Call of Duty: Black Ops

Overview

Call of Duty: Black Ops is a 2010 first-person shooter developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It is the seventh main Call of Duty game and the sequel to Call of Duty: World at War. It was released worldwide on 9 November 2010 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows, with Wii and Nintendo DS versions as well, and an OS X port in 2012.

It keeps the series' core play: two weapons at a time, a knife that kills at close range, and new tools such as crossbows, a shotgun that fires Dragon's Breath rounds, and ballistic knives. Some levels have you flying a Hind helicopter or guiding troops from an SR-71 Blackbird. Multiplayer launched with 14 maps and brought in COD Points, a currency to unlock gear, a second version of Create-a-Class, and Wager Matches.

The campaign is set during the Cold War in the 1960s. CIA operative Alex Mason recalls his memories to find a numbers station that would signal Soviet sleeper agents to release chemical weapons across the United States. Levels visit Cuba, the Soviet Union, the United States, South Vietnam, Hong Kong, Canada and Laos.

Zombies is a co-op survival mode for up to four players online or two on a split screen. The base game has the maps Five and Kino der Toten, plus Dead Ops Arcade, a twin-stick arcade shooter that unlocks by typing DOA into the data terminal in the main menu.

Development started in 2009 and the game was announced on 30 April 2010. It runs a modified World at War engine at 60 frames per second on every platform except Wii. Treyarch put the whole studio on this one game, with separate teams for each mode, and consulted veterans of US and Soviet special forces. Four paid map packs followed in 2011, each earlier on Xbox 360 than on other platforms.

Reviews were positive, with 87 out of 100 on Metacritic for the Xbox 360 version. Criticism mostly pointed at a linear, rail-shooter feel in the campaign. It sold 5.6 million copies in the US and UK in its first 24 hours, a launch record at the time, and took in US$650 million worldwide in five days. Activision said over 25 million copies had sold by August 2011. Retrospective reviews rank it among the best in the series, and it set up features that became series staples, including Wager Matches, Gun Game and the Nuketown map.

Official trailer

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Launch Trailer, Call of Duty. Watch on YouTube

Gameplay

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Walkthrough: Level 2 - Part 2 (100% Intel), TheMediaCows. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

First-person shooter

Developer

Treyarch

Publisher

Activision

Series

Call of Duty (seventh main game)

Engine

IW 3.0 (modified)

Composers

Sean Murray

Designers

David Vonderhaar, Jimmy Zielinski

Writers

Craig Houston, Dave Anthony

Producers

Pat Dwyer

Directors

Dave Anthony, Corky Lehmkuhl

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

split screen

Online multiplayer

18

Release dates

Editions

Buy this game

Disc IDs

The serial printed on the disc and the case. It tells you which region a copy is from.

Achievements

Achievements71 (1,700G)

1000G possibleYes

Total

71

Gamerscore

1700

100% time

10 to 25 hours

Difficulty

7 out of 10

Playthroughs for 1000G

1

Playthroughs for 100%

1

1000G without online

No

Online trophies

3

Online note

Date Night, In the Money and Ready for Deployment need online play, worth 50G.

DLC has trophies

Yes

1000G includes DLC

No

100% includes DLC

Yes

DLC still for sale

Yes

DLC note

Four map packs add 21 achievements worth 700G. Each is US$9.99 on the Xbox store.

