REVIEW - Call of Duty: Black Ops (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)

I put down my control pad, and slowly take off my headphones.  Leaning back in my chair for the first time in what seems like hours, I take a long deep breath.  As I reach for the glass of water to quench the thirst of my dry mouth, I see that the hand I stretch out is quivering involuntarily.  I realize that I have just gone through one of the most intense gaming experiences to date, and that it will take me a while before I am ready to go again - but already I can't wait.  Welcome to Call of Duty: Black Ops.


Call of Duty: Hi-Octane


To say that Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision) is an intense experience is like saying that the Empire State Building is "quite big" or that the Pyramids are "somewhat aged."  Black Ops is the sort of game that grabs hold of your lapels right at the start and doesn't let go.  It is not the type of game that you curl up with on the sofa with a cup of coffee for a couple of hours.  Instead this is an "edge of the seat with a can of cola" game that you play one mission of and then collapse in exhaustion at the sheer, mind thumping intensity of it all.

The guns are meaty, which is fortunate - you will use them a lot!

While this isn't as a surprise in and of itself - the Call of Duty franchise has always been about heart pounding battle action - some may have thought that with the addition of the words Black Ops, that this game was set to have a slightly more Splinter Cell type stealth approach to it.  Wrong!  With the exception of one or two parts of various missions where one must sneak up behind an enemy solider, this game is fast and furious, with explosions and large scale battles aplenty.  Instead the Black Ops part refers to the secretive side to the government's various missions, and the classified nature of the many aims of the secret government operatives that accompany the vast majority of soldiers.

Do You Remember?

It is 1968, and you play Alex Mason (voiced by Sam Worthington), a secret government operative who has been involved in secret missions all over the world, all with the aim of bringing down the Soviet Union and winning the Cold War.  Mason is being interrogated by unknown shadowy figures about a peculiar set of numbers that are haunting Mason, and  Mason is forced into recalling many of his past assignments, into which the player is brought in.  The plot is complex, and focuses on the search for  a deadly WMD by the name of Nova 6.  Ultimately the plot gets a little lost, and is little more than an excuse to transport the player to different environments in different periods throughout the Cold War.  Although the main plot is quite forgettable, some of the characters are very memorable, making the player care a great deal about the fate of Mason's companions.  When a key companion is brutally murdered in the second half of the game, I was surprised at just how saddened I was at his demise.  Call of Duty is no emotionless shooter - the player is made to care about his surroundings and companions, and for this Black Ops deserves credit.

When Victor Reznov speaks, you listen...or else!

The much loved Victor Reznov (voiced by the outstanding Gary Oldman) returns after his appearance in Call of Duty: World at War, and is as entertaining and moving as ever.  Although he is the stereotypical Russian warrior, he also provides some of the games more poignant moments, such as when he regales Alex with the story of his father who played piano music as an act of resistance against the Nazis.  The touching story contributes to the serious tone that Call of Duty has always dipped its titles in, and provides a quiet contrast to the continual stream of loud, noisy action that Black Ops throws your way.

Gameplay, as always for this series, is astounding.  While offering the standard first person shooter type of gameplay, Black Ops does it perfectly and in a way that is entirely immersive and never boring.  Although large scale battles is what Call of Duty is famous for, the best moments come when the game suddenly changes course in the middle of a level.  So while one moment you will be fighting through a typical gun battle, the next moment you will find yourself seamlessly jumping into a helicopter and taking the battle to the skies.  Another level in Vietnam has you abandoning the loud, all guns blazing battlefield for a quiet stealth run in the underground tunnels that the Vietcong have built.  It results in a game that is never repetitive and always interesting.  I don't want to spoil any of the big surprises that Black Ops throws the players way, but it is safe to say that this is not the same old stop-shoot-stop-shoot gameplay that has characterized so many shooters in recent years.

War Never Looked So Good

Black Ops is made a more immersive experience by its presentation.  The graphics are simply stunning.  From the jungles of Vietnam to the towering industrial settings of Soviet Russia, Black Ops is very, very pretty.  Faces are rendered perfectly (using the same motion capture technology used in James Cameron's Avatar) and express the necessary emotion for players to be able to believe in them, colourful environments are legion and rarely fall back on the brown/gray color palate that haunts so many first person shooters, and even when the action is in full flow, the frame rate barely drops.

They aren't hunting rabbits.

