Call of Duty: Black Ops

[Surlyboi]

Well, you did need a code if you wanted to redeem any of the cool extra shit that could be applied to your account. Like say, if you purchased a special edition, you got shinier guns quicker than the guys that bought the regular editions.

[Typhon]

Anyone play the zombie maps?  Are they as much fun as the COD4:WaW maps?

[Mortriden]

Anyone play the zombie maps?  Are they as much fun as the COD4:WaW maps?

I've only played the first one, which was a gas.  Mostly due JFK spouting out awesome one-liners "Your President NEEDS ammunition!"

[Nightblade]

Anyone play the zombie maps?  Are they as much fun as the COD4:WaW maps?

I've only played the first one, which was a gas.  Mostly due JFK spouting out awesome one-liners "Your President NEEDS ammunition!"

The first one? The first one I have on zombie mode is just 4 random stereotypes; which depressed me because I wanted to play as JFK.

[Mortriden]

Anyone play the zombie maps?  Are they as much fun as the COD4:WaW maps?

I've only played the first one, which was a gas.  Mostly due JFK spouting out awesome one-liners "Your President NEEDS ammunition!"

The first one? The first one I have on zombie mode is just 4 random stereotypes; which depressed me because I wanted to play as JFK.

Hmm... maybe it's only after you finish the single player?  There was this quirky little cut scene with JFK, Castro, Nixon, and McNamara.  I assumed it was the "standard" map.  The map I'm talking about takes place in the bunker in the Pentagon.  Your "objective" is to turn the power on, I always die before I find that switch though.

[NiX]

Yeah, you have to beat the game to unlock the JFK zombie map.

I'm finding the new maps to require a lot more planning.

[Zetleft]

Yeah, you have to beat the game to unlock the JFK zombie map.

I'm finding the new maps to require a lot more planning.

Nope.  Just enter the code 3arc unlock to play the JFK zombie map (which is a blast).  Also enter DOA to play a zombie apocalypse type game :p

Just follow the link to see where to enter the code

[Nightblade]

So Treyarch just released the patch that made the game go from somewhat playable to completely unplayable.

  Money well spent.

[Engels]

So Treyarch just released the patch that made the game go from somewhat playable to completely unplayable.

  Money well spent.

Can you elaborate? Was thinking of picking this up this weekend.

[Nightblade]

So Treyarch just released the patch that made the game go from somewhat playable to completely unplayable.

  Money well spent.

Can you elaborate? Was thinking of picking this up this weekend.

Stutters. In game performance is fine, but when you get into a fire fight (or zombie); the game gets choppy and locks up. Lowering the settings doesn't help.

Just tried one tweak to fix it, lets see what happens...

NOPE, didn't work. Lovely.

edit 2: Ok, now it works after reverting previous tweaks made pre patch to make the initial poor game performance bearable.

edit 3: I still get stutters actually, but it's back to pre patch playable levels. Lost a game a of CTF because the game decided to lock me for a split second as some retard jumps out of cover and aimlessly spray kills me.

Back to L4d2 until they fix it, I guess. BO was supposed to replace that in my rotation.
 

[Malakili]

What is with the popularity of nuketown?  The map is so damned small.

[Nightblade]

People play Nuketown to get quick exp and pro perk challenges.

For me, I just do it for pro perk challenges, some of them are ridiculously stupid. Especially Marathon to Marathon Pro. "Cap 15 flags in CTF", a game mode almost nobody plays, and unless the other team is stupendously inept; you're lucky to see two caps per game.

[Malakili]

People play Nuketown to get quick exp and pro perk challenges.

For me, I just do it for pro perk challenges, some of them are ridiculously stupid. Especially Marathon to Marathon Pro. "Cap 15 flags in CTF", a game mode almost nobody plays, and unless the other team is stupendously inept; you're lucky to see two caps per game.

Oh yea, I forget people actually try for those things, that makes sense.

[Jeff Kelly]

Sorry I'm late to the party but I just got around to buying the game, mostly because of the glowingly positive reviews.

