Black Ops Review, #2

  In case you've wondered where Will was these past few days, it's safe to say that I have had a steady helping of both CoD Black Ops and Halo: Reach.  "What!?" you cry in dismay when you see this- "How can Will desert his beloved Halo for that crappy Treyarch game?" Well, I'm here to give you a review of the game in my opinion, because I know, deep down, that you were wondering whether or not to purchase the game or not.  Read on to see my take on Treyarch and Activision's newest creation.

The Foup

Foup #4: An Indecent Proposal(not like the movie)

Call of Duty Black Ops came out a week ago. According to Team Xbox.com, it sold 5.6 million copies, or $360 million dollars worth of games. I know this is a Halo blog, but a game this big I should bring up in at least one in-depth blog about the game, which I prefer, and whether you should buy it(if you haven't already).

So yes, I bought the game, and guess what, I have both of the Modern Warfares as well. Sometimes you need a little COD on the side, but Halo will always be the true lady of my life(sad as that might be). I've been kind of a COD fan as long as Infinity Ward was making the game, and although I was never good at the game's, they were fun as hell. So this time I took the plunge and bought a Treyarch Call of Duty; lets see if it was worth the $60 and change it cost me.

First thing to know about this game is that it is a Call of Duty game post the first Modern Warfare. This means that it is very similar to the style of the other's. It's main point will be a very fun multiplayer with extremely customizable weapon's, class, and perk structures, and killstreaks, with a somewhat realistic type game-play. The side-show will be the solo campaign with constant overblown action, and some sort of co-op mission gameplay. This system tends to work fairly well to produce a game that will have kid's beg, plead, commit crimes, sell drugs, solicit sex, guess star on According to Jim, be in a Stephen Sommers or Michael Bay movie, or do whatever dirty work they have to do buy the game(by the way, that list goes in increasing intensity)

I'll start with the campaign. I personally think it is one of the most interesting fictionalized stories in a Call of Duty game. It is really interesting, and to say the least, there is a device that keeps you hooked the entire game. The literal gameplay is traditional COD, as in you follow a route where you kill a bunch of baddies with guns from the time period. One thing I have to ssay about the action in the game is that its very Pierce Brosnan James Bond(or Michael Bay, but I really don't want to use his name twice in the blog). For those of you who don't get the references, there is constant action, which at a certain point, becomes overwhelming. Finally, the best thing about the campaign, and possibly the entire game, is the voice acting straight outta Compton. That's right, Ice Cube voices the token black guy in the campaign, as well as narrating some of the games. I think it is awesome to hear Ice Cube's voice telling me to fight harder, because if I don't, he'll probably fuck me up like he did to those police.(N.W.A. reference for those who don't get it).

Multiplayer. The single most important part of a Call of Duty game. Guess what? Its the same as every other Call of Duty game. Unfortunately, the minor additions to the game are cool, but not revolutionary enough to call the multipayer anything unexpected or out of the ordinary. The main new addition is the money system, which I have pretty much found pointless. It's a system in which you earn money with which you unlock all your new guns, emblems, face paint, etc. The problem is, you still have to level up to buy things(I would rather have them cost differently, since every gun costs $2000) and money is easy as hell to get. If you do well, you can buy a gun after one or two matches. The other addition to multiplayer which I do find fun are wager matches. Wager matches allow you to bet the money you earn on fun-type games like one in the chamber (where all you have is a pistol, knife, and a bullet to play a match with) or gun game(where you get different guns based on your position in the game). These matches are extremely fun, but overall the multiplayer is just more of the same.

Co-op mode=NAZI ZOMBIES
Yes, its back. Arguably the only reason to buy COD: World at War has arrived on black ops, and its awesome. There are three new maps, and two of them are extremely worthwhile, while the other is a fun novelty. The first map is most like Der Rise as much as it has the teleporter and pack a punch that were so vital in reaching level 30 in the first zombies. This map is completely different though. It has an abandoned mansion feel and an overall creepier vibe. Its also 10x harder. First couple times I played, I barely made it past level 5, and Doc could hardly make it past level 3( to give him credit, he was eating a Mcgangbang at the time). The other map allows you to defend the pentagon as Richard Nixon, JFK, Fidel Castro, and some other guy no one cares about(I believe he's Russian ). It has some twists that I won't spoil, but trust me they are awesome. The third is an arcade zombies which is fun for a while but to be honest I couldn't see myself playing that over and over.

