled with experimental prototype weaponry. You’ll be taking down enemies with ballistic knives, flamethrowers attached to your standard guns, and even a remote control car equipped with Semtex.

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Makes The Leap To 3D

Phil Kollar — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Last week, Activision held an event in New York City showing off the latest version of Call of Duty: Black Ops. The big news? The Modern Warfare 2 successor has now embraced 3D technology. The even bigger news? The way the shooter implements 3D is actually pretty cool.

Although 3D in gaming may be a huge push from Sony right now, Black Ops will feature 3D as an optional setting for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game. We played the 360 version of Black Ops, and the 3D was exceptionally clear. Surprisingly, the added depth of field actually improved the game experience, making it easier to read the distance between our position and enemies. Navigating obstacles and jumping between cover spots was all the more intense with the game’s world leaping out of the screen in the two missions showed during the demo.

The first Black Ops mission shown began with the playable character soaring high above the action in an SR-71 jet. From his aerial vantage point, he was able to look down on the troops below and issue orders, telling them when it was safe to advance or when to get behind cover. What made this segment especially noteworthy was how the controls seamlessly switched back and forth between the soldier in the jet and ground forces. When the soldiers on the ground encountered enemies, the game would change to their perspective for intense first-person firefighting of the variety that the franchise is known for. Once the threat was eliminated, the view reverted to the airplane. This back-and-forth lent the level some variety until the soldiers reached their first objective.

After an all-out assault on an enemy barracks, the squad employed stealthy tactics via smart use of the crossbow and a silenced rifle. Unfortunately for them, the peace didn’t last. Once the squad was spotted, an alarm triggered and the squad retreated. One enemy attacked with an RPG, causing an avalanche in the snowy environment. The soldiers were forced to jump off a cliff to escape an icy death, but they deployed parachutes to bring them to safety.

The second mission began with a dark interrogation scene. The subject wasn’t spilling any information, so the squad resorted to some pretty disturbing tactics –placing a broken shard of glass in his mouth and punching him in the face. This scenario was interrupted when enemy forces attacked. The soldiers retreated once again, but this time they had to take the interrogation subject with them, resulting in a much slower pace and, eventually, a mission failure. We’ll have to wait until we have the full game to see how that one plays out.

In addition to the 3D, we noticed a couple more cool additions to the game. There probably aren’t very many ways to improve on Call of Duty’s tight control scheme, but Black Ops has one major change: the crouch button allows you to dive directly into a prone position, making the process of getting behind cover cleaner in many situations. On the multiplayer side, we checked out two of the game’s numerous kill streak awards. Three kills unlocked a remote control car with a C4 attached, while nine rewarded time in the turret of a helicopter. The focus on multiplayer customization was clear, with Activision demonstrating some of the unique reticules you’ll be able to use, from a single red dot to a Predator-style three-dots-in-triangle-formation.

Adding 3D to Call of Duty: Black Ops isn’t a game-changer, even if it does look to be implemented strongly. Rather, it’s just another cool feature in a game that’s packed with them. Black Ops has looked better with every subsequent viewing, and this latest event is no different. We’re as anxious as ever for a chance to play the final version of the game when it releases next month, with or without 3D glasses.

[Additional reporting on this story by David Vinyon]

Seeing Is Believing

Meagan Marie — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:25:00 GMT

"A lie is a lie. Just because they write it down and call it history doesn’t make it the truth. We live in a world where seeing is not believing. Where only a few know what really happened."

At a recent event hosted by Activision, we got our first extended glimpse at Call of Duty: Black Ops. The fanfare begins with the previously released teaser trailer, which is appropriately cryptic considering Black Ops’ focus on deniable operations and secret wars. Introduced by Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia, the live demo is set in a weapons manufacturing facility deep behind enemy lines in the Soviet Union. Setting a theatrical precedent for the rest of the presentation, Lamia calls the segment WMD – a name that lives up to the dramatic nature of the covert mission.

After taking the stage, the individual manning the demo begins by piloting an SR-71 Blackbird – taking off and ascending to an altitude where they can provide pinpoint intel from the air. Barking orders through a crackling com, the player surveys an industrial area blanketed in snow – an environmental obstacle that keeps the Black Ops team on the ground from aptly assessing the area. Requesting tactical recon, the player must guide the team to their target, using a cursor system to map out movements and keep them from being spotted by inbound troops and passing vehicles.