Missable trophies

0

Chapter select fixes a miss

Yes

Separate trophy lists by region

No

Only in a language other than English

No

Languages

English, Japanese

Online-only version

No

Digital-only

No

Disc-only

No

Players with 1000G

3.8%

Gamerscore, base game

1000

Gamerscore with DLC

1700

Grind

• Every campaign mission on Veteran
• All hidden intel

• Death to Dictators Take down Castro with a headshot. 15G 78.61% of players
• Sacrifice Ensure your squad escapes safely from Cuba. 10G 83.65% of players
• Vehicular Slaughter Destroy all enemies on vehicles during the prison break. 25G 43.95% of players
• Slingshot Kid Destroy all slingshot targets in 3 attempts. 15G 25.72% of players
• Give me liberty Escape Vorkuta. 10G 79.16% of players
• VIP Receive orders from Lancer. 10G 78.23% of players
• A safer place Sabotage the Soviet space program. 10G 74.27% of players
• Tough Economy Use no more than 6 TOW guided missiles to destroy the tanks in the defense of Khe Sanh. 15G 22.25% of players
• Looks don't count Break the siege in the battle of Khe Sanh. 10G 69.62% of players
• Raining Pain Rack up a body count of 20 NVA using air support in Hue City. 15G 61.54% of players
• The Dragon Within Kill 10 NVA with Dragon's Breath rounds. 15G 64.53% of players
• SOG Rules Retrieve the dossier and the defector from Hue City. 10G 67.55% of players
• Heavy Hand Use the Grim Reaper to destroy the MG emplacement. 15G 31.56% of players
• Up close and personal Silently take out 3 VC. 15G 56.4% of players
• Double Trouble Use only dual wield weapons to escape Kowloon. 10G 21.19% of players
• Broken English Escape Kowloon. 10G 65.64% of players
• Lord Nelson Destroy all targets and structures while making your way up the river. 25G 26.42% of players
• Never get off the boat Find the Soviet connection in Laos. 10G 61.81% of players
• Pathfinder Guide the squad through the Soviet outpost without them getting killed. 50G 22.29% of players
• Mr. Black OP Enter the Soviet relay station undetected. 50G 23.86% of players
• With extreme prejudice Get to the POW compound in the Hind using only rockets. 25G 15.22% of players
• Russian bar-b-q Incinerate 10 enemies with the flamethrower attachment in the POW compound. 15G 16.39% of players
• Light Foot Escape the ship with 2:15 left on the timer in Veteran. 30G 8.33% of players
• Some wounds never heal Escape the Past. 10G 63.8% of players
• I hate monkeys Kill 7 monkeys in under 10 seconds in the Rebirth labs. 15G 22.01% of players
• No Leaks Make it through the NOVA 6 gas without dying on Rebirth Island. 50G 18.39% of players
• Clarity Crack the code. 10G 58.74% of players
• Double Whammy Destroy both helicopters with one Valkyrie rocket from the deck of the ship. 15G 13.09% of players
• Stand Down Complete the campaign on any difficulty. 35G 56.32% of players
• BLACK OP MASTER Complete the campaign on Hardened or Veteran difficulty. 100G 16.34% of players
• Frag Master Kill 5 enemies with a single frag grenade in the campaign. 15G 14.05% of players
• Sally Likes Blood Demonstrate killer economic sensibilities by taking down 3 enemies with a single bullet. 15G 55.52% of players
• Unconventional Warfare Use the explosive bolts to kill 30 enemies in the campaign. 15G 25.85% of players
• Cold Warrior Complete "Operation 40," "Vorkuta," and "Executive Order" on Veteran difficulty. 25G 15.14% of players
• Down and Dirty Complete "SOG" and "The Defector" on Veteran difficulty. 25G 13.15% of players
• It's your funeral Complete "Numbers," "Project Nova," and "Victor Charlie" on Veteran difficulty. 25G 12.4% of players
• Not Today Complete "Crash Site," "WMD," and "Payback" on Veteran difficulty. 25G 12.3% of players
• Burn Notice Complete "Rebirth" and "Redemption" on Veteran difficulty. 25G 11.81% of players
• Closer Analysis Find all the hidden intel. 15G 7.71% of players
• Date Night Watch a film or clip with a friend. 15G 35.6% of players
• In The Money Finish 5 Wager Matches "in the money." 20G Needs online 41.95% of players
• Ready For Deployment Reach rank 10 in Combat Training. 15G 51.42% of players
• The Collector Buy every weapon off the walls in a single Zombies game. 20G 10.68% of players
• See Me, Stab Me, Heal Me Fire a Pack-a-Punched Ballistic Knife at a downed ally to revive them from a distance. 15G 13% of players
• Hands Off the Merchandise Kill the Pentagon thief before it can steal your load-out. 20G 13.77% of players
• Sacrificial Lamb Shoot at or be shot by an ally with a Pack-a-Punch crossbow and kill six zombies with the explosion. 15G 6.88% of players
• "Insert Coin" Access the terminal and battle the forces of the Cosmic Silverback in Dead Ops Arcade. 5G 70.79% of players
• Easy Rhino In Dead Ops Arcade, use a Speed Boost to blast through 20 or more enemies at one time. 10G 13.5% of players
• Just ask me nicely Break free from the torture chair. 15G 76.18% of players
• Eaten by a Grue Play Zork on the terminal. 15G 38.53% of players
• The eagle has landers In Ascension, escape on all 3 lunar landers. 35G 21.52% of players
• They are going THROUGH! In Ascension, kill at least 5 zombies with 1 Gersh Device. 35G 17.28% of players
• Space Race In Ascension, Pack-a-Punch a weapon by round 8. 45G 6.8% of players
• Chimp on the barbie In Ascension, kill a space monkey with a fire trap. 35G 10.8% of players
• Stand-in In Call of the Dead, send the crew to Paradise in solo or co-op. 35G 6.74% of players
• Ensemble Cast In Call of the Dead, send the crew to Paradise in co-op. 45G 6.17% of players
• Stuntman In Call of the Dead, make a zombie explode using the V-R11. 20G 4.7% of players
• Shooting on Location In Call of the Dead, kill 10 zombies with one Scavenger shot from over 100 feet away. 20G 3.53% of players
• Quiet on the Set In Call of the Dead, cut the lights on the Director. 30G 8.81% of players
• Time Travel Will Tell In Shangri-La, acquire the focusing stone. 75G 4.03% of players
• Blinded By the Fright In Shangri-La, kill a Shrieker zombie while blinded by it. 30G 11.14% of players
• Zomb Disposal In Shangri-La, dispose of a Napalm zombie without it harming any players. 30G 10.8% of players
• Monkey See, Monkey Don't In Shangri-La, get something from the monkeys. 5G 13.86% of players
• Small Consolation In Shangri-La, use the 31-79 JGb215 on each type of zombie. 10G 4.24% of players
• Cryogenic Slumber Party In Moon, complete Richtofen's grand scheme. 75G 5.66% of players
• One Small Hack for a Man... In Moon, hack something. 5G 10.3% of players
• One Giant Leap In Moon, become trapped in the Receiving Area and free yourself through resurrection in co-op. 5G 3.78% of players
• Perks in Spaaaaace! In Moon, purchase every perk in one game. 30G 3.3% of players
• Fully Armed and Operational In Moon, acquire 3 pack-a-punched weapons at the same time. 25G 4.78% of players
• Ground Control In Moon, prevent each excavator from breaching the base in one game. 10G 2.51% of players
• Big Bang Theory In Moon, gain sweet, sweet, revenge. 100G 3.79% of players

