We are Legion

Yeah, I did it. I bought Call of Duty: Black Ops. Joined the legion of players doing the COD thing, it really is the hip thing to do. I really purchased this game for one reason, and that's the zombie survival mode. Had a friend not introduced me to this mode, I would have never purchased this game. It was never really on my radar as the online component is really what most people buy this game for, and the style of play; run in, spray and pray, die, respawn, and do it all over again, style of play has never really been my thing. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good shooter. I dryhumped the crap out of MAG, and before that Killzone 2 and Gears of War were in my drives for months. I have just avoided COD games due to the style of online play. Zombie mode is great for me, as it can either last a long time; if you're working together as a team and are a reasonably good shot, or it can be over in just a few short minutes.

Of course, I wouldn't be posting if I didn't have a slight problem now would I. I finally got pulled into the REAL online play of this game last weekend. You see, I have a few on my friends list who get sick of killing npc zombies over and over again, and wanted to do some of the “real” online. I went along with it, thinking it wasn't what I had always thought it was. It was. I can't even begin to tell you how closely it matched my expectations. Between people quitting to save their K/D ratio or stats, and hosts leaving the game, which by the way, is such an utter pain in the ass that alone would frustrate you since if the host leaves, its a sixty second wait for a new host to be selected. The “real online” is exactly as I expected, twitchfest central. Not my cup of tea,but it seems to be quite popular, and I've heard some really hilarious conversations (read COD fights) while playing. Price of entry was worth it for the zombies, but don't expect anything above and beyond for online play, its just not there. The conversation is fun though.

On a side note, this article popped up http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=277520 and it made me chuckle. There are people starting a petition for a refund of the PS3 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops due to it lacking in many areas. The refund will never happen, of course, and these consumers would be better off petitioning Sony to get one of their first party studios to make an exclusive shooter..... OH WAIT!!!!!!! HAHA

Bottomline is, I hopped on the COD bandwagon, and I don't regret my purchase, it's a fun game that I'll get my money out of, but the online is not without its (many) flaws.....

-BroodFather