Call of Duty: Black Ops Multiplayer Review

Call of Duty: Black Ops has been taking retail by storm since it’s launch on Tuesday and while we don’t normally split up reviews, lets face it Multiplayer has been a staple and most played modes of the Call of Duty series now for years, and the multiplayer action in Black Ops is BIG and could really stand on it’s own as a separate game.  This is why I’m starting Part 1 of this 2 Part review with Multiplayer. There are plenty of options both online and offline for gamers to enjoy.  There is so much to the multiplayer I don’t really know where to start.

I guess the best place to start is the new rank/ COD Points, or as I like to call them “Call of Duty Bucks”.  As you play your going to earn XP which increases your rank as well as unlocks various modes and weapons.  For instance at level 13 you can view your “Service Record”, at level 19 you can play “Hardcore” matches, at level 23 you unlock the Uzi.  Fairly straight forward and similar to Modern Warfare 2.  However unlike MW2 once you unlock a weapon you then have the choice to spend COD Points to buy that weapon.  So if you hate the Uzi but like the Mac11 you can buy one and not the other.  ut the COD Points aren’t just for weapons, they are also used to buy things like Perks, weapon attachments, and Killstreaks.  And all of those types of things are unlocked right from the start, so no need to do some silly challenge to unlock the Flamthrower attachment, if you have the COD Points you can buy it.  I really like being able to outfit my classes as I see fit and not have to do challenges just for the option to buy a sight for my gun.
The COD Points also can be used to customize your Playercard, your Camo, even your reticle.  There are so many awesome customization options that players can really show off there true colors in many ways.  And again once you hit the right level, as long as you have the COD Points you’ll be able to customize to your hearts content.

As far as the multiplayer modes go all the favorites are here, Team Death Match, Team Tactical,  Demolition, Free For All and the list goes one.  Also all the various alterations like Barebones, Hardcore and Prestige modes return.  So there are plenty of game options and if your a fan of the COD series you’ll fell right at home.  Don’t worry there are some nice game mode additions as well.  First you have Combat Training, which is a standalone training mode, which works in the same way as the normal mode, you earn XP and COD Points, but you play against bots.  Unfortunately though the XP and Points don’t roll over to the Live modes, however you can play with Friends, which is nice cause I hate playing split screen and it’s just two people on the map.  The AI aren’t bad, I think the opposing AI is a bit to good, but it’s training and I don’t see many people spending much time in the mode, other then to unlock the achievements.  It would have been nice if some of the training rewards rolled over to the normal modes, maybe instead of 100 XP you get 5 XP, this way training mode has a bit more appeal and worth to the actual mode with other players.
The other new addition is Wager Match.  And this is my favorite.  Wager Match allows gamers to put up there COD Points in the hopes to win more.  There are 3 levels of Wager Matches with the lowest requiring a 10 COD Point buy in and the top prize being 30 COD Points, 2nd and 3rd places also get prizes but they aren’t as big.  Wager Matches are also very different then the normal multiplayer matches.  There are 4 match types. One in the Chamber, which give you one bullet and 3 lives, each kill give you another bullet, the last man wins.  Sticks and Stones, You get a crossbow and Knives and Tomahawk, each kill give you points, but hitting a player with the Tomahawk bankrupts them and puts them back to 0.  Stick and Stones is my personal favorite as there is nothing more exciting then bankrupting the leader in the last seconds, plus sticking people with your arrows is great.  Gun Game is another match type which is fun, every kill you get a new weapon, the first person to use each weapon wins.  And the last match type is Sharpshooter, in this match every 45 seconds the weapons change, get killstreaks earn perks, the player with the highest score wins.  Wager match is where the real fun and excitement is, and the match types require much more strategy and skill, it’s not always about the kill, it’s about making the right kill at the right time.

Now all these modes are great and all but I’m sure you want to know how it plays.  And the simple answer is it plays well.  Black Ops multiplayer takes the good from both MW2 and World at War.  Control wise I can’t really complain.  One change that has been made is that Killstreak kills don’t count as kills, so you’ll have to work for your higher killstreaks.  I’m a bit mixed on this as it helps level out the field a bit, but at the same time will be hard for players that have issues hitting high killstreaks.  The maps though are a mixed bag, I do enjoy them but found the various height levels of them to sometimes be overwhelming.  Some of the maps have lots of rooms and lots of levels that when you send up a spy plane your still lost trying to hunt your opponents.  Though I do enjoy the dynamics of some of the maps, like the rocket that blasts off and burns everyone under it, or being able to open and close blast doors.  But maps like Nuketown or the training style map which have dummies or moving training targets drive me nuts as I think someone is there but it’s not a human player.  Once you get a handle on the maps they do become less of a headache, but unlike COD games past the maps have much more going on in them and require much more learning.

Multiplayer has been a major selling point for Call of Duty for years, Modern Warfare really brought COD multiplayer to new heights, and Black Ops really builds off the success of games past.  The addition of the Points system will be welcomed by gamers that enjoy customization.  There are now so many options that you can really show off to the world.  The addition of the Wager Matches are great, they are an addicting match type and offer some great variation to the gameplay.  I was a big fan of MW and MW2 multiplayer and Black Ops outdoes those.  I have yet to get to a point where I’m tired of the match types, since there are plenty of match options and maps.  Oh and Zombie Mode is back and can be played with other on Live/PSN or split screen.  It’s pretty basic, just defeat waves of zombies, but is fun!  Call of Duty: Black Ops hands down has the best multiplayer of the series, and it shows the team worked hard and long to create a great experience for gamers.  If you enjoyed previous COD multiplayer then picking up Black Ops for multiplayer alone is well worth the money.

Check back next week for our full review of Call of Duty: Black Ops Campaign.

A copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops was provided to us for this review from Activision/Treyarch.