Call of Duty: Black Ops 1

Introduction

Black Ops 1 is a first-person shooter game that was released by Treyarch in 2010 and developed by Activision. It is the seventh installment of the Call of Duty series, and it is set in the 1960s during the Cold War era. The single-player campaign story follows CIA operative, Alex Mason trying to recall the location of a numbers station that contains a dangerous chemical weapon named "Nova 6". The offered game modes include single-player, multiplayer, and a special zombie mode that adds to the storyline previously developed by Call of Duty: World at War. The development of Black Ops 1 began in 2009 using IW 3.0 which was also used by Modern Warfare one and two. The game received critical acclaim and positive reviews from critics and the public, receiving a nomination for game of the year and multiple awards for voice acting and sound editing. Black ops 1 has sold over 25 million copies worldwide. The game's storyline and unique gameplay have made it the most successful Call of Duty game to this date. .

Gameplay

Black Ops 1 is a first-person shooter game with the same movement and mechanics as previous generations with the exception of Dolphin diving. Dolphine diving allows players to dive across the ground while prone. This mechanic helps players dodge explosives and avoid enemy fire. Players play game modes as soldiers, equipped with a primary and secondary weapon alongside lethal explosives. When low on health, the screen will present scattered blood across the screen which goes away due to health regeneration over time.

Multiplayer

Black Ops 1 offers a traditional fast-paced multiplayer experience where players can participate in a diverse collection of game modes including Team Deathmatch, Domination, Search and Destroy, Search and Rescue, Ground War, Sabotage, Capture The Flag, Team Tactical, Free-For-All, Kill Confirmed, and Headquarters. Each game mode presents unique objectives and 14 different playable maps. Additional maps can be purchased with the First Strike, Escalation, Annihilation, and Rezurrection DLCs..

Campaign

Set in the 1960s, the story follows Alex Mason, a CIA operative who is found in a mysterious room, interrogated by an unknown assailant. He is tortured to recall a numbers station. Recalling his past, Mason goes back to the Bay of Pigs where he is beaten and captured by Russian soldiers. He is later imprisoned at a Russian gulag called Vorkuta where he befriends a former Red Army soldier Victor Reznov. After a forced fight between the two, they resolve their conflict and plan to escape the gulag together. Soon after this, they take advantage of the situation and escape the Gulag however while escaping, Mach was unable to jump on the train, leaving mason to escape by himself. In a future mission, Mason reunites with Reznov, and they work together with CIA operatives Jason Hudson and Frank Woods in a series of missions hunting down the chemical weapon, “Nova 6”, created by Russian forces. At the height of the mission, Mason watches Reznov kill the german scientist responsible for creating nova 6. It is later revealed that Mason was the one who killed the scientist as he had been brainwashed by a Nazi scientist during his imprisonment at the gulag. It is further revealed that Reznov never escaped the gulag and he was only part of Mason’s imagination. The unknown assailant reveals to Mason that they are his ally, Hudson, and helps Mason remember the number station that plans to deploy chemical weapons across the United States. Mason remembers the numbers and joins Hudson and Frank in taking over the ship, stopping Nova 6 from reaching the United States of America..

Zombies

Building off the previous Call of Duty World at War, teams of 4 players fight hordes of zombies, trying to reach the highest possible round. This game mode comes with three free maps known as Kino Der Toten, Five, and Dead Ops Arcade. Kino Der Toten takes place in an abandoned Nazi theater in Berlin where players can play as Tank Dempsy, Edward Richtofen, Takeo Masaki, and Nikoli Belinski. Five takes place in the Pentagon where players are able to play as John F Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon, and Robert McNamara. The Dead Ops Arcade is a map unlocked after completing the main campaign storyline. Within each map, there are special easter eggs that can be completed to unlock secret storyline cutscenes and bonuses.

In Kino Der Toten, the song "115" by Elena Siegman can be played after retrieving special rocks across the map. Players can also collect film reels that can be inserted into a projector that reveals short recordings of the history behind the zombies.

In Five, the song "Won't Back Down" by Eminem can be played by activating buttons on 3 red telephones spread across the map.

Story

The story begins with Doctor Ludvig Maxis who founded Group 935, a secret society of brilliant scientists that aim to create global domination technology. As the group begins to lose funds during World War II, they agree to work with Nazi scientists to create a superpower weapon using the newly discovered element 115. While experimenting with element 115, the group accidentally creates undead beings at the site of a Nazi laboratory named Der Riese. Dr. Maxis then works closely with his assistant, Dr. Edward Richtofen in creating a teleportation machine and advanced weapons fueled by element 115. While testing the teleporter, Richtofen accidentally sends himself to a catacomb on the Moon where he discovers the moon pyramid device. The device causes him to hear mysterious voices that suggest he kill Maxis, forever altering Richtofen's personality and motives in the future. Two weeks later, Richtofen teleports back to the laboratory where he gathers members of Group 935 to build a facility on the Moon and secretly plots behind Dr. Maxis' back.