Now I feel cheated, this game is a fracking joke and it has invalidated any residual relevance gaming jounalism still had to me.

The single player campaign only lasts for about 6 hours. I get more entertainment out of 60 dollars when I spend it on movies. There is no strategy or tactics whatsoever. You can run, you can crouch and you can somewhat clumsily position yourself behind obstacles (taking cover would be to big a term for that), although if you combine the latter with ducking you won't be able to see over the obstacle.

The AI is dumber than the whole cast of Jersey Shore and The Hills combined, they ignore or even pass opponents that are shooting at you, they constantly run into your line of sight (and then complain if you accidentally shoot them). Opponents somehow have death wishes and happily run from behind cover just to be mowed down by your autofire. Somehow you carry a huge "I'm the player please ignore everybody else except me" sign that makes everybody shoot me even if there is a frigging army that accompanies me.

I'm glad that restarting levels is fast because I lost track of the number of times I needed to do that just because the stupid AI got me killed or because I couldn't use the available cover effectively.

Not that tactics matter at all. Each level is basically designed like you're playing a rail shooter. You never run out of ammo, aiming is completely optional. Just point the gun in the general direction, pull the trigger and you're fine. You won't even have to choose between going left or right in most levels, there is only one direction. You have to reach the waypoints however or you just end up fighting against wave after wave of opponents.

Don't get me started on the morally ambiguous story line and unnecessary gore that wholly exists just to shock conservatives and parents and serves no narrative purpose whatsoever. It also doesn't even leave you a choice if you actually want to do some (or any) of that stuff. (I'd like to carpet bomb their office for making me use a vietnamese guy as a human shield for example). The infantile zombie levels are just the icing on the cake.

Seriously, I played Uncharted 2 prior to CoD: Black Ops and it's a much better game in every respect. The running time is longer (more like 20 hours as opposed to 6), the story is way better and you have more (or even any) tactical options during combat. Oh and the person that decided that close combat and running on the PS3 should be on R3/L3 should be fired with extreme prejudice. Seriously I use a knife or my fists by repeatedly pressing down on an analogue stick that I also use for aiming or moving? Really great idea.

Oh and its a crapfest of bugs even after the latest update.

So unless I'm completely off with my opinion of the game (which might be a possibility, so cue the "you don't really get the genre" kind of answers) how could this have gotten any of the glowing reviews that it did?

I can name at least 5 games that are way better than CoD from the top of my head and since I based my purchasing decision entirely on the reviews I feel kinda taken advantage of.

[Comstar]

is the story more morally offensive than the first one?

[Jeff Kelly]

[Tarami]

This has single player?

[Margalis]

Now I feel cheated, this game is a fracking joke and it has invalidated any residual relevance gaming jounalism still had to me.

Professional game reviews are horrible but it's so obvious it just goes without saying. You're much better off reading Gamefaqs reader reviews. Seriously.

[Malakili]

how could this have gotten any of the glowing reviews that it did?

Because no one cares about single player?  I honestly haven't read a single review so I don't know what they emphasize, but I bought this game expecting 100% the single player to be short and terrible.  However, I've already logged a solid 15 hours in multiplayer and have enjoyed pretty much every minute of it.

[Jeff Kelly]

Then just don't include a single player campaign and market it as a multiplayer game, problem solved.

This would automatically make people like me - who couldn't care less about multiplayer shooters - pass on the game. Alternatively split the reviews for single player and multiplayer.

[tgr]

Because no one cares about single player?

*ahem*.

[jakonovski]

Finally got the game, better if I hadn't. The single player campaign is incredibly broken, with two game breaking bugs on the first two levels. Level one, I always fail the mission when BTR splodes --> restart campaign. Level two, Reznov always dies while trying to weld the door open --> never play this pos again?

edit: omg, I only needed to replay the level this time. Had a funny glitch too -- a dead mob was lying on the ground dead, but still firing at me. His arm swung at me as I moved.

[Malakili]

Then just don't include a single player campaign and market it as a multiplayer game, problem solved.

This would automatically make people like me - who couldn't care less about multiplayer shooters - pass on the game. Alternatively split the reviews for single player and multiplayer.