This is a good thing, for full flow action is the pillar that holds the game together.  Everything moves quickly in Black Ops, which is made easier by its slick control system, well functioning AI, and an excellent use of the radar system that means you are able to keep up with the combat and know where it is you are supposed to be next.  It all gels superbly, and allows you to just about keep your head together while all around you are losing theirs (sometimes literally!)  It adds up to a frenzied experience that makes the player feels that they have been fighting the Cold War themselves.

That is not to say that Black Ops is not without its problems.  The main problem is the length.  Black Ops is a game that knows that many will buy it for its (impressive) multiplayer functions, and therefore may be accused of scrimping on length when it comes to the single player campaign.  This charge certainly has merit.  While there are a number of extra single player modes, such as a very fun zombie mode (where you can play as a wisecracking JFK or Richard Nixon), the campaign is quite brief, and when one is paying $60 for a game, the ability to complete the single player in a long weekend may put a lot of gamers off, at least until the title comes down in price.

Call of Duty vs Call of God

From a Catholic standpoint Black Ops is not perfect by any means.  One of Call of Duty's strengths from a Catholic perspective is that the series never tries to make war seem like a laugh or a consequence-free riot in the park.  Black Ops is no different.  The spirit of dulce et decorum est is not present in this game at all, with the developers preferring to emphasize the tragedy of war than its supposed glories.  The game rejects the false contrast of "saintly heroes" versus "evil bad guys", instead presenting the message that not only is neither side perfect, but also that men on both sides are victims of war.  Let me put it plainly - this was the first game I have played in a long time that made me feel bad for killing an enemy, and made me feel like a person had been killed, as opposed to just another cardboard cut-out of a solder.  Soldiers on the other side are not maniacal villains, but soldiers who have been caught up in the ongoing tragedy that is war, and the player is made to feel this.

"Excuse me!  Are you dead?"

Part of this message comes in the form of the game being a lot gritter and gorier than previous outings, and it is here where it runs into significant difficulty from a Catholic perspective.  Although gore is infrequent, it is very strong on those occasions that it is present.  One particular scene of a character's friend being gassed to death is particularly disturbing, both due to the graphic nature of his death, and also because it is likely that the player will have grown fond of the character by this point.  The game is filled with genuinely shocking moments, and consequently this means that Black Ops is certainly not for the faint hearted, with two graphic scenes of torture that push the boundaries of good taste.  Yet it cannot be said that the game glamorizes, approves or encourages such violence.  The graphic battlefield violence is done very much in the tone of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, and the message of the futility of violence is the same.

Having said this, it is undeniable that Black Ops is a very fun game to play, and the sombre anti-war message is tainted somewhat by this.  This is a game that is (understandably) designed to be enormous amounts of fun with exaggerated explosions, high speed chases and adrenaline pumping action throughout the game.  It therefore rings slightly hollow when, after an exciting mission, the game turns round to you and tries to remind you how horrible it all is and tries to make you feel guilty for enjoying yourself.  Yet despite this contradiction, Black Ops still manages to convey a sense of the horrors of war so effectively that it provides a powerful reminder as to why war is the ultimate tragedy of humanity.  It is because of this positive that Black Ops just about manages to stop short of being exploitative.

Conclusion


From a technical perspective, Black Ops does little wrong.  The story gets lost in its twists and turns in the middle, and the campaign is certainly on the short side, but with perfect presentation, pulse-pounding gameplay, some unforgettable set pieces, and grade A voice acting, first person shooters don't come better than Call of Duty: Black Ops. 

Despite its technical qualities, Black Ops is still a game that will be difficult for many Catholic gamers, and should not be picked up lightly.  Call of Duty: Black Ops is a war game and means business.  Its graphic and gory scenes of battlefield violence and torture, frequent crude language, and actions of highly questionable moral judgements from main characters, mean that this game is for a limited adult audience only. Yet the positive overarching message and the communication of the depth of the personal human tragedy that war brings, prevents Call of Duty: Black Ops from being morally offensive.


The Technical Rating for this Title is 9/10

The Catholic classification is L -- Limited Adult Audiences.  Contains problematic content that many adults would find troubling.

REVIEW - Fallout: New Vegas (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)

It is difficult to work out quite where I fell out of love with Fallout New Vegas, but after countless hours of gameplay, the initial love I once felt for her was well and truly over.  A cruel mistress, I had been pushed around by samey quests, bored by her two-dimensional characters, and disgusted by her penchant for showing me close ups of dog's heads exploding for too long.  It was time to end it.