In 1940, Dr. Maxis requested more funds for the Der Riese. The Nazis responded by building two new facilities, Kino Der Toten and Shi No Numa. The Kino facility was a repurposed theater in Berlin and Shi No Numa was a former Rising Sun Facility that the Imperial Japanese Army handed over. In 1942, Dr. Maxis developed what was referred to as the "Ray Gun" at the newly formed Shi No Numa facility.

On December 16th, 1942, Dr. Maxis starts to second guess Richtofen's intentions and transfers to the Kino facility, leaving his daughter Samantha in the care of Richtofen. During this time, Richtofen experiments with element 115 on three captured soldiers: Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki, and Tank Dempsey.

In 1945, Dr. Maxis returned to Der Riese to resume his work on the teleportation device. While working on the teleporters, Samantha's dog runs into the machine. Samantha and Maxis chase the dog and Richtofen traps them inside a teleporter, believing they would die. Maxis however was teleported to "The Crazy Place" and Samantha was teleported to the same moon pyramid device Richtofen had gone to. Shortly after, Samantha releases the undead army on Der Riese in an effort to kill Richtofen. Richtofen and the three captured soldiers successfully flee from Der Riese and arrive at an abandoned Nazi theater where they discover videotapes left behind by Dr. Maxis and Samantha. Samantha had survived the zombie attack and has ever since been hunting Richtofen with endless hordes of zombies.

In 1945, Group 935 officially disbanded after Germany lost to the allied powers. Many members of the group joined the United States under a treaty, given that they provide future and prior research behind element 115 and develop advanced weaponry for the United States.

In 1963, the United States government stored many Group 935 inventions deep inside the Pentagon. In an outbreak of zombies, John F. Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Richard Nixon, and Fidel Castro are barricaded inside the Pentagon where they are forced to fight their way out..

Ethical Concerns

Nazi Zombies

The symbol of undead German soldiers has been recently changed in Call of Duty: WWII and future games that include the zombies game mode. This was due to Germany's ban on swastika symbols in media. Additionally, symbols of hate could also be seen as promotion which goes against the values of inclusivity for Call of Duty. In order to sell the game in Germany, one of the franchise's largest markets, Swastikas were replaced with iron crosses and Nazi zombies were identified as zombies. The change has sparked ethical debates, with some arguing that erasing history for the sake of profit is unethical and that Nazi zombies are central to the franchise's identity. Others, however, welcomed the change as they found the subject matter of Nazi zombies to be insensitive and inappropriate.

Cuba

The Cuban government denounced Black Ops 1 for its violent content and a graphic assassination attempt on Fidel Castro in the campaign storyline. Many argue that the mission glorifies the assassination of a Cuban leader and stimulates violent attitudes. Despite being condemned by the Cuban government, the game has not been officially banned in the country. .

Violence

It is heavily debated that violent video games such as Call of Duty lure young children into violent tendencies and create sociopathic attitudes. Controversy has sparked with the link between the two as cases such as an eight-year-old shooting his grandmother shortly after playing Grand Theft Auto, another game with hyper-realistic violence. . Despite these cases, there are others who argue that violent video games teach the morality of war and make the point that it is not much different from playing with toy soldiers in the past, shooting anyone in the way.

Addiction

Addiction to video games is rampant in the United States and often is ignored when compared to drug or alcohol abuse. The ethical concerns of video game addiction include mental problems such as depression and anxiety due to its isolation from human interaction and real-world activities. There are also physical concerns of addiction due to the nature of the lifestyle being sedimentary which can lead to unhealthy choices such as limited physical activity and strains from prolonged sitting. The Call of Duty franchise also shares ethical concerns as the gameplay is highly competitive and repetitive, making the game susceptible to video game addiction.

Cyber Bullying

Cyberbullying is a serious issue that can have a negative impact on one's mental health and could lead to potentially harmful behavior. In Black ops 1, cyberbullying can be displayed through verbal abuse or harassment in voice or game chat. An example of harassment in gameplay is "teabagging". Teabagging is a commonly used term in first-person shooters where it involves players repeatedly crouching up and down on another player's dead body as a symbol of disrespect and is regarded as poor sportsmanship. Racism is a big issue in the Call of Duty franchise as many players have gotten away with offensive usernames and racist comments in voice chat. Despite the game offering a mute and reporting system, the toxic behavior of many players often goes unpunished which has raised concerns about the online gaming community and weak measures taken by developers. It is the responsibility of the developers, publishers, and gaming community to promote a respectful environment. This can be accomplished by stricter rules and harsher consequences for offenses against the code of conduct.