When the squad reaches their destination safely, the scene switches to a first-person perspective. The Black Ops team advances through deep snowdrifts, moving quietly so not to alert patrolling troops and guard dogs ahead. When they reach the insertion point for their primary mission, they go radio silent, confirming that communication will resume when they’ve reached the substation and power relay.

The substation isn’t easy to access, however; a pair of Special Forces soldiers must rappel down a steep cliff to reach their goal. Moving deliberately, the player pushes off the wall, gives the rope slack, and repeats. The sound of howling wind is punctured by grunts and heavy breathing as they move down the face of the cliff.

Music provides an audio cue to the player that action is imminent. Looking at each other, the duo counts to three and makes one final leap downward, bursting through a pane of glass. They successfully catch the guards by surprise, open fire, and within moments the floor is littered with bodies.

Another quick change of scenery and we’re back with the larger squad, which is advancing on another industrial area. Instructed to swap out their firearms for crossbows and equip explosive ammo, the player’s breath is once again the only noise breaking the silence – a sound that is notably missing when held to steady a shot. After taking a few preliminary guards out, an alarm is sounded and the Black Ops team is forced into a firefight.

What follows is traditional Call of Duty fodder – a relentless onslaught of enemies. After several intense minutes of gunplay, the Black Ops team finds the alarm, turns it off, and continues to their primary objective. Not long after they here the rumblings of an avalanche, no doubt thanks to the team’s less-than-stealthy infiltration methods. Sprinting through deep snow, one of your companions approaches a the edge of a cliff. "I'm jumping, see you at the bottom," he shouts. You follow shortly after, and the screen fades to black.

Taking a quick breather from the action, Lamia returns to the stage and provides context. He makes clear that diversity of play is Treyarch’s highest priority with Black Ops, and that they intend to “focus on dialing up the variety of gameplay and keep the experience fresh for the player.”

Expressing his excitement for the Cold War setting and context of the game, Lamia continues. “The era and the focus on Black Ops allowed us a great deal of freedom to choose what we wanted to create,” he explains. “As an elite group used by the CIA for covert missions, you have unparalleled access to classified information, the best weapons and equipment to carry out your missions, and so on.”

Segueing into the next portion of the demo, Lamia sets the scene again. “We’ve immersed ourselves in this era and learned about the secret wars and the classified missions,” he says. “These missions inspired us to create a game with a rich story, and a narrative that will span a great deal of time. As we navigated the hot spots of the Cold War and we learned about the black operations, it naturally took us to Southeast Asia – to Vietnam.”

Lamia introduces the next mission, dubbed Slaughterhouse, which takes place during one of the bloodiest encounters of the Vietnam War – the Battle of Hué. In this particular set piece, the squad must fight their way through the American Military and CIA headquarters, which has been overrun by insurgents. The end goal is to recover critical intelligence.

Slaughterhouse begins with another dramatic scene. While descending by rope from a helicopter, the bird is hit by a projectile and spirals out of control – sending you crashing through a window before it explodes on the city streets below. It’s immediately apparent how different Vietnam is from the Soviet setting. The colors are more vivid. Combat is up-close-and-personal. Brutal encounters in a city populated by civilians makes identifying threats difficult. Residents run for their lives as you try to avoid injuring them in the crossfire – something your enemies seem notably less concerned about. In this visceral setting the music is striking and intense.

After another few set pieces full of action and explosions, the demo draws to a close. Lamia returns to the stage for his final thoughts, promising distinct multiplayer and co-op modes, which are compatible online with four-player co-op and locally with two-player splitscreen.

Lamia’s final thought is one of optimism – “Treyarch is committed to creating the very best game they possibly can with Black Ops.” The presentation concludes with the world premier trailer, which you can check out for yourself if you missed the debut.

Call of Duty: Black-Ops hits retail 11.09.10.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Xbox 360

Vomit Flies In New Call Of Duty: Black Ops Zombie Trailer

Zombies Infiltrate The Moon In Black Ops Rezurrection Trailer

Annihilation Extends Black Ops' Replay Value With Solid New Battlegrounds

Black Ops Goes Hollywood With Call Of The Dead

Treyarch Details the Finer Points of Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation DLC

The Broadest Call So Far

Ten Things To Know About Call Of Duty: Black Ops

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Makes The Leap To 3D

Seeing Is Believing

"A lie is a lie. Just because they write it down and call it history doesn’t make it the truth. We live in a world where seeing is not believing. Where only a few know what really happened."

"We live in a world where everything we know is wrong."