[Mrjinglesusa]

I played MW and MW2 on the PS3 and am getting Black Ops for my XBox 360. If you all don't mind having an average/above-average player on your team and need an extra every now and then, feel free to friend me. mrjinglesusa

Once I get adjusted to the 360 controls, I should (hopefully) be at least 1.5:1 (Kill:death) online if my PS3 MW2 online experience is any indicator (which it might not be).

[The Final Dakar]

I think I sent you a friend request Friday.

[Mrjinglesusa]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I think I sent you a friend request Friday.

Really? I'll have to check. I don't remember seeing one. I'll go through the ID thread and friend request those of you who post in the gaming forum most frequently later tonight. Although I don't play nearly as much as most of you, I hope I can hold my own and not embarass myself. LOL

Sweet. I can do this online from work...

[The Final Dakar]

It is wildly possible I misspelled your GT.

[Mrjinglesusa]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

It is wildly possible I misspelled your GT.

No worries. What's your ID. I'll send you a request now...

[The Final Dakar]

Hardened and Warlord seem like the obvious Tier II picks (not counting snipers).

I think putting Marathon on the same Tier with Ninja is to neuter runners, though making unlimited the Pro perk just seems like obstructionism.

I'm curious about Tactical Mask.

[sek929]

So faster ADS doesn't work with scoped weapons? Bummer.

[sek929]

Just played 4 MW2 matches, all wins thanks to yours truly dominating.

25-8, 23-2, 19-2, 21-5

Bring on Black Ops!

[The Final Dakar]

You gonna be on later?

[SpaceMonkey]

Life imitates art? Two men armed with semi-automatic weapons steal 100+ copies of Call of Duty: Black Ops

[sek929]

I'll be on, just finished eating so I'm good whenever.

[The Final Dakar]

This was covered in our general news thread. Back to your PS3, Sony lover.

[SpaceMonkey]

Bah. Missed scooping you by 8 hours.

[The Final Dakar]

I'll give you something you can scoop…

[SpaceMonkey]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I'll give you something you can scoop…

Your cat's poop? I'm confused.

[mattyb]

Played a bit at lunch. Its WaW. Its good but its still WaW with more modern 'stuff'.

Doubt that it'll be as popular as MW2, but I'll still be spending the next few months playing it.

[Jawbone54]

IGN gave it an 8.5. Said it had the best storyline of any game in the series.

Scary:

A word of warning: Multiplayer's stability is suspect so far. A few matches dropped the connection, which is very strange at a review event where the online environment is under the almost total control of the developers. I've also heard from players who are being kicked from lobbies and matches, so don't be surprised if there are a few hiccups on launch day.

Whaaaaaat?

In Black Ops there are three types of Nazi Zombies. The first is pretty standard and presents an old theater to defend. The second takes things in a different direction and puts each of the four potential players (online or off) in the shoes of either JFK, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon, or Robert McNamara with plenty of funny dialogue for each.

Getting a 90/100 so far according to Metacritic.

[Jawbone54]

Kotaku's overall view of the multiplayer:

How does the multiplayer hold up? Multiplayer in Black Ops is largely the same as the core experience found in Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer. You still rank up, unlocking new abilities, weapons and looks. Instead of starting from scratch, Treyarch built on top of what came before it, giving you some new tweaks, modes and maps. The biggest change, though, is the addition of Wager Match, which allows you to bet the COD points you've earned. These points are what you use to unlock things in the game. Losing or winning them can be a pretty big deal and the added level of intensity is a welcome addition to multiplayer. There's enough here to render Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer obsolete.

[The Final Dakar]

So, I gave sek some bad info last night. I thought I read somewhere that this game finally went down to 5 Prestiges each with it's own custom class, but apparently the **********s upped it to 15.

Edit: FYI sek, our Amazon $20 credit expires at the end of the month for some reason,

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Kotaku's overall view of the multiplayer:

Yeah, in what sense?

[KCrosbie]

I'll be on at around 8:30 pst. Hope to see you guys on.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I thought I read somewhere that this game finally went down to 5 Prestiges each with it's own custom class, but apparently the **********s upped it to 15.

In hindsight, I think MW2's 10 was too many prestiges. After you prestige 1-3 times, at least in MW2, was there any reason to prestige again?

[The Final Dakar]

Yes, the Custom Classes.

On a more aesthetic level, only a few good Prestige emblems.

[Kevin Bogues]

According to delivery tracking, my copy was delivered as of 11:15am, assuming I can pull my balls out of the Wasteland, I should be on the next few days .

