Call of Duty: Black Ops

"A lie is a lie. Just because they write it down and call it history doesn't make it the truth. We live in a world where seeing is not believing. We live in a world where everything we know is wrong."

- Frank Woods in the world premier trailer


 * For the multiplayer faction, see Black Ops.

Call of Duty: Black Ops (also known as simply Black Ops or BO) is the seventh main installment of the Call of Duty series and was developed by Treyarch. The game was released on November 9, 2010.

The confirmation of the game's development was leaked by David Kim, a senior animator at Treyarch, in May 2009. Black Ops is set in various locations, including Vietnam and Cuba. Black Ops is much grittier than Modern Warfare 2 and the differences between World at War and Black Ops are as significant as the differences between Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. . Black Ops features considerably more stealth than any other entry in the Call of Duty series.

Settings
Throughout the campaign, there are multiple locations around the world.

North America

 * Cuba,
 * Pentagon,
 * Gulf of Mexico

Russia (U.S.S.R.)

 * Vorkuta Gulag
 * Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakh SSR
 * Mt. Yamantau, Russian SFSR
 * Rebirth Island
 * The Arctic

Southeast Asia

 * Khe Sanh, Vietnam
 * Hue City, Vietnam
 * Kowloon, Hong Kong
 * DMZ, Vietnam
 * Laos

Friendly

 * Studies and Observation Group
 * 1st Cavalry Division
 * USMC
 * Op 40
 * Russian Forces (Project Nova only)

Enemy

 * North Vietnamese Army
 * Viet Cong
 * Russian Forces
 * Tropas
 * Nazi Troopers (Project Nova only)
 * Special Air Service (Project Nova only)

SOG

 * Frank Woods - Member of the Studies and Observations Group.
 * Alex Mason - Playable character and a member of SOG.
 * Grigori Weaver - Russian member of SOG.
 * Joseph Bowman - Member of SOG.
 * Swift - Character in "Victor Charlie".
 * Brooks - Character in "WMD".
 * Harris - Character in "WMD".

CIA

 * Robert McNamara - Secretary of Defense for the Kennedy Administration.
 * Jason Hudson - Playable character and a CIA operator.

Other

 * Viktor Reznov - Returning from Call of Duty: World at War and a friend of Mason's who helps him escape Vorkuta.
 * Sergei - A prisoner from Vorkuta.
 * Dr. Daniel Clarke - A British scientist who formulated Nova 6.
 * General - A character in U.S.D.D.

US Air Force

 * Neitsch - Playable character and the controller of the reconnaissance equipment of the SR-71 Blackbird in "WMD".
 * Mosely - Playable character and pilot of the SR-71 Blackbird in "WMD".

Soviet Forces

 * Lev Kravchenko - One of the antagonists in the game.
 * Nikita Dragovich - The main antagonist of the game.
 * Friedrich Steiner - A former Nazi scientist working for the Soviets.
 * Dimitri Petrenko - A protagonist returning from Call of Duty: World at War, this time as an NPC, is Viktor Reznov's closest friend.
 * Fidel Castro - An antagonist who is allied with Kravchenko and the Soviet Union.

Campaign
The game begins with the main character being in some sort of interrogation room, strapped to a chair and surrounded by televisions and other electronics. A voice (Disguised, but obviously a man's voice) starts talking, and begins the interrogation. Mason is asked several questions, then begins to recall one of his first missions. This mission consists of Mason, Frank Woods, and Joseph Bowman attempting to assassinate Fidel Castro during the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba as a part of Operation 40. Mason apparently succeeds in the assassination, but their extraction goes awry, with Mason staying behind to protect the extraction plane. He is captured by the real Castro and the Cuban military. Having formed an alliance with the Soviet Union, Castro hands Mason over to General Nikita Dragovich. Mason is then held captive at Vorkuta Gulag, a Russian labor camp, for two years.

