Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Black Ops

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and Treyarch and published by Activision (Square Enix in Japan). It is the tenth installment of the Call of Duty series, celebrating the series’ 10 year anniversary. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U on November 12, 2013. It was released later for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on January 21, 2014. The PlayStation 4 version contains Blu-ray 3D quality, making it more high-def.

Modern Warfare Black Ops is the first game in the Call of Duty series to be a crossover between the Modern Warfare series and the Black Ops series. It was also the last game developed by Infinity Ward and Treyarch before both video game development companies merged in 2014 as Infinity-arch.

Gameplay
Unlike previous Call of Duty entires, Modern Warfare Black Ops' milliatry aspect takes on the stealth genre of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell and the action-adventure genre of Tomb Raider. The game's heads-up display is much different than compared to other heads-on displays from other Call of Duty games. The lower left-hand corner features a mini-map and compass for navigation; the lower right includes a compact ammo counter and health meter. The mini-map, as well as the main game screen, shows symbols marking three kinds of entities: blue for allies, green for squadmates, and red for enemies.

Players can now use dual-scoped weapons, including weapons with different firing modes (e.g. single shots, automatic fire). They can also "spot" targets—marking them on the map—for teammates to either suppress or eliminate.

Modern Warfare Black Ops also includes a new Mech suit gameplay in the Call of Duty franchise were players can now plot a Mech suit.

Campaign
The player assumes the role of various Tier 1 upgraded operator characters called “Tier 2 operators” during the campaign, changing perspectives throughout the progression of the story, which like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1, 2 & 3 is divided into three sets of missions called "Acts". Each mission in an act features a series of objectives that are displayed on the heads up display, which marks the direction and distance towards and from such objectives. Damage to the player is shown by the percentage of blood splatter shown on the screen. The player's health regenerates over time. Mission objectives vary in their requirements, ranging from having the player arrive at a particular checkpoint, to eliminating enemies in a specified location, to standing their ground against enemy squadrons, manning mini-guns and other weapons, and planting explosive charges on an enemy installation. Some of these objectives can be failed, and may or may not hinder progression of the story. The player is also accompanied by fellow soldiers who sometimes can or cannot be issued orders.

Co-op mode/gameplay
Modern Warfare Black Ops is the first Call of Duty game in the series to include an online Two-Player Drop-In/Drop-Out co-op mode for its campaign.

When playing in co-op, the guest player is allowed to complete the same objectives as the host player. The host and guest player are also allowed to revive their partner if their health is down.

Multiplayer
The multiplayer in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Black Ops would be unlike that in any previous Call of Duty to date. The developers have confirmed character customization, dynamic maps, and many new players movements such as sliding, leaning around corners, and better interaction with the environment. Mark Rubin said that there would not be a "lean button", like it was in previous games, but instead, approaching the wall, looking at the edge of wall and aiming down the sights will lean the player out. Players that have pre-ordered Modern Warfare Black Ops via GameStop would receive a bonus map, called Free Fall. Free Fall will take place in a ruined skyscraper that continues to fall as the match progresses. Every drop will create shock waves that cause further destruction, altering paths and causing the map to change in real-time.

The entire Killstreak reward system has been revamped into Tokenstreaks, and kills are no longer the only way to increase the player's tokenstreak. Completing objectives such as planting the bomb in Search and Destroy or capturing a flag in Capture The Flag awards points towards the player's Tokenstreak. Tokenstreak rewards are organized into three different "strike packages" called Assault, Support, and Specialist.

The Assault strike package works the same as the Killstreak reward system in Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops: the player must earn more and more points without dying. Once the player is killed, his or her points are reset to zero. Likewise, the Specialist strike package rewards players with perks after every second consecutive kill. Upon death, however, the player loses all the perks and the points are reset to zero. In contrast, the Support strike package are awarded based on the total points that the player has earned over the entire match, regardless of how often the player dies. It is important to note that if a player switches to a custom class with a different reward system (either assault or specialist) during game play, all points are automatically reset to 0. Players are allowed to choose which Tokenstreak rewards they want to use when they gain it during the match, rather than choosing them between rounds.