Space and patches

Space needed8.05 GB

Update patchTitle update 11

The title updates on record for this game.

DLC

Four map packs came out in 2011, each on Xbox 360 first. Together they add 21 achievements worth 700G. All four are still US$9.99 each on the Xbox store.

Items

Name	Date	Adds
First Strike	2011-02-01	Four multiplayer maps (Berlin Wall, Discovery, Kowloon, Stadium) and the Zombies map Ascension. 4 achievements, 150 gamerscore. US$9.99 on the Xbox store.
Escalation	2011-05-03	Four multiplayer maps (Zoo, Hotel, Convoy, Stockpile) and the Zombies map Call of the Dead, based on George A. Romero's films. 5 achievements, 150 gamerscore. US$9.99 on the Xbox store.
Annihilation	2011-06-28	Four multiplayer maps (Hangar 18, Hazard, Drive-In, Silo) and the Zombies map Shangri-La. 5 achievements, 150 gamerscore. US$9.99 on the Xbox store.
Rezurrection	2011-08-23	Five Zombies maps: four remade from World at War (Nacht der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa, Der Riese) and the new map Moon. 7 achievements, 250 gamerscore. US$9.99 on the Xbox store.

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

The campaign and split screen play offline, and the Xbox 360 multiplayer still runs. On sale for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Online

Online servers runningYes

Plays offlineYes

Multiplayer and online Zombies run over Xbox Live and still work on Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. No shutdown has been announced.

Services

Service	Status	Shutdown date
Online multiplayer and Zombies over Xbox Live	running	None announced

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale	Reviews
Metacritic	Xbox 360	87	100	89

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
Edge	7	10
Eurogamer	8	10
Famitsu	39	40
Game Informer	9	10
GamePro	5	5
GameSpot	9	10
GamesRadar+	9	10
IGN	8.5	10
Official Xbox Magazine (US)	9.5	10
Destructoid	6	10
The Guardian	5	5

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Director	Dave Anthony
Director	Corky Lehmkuhl
Producer	Pat Dwyer
Designer	David Vonderhaar
Designer	Jimmy Zielinski
Artist	Colin Whitney
Writer	Craig Houston
Writer	Dave Anthony
Composer	Sean Murray

Cast

Character	Actor
Alex Mason	Sam Worthington
Jason Hudson	Ed Harris
Viktor Reznov	Gary Oldman
Frank Woods	James C. Burns
Joseph Bowman	Ice Cube
Grigori Weaver	Gene Farber
Numbers	Emmanuelle Chriqui
Nikita Dragovich	Eamon Hunt
Lev Kravchenko	Andrew Divoff
Robert McNamara	Robert Picardo
John F. Kennedy	Chriss Anglin
Friedrich Steiner	Mark Bramhall
Dr. Edward Richtofen (Zombies)	Nolan North
Tank Dempsey (Zombies)	Steve Blum
Nikolai Belinski (Zombies)	Fred Tatasciore
Takeo Masaki (Zombies)	Tom Kane

Notes for collectors

• Dead Ops Arcade unlocks by typing DOA into the data terminal in the main menu, and a second achievement comes from playing Zork on the same terminal.
• The Prestige Edition includes a real RC-XD car that gives video and audio feedback to the controller.
• The German release has toned down gore and a removed level, "Sympathy for the Devil", and the Japanese release censors dismemberment.
• Xbox 360 owners got each map pack roughly a month before PlayStation 3 and Windows.
• After Black Ops became playable on Xbox One via backward compatibility on 17 May 2016, sales of the Xbox 360 version reportedly rose by 13,000 percent.
• The 71 achievements add up to 1,700 gamerscore: 1,000 for the main game and 700 for the four map packs.
• Cuba condemned the game's depiction of a failed attempt on Fidel Castro.

Credits

Publisher

Activision

Developer

Treyarch

Director

Dave Anthony, Corky Lehmkuhl

Released

2010-11-09

Age rating

M (Mature 17+)

Disc ID

41560855

Region

US

Time to beat

about 7 hours

Copies in the shop

• Call of Duty: Black Ops – Steelbook (XBOX 360) CA$15.99
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (XBOX 360) CA$15.99