Overall, this is another Cod game with a couple of new features. Obviously, Reach is an all-around better game, but I'd pick this one up. It is very entertaining, and nothing is better than hearing Ice Cube tell you your in the lead online.

Additional Thought:
The look of this game is kind of off. For the really dark storyline, this is probably the most bright and colorful Call of Duty I've seen in a while. Kind of throws me off.

Doc's Advice #8: What Did You Say?

Ellohay, Reachers. In Doc's Advice #3, I discussed the origins of the word "noob". I got some positive feedback from people, so I decided to do another one. Now, this word is more used in computer gaming. However, I have definitely heard this word on multiple occasions and its multiple pronunciations while playing Halo: Reach. I am talking about the word "pwn".

"Pwn," has many alternate pronunciations. Personally, I pronounce it pone, i.e. rhyming with the words bone and cone. Nevertheless, I have heard it pronounced pawned ane pee-owned. The word is fun to say regardless of pronunciation. Pwn is a slang word of the verb owned and means to dominate, humiliate, or to take ownership of.

But where did this word come from. Well, would you believe that this popular word began from a simple typo. Look at your keyboard. The letters "o" and "p" are right next to each other. The belief is that a prominent Warcraft II map designer made a custom map that displayed a special message to losing players. The message was supposed to say with the gamers name in the blank "___ has been owned" but instead displayed "___ has been pwned." The word spread in the gaming community, and pwn became a mainstream word.

There are alternate theories. Some claim that it just was used as a shortened form of phrases such as "publically owned," "player owned," or "pure ownage." Some say it originated from chess and that checkmate was sometimes called getting pawned, and pwned came from pawned. Some agree it was a typo but came from other online games like Quake or Starcraft. Whatever the origins, people can agree that "pwn" is a commonly used gamer word.

So, I say to y'all. Play Reach. Have fun. And try to "pwn" some "noobs."

Doc's Advice #7: Endless Possibilities

Guten Tag, Reachers. Today's topic is kind of general. However, it is one of the main reasons why I prefer Halo over others multiplayer shooting games like Call of Duty. In both of these games, you can kill people both online and in campaign. In both, you can get all your friends together and play in a custom game, as well as edit emblems and clan tags to personalize your character. But, what Halo has that Call of Duty doesn't is Forge.

The possibilities are plentiful in this game type. Halo: Reach did a great job of improving on something already great by adding Forge World - a blank canvas where you can add structures, weapons, vehicles, and scenery to your liking. It is miles of vast land mass of varying terrain, such as islands, mountains, grassy plains, and seas, just waiting to be tinkered with.

Whatever you can imagine, you can most likely do. You can make an intense race course for all your friends to enjoy with all sorts of twists, turns, obstacles, and traps. You can create a battleground with sniper towers, long tunnels, bunkers, bridges, and corners to play with your friends and fight it out on something different than the normal maps. You can even just mess around in there, like splattering unsuspecting victims with a staircase or bridge while you are in forge bot. You can make a golf course and hit the links using the new golf clubs and Mongooses for golf carts.

So I say to you all, spend some time in Forge. Take a break from Matchmaking or Campaign and make stuff. Let your creativity run wild, imagine great things, and build the map you have always wanted

The Foup

Foup#3 A Day in the Life: I read foup's blogging today, Oh Boy (Beatles reference, for those of you who don't get it, link)

Also, this blog is best read with good knowledge of armor types and names. If you do not have the knowledge, read along with helmet and chest piece guides. On with the show

I was playing with my fellow bloggers today when I exclaimed "well I think my armor looks the best. It could get more spartinas(shortened name for spartan lady) than a stripper could get dollar bills on a busy night" and Will says"that is an entirely opinionated statement"and you know what he was right. Armor is all about choice and personality, and if you choose an armor that fits you, spartina's will throw themselves upon you, so many in fact that you might break a bone(innuendo, high five!)