During his imprisonment, Mason befriends Viktor Reznov (a returning character from Call of Duty: World at War), a former Red Army soldier. Reznov recounts Mason the identities of those involved in Mason’s torture: Dragovich, Lev Kravchenko, and an ex-Nazi scientist who defected to the Soviet Union, Friedrich Steiner. All three share a connection to Reznov: in October 1945, Reznov, Dragovich, Kravchenko, and Dimitri Petrenko (protagonist of World at War Russia campaign) were a part of a unit sent to locate Steiner. Once Steiner is found, he leads Dragovich to a shipwrecked SS frigate, containing a nerve agent known as "Project Nova". Steiner tells the effects of the gas to Dragovich, but he wants to see first-hand what the gas does. Petrenko and two other Russian soldiers are locked in a room, then gassed while Reznov watches from a window. Reznov is spared when British SAS commandos attack. During the confusion, he destroys Project Nova. It is salvaged by the Russians, becoming known as "Nova-6". Shortly afterward, Reznov is imprisoned in Vorkuta for killing Russian soldiers during the escape from the ship. At Vorkuta, Mason and Reznov spark a prisoner uprising to escape the gulag, but only Mason escapes.

One month later, Mason is taken to the Pentagon with his new handler, Hudson. Mason is taken to President John F. Kennedy, who authorizes the assassination of Dragovich. In November 1963, Mason, Woods and Bowman are dispatched to Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh SSR to disrupt the Soviet space program, rescue Russian-born CIA agent Grigori Weaver, and eliminate members of the Soviet Ascension program. Dragovich eludes assassination, prompting Mason to search for him over the next five years.

By 1968, the SOG is deployed in Vietnam to investigate the Soviets' presence. After defending Khe Sanh, the SOG is deployed to Huế during the Tet Offensive to recover a dossier with information on Dragovich from a Russian defector. The team recovers the dossier, while Mason encounters Reznov, who is revealed to be the defector. The team later penetrates Laos to recover a Nova-6 shipment from a downed Soviet plane. The mission goes awry and the team is captured. They are taken to a POW camp, and forced to play Russian Roulette. Bowman is killed by a Spetsnaz operative while there. Mason and Woods escape, and regroup with their team. When Kravchenko is caught, he arms a grenade in order to kill the rest of the SOG team along with himself. However, Woods tackles him through a window, and only those two are killed. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Hudson and Weaver interrogate Clarke, an engineer who stabilized Nova-6 in Kowloon. Clarke identifies Steiner as part of the conspiracy, and reveals the location of a hidden facility in Mount Yamantau before being killed by Dragovich's men. Hudson and Weaver head to Mount Yamantau to destroy the facility and apprehend Steiner. During the mission, Hudson receives a transmission from Steiner requesting to meet him at Rebirth Island in the Aral Sea to learn how to halt a numbers broadcast with instructions to release Nova-6 gas in American cities. Meanwhile, Mason and Reznov head to Rebirth Island to assassinate Steiner. Mason believes he saw Reznov execute Steiner, but Hudson and Weaver witness Mason carrying out the deed.

At this point, Hudson and Weaver are revealed as Mason's interrogators. Hudson realizes that Dragovich brainwashed Mason to understand the numbers broadcasts, effectively becoming a Soviet sleeper agent. Out of options, Hudson deliberately sets Mason free in order to follow him. It is revealed that Reznov died during the Vorkuta break out, and Mason’s visions of Reznov are a result of a personality disorder, a byproduct of Reznov having sabotaged Mason’s brainwashing program. Mason was supposed to assassinate Kennedy, but Reznov reprogrammed him to track down and kill the three men responsible for Dimitri Petrenko's betrayal and death. Mason deciphers the numbers, revealing the location of the Russian cargo ship Rusalka off the coast of Cuba.

