Call of Duty: Black Ops Multiplayer, Modes and Details Preview
Treyarch showed us during a special event in Los Angeles that they are ready to take multiplayer in the COD series to a whole new level. At the even Treyarch’s Online Director Dan Bunting and Multiplayer Design Director David Vonderhaar took the stage to announce new multiplayer modes for the new title.
For the first time ever in the series Call of Duty: Black Ops will feature offline multiplayer. This offline bot mode is being dubbed Combat Training, and uses a completely different rank progression. You can play this mode alone, or with friends. Treyarch wants to think about this mode as a new opportunity to get multiplayer training before you test your skills online.
New perks are also shown off in the game. Tier 1 perks now affect how your character looks in the game. For instance the Flak Jacket perk has your character running around with an actual flak jacket on for extra protection.
Also, two new killstreak weapon care packages were shown. One is a chain gun called the Death Machine, and the other is a missile launcher named the Grim Reaper. Some other new killstreaks include a napalm strike, a remote controlled car, new gunships, mortars, and a SAM turret to take down gunships.
The multiplayer now incorporates a monetary system called CP or Call of Duty Points. Players will earn this currency as they play, which is then used to unlock weapons. This puts a spin on the series, which allows for a more diverse player set. Players can take on challenges called Contracts to earn points in the game. There are three categories within this challenge – Mercenary, Operations, and Specialist. Mercenary reward players for their kills and killstreaks, Operations rewards based on team interaction, and Specialist shines on unique play styles.
A new form of gambling has made its presence known in the title in a new mode called Wager Match. In this mode players can bet COD points, and the top three players split the points. This mode includes four new game types:
-One in the Chamber – Players start with pistols only, with one bullet and three lives. If you kill someone you get another bullet.
-Sticks and Stones – Players start with a crossbow, a ballistic knife, and a tomahawk. If a player is killed with a tomahawk then they get bankrupted and lose all their points for the match.
-Gun Game – all players start with a pistol and every kill rewards you with a better weapon. The first player to progress through all of the weapons wins, and those who get knifed will lose a level.
-Sharp Shooter – All players start with the same randomly selected weapon. The weapons cycle, but everyone has the same weapon.
Along with this newly ramped multiplayer mode, Treyarch also went all out with the weapon customization abilities. Players will now be able to forge customized emblems and decals to their weaponry, as well as attach custom targeting reticules. Players will also be able to edit, rotate, and scale images to place on all of the weapons they have unlocked.
The final showcase was the Theater Mode, which allows players to record clips and create screenshots to share online, just like in Halo 3. the camera works the same way as in it can be switched between third and first person as well as free roam.
It seems that Treyarch had good reason to cover up a lot of the multiplayer media for this long. They have given all they have to take the multiplayer experience to a whole new level, and when the game releases this November we will get to see this first hand for ourselves.
