(scroll down to see video) - Arguably one of the most popular First Person Shooter series of all time, Treyarch are set to launch the newest instalment of Call of Duty, Black Ops, on November 9th. Black Ops predecessor, Modern Warfare 2 (which sold a total of 20+ million copies), smashed records across the globe, earning $310 million in its first day of launch in North America. Modern Warfare 2 also destroyed previous records in England, becoming the biggest media launch of all time. To give you some idea of what a huge accomplishment this was, The Dark Knight movie earned $155 million on its opening weekend, half of that of Modern Warfare 2.

Pre-Orders Soar as PC Fans Roar

There has been a lot of doubt surrounding the release of Call of Duty Black Ops, mainly from the PC community. A large number of players attempted to form a boycott group threatening not to buy the game because of the large amount of problems with Modern Warfare 2. Matchmaking problems, lack of dedicated servers, hackers unchallenged and numerous other problems meant Modern Warfare 2 received heavy criticism from players because of the lack of multiplayer support and organization from IWNet. None of the issues really got any attention, and it was for this reason that Activision decided to avoid using IWNet’s services again, although a lawsuit and a bunch of other red tape was involved.

GameStop recently announced that Call of Duty Black Ops pre-order reservations smashed that of its predecessor and predicted it to be the biggest selling game of 2010, if not all time. Other game retailers such as Game (UK) have also announced record breaking pre-order numbers; it doesn’t take a genius to work out that Call of Duty Black Ops boycott group failed in their mission.

With much of the negativity of Modern Warfare 2 being left behind, players have started to focus on what Call of Duty Black Ops can offer them and why it will be different from Modern Warfare 2. The game currently has a closed beta allowing players to test the game for bugs and exploits before release, a large number of the which have published content about the game and given away a lot of previously unreleased information. The game takes all of the much loved features of previous titles in the franchise and raises the bar on practically every level. Sit and think about what really annoyed you about Modern Warfare 2, if this next list doesn’t send your doubts packing, nothing will.

New Killstreak Rewards
• RC-XD (remote control car rigged with explosives)
• SAM Site (Drops a place-able anti aircraft SAM Turret)
• Napalm Strike (Engulfs entire areas in flames)
• Mortar Team (Select 3 locations on the map to get bombarded with mortar shells)
• Valkyrie Rocket (First person controlled rocket launcher)
• Chopper Gunner (You actually sit in the chopper controlling the gun)
• Gunship (Fully controllable helicopter with a minigun and rockets)
• And more...

If these Killstreak Rewards don’t get your inner Rambo excited, you’re lost to gaming. Having seen a large number of these in action myself, they create a great atmosphere in the game as there is always some huge explosion or cascade of bullets waiting around every corner which really induces a sense of immersion and excitement. And that’s just talking about the Killstreaks. They’ve added a total of 15 perks, some old Perks return with an overhaul and some totally new ones appear with additional effects. One of the most interesting is the Hacker Perk, this Perk allows you to booby trap an enemy care package and also turn enemy Killstreaks into allied weaponry, a very interesting concept. Just protected your awesome Gunship packed from an enemy assault? Don’t be so sure you’ll survive opening that box.

More Than Just Sweet, Sweet Killing

Along with the new Perks, Killstreaks and Weaponry, Call of Duty Black Ops comes with a whole new currency and unlocking system. Each game you play earns CoD points which in turn can be used to purchase new Perks, Killstreaks and Weapons. Unlike Modern Warfare 2, once you reach a certain level you will unlock everything in that particular area, and once you hit level 10 you gain access to every Killstreak reward in the game but you still have to earn the CoD points to purchase it. This allows for much more customization when creating your perfect build which in turn adds more variety to the multiplayer aspect of the game.

With big developers allowing players to directly affect future titles with feedback and criticism, the future of gaming is looking good. With the next generation of consoles already on peoples mind, what could they hold in store for a popular franchise like Call of Duty? Can we expect warfare on a much larger scale featuring hundreds of players per map? We may even finally see real destructible environments that fall apart and explode in totally unique ways every time. What do you think about the next generation of First Person Shooter games? Stop by our PS4 forums; let us know what you think.

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