GOTY 2010 rant (more like a Black Ops rant)

I was asked last night what I thought my game of the year is. If someone had asked me this question two months ago it would have been easy, I would have said it will be Call Of Duty: Black Ops. After playing the game (both singleplayer and multiplayer) I must say that it isn't.

Why? Because it was the biggest disappointment of a COD game since Modern Warfare 2, the previous game in the series! I am always willing to forgive game companies and let them try and make a better game. This is because most of the staff at many game companies are fired and others are brought in to replace them. Treyarch have had plenty of time to get themselves sorted out and make a really good game. What the hell were they doing the entire time they should have been making Black Ops (or COD Blops as my friend Bradly calls it), taking holidays and chucking sickies!

The entire game feels like its been rushed and while the multiplayer is good (because it's core mechanic hasn't changed since COD 4, all they have done is add pretty additions to it that don't effect gameplay too much) The singleplayer is crap. The plot is set in the first few levels along with some character establishment then nothing happens for most of the game then the Scriptwriters remember that there is a plot (I'm positive that the same guys that wrote the Resident evil movies wrote Black Ops) and mash it in in the last three or four levels. Its not like Treyarch couldn't think of a story. The game is set during the sixties through to the eighties, and a lot of characters and events are based on real people and events. So right there is half of the story done for them. So there is no excuse to make up a good story because that time was a very interesting period in America's and the worlds history. It was the height of the Cold War, the Vietnam war is raging and J.F.K is assassinated. I'll admit it had a good twist, but that was all it had. Once I had discovered the twist I wasn't intrigued nor did it peak my interest in the game at all. It was one of those meh moments. I didn't care.

Zombie mode was nice though. Basically it has everything wrong with Nazi zombies from COD World at War fixed. Although the cutscene for the start of the pentagon zombie level was (while amusing) a complete fail. It was better than nothing. Still zombie mode is impossible to complete without friends, unless you are one of those people with no life and all you do is read blogs and play COD in your mothers basement in which case have a Twinkie and get back to it.

As I mentioned earlier the multiplayer is essentially the same as previous titles in the series with a few tweaks. You don't unlock weapons when you reach certain levels, you buy them with in game "COD Dollars" you earn while playing. The setback is that you cant really customize your gun with all the cool stuff advertised on TV like your clan tag on weapons and custom emblems and reticules until about level 25. Which completely sucks. I can understand the custom reticule being one to unlock but the clan tag should be available right off the bat. Seriously how does your clan tag engraved into your gun make any difference to gameplay? It doesn't it is purely to pretty up your gun. So why not have it! Also (and this is what really pisses me off) I want the ability to have golden guns. But it is only unlocked when you reach the maximum level in the game. I don't have the Patience to dedicate six-odd months of my life to a game just for that one little thing. Totally not worth my time. Still I'll hand it to them that having everything unlocked in LAN and splitscreen games is a great idea.

This game was my number one contender for Game Of The Year 2010. But due to it being so rubbish and no other game catching my interest I'm giving it to DJ Hero 2. Even thought there was next to no storyline it had enough to keep you morbidly interested. The gameplay and the soundtrack is what makes the game so fantastic. The DJ Hero developers had decided to do what they do best and it shows. Black Ops had no direction both online and offline. Also DJ Hero 2 is just more fun to play. Don't get me wrong I'm an FPS fan boy but I want to play good FPS games, and if there is none I'll play something else. Treyarch really shot themselves in the foot with this one.