Along with revamping the entire Killstreak reward system, Modern Warfare Black Ops also has a completely modified Ranking and Unlocks system, which does not use a currency system for unlocks. The player's primary weapon levels up alongside the player, and unlocks a number of "Proficiency" perks such as Attachments, (allows two attachments and is a successor to the "Bling" and "Warlord" perks), Kick (reduced recoil while aiming down the player's sight) and Focus (reduced flinching while under fire). Only one Proficiency can be put on a primary weapon. Another new addition is the ability to equip "Hybrid Scopes" on a weapon, such as a Reflex Sight a magnifier similar to an ACOG on the same weapon, and the player can switch between the scopes. Modern Warfare Black Ops introduces a new "Prestige Shop" which will unlock only after the player has selected the option to prestige for the first time. The "Prestige Shop" allows Prestige players to use tokens they gain from using the Prestige option to buy exclusive features such as double XP and an extra custom weapon class.

Modern Warfare Black Ops utilizes Treyarch's hot fix system to fix bugs and glitches. Modern Warfare Black Ops features a local and online split-screen option.

New game modes have also been added:


 * Squad Deathmatch: the same multiplayer mode in Battlefield 3 where it pits four squads against one another whose goal is to reach a score of 50 kills before any other squad.


 * Team Rush: a downsized version of the Rush Gamemode and instead of having 24-32 players in a game it's reduced to two squads, equaling 8 players in a game (up to 4 players per team).

There are 12 different tier two units from ten different nations that players can choose from. Reserving the game will give players access to additional content, including additional weapons and perks.

In addition to the nationalities, there are six distinct classes that players select from: Spec Ops, Sniper, Assaulter, Demolitions, Heavy Gunner, and Point Man. Each class has specific benefits and abilities that are unique to their class. These nationalities and classes are only available in multiplayer mode.

Characters
The playable characters of the game are: Sonic the Hedgehog, the leader of Task Force Hero and the main protagonist of the game, G.U.N. Ranger unit Commander Shadow the Hedgehog; Delta Beta Force operator Lieutenant Captain SpongeBob SquarePants; "Ghosts" operative Staff Sergeant Henry "Hesh" Weston; S.A.S. Sergeant Marcus Burns; Jason Hudson's grandson Corporal Ryan "Booth" Hudson of SEAL Team Six; and Nolan Blane, a federal security agent tasked with protecting the President.

In co-op, the guest player assumes the role of either; Ash Ketchum, who is also the second main protagonist, E-123 Omega, Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, Hesh's brother, Corporal Sam “Sector” Weston, S.A.S. operative Sergeant Wallcroft and Robert Bowness, Nolan's partner in federal security, depending on what mission the host player and guest player are playing.

The game also sees the return of former Task Force 141 Cpt. John "Soap" MacTavish (voiced by Kevin McKidd) as a playable character in co-op, former S.A.S. Cpt. John Price (Billy Murray) and Russian informant "Nikolai" from Modern Warfare 1 2 & 3. The protagonist of Black Ops 1 & 2, Alex Mason returns as well along with his son David "Section" Mason and Frank Woods.

Other non-playable characters (NPC) include; Delta Beta Force operatives Patrick Star, Captain Eugene H. Krabs, Sandy Cheeks and Squidward Tentacles who serve as SpongeBob's teammates. McGarrett's teammates of Five-0 include; Detective Sergeant Daniel "Danny" (or "Danno") Williams, Detective Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly and Officer Kono Kalakaua. Characters returning from Black Ops II include; David's friend and partner Mike Harper and Admiral Thomas Briggs.

The game features two main antagonists instead of one from the previous Call of Duty games (except World at War). The primary antagonist of the game are Vladimir Makarov's son Rezone Makarov and Lieutenant General Shepherd's son General Sam Shepherd.

Plot
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Black Ops takes place in the year 2037 following a catastrophic event that changed the global balance of powers in the world. As a result, the United States and Russia forces enter an alliance and rage war on an unknown enemy with the help of the characters from Pokémon, Sonic X and Hawaii Five-0 along with Nickelodeon characters and the characters from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Throughout the campaign, the protagonists learn that two humans from their world (Rezone Makarov and Sam Shepherd) have unleashed the catastraphy on humanity.

Development
On February 7, 2013, Activision confirmed that a Call of Duty game was in development and would be released Q4, 2013.

The game debuts an engine built by the developers, originally described as a new engine, but later clarified to be the same engine as used in previous games with "significant" upgrades.

