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Another year and yet another Call of Duty game. This one, however, marks a bit of a milestone for me. With the future of main Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward currently sitting on shaky ground, it would seem that the proverbial torch has been passed to "B team" Treyarch. I know there are quite a few gamers out there who absolutely despise Treyarch and everything they stand for, but I've admired their tenacity and stood in their corner since 2006's much-maligned Call of Duty 3. What I find more interesting than the internal woes going on over at publisher Activision, though, is the Call of Duty series' ascension through the ranks (no pun intended) and how it's gone from being the little-PC-exclusive-that-could to one of the most successful and critically acclaimed first-person shooter franchises of all time.

Who would have thought that the PC-only Call of Duty, which became a massive success back in 2003, would spawn an expansion pack, six direct sequels, and innumerable spin-offs? Who could have predicted it would turn into the global phenomenon it is currently? I vividly recall flipping through the pages of PC Gamer that fateful year and scanning over a preview that had me and many others frothing at the mouths. This game, appropriately titled Call of Duty, promised realistic hit detection, some destructible cover (which was a big deal at the time), emphasis on historical accuracy, and very few missions where the player went "lone wolf." At the time, games like Wolfenstein 3D engineered a decade old game play aesthetic where any kind of first-person shooter would place you in the shoes of some random, flavorless bad-ass who saves the globe from destruction by way of a plethora of cool weaponry all by his/her lonesome.

Call of Duty changed that. No longer were you on your own, single-handedly taking out the trash. CoD ushered in an era where you were simply a soldier; one small soldier fighting one small battle. The scope of these battles was breathtaking, but the game always saw fit to drive home the idea that you and your squad-mates were making but a small difference in the grand scheme of things. You weren't overthrowing Hitler and his minions; you were just doing what any ordinary soldier tries to do in the thick of battle: survive. That's what separated the early Call of Duty games from every other war-based FPS of the time. Considering the direction the more recent games have gone in (that is more of a summer blockbuster feel than the decidedly grounded nature of the first three) there's still a lot of the first game's ideals floating around amidst the heightened sense of chaos and urgency.

Now, as for that milestone. I'm positive I'll catch some flak for this, but I always find myself favoring Treyarch's games over Infinity Ward's. When Infinity Ward releases a Call of Duty title I'm usually pretty amped. When Treyarch releases a Call of Duty title the clouds seem to part and pour a white light upon my face. Infinity Ward have mastered the art of the set piece, but as a whole Treyarch's entries tend to be better crafted and more refined, while offering game play alternatives. One of the best examples I can give is Infinity Ward's obvious reliance on set pieces while doing very little to the core of their games. I urge all of you who gave their much-anticipated Modern Warfare 2 a free pass last year to play it again. Did you see that? Maybe you didn't notice it at first, but it's definitely there. That's what I'd like to call "resting on your laurels." Oh sure, there's no disputing that Modern Warfare 2 is an excellent shooter, but that's simply because the first Modern Warfare is an excellent shooter. Aside from some cosmetic differences, I'd say Modern Warfare 2 is actually Modern Warfare 1.5.

That above paragraph explains in explicit detail why I've grown tired of Infinity Ward. Granted, Treyarch's World at War was nothing more than a Modern Warfare rehash, but at least it had new characters, weapons, an eclectic soundtrack, great gore, improved graphics, usage of vehicles (that weren't on rails), it took place in a different era, and less reliance on set pieces to disguise the fact that you're basically playing the same game you did last year. Now that I think about it, maybe the only real similarities between the two were the overall game play design and graphics engine. The same can be said for Black Ops. Not only has Treyarch carried over the dark intensity of World at War, they've also carried over some of the characters and it's creepy atmosphere. I've said it once and I'll say it again; if you're looking for Modern Warfare 3 but with Treyarch's logo on the box, you'd do best to completely ignore Black Ops.

Treyarch's latest has more in common with '80s action movies than it does previous games in the series. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for the usage of the Modern Warfare engine you'd be hard-pressed to even label this a Call of Duty game, let alone recognize it as one. That in and of itself is what is going to divide gamers. Treyarch has focused so much on crafting not only an engaging single-player experience, but also a longer and more wholly satisfying one. My first playthrough ran me a good seven hours. That's certainly not uncommonly long but most shooters can't seem to make it to the six hour mark anymore. Not only is the campaign genuinely exciting and full of bite-sized portions of innovation, I think Activision is doing Treyarch an inexcusable disservice by not advertising Black Ops as the edgy game it most definitely is. Treyarch have taken great strides in order to distance themselves from any unfair comparisons that could be made between their game and Infinity Ward's.

