Thread: Call Of Duty: Black Ops Multiplayer Details

t goes without saying that one of the biggest multiplayer titles this year will be Call of Duty: Black Ops, and the changes and updates we've been teased so far in videos and snippets of info have helped the hype machine hit near warp speed.

An official mutliplayer reveal press event was held for Call of Duty: Black Ops recently which put a lot of this information into solid black and white along with some new information about how unlocks and level progression will work. It's very different this time around, let's say that much.

Here's a complete breakdown of what the press event revealed as itemised by Call of Duty: Black Ops Blog -.

First off there's the note of customisation which provides gamers with more opportunities for personalisation of their character models.

- Compete, Customize and Create is the slogan they are going with for Black Ops multiplayer
- Combat Training: training map with AI (bots.) Different rank progression. Aimed at players who don?t go online.
- Character model shows up in menus, so you can see customization effects.
- Basic appearance determined by tier 1 Perks. For example, Flak Jacket = armored appearance, Ghost = stealthy appearance
- Players have a special attachment for their weapons; they can place clan tags, decals and custom red dots on their weapons using this attachment.
- Flamethrowers, sniper rifles, shotguns? everything can be customized
- Emblem editor

All nice and simple so far, so let's move on to some of the core gameplay mechanics that have been altered and which make Call of Duty multiplayer what it is. Killstreaks and your weapons of choice:

- All things that are lethal are on right bumper, all Tactical items go left bumper, and there?s now an equipment category for deploy-ables.
- Motion Sensors (a personal UAV) and a Signal Jammer.
- Players will get special weapons in Care Packages ? the Death machine and Grim Reaper (chain-gun and missile launcher)
- Napalm Strike, Gunship, Mortar Team, Radio Controlled Car, SAM Turret and Spy Plane killstreak rewards [killstreaks capped at 11]

Admittedly some of these things we knew from the multiplayer teaser video. It was hard not to note the RC car and be aware of it considering it even features in a pre-order package.

So what didn't the video show? There was no mention of the introduction of 'Call of Duty Points'. CP will now be the currency of the multiplayer mode and will be used to completely dissemble the existing levelling structure we're used to abiding by. Each match you play online will net you CP for completing certain actions. Then, provided you have the points, you can buy more or less whatever you want, so no more putting the time in to reach level thirty just to get your hands on that shiny new perk or killstreak. A very welcome addition I feel. This isn't to say that 'levels' have been scrapped. Level 50 has been confirmed as the highest level.

You can also buy 'contracts' for yourself. These are, at their simplest time restricted challenges available in three styles. Mercenary; Rewards total kills and killstreaks achieved, Operations; Rewards team-centric actions, Specialist; for those who play as a lone wolf rewards 'special play styles'.

As you can imagine, CP will be highly sought after, but you'll be able to put your skills on the line if you feel you're good enough with new 'Wager Matches'. As the name suggests, you can bet on the outcome of the match with the 'top three players' splitting the winnings.

There are a definitive set of Wager Match types which you can enter into:

- One in the chamber: Everyone has just a pistol with one bullet and three lives. If you kill someone you get a bullet.
- Sticks and stones: You have crossbows and ballistic knives plus a tomahawk. If a player is killed with a tomahawk they go bankrupted.
- Gun Game: A series of progressive weapons, from pistol to shotgun to sniper rifle, granted to the player after kills. First one to progress through the weapons wins. If you get knifed you get reset a level.
- Sharpshooter: Everyone uses the same randomly selected weapon and unlocks perks per kill. Unlock a better gun with each kill?and lose a ?level/gun? with each death.

There's also a video showing how this works in practice:

Niiice, can't wait for this!

Wow!