That'd be fine with me.

[Azazel]

is the story more morally offensive than the first one?

Do you mean the last one? (MW2)

Because this is like, the seventh one in the series.

[Engels]

Jeff, I hear ya, but at the same time, everyone by now knows that the CoD line never, ever has had a good single player story or gameplay. It is at best, a small training piece for multiplayer. Its like going to see Jack Ass 3D for the story line. Shame on them the first time, sure, but after the 7th game? Should probably know better by now, unless you've been completely out of touch with the gaming community.

The ONLY reason to spend 60 bucks for this is if you are an avid fan of CoD Multiplayer. That's where the fun is, and the market they are catering to. That's where the developers put their thought.

Now, I haven't played the multiplayer yet (just downloaded tonight) so I can get back to you on that, but I suspect that it'll be comparable to their other releases.

[LK]

I enjoyed MW & MW2's story with all the seriousness it warrants.

[tgr]

is the story more morally offensive than the first one?

Actually, people actually found that sequence in MW2 as morally offensive? The only thing I thought when I played through that was "oh god, there's so little freedom to move", "oh god, what's with the slowmo movement?", and "oh god, they really are trying way too hard to be offensive, aren't they?".

[LK]

I think No Russian accomplished all the creative, marketing, and viral goals they had for it, and then some.

[Malakili]

I think No Russian accomplished all the creative, marketing, and viral goals they had for it, and then some.

I agree with this statement.  That doesn't mean it was morally offensive though.

[Nightblade]

Those still having trouble with game stuttering, try this launch option command (inside the properties menu of steam)

-noprefetch

Actually worked for me.

[LK]

I think No Russian accomplished all the creative, marketing, and viral goals they had for it, and then some.

I agree with this statement.  That doesn't mean it was morally offensive though.

I wasn't implying either way, or at least, that wasn't my intent. Morally offensive is something for each person to decide, not someone to decide for you.

[Azazel]

Jeff, I hear ya, but at the same time, everyone by now knows that the CoD line never, ever has had a good single player story or gameplay. It is at best, a small training piece for multiplayer. Its like going to see Jack Ass 3D for the story line. Shame on them the first time, sure, but after the 7th game? Should probably know better by now, unless you've been completely out of touch with the gaming community.

I have to disagree. The first two CoD games had very solid/robust singleplayer campaigns. I don't think I ever bothered to play MP. CoD: Big Red One and CoD3 never happened as far as I am concerned, since they weren't released on PC - so I have no experience with their MP, though since Big Red One was an original XBox/PS2 title, it would have had to have stood on it's SP campaign.

CoD4:MW had what I thought was a reasonable balance between a fun, if short (for the time SP) campaign and a decent MP set. Unfortunately it became too popular, and we have what we have today as a result. Console counterstrike.

[tgr]

COD2 was so robust I even had to play it through once more when MW2 had been tested, just to see how COD SP used to be. MW1 I'll agree was an okay, albeit a bit too short SP campaign for my taste at the time, but I think it lost something in the translation to the modern times for me. The act of running around with a single-action rifle when you see tons of infantry swarming towards you creates a feeling which I didn't think MW1 could capture, and the less I say about MW2 the better I think.

MW1 MP is at least pretty good when played at a LAN party with people you can discuss tactics with face-to-face, although I have to admit I liked the BC2 way of fighting on a map a bit better, with 2 rounds lasting about an hour each pr match, compared to the max 5 minutes pr round with MW1.

[Azazel]

Yeah, MW2's CoD4:MW big sell for me was actually the push up to modern forces, weapons, locations, etc. I'm one of the many people who are just a bit over the endless WW2 games we've had, basically since Saving Private Ryan came out. I thought the SP was short, but I could write it off as quality over quantity, because, while flawed, it really was a step up from other games. I always preferred the MP in Battlefield series, but CoD4's was still good enough that I'd dip in and out of it semi-regularly for quite some time.

edit - Whoops above. Said MW2 meant MW1!

[tgr]

MW2 SP was not a step up over MW1. I'm not budging on that point.