[The Final Dakar]

No one cares, you'll be in Ground War.

(ap didn't get this, did he? YOu might actually play with us, eh?)

[Kevin Bogues]

No for AP but I'll be playing with you clowns as much as possible, work and hockey being back are really destroying my gaming time

[Mrjinglesusa]

Bad timing on my part. My parents are visiting this week so I won't get much time with this until the weekend....

[Stogieman]

I'll be on tonight. Playing Halo Reach.

[The Final Dakar]

First Black Ops game-breaking exploit found- Destructoid

Call of Duty: Black Ops launched in North America just a few hours ago and already the first game-ravaging exploit has been discovered. Users have already found a way to scam infinity Care Packages in the game's multiplayer mode, thus keeping themselves stocked forever.

Jesus Christ, I haven't even gotten home yet.

I've also heard rumors of Prestige 15 lobbies.

I guess a familiarity with MW2's engine is probably making this easier this time round.

[Jawbone54]

I'm such a freakin' nerd for this, but the customization options available this time around made me more excited than the new modes.

I'm probably going to fall behind on buying perks and weapons because of excessive face paint purchases.

[Leonard]

Originally Posted by Stogieman 

I'll be on tonight. Playing Halo Reach.

So will I.

[The Final Dakar]

GTFO

(**** no caps)

[sek929]

Game just arrived and I am <gasp> going to play some single first so I can unlock Zombies.

See you on tonight you jerks.

[sek929]

Well I didn't get to play any single as Euthyphro and Subie invited me into TDM immediately. Luckily Zombies is already unlocked and I played one match and LOVED it. Anyways...

The multi rocks, like really hard. Just the stat tracking screens are daunting, and I can't even access my own stats yet. Game gives you your K/D as you play, which is more distracting than I'd like, but still cool. Honestly I don't need to explain much, as everyone interested will be finding out for themselves soon enough.

Oh, maybe it's just because it's still really early in the release, but sooooo many people use Last Stand (or whatever the Treyarch equivalent is). I hate last stand, so much, although it appears enemies take damage even when in the 'falling down' animation. So better than MW2, but still annoying.

[The Final Dakar]

I'll be on in 20 - 30.

[sek929]

Just msg me, I'm waiting in the dashboard.

[KCrosbie]

Originally Posted by sek929 

Game just arrived and I am <gasp> going to play some single first so I can unlock Zombies.

You have to play single player campaign to unlock Zombies? What does it take to unlock?

[KCrosbie]

Dakar, how do they scam the infinity care packages? I can't watch video on my PC at work.

[Jawbone54]

Finally called it quits at 2:20 AM. I can't say that I like it any better or any worse than MW2 yet, but one thing I noticed is that the standard map layout is very, very different (I missed WaW and the original MW mutliplayer, so all I have to compare it to is MW2).

It seems like there are very few indoor environments that don't have one or two entrances, but three, four, and even five. It's hard to control an area for any period of time. The maps look nice, but they don't feel quite as thoughtfully laid-out.

However, I am a fan of the new credits system. I made an investment into claymores almost immediately.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

It seems like there are very few indoor environments that don't have one or two entrances, but three, four, and even five. It's hard to control an area for any period of time. The maps look nice, but they don't feel quite as thoughtfully laid-out.

Very true. I wonder how, without good team co-ordination, you can hold an area on some maps. Too many holes to cover.

Tactical mask is shite, nobody uses the gas. Apart from buying Ninja, I haven't spent any money yet. Waiting until either the Famas or Galil to equip it properly, although the Galil doesn't seem that powerful. I've spent 2 hours only using the standard classes but with Ninja instead of Mask.

The sound is duller than MW2 and the graphics aren't even as good as CoD4. But I do like it. Oh, except the dogs. I ****in hate dogs.

[mattyb]

First impression question : is it easier or harder to kill someone in Black Ops than MW2?

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

First impression question : is it easier or harder to kill someone in Black Ops than MW2?

I noticed during the first few games I seemed to be dying quicker, but I've now chalked that up to rust. I've vacillated in my feelings about it.

Also, the FAMAS is now fully automatic instead of the three-round burst. I haven't bought it yet -- I'm completing the M-16 challenges first.

So far I'm playing much differently. I've starting using the silencer with the Ghost perk about 80% of the time, which I didn't do often in MW2.

My K/D currently sucks. Only in the last five or so games last night did I start bringing it back up a bit.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Very true. I wonder how, without good team co-ordination, you can hold an area on some maps. Too many holes to cover.