I think that the first and most important thing about choosing an armor suit that fits you is color. Color can make or break how people may see you EXAMPLE: your a hardcore player like RKING(personality that may be posting in the future) and you push yourself in many spartinas faces, and like to flaunt your rugged nature. Could you pull that off with an all pink armor suit, I think not. You'd be laughed at faster than people leave TBS when they see Lopez Tonight is on. My advice, just show the colors that show you. There aren't any prejudices on Reach; like Michael Jackson said"It don't matter if your black or white".

The next most noticeable component of your armor is your helmet. There is quite a lot of choice here, 21 sets of helmets, most of which have at least 3 types of customization. Now the question is, do you want a spartina to think "how do I know where you're looking with that black visor on" or "wow, he's got a MJOLNIR Mk. VI, he looks just like Master Chief". Yet again, your choice is all about how you want the ladies to react to how you play. If you are that big man on the field, don;t be afraid to choose a helmet with presence, like the Pilot or E.V.A., but if you're a smaller time guy who is a little shy, remain comfortable in a CQB, Recon, or a Mark V. Personally, I'm all about the Grenadier, it shows ladies that I've got the confidence to have a big helmet, but the intelligence, restraint, and respect to wear a conservative visor.

The last piece of armor I will discuss is the chest piece. It is the second most noticeable thing to helmets, and can make or break your armor suit. There are 15 variants of chest pieces, and there are enough options to show the lady of your choice how tasteful your armor choice is. You can show her how you prepare for things in life by wearing the Tactical/Recon piece, or you can show her you could explode at any minute(innuendo again) by wearing the Assault/ Sapper R. The true question is, do you want a spartina looking at your chest and saying"did he eat a dog, and three mcgangbangs to make his armor look like that"or do you want them saying "that armor has sharper tone than a knife that is made of diamonds and sharpened on Chuck Norris's abs hourly". You make the choice Reacher, but choose, yet again, what reflects your gameplay style. You want the spartina to know whether she's hittin' the lobby with a tiger or a bear, so you better show her which one so she won't bear mace you at inopportune moments.

Armor should be about telling a spartina who you are in a visual sense. Give her a taste of that mcgangbang that is your gaming style by showing the colors and features of your armor. "You can go your own way" as Fleetwood Mac once said, and if you do, spartan ladies will be launched out of t-shirt cannons in your direction, making it appear as if it's raining spartinas. Some might have a chicken little response to this, but if you follow my advice, you should be alright.

Foup

Map Summary - Asylum

The point of this series is to familiarize everyone with the general layout, weapon placement, and simple strategies for every multiplayer map, so that as you vote for a map in the pre-game lobby you already have a good understanding of what's about to go down.  For this first week, we will take a look at the map Asylum.

Doc's Advice #6: The M392 Designated Marksman Rifle

Greetings, Reachers. Today's topic has been utilized by most likely all Reachers. I am talking about the DMR. The DMR is Halo: Reach's Battle Rifle. It, the Magnum, and the Assault Rifle, are probably the most commonly used weapons in the game. So, I want to familiarize y'all with this weapon.

Its official name is the M392 Designated Marksman Rifle. It is semi-automatic with a magazine size of 15 rounds and a max ammo size of 60 rounds. The accuracy for it is relatively high and the damage per bullet is decent. Basically, it's the in between gun of the Assault Rifle and the Sniper.