By dawn, the team launches an assault on the Rusalka, with Mason and Hudson infiltrating an underwater broadcast station protected by the ship, a Soviet submarine station intended to be used as a staging point for US invasion after the planned Nova-6 attack. Confirming that the Rusalka is the numbers station, Hudson calls in the US Navy to destroy the ship and its underwater base. Mason and Hudson finally kill Dragovich in the lower levels of the station, and swim for the surface during the destruction of the targets. Weaver declares victory, but Mason says it is only for now. The story then cuts to a numbers broadcast and then to archive footage of President Kennedy prior to his assassination, with the broadcaster and Mason narrating random numbers. After a second play-through of the archive footage, Mason’s final words, as well as his presence in the crowd greeting Kennedy's motorcade, suggest that he assassinated Kennedy. This theory is supported by Dragovich sarcastically asking "you didn't kill the president?" before he is killed.

Missions
Call of Duty: Black Ops features 15 single player levels.


 * Operation 40
 * Vorkuta
 * U.S.D.D.
 * Executive Order
 * SOG
 * The Defector
 * Numbers
 * Project Nova
 * Victor Charlie
 * Crash Site
 * WMD
 * Payback
 * Rebirth
 * Revelations
 * Redemption

Zombies
Call of Duty: Black Ops features the return of Zombie Mode from Call of Duty: World at War. It is now the only Co-op mode in Black Ops as opposed to World at War, where it was found within the Co-op menu. There are three different Zombies maps available to all players. The first is Kino der Toten. It is the only map unlocked by default. Kino Der Toten features the cast from the World at War maps Der Reise and Shi No Numa facing off against the zombie horde in an abandoned theater. The second map is named "Five" and is unlocked either by completing the campaign on any difficulty setting or through a computer 'cheat' code using the terminal in the main menu. "Five" is set in The Pentagon, where the four playable characters are John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Robert McNamara and Fidel Castro. This is the second zombies map to feature no Nazi Zombies; the other being Shi No Numa. The last 'map' in Zombies is called Dead Ops Arcade. This is not typical Zombies gameplay: instead, it is an arcade style shooter similar to downloadable games found on services like Xbox Live.It is a top-down shooter game in an open environment instead of the first-person shooter style of the other maps. All of these maps/modes can be played in Solo, Two-Player Split Screen or Four-Player Online Mode. The Prestige and Hardened editions of Call of Duty: Black Ops also feature the four original Nazi Zombie maps from Call of Duty: World at War upgraded with the Black Ops engine, new weapons, and other additions such as dive to prone.

All Zombie maps may be unlocked by going to the computer console and typing '3ARC UNLOCK'

General

 * The highest level is 50 and Prestige Mode returns.
 * There are 15 levels of prestige.
 * In the Black Ops rank system, the player must level up to unlock weapons for purchase.
 * Drivable vehicles in the form user-controlled killstreaks such as the RC-XD and Chopper Gunner.
 * Some campaign levels are based off multiplayer maps instead of the typical vice-versa. This change is because some multiplayer maps had been made before the campaign was finalized.
 * Players can now record, manage, edit and upload in-game video clips to their file share via "theater mode."
 * Matchmaking has been changed so that it is easier for friends to play together, and there will be a regional filter.
 * In-game currency is used to purchase weapons and upgrades.
 * Split screen online for the Xbox 360 and PS3 has been implemented.
 * Unlike in World at War, submachine guns have full movement speed while aiming down the sights, as they did in most other Call of Duty games.
 * In Multiplayer, three challenges must be completed in order to unlock pro perks for purchase, instead of just one.
 * It is possible to make custom game modes in private match, for example pistol-only games, and also download these games from the community.


 * The Wii version of the game includes in-game voice chat. This is the first Call of Duty title to include the voice chat feature for the Wii. Nintendo and PDP have partnered to release the first headset to be used with the Wii known as PDP's Headbanger Headset.