Tactical mask is shite, nobody uses the gas. Apart from buying Ninja, I haven't spent any money yet. Waiting until either the Famas or Galil to equip it properly, although the Galil doesn't seem that powerful. I've spent 2 hours only using the standard classes but with Ninja instead of Mask.

Actually, I've barely seen people using tactical grenades at all. Semtex and frags, but very little stun/flashbang/gas.

The sound is duller than MW2 and the graphics aren't even as good as CoD4. But I do like it. Oh, except the dogs. I ****in hate dogs.

The sound for all CoD titles pales in comparison to BC2. The sound in that game is incredible.

I've only come across the dogs once.

[The Final Dakar]

First Impression Time!

UI
Jesus ****, what is wrong with you people. MW2s menus weren't exactly an exercise in efficiency, but they look streamlined in comparison to Black Ops'. You can probably bury yourself 10 levels down in certain spots, and god help if you if you had to explain how to do something without the benefit of the game in front of you.

Credit System (Early Impressions)
No. For starters, it's gimmicky. For those of us who like to Prestige it also disincentivizes experimentation, as where once you tried perks and weapons while waiting to unlock certain favorites, now you just unlock what you want and move on from there. Not good for a series that's notorious for boiling down to a few weapons and perk combos.

Then, there's the mixed function. I can use the money to buy better weapons to buy emblems? Really? And better yet, you don't actually buy the emblems, get to buy the right to buy emblems. With no ability to preview what's in a pack. Holy shit.

Lastly, it adds a layer of odd complexity/confusion. I'm earning credits and xp. The ****? At least Halo did that right, and went straight cR. It also makes for an even more frustrating "I have the money but I can't spend it because I'm not the right level yet." Just unlock shit at levels and be done with it or make everything purchasable from the start (Or give us some many unlocks per level). And I'm not sure I quite understand the Contracts yet (Money for XP?).

The Leveling System
I need to be level 13 to see my own stats.
I NEED TO BE LEVEL 13 TO SEE MY OWN STATS?!

Ok, Let's move on.

Killstreaks
Less interesting. I find the RC cars controls about as smart as Halos. I love what the Spy Plane does, but I think it's over-priced. The Not-predator missile is a little clunky, but probably deserves a few more tries. Care packages land like lead weights (which is good). And I'm very happy I haven't had to deal with the dogs yet.

Perks
There's no stopping power. Hallelujah. I feel as free as a guy who broke up with his girlfriend the release day of a major game.

Weapons (Early Impressions)
The M16 is toned down (if not inconsistent), The FAMAS is fully automatic and what I'd consider the new TAR, and the MP5k made me think of the broken MP40 of WaW which I never played.
There was a sequence last night where I tried to pick someone off from a moderate distance with the FAMAS and even burst firing just couldn't do it. This is probably for the best.

Secondarys: Shotguns got moved to primaries and got a buff. Not digging that so far.

The Ballistic Knife: A throwing knife with no travel time. This could get bad.

Also, the attachments are ugly. I'll blame the time period.

Sound
I compared guns firing to being at a stand at the fair where you shoot at the metallic ducks moving horizontally.
Lacking presence.

On the plus side, the asian accents have brought a side of me you people likely didn't know exists.

Maps (Early Impressions)
They seem more open, and more... not symmetrical, but balanced. There are still good spots to hold but they seem less common, less obvious and look like they would require more people to hold effectively. This all seems good in the early going. So far they have a few cool and somewhat vibrant locations as well.

On the other hand, the spawning has been arguably worse. On map's circular design unconsciously led teams to spawn kill. Another had a team spawning in this open zone where we would invade and until they were obliterated. If I died, I'd spawn a stone's throw from the zone and was able to jump back in and murder the other team. A third map, two of use were near the edge of the map for a minute when we suddenly died. We still have no idea how the guy got behind us, and therefore, blame spawning. A Fourth was two small and only two spawn zones, to the point where I was killing people who just spawned and having their teammates spawning behind me.

Online/Party
A lot of improvements made here. Friends are easier to find thanks to Y button (though arguably harder to invite because the back button is not right hand accessible). Now your party is colored blue in the lobby for easy identification. Party leader has the ability to pull the entire group when he leaves, as well. Treyarch even went so far as to integrate party chat in such a manner as it will identify on screen who is talking in game. These are all fantastic much needed improvement.

The downside is matchmaking is as ugly as in MW2s early days. While I suspect some of the issues are due to people settings/ISPs, since we weren't having these problems in MW2 just last week the game has to take its fair share of the blame here.

