Impressions Time!
I believe that just Skatch, brjahu and myself are the only ones that have the game and have played it. These are my initial thoughts.
Multi (3 hours played so far):
-Plays EXACTLY like every CoD since MW. Not that that's a bad thing because if it's not broke don't fix it.
-Balancing. While Treyarch may be known as the company that puts out CoD games between the real CoD games I find their MP to be more balanced. World at War, while not without faults, was far more balanced than MW and Black Ops feels a lot less "asshole" friendly than MW2. Kill Streaks don't build towards other kill streaks so there's a lot less crazy amount of crap going on. Only saw 1 or 2 games where someone had a very large K/D ratio unlike about every game of MW2.
-Perks. Everything is available from the start, but now you have to "buy" them. They took out some oldies like "Juggernaut" and "Stopping Power" which I am very happy about. Now the perks feel more like a preference and play style attribute and not a "use this or die" type of thing.
-Kill Streaks. Again, these are all unlocked, you just have to buy them. The RC car was particularly annoying to me at first until I realized that it replaces that rocket that you control which almost always guarantees a kill. At least the car needs a little more skill to find and kill a guy.
-Buying anything and everything. Talked about this with brjahu and he agreed. Not only do you have to reach a certain level to be able to unlock a gun, but then you have to buy that gun just to see if you like it. Not that that's a huge deal, but when you're trying to find a setup that works best for you, depleting all your funds to realize you hate that gun is frustrating. I've found after a couple hours you have so much money that it isn't as big a deal as it first seems.
-Audio. What's missing from it? I can't seem to pin it down. Music? There's something that's missing and it irks me and I can't figure out what.
-Maps. Not only do I feel Treyarch makes a better MP, but they undoubtedly make the better maps. Every one of the maps I've played has several levels and almost all of them are much larger than most of the maps in MW2. One of the snow maps in particular is a little too large with too many hiding spots, but other than that I like the complexity of them.
-Knife. It's back and retarded as ever. Why the hell you can lunge is beyond me, but at least there's no "Commando" anymore. I have seen, probably 10 times now, guys flat out sprint at me and try to knife me like in MW2, but it's only been successfull 2 or 3 times so while there's still frustration with it it's not nearly as problematic as MW2. It's funny watching kill cams because you can totally tell who is trying to recreate that perk setup of "Marathon, Light Weght, Commando." It's just sad that this game is the proof of how viable a strategy running at someone with your knife actually was.
Single:
-It's official, the CoD formula has grown thin. You can make the most riveting story, over the top action shooter ever, but when it's every iteration of CoD trying to "one up" each other it starts to feel grating.
-It's very over the top with so much action and explosions going on that it is actually difficult to tell who the hell you're supposed to be shooting. I found myself rolling my eyes at one point just wondering how much more of a hard on they could possibly have for Michael Bay.
-Story does seem cool though as it actually has a plot with mystery and intrigue.
(Impressions) Verdict:
After my first hour of MP gaming I was a little worried that I had bought a game that was less than thrilling. After unlocking stuff that doesn't suck and teaching myself to play with new guns I got that old CoD boner that we all love from time to time....or all the time. It's a very solid online shooter that does (so far) fix some gripes of MW2.
I'm pleased with my purchase because it's a shooter that will hold me over till Gears of War 3....brrrrt.
P.S. This is awesome. Because of the new theatre mode you can have proof of people glitching and Treyarch isn't gonna stand for it!
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Forgot to mention:
ReplyDeleteZombies are back!
The game has the most badass main menu ever. Bust out of the chair you're being tortured in and look around the room. In the back is a computer terminal and when activated it runs like DOS. Type in "DOA" and it opens up a "Smash TV" like arcade game against zombies that is a ton of fun. Type in "ZORK" and you can play the original text adventure game! Tons of stuff in the terminal that people are trying to find and unlock.
"Internet nerd famous" haha
ReplyDeleteAfter about 10 to 12 hrs of gameplay I can honestly say that this cod blows mw2 out of the water! Everything from the weapons, the new equipment, the maps, its all executed near perfectly. I can already tell this is going to be a game I sink lots ofhours into.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I was a little disappointed with is the currency system. While its an awesome addition to the series, the developers chose to make guns only available for purchase at certain levels. I feel like they should have owned up to their new currency system completly rather than force you to level up almost to level 50 before you get certain weapons. I would rather have huge price tags attached to the guns and be able to purchase them at anytime. A currency based system is a great concept, but if your going to implement it, you need to stick to it and make every weapon currency based rather than level based.
All in all great game and I am thoroughly enjoying it!
I gotta wait a couple weeks to get my new Alienware but so far, they've screwed the PC users again. It's laggy and buggy and what's with being forced to play against bots (which is single-player) online... so people can't even do that while they wait for the game to be patched.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, it will be patched soon and new Nvidia drivers will be out. At least ded servers are back... hackers ruined MW2.
Qucik my thoughts on your thoughts, and then a wee rant.
ReplyDeleteGameplay - yea it's the same old formula but it works as a fast and frantic fps.
Balancing - agreed they've tweaked it very nicely and i'm quite enjoying the Barebones game types, first one, no bullshit at all.
Perks - quite like how the tier 1 perk dictates the way you look and pretty much approach your game style.
Killstreaks - No problems with them at all, really like how the kills dont contribute towards your next award.
Buying - Still not overly sold on this mechanic but it seems to add something fresh to the leveling up tho it does feel like a bit of a pain sometimes just to test stuff out.