Core

 * Team Deathmatch
 * Mercenary Team Deathmatch
 * Free for All
 * Domination
 * Ground War
 * Demolition
 * Sabotage
 * Headquarters
 * Capture the Flag
 * Search and Destroy
 * Team Tactical

Barebones

 * Pure
 * Classic
 * Team Tactical

Hardcore

 * Hardcore Team Deathmatch
 * Hardcore Search and Destroy
 * Hardcore Free for All

Prestige

 * Prestige Team Deathmatch
 * Prestige Hardcore
 * Prestige Pure

Combat Training
Combat Training is a new Game-mode in which players battle against AI opponents. It is intended to help players who are new to multiplayer or players who want to try out new tactics. Players can adjust the AI opponents difficulty to Recruit, Regular, Hardened or Veteran much like the single-player campaign. It can be useful for trying new loadouts, as it is easy to get a lot of kills, and consequently a lot of money and XP by playing with a large amount of AI on a low difficulty setting, on a small map such as Nuketown or Firing Range

CODPoints
CODPoints are a new major feature of Call of Duty: Black Ops. CODPoints are the new in-game currency and allow players to buy weapons, attachments, and Contracts. In addition to this, players are also allowed to wager these points in certain game modes and earn CODPoints by completing Contracts and completing Challenges.

Contracts
Contracts are a new system in addition to the classic challenge system in Black Ops. A player is able to buy a contract with CoD Points, which will then direct them to complete an object. Completion of a contract will yield a higher CoD point payout than what was originally paid for the contract itself.

Wager Matches
A new mode with a separate ranking structure than the standard online modes allows players to gamble with their money. However, only the top three will receive the prize. They will be able to choose the buy in of 10, 1000 or 10000, and also which game mode to play of following (when buying in with 10000, the game mode is random):


 * One in the Chamber - each player is given a pistol with one bullet and a knife. For each kill achieved the player will receive one more bullet. However, each player will only have three lives.
 * Sharpshooter - each player is given the same random weapon. The weapon will be used for 45 seconds before being switched out for another one. Kills will award the player with perks and score multipliers.
 * Sticks and Stones - each player receives only a crossbow, ballistic knife, and a Tomahawk. The catch in this gamemode is that if the player was able to hit an enemy with a Tomahawk, the enemy player will go "bankrupted".
 * Gun Game - players start out with a pistol. For each kill they move up a level, granting them a better gun. First person to achieve kills with all 20 weapons wins. However, someone who is knifed will move down a level.

Create a Class

 * Create-A-Class 2.0 allows players to customize their appearance in addition to their load-out. Players may see what their character looks like while choosing a class, as the player's basic appearance will be determined by their Tier 1 Perk. Players are also able to choose a Face Paint pattern.
 * Some sights such as the Red Dot Sight can use custom reticles which includes choice of shape, as with lens and shape colors.
 * Gun camouflages are far more numerous than in previous Call of Duty games.
 * Players now have the ability to engrave Clan Tags and Emblems onto their guns.

PC-only information

 * The PC version of Call of Duty: Black Ops features dedicated servers.
 * Modding tools and the leaning feature have returned, though it is likely that the modding tools will come out a bit after the game has been released.
 * The PC version uses Steam as DRM and will be using VAC as an anti-cheating tool.
 * Players can choose a server via a server browser screen or use matchmaking to send a lobby to a server chosen by the game.
 * Dedicated servers must be rented.
 * Unranked servers are completely customizable while ranked ones let the renter choose levels and gametypes.

Console-only information

 * Treyarch has claimed that it will be close to impossible to use any kind of mods in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
 * Matchmaking has been changed so that it is easier for friends to play together, as there is now an in game friends list.

Private Matches

 * Players can customize private matches to a much larger extent then any previous titles of Call of Duty.
 * Custom games can be uploaded to the player's file share for the community to play
 * Players can create custom classes for the people playing the match to use.
 * Players can customize the killstreak awards granted to the people playing the match, both changing the reward and killstreak need to attain it.
 * The points system can be customized, including the points gained from kills, headshots, suicides and knives.
 * The health system, weapon power, and explosive power can all be customized separately.

Updates
The latest version of the game is 50.13.30.3 and is applied through an update. Currently only announced for the Xbox 360.