The Stats System (Early impressions)
This, like the UI system is needlessly cluttered. On top of that there seem to be some nonsensical stats being tracked. This of itself isn't bad until you realize its supplanted some pretty standard info.

As of right now there are no generic leaderboards. I have no idea what anyone k/d or w/l is. Separating stats by playlist seems intelligent, but recording the overall kills and deaths of my teams seems utterly pointless and uninteresting.

Online stats don't seem to be available yet.

---

That's all I have off the top of my head.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Finally called it quits at 2:20 AM.

Wait, were you on while were playing? You were listed as gameless away from the time I got home til the time I logged off.

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Very true. I wonder how, without good team co-ordination, you can hold an area on some maps. Too many holes to cover.

I can't complain so far. Feels right.

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Tactical mask is shite, nobody uses the gas.

I'm using it and got a kill with it last night, to boot.

Originally Posted by mattyb 

First impression question : is it easier or harder to kill someone in Black Ops than MW2?

The M16 feels weaker from distance but all I did was take MP5s up the ass for the first two hours I was on. I felt Monday night I had adjusted to the kill times of MW2 (compared to Halo), but the MP5k last night seemed even faster.

[The Final Dakar]

Forgot: Perks/Sound - Not sure how big Ninja is. I think I have yet to kill someone from hearing them approach, perhaps thanks to the sound quality in this game.

I can't seem to find a cold-blooded effect for killstreaks, and that's rather disappointing.

Only briefly glanced last night, but don't like some of the requirements to get Pro for perks.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

Jesus ****, what is wrong with you people. MW2s menus weren't exactly an exercise in efficiency, but they look streamlined in comparison to Black Ops'. You can probably bury yourself 10 levels down in certain spots, and god help if you if you had to explain how to do something without the benefit of the game in front of you.

I spent plenty of time between matches just trying to find simple things. Not sure what their thinking was here. This is about as bad as the 2K series.

Lastly, it adds a layer of odd complexity/confusion. I'm earning credits and xp. The ****? At least Halo did that right, and went straight cR. It also makes for an even more frustrating "I have the money but I can't spend it because I'm not the right level yet." Just unlock shit at levels and be done with it or make everything purchasable from the start (Or give us some many unlocks per level). And I'm not sure I quite understand the Contracts yet (Money for XP?).

It really didn't really bother me. The credits do indeed devalue the leveling up process, but I'll get used to it.

Killstreaks
Less interesting. I find the RC cars controls about as smart as Halos. I love what the Spy Plane does, but I think it's over-priced. The Not-predator missile is a little clunky, but probably deserves a few more tries. Care packages land like lead weights (which is good). And I'm very happy I haven't had to deal with the dogs yet.

Killstreak kills don't count towards the streak, do they? I forgot about reading that until I realized I wasn't getting any love from all the RC kills.

I only managed to call in one attack helicopter, but it seemed like it has a little more difficulty in finding targets.

I find the napalm strike to be really enjoyable when I'm not on the receiving side of it.

Perks
There's no stopping power. Hallelujah. I feel as free as a guy who broke up with his girlfriend the release day of a major game.

I admit I wasn't happy about it, but it's probably good for me.

Weapons (Early Impressions)
The M16 is toned down (if not inconsistent), The FAMAS is fully automatic and what I'd consider the new TAR, and the MP5k made me think of the broken MP40 of WaW which I never played.
There was a sequence last night where I tried to pick someone off from a moderate distance with the FAMAS and even burst firing just couldn't do it. This is probably for the best.

Great. They killed my FAMAS.

Secondarys: Shotguns got moved to primaries and got a buff. Not digging that so far.

Hate it.

On the plus side, the asian accents have brought a side of me you people likely didn't know exists.

Bahhhh...your avatar made it relatively clear.

Maps (Early Impressions)
They seem more open, and more... not symmetrical, but balanced. There are still good spots to hold but they seem less common, less obvious and look like they would require more people to hold effectively. This all seems good in the early going. So far they have a few cool and somewhat vibrant locations as well.

It's going to take several weeks before I get a good feel for the maps. I have yet to party up with anyone, which changes everything. They seem a little cluttered in some places, and the aforementioned multiple-entrance issue leaves me tense for the entirety of the match.

On the other hand, the spawning has been arguably worse. On map's circular design unconsciously led teams to spawn kill. Another had a team spawning in this open zone where we would invade and until they were obliterated. If I died, I'd spawn a stone's throw from the zone and was able to jump back in and murder the other team. A third map, two of use were near the edge of the map for a minute when we suddenly died. We still have no idea how the guy got behind us, and therefore, blame spawning. A Fourth was two small and only two spawn zones, to the point where I was killing people who just spawned and having their teammates spawning behind me.

