Call of Duty: Black Ops Multiplayer Details

I won't lie, yesterday I didn't post anything. I was busy with college work and my wrestling blog. On top of that, there wasn't much to post, everything coming out was about Apple, and some small Playstation bits I didn't see any reason to report. At any rate, last night the big reveal for Call of Duty: Black Ops came out, and we learned so much more about the multiplayer that it's downright hard to not get excited about the game.

Dan Bunting and David Vanderhaar took to the stage last night at the LA Coliseum and talked about Call of Duty: Black Ops and the three pillars for the online game, 

Activision revealed the Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer component at an event this evening in Los Angeles. We'll have a full preview later on, but first we'll just run you through the various features that Treyarch is adding to the latest iteration of Call of Duty., which they dub "Compete, customize and create.

The first mode is called Combat Training, in which you can play against AI opponents. The mode has it's own ranking system completely separate from any multiplayer game. Treyarch went onto say that between 30 to 40 percent of single player gamers haven't ever tried the multiplayer. This Combat Training mode is an attempt "introduce the Call of Duty game to an entirely new set of players who we feel are missing out," said Vanderhaar. I'm fully in favor of this mode, which will allow for people to get some training in and prepare them for the regular online. It'll also be nice just to take on the computer rather then other players, and offer a chance for the people who don't have Xbox Live to play against other players.

The next big reveal is the CP, or "CoD Points", a type of currency for the multiplayer game. Everything in the game has a set CoD Points price (or XP level limtit). For instance, if there's a specific killstreak or weapon that you're looking to unlock, you can save up your points and buy it at without having to wait for it to unlock.

Another new feature is that Perks now effect how you look in the game. Choosing the Scavenger perk, for instance, outfits your character with pouches on your armor, while the Ghost perk puts you into a gilly suit. Other players can see the customization as well, so they'll be able to tell (at some point) what perks you have equipped. Guns can also be customized, with the ability to create emblems and attach them to guns.

The gear has been narrowed down to a few categories as well, three to be exact. The first are "lethal throwable", and will always be mapped to the RB (right bumper). "Tactical throwable" will always be mapped to the LB (left bumper). The "equipment" will consist of all the other gear Treyarch is throwing into the game, with claymores and motion sensors to new gadgets like the camera spike.

There are some new weapons being added into the care packages too. The weapons include a huge Gatling gun, a special RPG, a napalm strike, a remotely controlled bomb, an off-site mortar team and a movable SAM turret that will target any aircraft in the area.

Back to the currency, the CoD Points, Treyarch went onto say during the event last that the currency is useless unless you can gamble with it. This brings on new multiplayer modes, remember this is on top of the regular multiplayer and the Combat Training modes.

The first mode to revolve around gambling is called Wager Matches. In these matches only the top three players get paid at the end of the match, of course this means they are free for all matches. Everyone under the bottom three lose the CP they wagered.

The next mode to deal with gambling is "One in the Chamber" (which I'm really amped for). The mode puts players against each other armed with only a pistol and one bullet, which means that it's one bullet/one kill. For each player you kill, you get a new bullet, but missing will leave you only with a knife. This will make for a great mode with players who are trigger happy.

The next mode is "Sticks and Stones", and gives everyone a TOMAHAWK and a crossbow. The best thing about this mode, to me, is that when you hit someone with a TOMAHAWK, it bankrupts the player. I love the TOMAHAWK.

The fourth mode is called "Gun Game", and has players progressing through the various gun tiers. Getting a kill moves you up to a stronger weapon, while dying drops you back down. This will be appealing to players who are all around good with each weapon.

And finally, "Sharp Shooter" mode gives every player a series of random weapons, and everyone switches weapons randomly after a certain point.

Treyarch also announced the "Contracts" system, in which players can buy with CoD Points (CP) and pay off the contracts when they met certain criteria in the game within a time limit. You can promise to kill 50 players in a certain amount of games and once this is down, you'll earn more CP, however failing will cost you the CP you spent in the first place.

Lastly, Treyarch is giving players the ability to record and playback matches. You can save, share and browse recorded videos. This should prove novel to people who like to post their matches to Youtube.

All in all, the trailer shows off a lot and really shows that Treyarch are knocking this game out of the park when it comes to online. Black Ops is not only looking to match Modern Warfare 2 with what it can do online, but will no doubt blow the game away with the different online game modes. The best part of all of this is that there are new modes, giving players who get tired of just standard deathmatches something more to do, and to earn more as well. 

November is still two months off, but the days will no doubt slip past us now that we've seen more of what's to come. Personally I'm amped for this, and the release date of Black Ops can't come soon enough!