Audio - Good, just not as good as Bad Company 2 (awesomest sound in any FPS ever)
Maps - Good variation and i agree Treyarch do make good maps compared to IW
Knife - just total horseshit, seriously wished it was balanced...like make it a secondary weapon instead of a pistol that u have to carry and have out like a weapon if you intend on using it (like counter strike) or if you wish to have it, make them sacrifice the grenade slot or a Perk tier or allow players to equip a Knife Vest instead of a grenade which makes you immune to the stupid lunging knife...(rant about knife over)
SP - i've played about 2-3 hrs and really enjoying it so far, yes it's over the top and yes it's kinda way to much going on but i'm a sucker for that kinda stuff in movies and other media so i'm quite happy to play it out in a game.
Overall impressions - Beware of not very well constructed RANT
It's hard to describe how i'm feeling about this game really. I've used the word "samey" when talking to other ppl about it and that basically sums it up. It totally lacks any innovation on the core MP side of things (aside from Wager matches which are a blast, just a pitty you cant gamble much between friends) I havent got the "COD boner" yet and i dont really see it happening tbh. I just feel like this game is wat MW2 should of been a year ago. I've played so much of MW2 that even with all of BOps tweaks and niceties it's all too little too late for me. The COD formula now for me just feels old and boring. I think it's time for games/devs to start taking it to the next level of immersion and innovation. Perhaps that'll come with the next gen of consoles or another Dev to stray from the standard fps formula and try something different.
Maybe i'm just bored of FPS gaming, so I could be being a little harsh on BOps. Or as Brjahu suggested maybe it's the ppl i'm playing with , like my core group, perhaps i'm just bored of them and that's filtering out into my feelings for the game. Dont get me wrong i think it's a fantastic game in it's own rite and if it was out a year or 2 ago I'd be wanking over it rite now instead of taking my frustrations out on it. If this was given to a newbee to play as his or her's first ever game to play online then they're in for a treat cos it's the pinnacle of FPS gaming atm, but as mentioned before it's all too late for me to enjoy it.
Having said all of that i'll prob still spend a fair bit of more time on it and feel my way about it a bit more. Maybe do a retrospective post on it see it my attitude's change for those who care.
FYI I still believe Bad Company 2 is the best War FPS out there this gen for anyone who ever wants to play..over and out.
Skatch: Excellent! I'm glad that we agree on so many of the points because the game is VERY good. I also agree that it's what MW2 should have been a year ago, but unfortunately it's not. At least we have it now and it's awesome.
ReplyDeleteI agree on the "samey" aspects because it's very true, but it'll take Activision at least another 2 iterations to realize that it's wearing out. Even though it's more of the same I love it because it's FINALLY the refined game it should have been...finally...
I love BC2, but don't play it anymore ever. Even if I owned it I probably wouldn't play it because the match lengths are very long and since I'm a dad now I need the shorter rounds to fit in a few games while watching my son.
btw....get it for PS3...assclown.
Edge have reviewed Black Ops and it's pretty much nailed it on the head. I agree with everything it's said. Here's one particular extract.
ReplyDelete"As polished and pretty and fun as Black Ops often is, it feels more like a yearly update than a sequel, a new campaign with old multiplayer. The game isn't distinct from its predecessors in any important way, and fatigue sets in quicker than before. The feel-good story will have to wait."
They gave it a 7/10 btw, little harsh but understandable.
For someone who has been mentioned at multiple times in this discussion I guess I better make an appearance.
ReplyDeleteI have spoken with both 3N3MY and Skatch at length about this game and the more I play it the more my feelings of this game are more concrete.
As almost everyone mentioned, it is simply just "more of the same". And that is all that really needs to be said about it. We could go on and on about all the little things we like and don't like about it but at the end of the day, THERE ISN'T ANYTHING NEW ABOUT THIS GAME! I'm just getting so sick and tired of studios who aren't willing to take a risk and try something new. Since when did every FPS made require you to customize weapons, choose a perk, and receive a bonus for kicking the other teams ass. Kind of seems a little counter-productive if the team that is kicking ass, gets a bonus to kick some more ass.... just saying. But back to my point... well, I don't really know where I'm going with this so...
As Skatch mentioned about his feelings of his "core" group of guys, I am one that actually bought this game for the PS3 to play specifically with a group of friends that I never play with. I wanted a change and because I too get tired of playing with the same old group every day.
So Skatch, and Lead Salad... when you two finally decide to wise up, I could use a couple of "decent" players to join my squad. These other guys play a little late for my tastes (till 2AM on work days... not happening)
On a side note: I'm a couple of levels into the the campaign and I must say it is pretty good. However, the most promising part of Black Ops has to be the mini-game Dead Ops Arcade... now that is a good time!
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ReplyDeleteOk so i've had a rather eventful weekend with this game...as you all know i went into the weekend pretty much hating the game, not so much the game itself just the unoriginality and bordem that i feel when i play it. Well.......I actually hit a turning point this weekend, and it's all down to the lovely gametype that is Domination and a little bit of Demolition. All of a sudden the game came into it's own, i found myself really getting into it and had a mini COD boner (thanks to Ememy for that reference btw)
ReplyDeleteI remember playing domination and other such gametypes on MW2 but them never really working for me, too many ppl running around with silly perk set ups and RPG whores...so far this hasnt happened at all, very rarely do i find myself getting mad at someone else constantly shooting noob tubes and ruining the game. I say so far as it's still early days but the signs look good. The well documented balancing that Treyarch have implemented really pays dividends when playing these gametypes now and i now have a new found love for Black Ops.
I may still be in some sort of honeymoon phase but it's certainly a breath of fresh air for me. Sorry chaps, it's staying in my 360 drive for another week at least...on a side note i'm getting AC:BH on ps3 so we can all assassinate each other instead.
Also finished the Campaign, yes it was more of the same, yes the story was a little cliché and predictable but honestly it rocked my socks off! Best SP in a COD game since MW1.