Updates for the PS3 can be found here

Updates for the XBox can be found here

Updates for the PC can be found here

Retail Editions
There are three retail editions:


 * The normal edition, with just the game, box and manual. This edition costs approximately $59.99.
 * The Hardened Edition comes with the game, a Black Ops Medal, a Woods avatar outfit for Xbox Live/PSN Home, and four exclusive co-op maps, which have been revealed to be the four zombie maps from Call of Duty: World at War. This edition costs approximately $79.99 /£64.99
 * The Call of Duty: Black Ops Prestige Edition comes with: RC-XD Video Surveillance Vehicle, Fully custom RC vehicle modeled after in-game RC-XD Killstreak Reward, Video camera to send wireless video to Transmitter, Microphone to send wireless audio to Transmitter, Digital proportional steering and throttle, independent suspension, display stand, limited edition Black Ops Collectors Medal, 4 extra playable co-op maps not in the standard edition, Black Ops Xbox Live/PS Home avatar outfit, Premium, special-edition Steel book-case, and the Call of Duty: Black Ops full game. This edition costs approximately £129.99 /$149.99

Achievements & Trophies
Main article: Call of Duty: Black Ops Achievements and Trophies

Nintendo DS Version
A Nintendo DS version of Black Ops has been confirmed. The game is being developed by n-Space, the developers of the previous three Call of Duty DS games.

Videos
 Video:Call of Duty 7: Black Ops Official Teaser Trailer Video:Call of Duty 7: Black Ops - World Premiere Teaser Trailer Video:Call of Duty: Black Ops Demo Video:Call of Duty: Black Ops Remix feat. Eminem Video:Call Of Duty Black Ops WMD Gameplay E3 2010 Video:Call of Duty Black Ops Multiplayer Teaser Trailer Video:Call of Duty 7: Black Ops - Wager Match Trailer Video:Call of Duty: Black Ops - Flamethrower Video:Call of Duty Black Ops Multiplayer Gameplay (Team Deathmatch Gameplay)

Trivia

 * Call of Duty: Black Ops is the first game to feature British enemies.
 * In the beginning of the trailer, the numbers 2010:3:2 are visible on a digital clock. This was the day Call of Duty: Black Ops was announced, March 2, 2010.
 * At the end of the trailer, Woods is seen holding an M1911. The name "Sally" can be seen scratched into the slide the pistol.
 * The "Sally" pistol has roughly eight tally marks on it.
 * Treyarch employed a motion capture technology similar to the one used in James Cameron's Avatar film, which captures the whole performance of the actor, as well as allowing accurate facial expressions.
 * Call of Duty: Black Ops is the first game that Treyarch has ever devoted their entire staff to with no other games in development.
 * Both Major John Plaster, who served in the MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War, and Sonny Puzikas, a former Soviet special forces operative, were consulted by Treyarch for the game.
 * Players can destroy small buildings and huts with the M202 "Grim Reaper" rocket launcher as shown in the reveal trailer.
 * A recent promotion for Black Ops featured in the Gamer Informer magazine stated that the first 300,000 to pre-order the game will get a two sided poster, and on the other side is something potentially helpful to the player.
 * This is the first Call of Duty game where the identity and appearance of the playable characters are fully exposed. The playable characters appear in cutscenes, and their voices are heard.
 * Studio head Mark Lamia said there is a huge difference between the Vietcong soldiers who charge the player in a near-suicidal fashion and the Russians who are much more stealthy and will hide behind objects.
 * The new game-mode Gun Game originated in a Counter-Strike mod of the same name, wherein the players must kill opponents to level-up so that they may gain access to better weapons much like in the new game-mode.
 * The main menu of the game appears to be the same room as shown in GKNOVA6, the torture room that Mason is in is also the same room.
 * The storyline is all flashbacks with the exception of the last two missions.
 * As seen in Payback demo, originally missions' starting lines looked similarly to the ones from Call of Duty: World at War.
 * There are multiple references to Treyarch throughout the game, usually in the form of the word "3arc".
 * This is the first Call of Duty in the series to feature the new PS3 logo on the box of the game.