2 cents about Black Ops

I'll admit it... I was geeked up for Black Ops... really geeked up. Was it perfect....? No.

But it is the second best Call of Duty to date.

I'll miss playing it. Granted, I'm not selling it... I just tend to move forward rather than linger on the past. It introduced a number of things I really liked. Things that aren't in Modern Warfare 3 that could have been... and one that will be around COD again (I hope).

1. Buying any attachment I want.
• This was awesome. Some people think unlocking things shows "accomplishment". People who play a lot know it's a grind.
2. David Vonderhaar
• The best, most interactive dev in the business. Period. I made a somewhat snarky post (but sincere) over a year ago... he just calmly explained how it was. Since then, I came to know a man who had real passion for COD and a commitment to the community... a straight up cool guy. Some folks have called me a Vahn "fan boy" (that's some funny crap) but I just respect him. I've gotten a chance to game with him. 402 needs to speak to him and learn.

Not what everyone else will miss about Black Ops. Just what I will. One of the two could have been in MW3. Vahn will be there for COD 2012... I hope.

My 2 cents.

Next... 1 for the home.

3 is the pits

I've been an avid Call of Duty player since 2007 and COD4 but unlike 80% of the players, I prefer to play Hardcore. However, since COD4, the playlist rift between Core and Hardcore continues to grow.

MW3 may take the cake.

For some reason, COD development teams have this preconceived and ill-conceived notion that Hardcore is a "niche" as @fourzerotwo referred to it. Sorry, but 15-25% of your players aren't a "niche". Let's take a look at some numbers from Black Ops yesterday:

• Totals Players in MP: 703,062
• Total in Core: 565,954
• Total in HC: 111, 392 (16%)

In Core, 38% of the players play TDM (30% of all players), 36% play HQ, SnD, and Dom combined. The point? 75% of all Core players play 4 game types yet they are afforded more than 16 options. For HC, players spread out over 4 main options, TDM, SnD, CTF, and HQ. Two of which weren't even in the game at launch.

Two of which aren't in MW3.

Black Ops added new wager match modes but not in Hardcore, of course. Lots of new options for the Core player in MW3, too. Kill Confirmed and Team Defender. Sounds cool... oh, wait...

Hardcore doesn't get Team Defender.
... or Headquarters.
... or CTF.

Treyarch got the hint to a certain extent... too bad IW didn't get the hint form the start.

Instead, we're stuck with the 3 pits at launch.





Next... 2 misses.

Just sayin'.

Looking forward to the hybrid sight... just sayin'.

And will miss the reticule customization of Black Ops... just sayin'.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas - A Black Ops Tale

Christmas is alomost here... and for vet gamers. that means one thing...

Loads and loads of free kills.

So, I thought I would write my own verison of the Night Before Christmas with a Black Ops twist...

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the net
Black Ops vets were smiling from the kills they would get
Controllers were set by the console with care
Knowing new players soon would be there

The kiddies were thinking of kills in their heads
Not knowing how quickly they soon would be dead
MW2 was easy, they could always tube
So of course Black Ops will be friendly to noobs

Morning had come and so anxious to see
That copy of Black Ops under the tree
As the wrapping is torn, he can barely sit still
Anxious to post that first clip of his skill

The disc it gleamed when set in the tray
Controllers charged and ready to play
While he plopped on the couch to join the fight
And the tv it hummed, coursing with light

The game finished loading, it wouldn’t be long
Because combat training would make him strong
He couldn’t decide the first weapon he’d try
Or what attachments he wanted to buy

Now Uzi! Now AK! Now Famas, Galil!
On noob tube! On red dot! On Weapons of steel!
With so many options from which to choose
There was no way in hell he was going to loose

He moves about quickly, all through the map
Mowing down friend-bots, Ratta-tap-tap-tap
“This game is easy!” he says out loud
So smug and so sure and surprisingly proud

Two minutes later, he’s in a lobby
Surrounded by prestigers and some dude named Robby
Their emblems are slick, their scores are high
But he knows he’ll get them, they’re waiting to die

Once into Deathmatch, he started to run
With lightweight, grenade and MP5 gun
He rounded a corner, anxious to kill
But fell over dead by a shot from a hill

I died too quickly, that isn’t fair
The game just started, he couldn’t be there
Yet two steps in on his second life
He’s stabbed in the back with a ballistic knife

Run and gun is not working, unsure what to do
Because there’s no default weapon with a tube
He smiles to himself and changes his class
He’ll find a dark corner and camp off his ass

Sitting all snug, his aim at the door
Thinking of corpses littering the floor
When through the window and what should appear
Grenades and semtex full of holiday cheer

When the game was over, he sat there all stunned
Going 20-0, that would have been fun
Instead his score was so pitifully low
All he did was die, everywhere he’d go

While the vet sat smiling, his score through the roof
So happy the kiddies ignored the truth
Modern Warfare was easy. Black Ops is tight.
“Merry Christmas to all, and to vets a good night!”

 
Merry Christmas!
 
 
Cheers,
RAN

And to all, a good night...

I remember vividly the anticipation of Christmas morning as kid. Sneaking down the stairs to see what Santa had left... looking at how full the stocking was. Trying to will myself to go back to sleep so that my when my mom woke me up, it would be time.

I feel like that this November. Right now.

My stocking is full of frags. The tree ringed with claymores. And Santa... he left me 15 levels of prestige to last for months. The anticipation is all but over... now, the fun really begins. I hope to remember how I feel now when the first twinge of frustration takes over. It's a great feeling.

Merry Christmas, Call of Duty fans.

It's Black Ops night.

Try and Have a Little Judgement

I love the customization in Black Ops... or at least I think I will when I get the game at the midnight launch.

I'm not going to love all the garbage people will be putting up.

Like this piece of crap:

I know Treyarch has a ban system in place.

I think it's time to give that baby a run, too.

Generation Now...

Myself, I'm of the generation the media labeled "X". Somewhere between graduating college and my first child, Generation"Y" came along. To be honest, I have no idea what the current generation's been labled (in more truth, I don't care) but I know what I think of it:

Generation Now.

Looking for music... hit up iTunes. Need a new book... now, where did I put my Kindle? Let's not forget the 2,000 things you can do with your phone on demand. This is you... and me. Everything on demand or there's something wrong.

What happened to patience? Case in point... Black Ops.

Black Ops is not the first game to played early, bought from stores that don't honor their commitments by players who don't have the patience to simply wait for it be released. Is there anything wrong with this? A little. All it would have taken is for the store owners to simply say, "Sorry but it's for sale on the 9th." But in this economy, they feel the pressure to make a sale. If they don't, the guy down the street will.

Because Generation Now demands it.

In the end, the person holding that copy of Black Ops is most responsible. They knew what the release date is. Gotta be the first to stream "ma skilz" or post my clip on YouTube. Hopefully the servers will be reset (never should have been turned on anyway) and the playing field will be a little more level day one. It's just a shame no one could show a little restraint, a little patience.

But that's not Generation Now.