Call of Duty: Black Ops

I often look for games to play outside the house and own both a PSP and a DS. As I play shooters a lot, both first and third person, I have come to be suspicious of shooters on the PSP/DS as the controls are just too messy. The problem is that you get used to two analog sticks from the PS3/Xbox, and then when you get to the handheld portables you are given one for the PSP and none for the DS. Games like Rainbox 6 completely fail on the PSP, making me very reluctant to try any other shooters on the handhelds. After reading reviews on Call of Duty: Black Ops for the DS I decided to give it a try.

So let's look at how this plays out on the DS. You have two options to choose from for button layout: 1.) you use the stylus to sweep around on the lower screen for looking around. This is very responsive and just a quick swipe and your view angle turns on-screen. The D-pad (left buttons) are used then for moving, and the left shoulder button for aiming and the right shoulder button for shooting. As mentioned in another review, this can become tricky as you are holding the stylus in your hand, and then still need to shoot with the right-shoulder button. Well, practice makes perfect, and you get the feel for this after a while, so not too much complaints there. What did become a problem for me is that I started feeling like throwing up after a while. The movements of the stylus is so quick that it feels by times the world is spinning. I guess this differs from player to player, so don't let this influence your decision. From what I gather, most people loved the stylus option. I opted for button layout: 2) No stylus and you use the buttons on the right for movement. However, this again put me right back in the problem with the PSP controls that it feels clunky. Luckily, the game is not a fast moving game and you have more than enough time to prepare and consider your moves, so you do not need to look around like a hawk.

The story differs to that of the console versions naturally. It still follows the same concept, and you get to play different characters in different settings. Mostly you are carrying your weapon, and at times it's all knife-combat which is also quite nice. There are helicopter and boat missions which are a welcome distraction. On easy settings, damage comes quickly and running guns a-blazing like in the console versions will get you killed quickly. The idea here is more of a cautious approach, especially when you are playing the second button layout I had chosen and not using your stylus.

Other areas like music and voicing was done well, but of course, graphics are pretty basic and nothing to write home about. I enjoyed it to the extend that I played it through a few times.

Overall I think the game succeeds, not because of the button layout, but because they story and gameplay has been designed for the DS. A direct console port would have been a severe mistake. It's in this regard that I am looking forward to the release of the future PSP2/NGP end of this year as it will feature two analog sticks, which will make shooter games an ease on it. The new 3DS sports a similar "analog" stick on the left, also opening the door for more shooter-like games on the 3DS.

I recieved the game as a gift and would not have looked at it twice otherwise. I was pleasantly surprised.

Controls are remarkably sharp, the stylus is used to look around while you use the d-pad to move forward or backwards etc. The left shoulder button fires, so naturally if you hold your DS you can see how it works. No odd finger stretching required! Weapons are selected by tapping icons on the touch screen and environmental moves such as crouching are also implemented in this way. The game itself is graphically decent for the DS, altough incomparable of course to its home console big brother. The AI of team mates in the game works well enough, the main game is short but certainly worth another play through with unlockables available. The zombie mode is included if a little drab.

The game took me back to the PS1 'Medal of Honor' games, similar looks but the missions here are more interesting and the control system is surprisingly responsive. A read around the big review sites like IGN, Gamespot etc will also find similar praise for what is the most respnsive handheld FPS to date. The limitations are obvious in comparisan to the big consoles, but for handheld gamers, Black Ops offers a real surprise and shows that an unthinkable and often atrocious handheld genre can actually be implemented in style.

when i purchased the game i thought,this would be a good game,and i was right, not only does this game have an extraordinary campaignit also includes zombies, black ops ds zombies have 4 maps, house, temple, overlook and some sciency lab thingy. Overall i would give this game a three out of five