Black Ops News

These are little quotes of black ops:

While they’ve tried having custom killstreaks for each class, that seemed to complicate the ‘purity and speed’ of Create a Class.

Consequently, it’s fair to assume that customizable killstreaks are all but confirmed.

At this stage in development, killstreaks stack and carry over if you die, but do not contribute to further killstreaks (hence eliminating the ‘camping for killstreaks’ problem of Modern Warfare 2).

Treyarch are not fans of Commando, the extended melee range perk in Modern Warfare 2, and it is unlikely to return.

They’ve tried a ‘manned’ version of the Sentry Gun killstreak, but weren’t fans.

We may well see a return to pistols as the only available sidearm, or perhaps a choice between pistols and launchers.Vahn and many of the team are not fans of shotguns and machine pistols as secondary weapons – it gives a player ‘too much firepower’.

The knife may well become a secondary weapon – although Vahn didn’t want to say too much.

Finally, don’t expect the nuke to return as a killstreak. Vahn says they are not fans of a game-ending killstreak


The 14th is finally here, and that means the Black Ops hype train is rolling along with the unveiling of new gameplay details in the UK's Official Xbox magazine and PC Zone magazine. Let's go ahead and jump into the details.

As reported, Black Ops will be set during the lengthy span of the Cold War, taking you from the war-torn jungles of Vietnam to the frigid mountains of Russia. Treyarch has said that by visiting some of the newer locations, they're hoping to bring some much-needed variety in scenery to the franchise.

As you might imagine, Black Ops was described by OXM as "unbelievably gorgeous", with improved fire and smoke effects, as well as improved character animation and "incredible" lighting. Treyarch's last installment was an extremely appealing game to the eyes, so we can only imagine how fantastic Black Ops will look with the praise it's already receiving in the art department.

As VG247 reported earlier this year (LINK), we'll be assuming the role of a member in the Studies and Observations Group, a crew that worked as a smaller team, dealing in "black operations" missions. We're still banking on our character being that of Frank Barnes, a "a fiercely patriotic veteran of WW2… A solid leader, possessed with an excellent ability to assess and respond to any situation quickly and decisively.".

The missions you'll take part in with the S.O.G. that have been detailed look to be exciting. The mentioned missions include those where you'll be rappelling from a chopper into Hue City, Vietnam in order to check up on some backroom Russian dealings, and a mission that looks to be revisiting a feature that was cut from World at War, swimming. Following a chopper crash into the Huong River, you're left to swim through the dark waters with only your blade to protect you. Sounds like one hell of a ride!


Some of the new weaponry we'll be handling is the military crossbow, which gives you the ability to either go with a stealth kill or switch over to your explosive tips and go out with a bang. Explosive seems to be a trend here, because also mentioned are the M202 launcher and an "incendiary shotgun". If you've been following the GKNOVA6 happenings (LINK), you'll recognize Dragon's Breath, which was mentioned a few weeks ago. This is a standard shotgun, with the round being specifically developed to deliver a "spark" that can reach up to 20 feet in length, making this, in a sense, a short-range flamethrower.

Not stopping there, we'll also be getting our hands on some more vehicles this time around, and it looks to be in both the campaign and multiplayer. Treyarch stated that although vehicles would be returning, they're "not the way you remember them". Aside from that bit of vagueness, OXM also mentions that not only will we be able to control a helicopter, we'll be having badass helicopter-on-helicopter battles.

Last but not least, Treyarch did confirm the return of a 2-4 player co-op mode, but are remaining silent on multiplayer. The mention of "increased character customization" does have our ears perked up a bit though.


“They were in the same place we found Halo’s ones, more or less. Microsoft isn’t being too careful to hide the keys, but we expect that to change in the future. For now we will do the same thing we did with Reach, keep the keys under wraps until the Beta is fully announced, then share them.”


"We've taken some creative risks," Lamia confides. "We want to do something different than we've done before. It's time."

"We want the game to speak for itself," Lamia says repeatedly.

"Without mincing words, this is guaranteed to be one of this year's very biggest, and best, Xbox offerings."

- We'll be fighting the North Vietnamese Army in certain missions.
- You're an off-the-grid, best-of-the-best badass with a more important secret agenda.


- Spas-12 confirmed with Dragon's Breath incendiary rounds

"You're not just relegated to mini-gun man who holds down the trigger and nudges the aiming reticle around the screen. For once, you're flying the helicopter. And firing the missiles. And the mini-guns. That's a lot better, eh?" OXM

"The start of "WMD" sees you climbing into iconic Cold War spy plane, the SR-71 Blackbird. You take off, the screen fades out and you're then providing recon from space to the troops down below."


"As you pick your way through the Huong River, you have to get past the huts and villages built upon the water. This means diving and swimming through the murky river with only your knife for company." OXM

"So we're stretching the rules a bit, but you have to see it in action. With a vertigo-inducing viewpoint and wach crash back into the cliffside felt with a bone-jarring thud, it'll make you feel queasy."


- Vehicles will return, but "not in the way you remember them from WaW".

- There will be "dedicated co-op" with separate levels. Treyarch changed the subject when we asked about World at War's hugely popular Nazi Zombies.

- A multiplayer beta's being "considered", Lamia told us with a literal wink.

- Treyarch will be improving mulitplayer by taking on feedback - even going so far as to openly acknowledge the under-the-map glitches that initially plagued World at War.

- Changes are being made to the matchmaking to "make it easier for [players] to get into games with their friends."

- Multiplayer was up and running so early that some campaign levels were actually built from multiplayer maps.

- Create-a-Class 2.0 will allow you to customise yourself like never before. This should include kit and appearance items as well as perks.


"Payback - This sees you clearing out a helicopter crew before jumping into the helicopter, take off and...you're controlling it! It would be easy to slide into cynical gamer mode and expect to be relegated to mini-gun duty, but by god, you're actually controlling the helicopter."

"The evolution Treyarch has undergone between World at War and Black Ops feels very familiar. In fact, we don't have to look far to figure it out. We saw this exact kind of "oh-ha!" corner-turning in game design and execution from this very franchise back when Infinity Ward leapt from A-list to the AAA-list between CoD2 and the first Modern Warfare.

"We're all-in on this," affirms Lamia, noting that for a studio who previously had three games in development at once, their entire 200-plus roster is now focused on Black Ops."

As you can see from the excitement in this article, Call of Duty: Black Ops definitely looks to be impressing the industry. Judging by the comparison to the leap from CoD2 to Modern Warfare, it looks like we've got something great in store for us, something that we have yet to see from the Call of Duty franchise.