Call of Duty: Black Ops, my thoughts

When I was first introduced to the Call of Duty series Infinity Ward had just released Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Lot's of fun, put my old favorite PlayStation title SOCOM to shame. Then I played the beta of the upcoming Call of Duty: World at War by Treyarch. It was ok, nothing compared to Modern Warfare, plus I had heard that IW was far superior to Treyarch. That being said I passed up on World at War. Modern Warfare 2 was the return of Infinity Ward and got my attention immediately due to IW making this new version of COD. Modern Warfare 2 was a lot of fun just like COD4 but was a HUGE upgrade from 4.

After Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward and Activision had a fallout and seemed to have all but dissolved. Treyarch was again on board to make the next Call of Duty; Call of Duty: Black Ops. Damn it! Not them! Well I was wrong, Sorry Treyarch.

Just picked up my copy of Black Ops on Friday and I cannot put down Black Ops. Call of Duty: Black Ops will be the cause of many divorces and break ups. Also could result in domestic violence, but that's your problem. I haven't played the story mode yet, and I probably never will. I play Call of Duty for the multiplayer experience. As of right now I have only played Team Deathmatch and it's friggin' awesome! Treyarch made Call of Duty feel like less of a grind. Levels still matter but not as much as they did in previous titles. With the implementation of Call of Duty Points, you can unlock things when you want to, for the most part as some things still have a level restriction. In Modern Warfare 2 you had to earn attachments, in Black Ops you buy what you want and attach it to your new gun right away. There is no longer a need to use attachments that you don't like just to get the next attachment. Of course if you don't use certain equipment you will miss out on some challenges and some XP but it's on your own terms.

The maps are great! I have my favorites like Jungle, Array, Firing Range and of course Nuketown (nice small map; think Shipment from COD4) and for the first time I don't have a map that I hate. Choosing maps is very democratic, everyone votes for either the Next map, the previous map or a random map. After a certain amount of repeat plays the previous map is not allowed which keeps things fresh.

Good diversity of weaponry and equipment. A lot of returning items like Semtex, Frag and Claymore with the inclusion of some new tactical items that work like flashbangs such as, Decoy's, Nova Gas and Concussion. There is also new equipment that is available to all players, after purchasing with COD points, like C4, Camera Spikes (see what the camera sees), Jammer, Motion Sensor, and the old Tactical Insertion.

New killstreaks have been added along with some old favorites. Some of the returning killstreaks would be the Sentry Gun, Spy Plane, Gunship, Attack Dogs and the Care Package. Some new items are the Blackbird, Mortar Team, Napalm Strike, SAM Turret and my favorite RC-XD Explosive RC Car, which is a remote controller car strapped with explosives. FUN!

One area that Black Ops really excels is customization. Using COD Points players can create custom decals for their guns, change the color of their scope as well as change the style of the reticle. Players can also utilize facepaint and change the type of camo that is used on their gun once purchased with COD points. Watching kill cams has never been so much fun seeing what people have done to their guns and decals.

While I haven't played the other multiplayer nor the Zombie portion of Black Ops, Call of Duty is a must buy. This is a no brainer given the amount of sales they have had since launch. Don't waste any time, Go get yourself a copy of Black Ops and meet me on Xbox LIVE!