Reveal
On April 29, 2013, the official Call of Duty website was updated with a social media mosaic that filled up every time a user logged into the site via Twitter or Facebook. The next day, the mosaic was completed and the picture showed a skull along the text "the Ghosts are real." Some details about Call of Duty: Ghosts leaked prior, especially when Tesco pulled the listing of the game for the PlayStation 3 after it was put up accidentally. Several other retailers, including Target, listed it for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. The live-action teaser trailer for Ghosts, titled "Masked Warriors", features glimpses of people wearing historical battle attire, among them one of a group of soldiers putting on the skull mask shown on the box art. It was released on May 1, 2013. However, rumors went around that Call of Duty 10 would be the series' 10 year anniversary installment and that Infinity Ward and Treyarch would develop the game together. On May 10, 2013, Activision confirmed that Infinity Ward and Treyarch were developing Call of Duty 10 together. On May 31, 2013, Ghosts, which was previously announced as the tenth Call of Duty title was putaside due to negative feedback from most Call of Duty fans as some of them wanted Infinity Ward and Treyarch to develop the game. On June 2, Modern Warfare Black Ops was announced to be tenth Call of Duty title.

Ghosts was later released on November 17, 2015 when Infinity Ward and Treyarch merged as Infinity-arch.

Audio
The game's soundtrack was composed by Jack Wall, with the main theme composed by Trent Reznor, the leader of industrial rock project Nine Inch Nails since 1988 and Brian Tyler.

Downloadable Content
The first major DLC entitled Splinter Cell Ghost was announced on January 7, 2014 and released for Xbox 360 on January 28 and PC and PS3 on February 28. The pack contained five new multiplayer maps - Downhill, Hydro, Mirage, Off-road Hurry and Grinder.

The second major DLC pack entitled Tomb Raider Hunt was released for Xbox 360 on April 15, 2014 and will come out for PC and PS3 players on May 15. The map pack consists of three multiplayer maps, entitled "Scared Caverns", "Cliff-jump Shantytown" and "Burning Village".

Marketing and release
On May 20, 2013, Activision released the first gameplay trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Black Ops on YouTube ahead of its official premiere during the NBA Western Conference Finals. On May 29, 2013, Activision announced Call of Duty: Joint Task Force-Elite, the new upgraded social service for the Call of Duty community to track and compare statistics, create videos and access premium content. The service is fully integrated into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Black Ops, and launched on November 12, 2013 to coincide with the game's release. On June 16, 2013 at 7:00 p.m., the first live gameplay co-op demo of Modern Warfare Black Ops was presented by Robert Bowling and David S. Goyer at the Canadian 2013 MuchMusic Video Awards. The demo was previously slated to appear on June 11, 2013 at E3 2013, however, the demo was delayed due to development difficulties.

Retail versions
Modern Warfare Black Ops was released in four different retail versions across the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms: Standard, Hardened, Veteran, and Prestige. The standard version consists of the game and an instructional manual, and is the only version available for the Microsoft Windows platform. The Hardened Edition consists of the game and manual (which are packaged in a steel book case), an art book, and a token that allows one to download Call of Duty Classic, a hi-definition version of the original Call of Duty game, from Xbox Live Arcade or the PlayStation Store (Classic was released individually on December 12, 2013). The Prestige Edition contains all of the elements of the Hardened Edition, but also includes a set of fully functioning night vision goggles, imprinted with the Modern Warfare Black Ops logo, and a stand modeled after the head of the character Sonic the Hedgehog. The goggles are powered by five AA batteries and can see up to 50 feet in absolute darkness. On September 10, 2013, Activision and Microsoft jointly announced a special, limited Modern Warfare Black Ops version of the Xbox 360 with a 250GB hard disk. The unit is highlighted by special game product branding and includes two wireless controllers and a headset. This is the first Xbox 360 to come with a 250GB hard drive. On September 12, UK and rep of Ireland retailer GAME announced a Veteran Edition of Modern Warfare Black Ops would be exclusive to rep of Ireland and UK. It will come with a 12" (30.5 cm) tall statue of Sonic the Hedgehog with interchangeable arms and weapons; has the same contents as the Hardened Edition. In September 2013, a Veteran Statue Bundle of Modern Warfare Black Ops was posted on the EBGames website and is available for all platforms.