And yet, it isn't that I don't like Fallout: New Vegas, in fact I hope that we can be friends and continue to see each other from time to time for a few hours over coffee.  But we will never reach those heights of the first few days where we spent entire days together exploring the Mojave Wastelands, looking for new adventures and admiring the view.  We will, however, always have the memories....

If you haven't played a Fallout game before, then you need to know that this is the latest game in a long line of titles, most of which are amazing.  Fallout 3 released in 2008 was praised by almost every mainstream game reviewing media as one of the best ttles of the year.  The basic premise of the series is that in 2077 there is a nuclear apocalypse that decimates the United States of America.  Those who survive do so by hiding in underground Vaults until the fallout settles down, at which point they reappear and start trying to rebuild humanity.

Not all robots are helpful.

New Vegas is set in 2281, when the reconstruction is well under way, although the devastation of the apocalypse is still very evident.  Mutant animals and bugs, high doses of radiation, zombies, destroyed towns and buildings etc, are all very much present in this latest installation of the series.  The premise of this installment is that you are a Mr Nobody courier assigned to deliver a package, but on the way you get caught, robbed, shot and left in a quickly fashioned grave by a ruthless 1920's style gang.  Luckily for you, a helpful robot named Victor comes to the rescue, digs you up, and carries you to the local doctor at Goodsprings.

At this point, you as the gamer will set up your characters face, name, attributes etc, and after a quick introduction hinting that you should probably go and track down the guy who shot you - a crook by the name of Benny (voiced by Matthew Perry) - you are sent on your way.  And that is it, you are shoved out into the small town in the middle of the Mojave desert, essentially left to do whatever you wish.

A Whole New World

It is this that Fallout: New Vegas does oh so well.  Stepping out of that door into the world of New Vegas is an incredible gaming moment.  The wind whistles around your head, you can see the effects of the radiation still present,and the post-apocalyptic world stretches out in front of you, just glistening with both opportunities and horrors.  The visuals in New Vegas aren't top notch, but they aren't far off.  Very quickly, the expansiveness and openness of the world will impress and excite the player.

Everyone's experience of the world is different, with each player making different choices and bumping into different encounters - this is the game's beauty.  As I wandered around, I realized that this wasn't a statue-esque world, but a world that is living, with each town having its own problems, interactions and soap opera dramas.  Although the main storyline gives a barebones structure to the game, it is lucky that the game doesn't rely on it, as it isn't a particularly immersive story.  Due to the openness of the game, there leaves little room for a deep plot with characters to care about.  Consequently, this means it is tough to care about what happens to any of the main characters, including yourself.

Will you help the town that helped you, or leave it to rot?

So, instead, the great moments of the game are made by the small side quests that you will spend most of your time doing.  So, in the first town, I quickly learnt that the sleepy town of Goodsprings was continually being attacked by bandits and rogues.  The player is essentially given a choice.  You can do nothing, you can help the town defend themselves against the ruffians, or find the ruffians and join them in looting the town.  Depending on how you proceed determines your character's development, how the world reacts to you, and how the game develops.  In choosing the help the town, I fought off and killed the approaching gang of bandits, and was much loved by the town as a result as well as hated by the "Powder Gangers" of whom I had killed many of their friends.  The town would now offer me discounts and friendship, while the Powder Gangers would shoot on sight.  Factions play a big role in New Vegas, and as a result, actions have consequences in Fallout : New Vegas.

What Happens in Vegas...

From a Catholic point of view, Fallout: New Vegas is a morally neutral game in the sense that you can geuinely choose what sort of person you want to be.  If you want to be a villain who kills innocent people, then you can be, and if you want to be a saint, you can be that too.  The only caveat is that you must accept the consequences of your actions.  The game works not only off reputations, but also on a "Karma" rating, where good actions are rewarded with positive Karma, and bad actions result in negative Karma.  This will also affect the game's outcomes in a number of ways, depending on how you play.

The VATS system feels like fighting in treacle.

One of the interesting things I found about New Vegas was its view of humanity, which I found to be surprisingly Catholic.  In New Vegas, humanity as a whole is rebuilding itself, and is doing so in a largely positive way.  The everyday man and woman are tending to their farms, protecting their cities and trying to raise their families in difficult circumstances.  However, humanity is also corrupt, and it is this that has led to the rise of gangs, militias and potential dictators, as well as the morally corrupt city of New Vegas - an impressive sight when you encounter it.  The humanity present in the game is a broken one, a humanity that has lost its way, and has forgotten its purpose, and exploitation and war has taken over as a result.