What I was most relieved to learn was that Treyarch have carried over the dismemberment functions of World at War while touching up the engine to accommodate for more realistic dismemberments and contextual kills. What's more, however, is Treyarch giving main player character Alex Mason not only a face, but a voice (provided by none other than Sam Worthington). There are even a few brief instances where Mason is seen in the third-person with pre-rendered cut-scenes as opposed to in-game cut-scenes. And I'm sure you've heard by now that World at War favorite Viktor Reznov (voiced by Gary Oldman) makes his return, as does Dimitri Petrenko, the player character from World at War's Russian campaign. The big surprise here is that the roles are reversed: the player controls Reznov and Petrenko leads the squad.

I'm especially fond of how Treyarch has taken World at War's game play ideals & characters and spun them off into a spiritual successor of sorts. I find it refreshing that Activision is essentially allowing them to create an alternate universe within the Call of Duty universe. And if that isn't enough, Treyarch have thrown in just as many cool set pieces as Infinity Ward did with Modern Warfare 2. Some of those include bullet-time shootouts, raiding Fidel Castro's villa, a game of Russian Roullette, flying an attack chopper, piloting a stealth jet, parachuting off of a crumbling mountain top, and shooting your way through a Russian freighter. This is but a small number of those "summer blockbuster" moments you'll find yourself playing through, all handled with the same aplomb (if not more so) than Infinity Ward.

One complaint that seems to be the most common is decrying Black Ops graphics as "ugly" or "a step down." It's working from the same engine as Modern Warfare and its sequel, so I'm sure we all expected to have the same sort of visuals present for Black Ops. But again, these are two entirely different games. Modern Warfare didn't go for the throat in terms of atmosphere or present itself with an in-your-face grittiness. Black Ops does. You'll notice that throughout most of the game it's bathed in very dark, murky colors. Modern Warfare 2 was especially colorful whereas Black Ops is the complete opposite. This isn't supposed to be a "pretty" game. The character models and environments still look spectacular and harness quite a bit of detail considering the engine runs at 60 frames-per-second. These fickle gamers are missing the point; Treyarch wanted to create a gritty, almost surreal experience. With that said, Black Ops’ dingy visuals permeate a feeling of dread and despair throughout its duration. And considering the harsh subject matter, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

I usually don't discuss multi-player components in my game reviews, but color me surprised as I am currently hooked on Black Ops' excellent multi-player mode. The maps are immaculately designed and make it unquestionably difficult to find camping positions. Weapon customization is overwhelmingly in-depth, ranking up is as addicting as it’s ever been, and there are so many game modes you probably won't know which to start with. Every game mode can also be played "hardcore" which eliminates crosshairs, radar detection, and any other kind of HUD or button prompt. My only legitimate complaint is that with Treyarch designing the maps with all intentions of eliminating campers it makes it impossible to find advantageous sniping spots. All of the maps are played best if you favor full-on assault, and sometimes that can cause problems. There's too much running and gunning going on and not a lot of strategy. It makes it worse when the words Team Deathmatch seem to be interpreted as "Deathmatch with a couple of people you can't shoot." No one plays as a team and it all tends to boil down to trying to obtain the most kills with absolutely no concern for your fellow teammates. But there's just too much to like otherwise, from the outrageous number of weapons, attachments, perks, and killstreaks to the well-designed and unarguably spacious maps.

After Modern Warfare 2 I had pretty much written off the Call of Duty series. Don't get me wrong, though, Modern Warfare 2 is no slouch, but I just couldn't shake this feeling that, because of its unparalleled success, that we were probably going to see sequels just like it. That was my biggest fear. I'm happy to report, however, that Treyarch have done what I was hoping they would: make their own game. For the Treyarch haters out there who immediately suspect an awful game simply because their name is plastered on the box need to recognize that Black Ops may not be your cup of tea but does just about everything we could have wanted and does it exceedingly well. Maybe because Treyarch has never received the warm reception of Infinity Ward they feel they still have something left to prove. Not anymore. This review is coming from a long-time Call of Duty fan that had become seriously disillusioned with the franchise. But if this is an indicator of what's to come from the series, or at the very least, from Treyarch, I'm back on-board. Thanks, guys.

10/10