I got spawn-killed three times in a row, in probably less than ten seconds, on VIlla. Nuke Town was a problem too, but that's because it's the size of my back yard.

As of right now there are no generic leaderboards. I have no idea what anyone k/d or w/l is. Separating stats by playlist seems intelligent, but recording the overall kills and deaths of my teams seems utterly pointless and uninteresting.

Really? I thought I found y'all's stats last night pretty easily.

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Wait, were you on while were playing? You were listed as gameless away from the time I got home til the time I logged off.

I had to work pretty late last night. For some reason, November/December became photo season for tons of people. Have a wedding to shoot this weekend too (KAAAAHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!). I tried to make it to level 20 before signing off, but I pooped out halfway through 18.

The M16 feels weaker from distance but all I did was take MP5s up the ass for the first two hours I was on. I felt Monday night I had adjusted to the kill times of MW2 (compared to Halo), but the MP5k last night seemed even faster.

I've been using the M16 most of the time. It's definitely tough to use from a distance. I had a good run with an SMG, but I can't remember the name of it...

Also, Nuke Town is chaos. I had my second-best match there, but it's pure chaos.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Forgot: Perks/Sound - Not sure how big Ninja is. I think I have yet to kill someone from hearing them approach, perhaps thanks to the sound quality in this game.

Since equipping it, I've snuck up on about 8 guys who were completely clueless to my presence. I'm digging it.

I can't seem to find a cold-blooded effect for killstreaks, and that's rather disappointing.

Ahhhh...because Ghost only shields you from spy planes? I didn't realize that.

Only briefly glanced last night, but don't like some of the requirements to get Pro for perks.

Two will be fairly attainable, then a third will often be borderline insane. I like the system though -- it just better be worth the trouble.

I've been looking out for enemy claymores next to thin walls so I can get an equipment take-out with penetration.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

I spent plenty of time between matches just trying to find simple things. Not sure what their thinking was here. This is about as bad as the 2K series.

I compared it to Live '99, when my bitching about Uis in games started in earnest.

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Killstreak kills don't count towards the streak, do they? I forgot about reading that until I realized I wasn't getting any love from all the RC kills.

I'm fine with that.

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Great. They killed my FAMAS.

Well, the FAMAS was just an M16 with negligible differences. It's still been the early go to choice for the majority of the population.

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Bahhhh...your avatar made it relatively clear.

Err... what?

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

I got spawn-killed three times in a row, in probably less than ten seconds, on VIlla. Nuke Town was a problem too, but that's because it's the size of my back yard.

Nuke Town was Map Four.

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Really? I thought I found y'all's stats last night pretty easily.

$5 says you only think you did. Remember anything that you can share here?

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Since equipping it, I've snuck up on about 8 guys who were completely clueless to my presence. I'm digging it.

That's the exact opposite of what I'm talking about.

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Two will be fairly attainable, then a third will often be borderline insane. I like the system though -- it just better be worth the trouble.

Two I looked at required shooting at killstreaks. **** you. I'm Ghost Ninja for a reason and its not to give away my position shooting at shit I can avoid.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I compared it to Live '99, when my bitching about Uis in games started in earnest.

Ugh...Live...

I'm fine with that.

I thought it would guarantee that I didn't ever see the 11-kill streaks, but I made it to 8 (one of the very few brights spots for me).

Well, the FAMAS was just an M16 with negligible differences. It's still been the early go to choice for the majority of the population.

I'm curious about the hidden weapons. I know I could check online, but I'm looking forward to being surprised.

Err... what?

I thought I recalled someone joking about that during a match once. We spent a minute or two trying to identify your ethnicity through your avatar.

My avatar identifies me as a cracker with Irish roots who probably listens to Coldplay.

Nuke Town was Map Four.

???

Separate note: "David Vonderhaar of Treyarch stated that shooting the heads off all mannequins within a certain amount of time unlocks
a special surprise.'"

$5 says you only think you did. Remember anything that you can share here?

Yeah, there's no way I'm remembering until I get home and look again. My short-term memory sucks.

Two I looked at required shooting at killstreaks. **** you. I'm Ghost Ninja for a reason and its not to give away my position shooting at shit I can avoid.

Oh, I've been trying to get my 200 rounds into aircraft. I haven't checked my progress, but I guarantee it's over 100 so far.

I felt like an idiot the whole time I fired.