Call of Duty®: Black Ops Reviews

The game is still extremely good after 14 years. I played most of it on the ps3 but the PC version is still really good. The overall story of the game is a must play for fps and story game fans alike, the zombies mode is an all time classic with many of the iconic maps coming from this game. If you want to play online use the plutonium mod because of security issues with the base game.

The very first call of duty game that I ever played, black ops zombies will forever hold a special place in my heart

Probably one of the best call of duty's I've played great story and zombies mode, sadly never got to experience the multiplayer.

Classic zombie game, challenging, addicting, and really fun to play with friends. Pro tip, save your cash for the $1000 and up weapons.

Up there with the best campaigns in fps history(shit even gaming history in general). I love this game more than my own son dude

easily top 3 Call of Duty games of all time. Forever holds a special place in my heart playing this game on my 360. Very fun, zombies is great, overall amazing.

its very fun including the zombies and compain and i think it desrves more attention peak game.

Game no longer launches. Tried many fixes and different systems.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is a landmark entry in the franchise, not just for its gameplay, but for the distinct identity it established with its Cold War-era setting and psychological thriller narrative. Released in 2010, it was a bold shift from the modern military themes that had defined previous titles. Rather than focusing solely on military spectacle, Black Ops blended historical fiction, espionage, and conspiratorial storytelling, offering players a darker, more complex experience. The result was a campaign that stood apart in tone and scope, cementing Black Ops as a standout moment in the Call of Duty timeline. The story revolves around CIA operative Alex Mason, who finds himself strapped to an interrogation chair while mysterious voices question him about a series of numbers. From this chilling premise, the campaign unfolds through a series of flashbacks that bounce between covert missions in Cuba, Vietnam, Russia, and other Cold War hotspots. The game's strength lies in how it uses these missions to gradually unravel Mason’s fractured memories and reveal deeper layers of manipulation and control. Alongside Mason are memorable characters like Frank Woods and Jason Hudson, whose personalities and roles evolve in surprising ways. The plot toys with unreliable narration and psychological twists, keeping the player guessing about what is real and what’s been implanted in Mason’s mind. Gameplay in the campaign is tightly paced and cinematic, delivering everything from stealth infiltrations and sniper duels to intense firefights in jungle warfare and urban conflict zones. The missions are varied and often visually striking, despite the hardware limitations of the time. Set-pieces are explosive but never overstay their welcome, and the gunplay is responsive and satisfying. While the moment-to-moment action largely follows the traditional Call of Duty formula, the thematic weight of the narrative adds a layer of depth that gives the violence more context and consequence. The game also introduces some on-rails vehicle sections, like piloting a helicopter or guiding missiles, which break up the shooting rhythm effectively. Multiplayer in Black Ops continued the franchise's trajectory toward competitive refinement. It introduced the now-iconic “Create-a-Class 2.0” system, featuring COD Points, which allowed players to purchase weapons, attachments, and perks instead of unlocking them solely through leveling. This economic system added strategic layers to customization and progression. The map design was excellent, with memorable arenas like Nuketown, Firing Range, and Summit that supported fast-paced and dynamic matches. Killstreaks were powerful but balanced, and the combat felt tight and competitive. The introduction of Theater Mode and the Combat Training mode for offline practice further solidified Black Ops as a complete and accessible multiplayer package. Zombies mode, which originated in World at War, was vastly expanded in Black Ops. It introduced a deeper lore and more elaborate mechanics that turned a bonus mode into a full-blown experience of its own. Maps like Kino der Toten, Five, and Dead Ops Arcade became iconic in the fanbase, offering replayable and challenging co-op experiences. The mode’s blend of survival horror, resource management, and cryptic storytelling gave players plenty of reasons to return, and it laid the foundation for what would become a staple in future Treyarch-developed Call of Duty games. Technically, the game performed well across platforms at the time of its release. On PC, the experience was smooth for most players, though some early launch issues and server hiccups marred the multiplayer rollout. Over time, patches stabilized performance. Visually, the game doesn’t hold up to modern standards, but its art direction and atmosphere carry it a long way. The grainy, gritty tone fits the Cold War setting perfectly, and the soundtrack—both its original score and licensed tracks—adds a cinematic intensity to many scenes. Voice acting is also top-notch, with Sam Worthington, Ed Harris, and Gary Oldman delivering strong performances that brought the characters to life. More than a decade later, Call of Duty: Black Ops remains a defining entry in the franchise. Its commitment to storytelling, memorable characters, and inventive setting set a new bar for what a Call of Duty campaign could be. The multiplayer and Zombies components only further enhanced its legacy, offering both casual fun and competitive depth. While newer entries have pushed technical boundaries further, Black Ops is still worth revisiting for its narrative ambition and how confidently it broke away from genre conventions. It wasn’t just another shooter—it was a psychological thriller dressed in military gear, and it carved out a unique identity that helped shape the direction of the series for years to come. Rating: 9/10

I really like these games—Black Ops 1, 2, and 3 are some of my favorites, full of nostalgia and great memories. But even though I like them a lot, I wouldn’t recommend them to everyone because of security issues, be careful buying an old game such as black ops 1, black ops 2 and black ops 3 is might get your device RCE Exploit(Your device gets hacked just by running the game) Most importantly: the game is possibly not secure. There is a security vulnerability described below. Opening any CoD made prior to 2015 and connecting to the internet will result in a chance for people to gain access to your pc. 2 security breaches are known: CVE-2018-20817 (SV_SteamAuthClient in various Activision Infinity Ward Call of Duty games before 2015-08-11 is missing a size check when reading authBlob data into a buffer, which allows one to execute code on the remote target machine when sending a steam authentication request. This affects Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Call of Duty: Black Ops 1, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.) CVE-2018-10718 (Stack-based buffer overflow in Activision Infinity Ward Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 before 2018-04-26 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted packets) These are some things they can do even if you just boot up the game and get to the menu: Hidden Remote System Access System Information File Manager Hidden Desktop Usage Monitor on/off Hidden Browser Usage Open/close CD Hidden Chrome Usage Show/Hide taskbar Start Up Manager Hidden Firefox Usage Show/Hide Start Button Task Manager Hidden Edge Usage Show/Hide Explorer Remote Shell Usage Show/Hide Clock TCP Connection Show/Hide Tray Reverse Proxy Show/Hide Mouse Registry Editor Hidden Explorer Enable/Disable TaskMgr UAC Exploit Enable/Disable Regedit Disable WD Disable UAC Format All Drives DDOS attack Audio recording Webcam recording Device information Process hollowing Credential stealing Discord token stealing I have reviewed every CoD I own that is older than 2015 with these vulnerabilities as harmful and put those 2 CVE's under the description why. This is to warn others about the issues, as I am not a networking or security expert and can't advise on how to mitigate the risk other than to not install the game at all. It's my slim hope that by leaving this review, the issue might be noticed by Activision/Treyarch and action may be taken. Update: note that a similar RCE exploit was found in Black Ops III and appears to have been fixed in a 2023 update. I have not found reliable information indicating a fix for this game