Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter, high-intensity military video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. Set to release on November 9, 2010, CoD is the 7th installment in the legendary Call of Duty series. A sequel to the developer’s previous title in the series, Call of Duty: World at War, Black Ops is the first one set during the Cold War era and is a much grittier game than Modern Warfare 2. The two main characters that the player assumes the role of are Mason and Hudson, Studies and Observations Group operatives on missions behind enemy lines.

They will fight through varying time periods and several locations, including: the Ural Mountains, Laos, Cuba, the Arctic, and Vietnam as footsoldiers. An impressive feature for players who close in on an enemy is a melee attack, ensuring a one-hit-kill. A new mode, the Wager Matches, will allow players to gamble with their money. A separate ranking structure from the standard online modes will be used for players seeking to be one of the top three (the only ones that receive the prizes).

COD: Black Ops is both the embodiment of Modern Warfare and the advancement of Treyarch’s installments into the modern era. The game succeeds in nudging the time period several years forward into the years of Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis while conceding that everyone really loves to shoot their friends in the modern day, anachronistic multiplayer.