So, how do you use it. Here are some basic tips. The DMR is set up so you can kill a Spartan with full shields in MJOLNIR armor with 5 shots, provided the last shot is to the head. Thus, theoretically, you can get 3 kills in a Matchmaking game per magazine. Also, if you are in a one v one battle, strafing is key. You don't want to be standing still allowing an enemy to just keep firing rounds in your head. Also, it has been proven that if you crouch while shooting, the shots are more accurate when shot in rapid fire. What I mean is that when you shoot a DMR, the reticule - the circle that shows where you are aiming - blooms out when a shot is fired then slowly returns to the original size, meaning that the farther the reticule has bloomed out the less accurate the shots. If you crouch while shooting, the reticule does not bloom out as much, meaning more accuracy. So, I believe you should crouch for your first two shots, get a couple of nice, well placed shots in, then proceed to strafe, avoid enemy bullets, and get the kill.

So I say to you all. Have fun using your Designated Marksman Rifle. Use these techniques to improve your gameplay experience and make you better.

Doc's Advice #5: Armor Lock

Aloha, Reachers. Today's topic is the much debated armor ability - armor lock.

Here's a scenario. You got a guy beat in Team Arena. You got the first DMR shot on him and are going to be able to rack up another kill. All the sudden, enemy uses armor lock. You wait and wait for what seems like forever. In this waiting time, an opposing teammate as noticed this battle and starts shooting you. Just like that, you are dead and the guy in armor lock runs away and gains back his shields.

There are definitely those who hate armor lock. It slows the game - kills take much longer to get if one has to wait for the guy to come out of armor lock to kill him. It is difficult to beat - you can't get to close the armor locker or the EMP blast it gives off will eliminate your shields. It forces attackers to retreat - people can't risk just waiting for the armor lock to wear off because of the dangers of enemy teammates lurking around. Thus, some people say armor lock is a bad addition to the game, even some claiming it is ruining Halo.

However, here's why I like it. It forces more strategy if you are facing an armor locker. It is beatable. No more will a "going in guns blazing" approach be successful. Instead, you have to stay back, throw a couple of well timed grenades. Distance is the key to defeating an armor locker. To be honest, if a guy you have almost killed goes into armor lock, just back away. It's not necessarily retreating, more like restarting strategy. Also, defeating armor lock requires teamwork. Don't be afraid to call for back up or help. If both you and your armor locking opponent have downed shields, get your teammate to come over, help you out, and get the kill to get another team kill. Furthermore, why using armor lock is a good thing, it lessens the power of power weapons. Finally, their is a way to stop an energy sword guy from getting you every time in close combat. Finally, you can turn the tables on a incoming Ghost or survive a rocket launcher. Halo is not all about who controls power weapons as much anymore.

So I say to y'all - armor lock is not the worst thing ever; it has not ruined Reach. Use these strategies to beat it and take advantage of it at other times.

Doc's Advice #4: Day at the Races

Salvete, Reachers. Today's topic is my personal favorite game type. Yes, I do like battling it out in Team Arena Doubles, capturing the flag in Team Objective, and going solo in Rumble Pit. However, my favorite thing to do is go out with me and a friend into the Multi Team lobby and play me some Rocket Race.

The basic concept of Rocket Race - race in Mongooses with a partner to different areas. Be the first to get to the designated area and score a point for your team. First to 15 wins. Ah, but here's the catch. While one person drives, another is riding. With a Rocket Launcher. With unlimited ammo. And you can't die unless you are off of the Mongoose. Oh boy, it's on!

The chaos that ensues in these games is fantastic. New to Rocket Race in Halo: Reach is a "Rotations Completed" that pops up every time the Mongoose you are riding in does a sideways flip and then says the number of times you "do a barrel roll" (little Star Fox allusion there). I do enjoy it when another team shoots me and I go flying in the air. Who wouldn't love that kind of surreal feeling you get when a vehicle you are driving is catapulted in the air and twists violently. Personal record is 24... would like to hear if anyone has done better.

