by Metalstrike UGP

I have been hearing a lot of people finding COD Black Ops (CODBO) as not the game they expected it to be. There are many common criticisms about it like shaky graphics, inaccurate guns and lag. I figured most of these gamers complaining have been used to the most recent form of easier shooters like Modern Warfare2, which is the classic example of this, meaning almost no-gun-recoil, no-bullet-spread and as everyone knows no-gun-range-factor. Almost anybody who can aim fast can be good at it and get away with it. Now that CODBO brings it back to how it used to be, those gamers who came in late in the gaming world feels almost lost and uneasy.

My friend Dj Micvince calls it a game that reverted to the state of games made 5 years ago, but he was referring to it graphics-wise. He almost called it a game meant for the original xbox or the ps2! Maybe true! But aside from the slightly less 3Dness of the graphics, CODBO has actually reverted to many other things that are good in shooter games just as we have known it.

Probably mentioning the classics will refresh our memory why we loved games that are not that easy and why we keep playing them over and over until now.

Counterstrike players of the olden times know that an AK47 needs to be handled differently than an M4. You can’t spray an AK long range and for prolonged periods, or you’ll get nowhere. There is the “KICK” which is supposed to be really strong on this gun, but sooner or later you learn a distinct technique of quick aiming but slight tap firing to get headshots. You acquire a real skill. Meanwhile, on submachine guns like the MP5 you won’t instantly kill an adversary 500 meters away, so you have to close in on the target. If you spray, the gun kicks back and if you don’t get the kill, you could end up dead instead.

CODBO fortunately has brought recoils back. Nobody anymore can just run around with 99% kill accuracy just like with a UMP5 in MW2. This time you have to bear down on your gun and see how best it can hit the target more, than it can miss. Also, now the range of your gun affects your kill efficiency. The farther your target, the less likely a scorpion can kill, than with a commando gun.

If you play Ghost Recon of the olden times, you would also know that even when you scope down or use your sights, a slight movement of your hand reduces your accuracy. Firing it almost drops it to zero so you have to control it. Don't quit on the game and go on. Take that "leading-shot" to get an anticipatory kill. There is no bullet following a perfectly straight line so you have to compensate and take chances. This is why a lot of MW2 critiques call MW2 a “Noob-Friendly” game. All gunfire is accurate and has been corrupted to be easier to play for many people to be able to play it.

Now welcome back to a real shooter game in CODBO that offers you a challenge. They even added the “bullet-spread” factor wherein you can see bullets flying in diverted directions if you hip fire and wow, isn’t that “tight”? Getting a guy in your sights does not assure you of a hit specially if he reacts to avoid it. That is why some gamers quit Black Ops 5 mins of their first game when they felt the guns can't kill as easily as it was in MW2. Weapons firing at a straight line should be left alone to gamers playing Star Wars with laser guns, right?

Another great thing in CODBO is that other styles of game play can now actually be applied. Playing “stealth” can work so as the ‘rushing” technique, as long as you have the proper combination of abilities and if you choose wisely based on the upcoming map. Because of this, everyone is encouraged to vary his or her game play and not just the “run around” style encouraged in MW2. The game actually challenges you to be more creative and actually think while you play.

Furthermore, the maps are well designed and balanced, period.

One last thing, real skill is needed this time.