Nowhere is this clearer than in one of the game's more problematic scenes for Catholics - the brothel in the city of New Vegas by the name of Gomorrah.  "Here we go" thought I, "another excuse for a crammed in controversial sex level."  However, I when I finally encountered the place, I was surprised by the form it took.  Yes, there is the annoying "sex" noise piped in over the loudspeakers, and the NPC character's dancing in bizarre costumes, and even the possibility of paying for "services provided" (although all you do is take a nap and wake up with your partner for the night staring back at you), but I would challenge any gamer to actually take pleasure in Gomorrah, simply because the game bashes it into the player's head just what a horrible, obscene place this is.  In contrast to so many games, Fallout: New Vegas does not glamorize prostitution at all, and emphasizes the evil side to the institution.  This is captured perfectly when you speak to the receptionist who tells you how much she hates working for the gang who runs it, but is glad to be on reception, "because at least they don't make me **** anyone anymore."  The message is clear - this is a place where women are exploited by the gang who runs the place and the exploitation is one step away from rape.  For this, Fallout: New Vegas deserves credit.


On violence however, Fallout: NV is not morally pure.  Although in a game like this, one should expect to be killing animals, mutants, zombies and gang members, the way in which this occurs often borders on the tastless.  Combat in New Vegas is clunky, and if one uses the VATS system (which allows you to home in on a body part), even the smallest scraps with geckos will turn into long, drawn out affairs.  However, where it becomes problematic is the slow motion "critical shot" animations.  At random intervals, the game will slow down even more and show you a slow-motion animation of your bullet hitting the enemy in question.  If this is the killer shot, you can be guaranteed to see limbs and body parts flying off in slow motion, with a great deal of blood often accompanying it.  While a great deal of this can be put down to "realism", the mix of slow-mo and the games love for making heads explode, limbs fly off and blood spurt at every opportunity is tacky and crass.  The game is stylish and quite arty at times with its 1950's post-apocalyptic theme, so for it to lower itself by essentially dragging the camera to within an inch of an exploding head and going "Cool, huh?" is a bit pathetic, and many Catholics will find it troublesome.

Although often drab, New Vegas has its spectacular moments.

Fallout: New Vegas is an adult game in the sense that it deals with very adult themes.  You will encounter people addicted to drugs, people who have lost sense of their lives, people who are driven to insanity by revenge and a multitude of other people who you would expect to encounter in a post-apocalyptic environment.  Yet for the most part, New Vegas does not glamorize these themes, instead choosing to create a believable world in which the player can choose his or her own path.

From a technical perspective, I couldn't help but feel a little let down by Fallout: New Vegas.  Yes, the game is pretty, and enormous, and has a great ability to produce incredibly atmospheric environments.  It was  a game that had me interested enough to spend so much time on it that I started to dream about it!  Unfortunately, if you spend a great deal of time with this game, you may find it begins to drag.  Quests become repetitive, and characters remain essentially two-dimensional.  About 30 hours in I found myself doing a long drawn out quest that involved collecting materials for a group I had recently allied with.  However, while trudging through the same desert I had spend most of my time in, I realized that I couldn't remember what it was I was collecting, why it mattered, and neither did I particularly care about the fate of the group I was working for.  This is highly problematic, and it was what ultimately killed my love for the game.  In seeking to provide a "do anything" mode of gameplay, Fallout: New Vegas contains a lot of quests and characters that you will find it a drudge to encounter, and this is a shame.

Conclusion

To conclude, Fallout: New Vegas is without doubt a good game, with an expansive world with lots to do, an immersive game environment, an excellent soundtrack and some pretty scenery.  However, it falls short of being a great game because of samey quests, hollow characters and clunky combat.  From a Catholic perspective, this is definitely an adults only game, due to the various adult themes that the player will encounter.  Although it does not glamorize prostitution, the practice does make a strong appearance in one particular area.  In addition, Catholics should be aware of frequent blood and gore during combat, violent battles that emphasise gruesome dismemberment, occasional drug references and some infrequent profanity and crude language.

The technical rating is 7/10
The Catholic rating is L- Limited Adult Audiences