Even the races to the objective are crazy. You can be driving along. You can see the objective ring straight ahead. You can't be stopped... or can you? Just then - EXPLOSION! There you going spinning away, while another driver claims victory. Rocket Race, while more relaxed than a normal game of Slayer in Reach, has strategy. Whether trying to guess where the ring will pop up next, deciding whether to go for a ring or just wait back, or attempting that perfectly timed, well-placed rocket on an unsuspecting target, games can get intense. My favorite memory was when my team was about to win and was going straight for the ring, but was then hit hard by a rocket. Quick thinking, I jump out of the Mongoose, run into the ring just in time for the win, then immediately splattered, barely eeking out a victory.

So I say to you gamers - take a break from just killing and slaying. Kick back, relax, get a friend, and create mayhem in the explosive frenzy known as Rocket Race.

The "Whenever I Feel Like It" Foup

Entry #2:Diatribe of a T-bag.
The original topic of this post was going to be how to treat women in a game of Reach i.e. do you let them win? and such, but before I got to writing it, a young man approached me and asked:"Foup, Im interested in how to treat ladies in the game, but what I'm really interested in is T-bagging". I replied in a sarcastic manner:"well thats all anyones interested in right", and then it hit me. T-bagging is all that anyone is interested in in Halo Reach and Reachationships. Sure, many women will try and sugarcoat it, saying that its about the art of conversation, or armor chemistry, but let me tell you something ladies, the only chemistry thats important is the chemistry of:
left stick down+crouch in a face=T-BAG.

Part 2: the art of the T-bag
The equation I have posted above will bring you a successful T-Bag, but do you want to be some run of the mill bagger, or do you want to be the type of bagger spartan ladies remember, the one they ask to kill them in the game just so they can be T-Bagged one more time. If I'm correct, everyone wants to be the bagger I just stated, and therefore, everyone wants to be the type of bagger I already am. So I will share my wisdom in the format of all the different ways you can bring about a successful T-Bagging experience.

#1: The Taunt
This specific T-Bagging move doesn't even have to be about getting the spartan of your dreams, but it could be about impressing her. This move is typically used to degrade an opponent of yours. I don't recommend overusing it, as it becomes useless, but I do recommend using it when someone has really made you mad. Say I'm playing with doc, and doc starts using an aimbot and is yelling into his microphone"ha ha, foup doesn't cheat in halo he' stinks worse than a chicken taco from churches". I build up my anger and kill him valiantly, but there is something missing, there is nothing to top off my glorious drink of success. The taunting t-bag is the perfect solution. It will bring me glory, as I rub my spartan unmentionables in docs helmet and tell him that he stinks worse than a Dobs Toilet Bombing Heart Molester. (look at bottom of the page). To do it, simply go above the opponents face and and press and release your left analog stick, only holding down for 1 to 2 seconds at the most. Remember, it's not about technique, it's about emotion.This move, if done correctly, will not only bring you glory, but lady spartans as well.

#2 Slow and Sweet
Use this for a spartan lady you truly care about. If you are her Romeo, and she is your Juliet...then you will T-Bag her in the face slowly and sweetly. The key to this is to press down on the left analog stick and hold for a full 5 seconds before releasing, then go back down after seconds. If done correctly, you'll have her thinking"he's so sensitive and attentive to my spartan lady needs."

#3Ruthless
If your choosing this one, you care about one thing; getting your T-Bag done speedily and ruthlessly, while leaving the lady completely satisfied. The easiest way to do so is to continuously press and release the left analog stick, never decreasing speed and never letting up. Done succesfully, this will leave you a spartan lady dynamo, and that's quite a reputation. You'll be a Barrack Obama to women, and they'll never get enough of your "politics".

Thats what I have to say about T-bagging, and I believe that the best way to end this blog is with a movie quote:

       
that about does her, wraps her all
up. it was a purt good story, dontcha
think?   Made me laugh to beat the
band.  Parts, anyway....I guess
that's the way the whole durned human
comedy keeps perpetuatin' it-self,
down through the generations, westward
the wagons, across the sands a time
until-- aw, look at me, I'm ramblin'
again.  Wal, uh hope you folks enjoyed
yourselves. Catch ya further on down the trail.

Note: I edited this quote for the betterment of the blog, but comment what movie
this is from, and you get extra credit.