For those who've followed my blog, I am officially dropping out of the BaD 30 day challenge. I gave it my best shot, but missed too many days to consider continuing it in sincerity. After 10 blogs, time was my adversary, and I humbly bow down in defeat after #20.
Anyway, I spent the last week playing "Black Ops" campaign mode. I went against my own standard of playing on the most difficult setting, "Veteran", and played through on "Hardened" difficulty. In my opinion, you get the best experience from a campaign by playing on the hardest setting. "Hardened" was no walk in the park, but I think beating it on "Veteran" would've been more satisfying, especially in terms of achievement points.
I absolutely love the "Black Ops" story. While I find the way COD games jump around a timeline and have you play as different characters a bit confusing, I now understand why this is necessary to help develop a rich plot. Plot twists that involve psychological play, like multiple personalities or dreams, need to be carefully directed in order to sell the audience, and Treyarch did just that. It was a bit predictable towards the end, the way Reznov kept appearing against all odds, but the way the punchline was delivered made it worthwhile.
In reference to some of the cutscenes, "Black Ops" is probably the most violently graphic game I ever played, and some of them were brilliant. I especially enjoyed the "Russian Roulette" sequence.
Other highlights I enjoyed:
Travelling down a river, battling it out while "Sympathy for the Devil" plays in the background. Whoever thought of that deserves a raise.
Flying an SR-71 Blackbird. While you really don't get to maneuver it like other aircraft, I thought it was cool that they featured that beautiful plane in the game.
Going to battle in a hazmat suit in the midst of a "Nova 6" toxic gas cloud.
And, finally, the fact that all along you were playing the role of a soldier who was subjected to MK: Ultra mind control. This tells me that Treyarch did their homework.
Overall, Treyarch delivered a top notch title, from graphics, to sound, to plot, and everything in between. It reminded me of why some companies need to make triple A blockbuster games. They truly shine when they're done right.
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