Just how the hell do you follow up to the biggest game of the new millennium? How can you possibly live up to the hype? Just how damn daunting a challenge is it to try and get out of Modern Warfare 2′s massive shadow? Well, developer Treyarch takes this task upon their shoulders and they do a respectable, but ultimately underwhelming job.

Last year’s installment in the Call of Duty franchise had a bombastic campaign. It was a roller coaster of set pieces that never seemed to let up and Black Ops is not subtle in its homage to Infinity Ward’s second Modern Warfare game. The single-player campaign is presented in an interesting perspective where you play as soldier Alex Mason (voiced by “it” boy Sam Worthington), who is being heavily interrogated about a biochemical weapon known as Nova 6. This allows for a unique way to present the story as it allows for flexibility in terms of deciding which scenario you’ll play. In one scene, you’re fighting off the Vietcong during the Vietnam War, then the next you thing you know, you’re piloting a stealth aircraft commanding a CIA agent and his team, telling him where to go. Treyarch’s efforts to keep things varied is definitely noted and a well-respected effort, it’s just that it’s missing that certain “Oomph!” that Modern Warfare 2 had. It’s strange because Black Ops storyline is more coherently presented than Modern Warfare 2′s style of delivering most of its story via loading screen slide shows. It also features its fair share of neat twists, and only one where you just might not see coming.

I immediately regret booking this hotel room

Gameplay-wise, the Call of Duty formula still rings strong. There’s really not much to say in terms of control, feel, and presentation — it’s a Call of Duty game and you should know by now exactly what that entitles. Unfortunately, the controls aren’t quite as tight as they were in Modern Warfare 2. I noticed some collision/hit detection problems while playing where I’d have my crosshairs in the middle of some poor goon’s thick torso, and the bullets don’t register. There’s no cover system but there is an infinite-respawn-of-enemies-until-you-pass-an-imaginary-kill-trip-line system and, man, is it infuriating on several occasions.

The graphics are, for the most part, still top-notch, but the IW engine is definitely starting to show some age, especially when you compare it to the new iteration of the Unreal Engine 3 or the Killzone 3 graphics engine. This complaint only applies to the environments, as the character models still hold up very well and the facial animations during in-engine cutscenes are fantastic. A personal favorite improvement of mine, however, has got to be the better gore. Limbs can actually fly off with a shotgun blast and some of the up-close-and-personal melee kills are satisfyingly brutal (Hint: a knife and a Vietcong soldier’s neck meet).

PWN? I’m not sure the Call of Duty community understands the obscure word

Now, you and I both know that you probably skipped the campaign in its entirety (shame on you) and went straight to the money-maker — multiplayer. Treyarch does an admirable job of keeping the core MW2 experience intact and improving (although, that’s up for debate) upon many aspects. I personally love the fact that I can choose what weapon I get to buy through the Call of Duty Credits system. Sure, you lose that satisfaction of earning a gun, but there are still weapons that are locked off by a minimum level cap. I also appreciate the fact that there’s more customization featured here. While there’s not quite a Create-Your-Soldier mode, at least you can pick what pre-existing skin you want to be seen on someone’s killcam. Also worth-noting is the fact that there are only 50 levels that can be earned before being allowed to go into Prestige mode (it’s 15 instead of 10 this time around).

Unfortunately, the map designs are hit-or-miss, and it skews mostly towards “miss”. For example, Nuketown is an atrociously designed map where grenade spam is rampant (a problem not seen since Call of Duty 4). The maps just aren’t as well-designed as MW2′s. The amount of game types, though, are vast and varied — more so than MW2′s even. You can do wager matches where you put your credits on the line in hopes of earning our enemies. Then there’s the “Core” mode that features stripped-down versions of the usual Call of Duty fare. Meaning to say, there are no goddamn killstreaks to speak of. So if you hate the annoying and infuriating wealth of air support in multiplayer, then this is a godsend as you can simply go back to the basics.

If you grow weary of the frustrations of killing a guy and then going on a death streak, then you can…well, you’ll still be frustrated, but it’ll be with a tinge of the undead. The Nazi zombies mode returns and, man — it’s deceptively a pain in the ass. At least Treyarch makes sure it’s worth the butt-hurt to get through the Zombies mode.

In the wake of Infinity Ward’s demise, you know the world had its eyes on Treyarch to step up to the plate and really knock this one out of the park. For the most part, Treyarch do more than a respectable enough of a job. Stimulating the online community and throwing in a vehicle segment where The Rolling Stone’s “Sympathy for the Devil” plays over in the campaign stand out as reasons for applaud for the studio but, unfortunately, they miss the mark by just that much. Their set pieces seem to be forced at times and there just doesn’t seem to be much originality found here, which makes Black Ops seem more like a homage to Modern Warfare 2 rather than a radical departure. Call of Duty: Black Ops is definitely a meaty game and long ball, but a home run it is not.

REPORT CARD

Story: 75

Graphics: 80

Audio: 95

Gameplay: 90

Multiplayer: 85

Lasting Appeal: 88

OVERALL

84