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Black Ops Is Like “Three Games Being Developed At Once”

When it comes to the most popular video game franchise around, and there are multiple developers involved, it can often be a case of one-upmanship.

So despite the immense critical and financial success of the Modern Warfare series by Infinity Ward, Treyarch says they're primed to deliver the single best Call of Duty ever in Black Ops . Speaking to Eurogamer , Treyarch community manager Josh Olin mentioned that the developers had separate teams dedicated to "the core pillars, multiplayer, co-op and single-player." So in that way, he said it's basically like "three games being developed at once." This is becoming a common trend these days, especially amongst games that require a robust multiplayer mode; single-player fans have complained in the past that one-player campaigns have taken a substantial hit in compensation. To counter this, developers like EA have taken the separate-team approach with Medal of Honor ; EALA is handling the single-player while DICE is responsible for the multiplayer. It's good to hear a similar structure is in place for Black Ops , and let's not forget that Treyarch's last CoD, World at War , featured a satisfying one-player campaign.

As for that whole Activision/Infinity Ward snafu, Treyarch admits the "situation is unfortunate," but they're not letting it be a distraction. Yeah, just focus on the job at hand.

Related Game(s): Call of Duty: Black Ops

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kraygen
kraygen
14 years ago

I still have my doubts about this game, lots of companies keep claiming they are making a shooter with great single player, coop, and multiplayer, but what we always get is the same.

10 hours of fast repetitive Sp, 4 or less hours of coop, and endless multiplayer with the same game styles as every other multiplayer shooter.

I want something more than that, regardless of genre.

MartyRules
MartyRules
14 years ago

10hrs for sp isn't to bad considering most are 6hrs in under.

dkmrules
dkmrules
14 years ago

you could save some money and get BFBC2 vietnam, and not feel too bad if the expansion isn't super long

kraygen
kraygen
14 years ago

@ martyrules

true, 10 hours is really longer than most, I was being generous. However many games from many genre's have over 30 hours of gameplay. Why couldn't a shooter have that much sp?

If it had a good story and lots of different kinds of missions, you could make a long sp campaign, but no one does.

Anonymous
Anonymous
14 years ago

Resident Evil 5 co-op campaign was alot of fun. More campaign co-op please

Scarecrow
Scarecrow
14 years ago

It REALLY puzzles me why not enough games have co-op

SNES make the ps3 and 360 look like inferior consoles as far as co-op is concerned.

TEG3SH
TEG3SH
14 years ago

i didn't play snes but every sega genesis game and most ps1 games were co-op

ro kurorai
ro kurorai
14 years ago

Honestly, I doubt Treyarch can produce a worse COD than IW did with MW2.
MW2 was the most overrated game in recent history and its SP campaign was a huge joke.

BO looks way more promising though and I like Treyarch's and EA's approach to satisfy both SP and MP players alike by developing the campaigns independently.

I'm not much into console shooters but those two I will rent at least.

Let's not forget that little HD-re-make of Frontlines for the PS3 version, sounds like a nice deal.

Really looking forward how those two shooters will fare.

RadioHeader
RadioHeader
14 years ago

Really happy to be getting MOH Frontline again, but I didn't realise it was getting a HD makeover.

It's one of my all-time favourites and you have just made my day. Thanx

Mavfan321
Mavfan321
14 years ago

I wouldn't be so against MW2 if it wasn't amongst the games that will go on to define this gen as far as sales went. But as an avid player at one point all I came away with was how broken of an experience it was overall. It is common for a popular game to gain backlash eventually but I can honestly say my enjoyment in that game was pretty much for a week and then it became more about having a game to play over PSN with my family and friends and less about a game I actually enjoyed. I'm not against FPS as a genre they are always reliable for a fun multiplayer experience but I won't just buy every latest update anymore unless I can believe the newest experience differs enough in all aspects to warrant the price of admission.

johnld
johnld
14 years ago

the main thing i didnt like about modern warfare 2 was the jacked up spawns. how the hell can i kill one guy 10 feet in front of me only for them to spawn 10 feet right behind of me a few seconds earlier.

Godslim
Godslim
14 years ago

y does everyone hate the mw series singeplayer tbh i luved it…..yes its short but sweet!

Jawknee
Jawknee
14 years ago

The campaign was a joke and the multiplayer was broken. The only good thing about MW2 upon release was the Spec Ops mode.

I did have quite a bit of fun with my friend playing Spec Ops. But the rest wasn't worth the blue ray it was printed on.


Last edited by Jawknee on 6/28/2010 3:25:54 PM

Godslim
Godslim
14 years ago

oh yeh not gonna lie spec ops was well fun with a mate…..there was so much panic when playing on veteran…..good times

ro kurorai
ro kurorai
14 years ago

Maybe lots of you guys disagree with me, but I blame the short campaign on 360's disc size. I mean c'mon, what were MS expecting? All games being smaller than 6.8GB on HD consoles?! That's flat-out ignorant.
Even Wii's discs can save more data (full DVD9), that's ridiculous.

That way devs have to scrap some parts or make compromises unless they're exceptionally skilled or experienced (R*) or are willing to split the game on multiple discs. That way, however, open world games could be difficult to develop.

But now each new 360 has an HDD, so full game installs can be enforced, using the game discs for installs only – everybody's happy. jk ^^

Mavfan321
Mavfan321
14 years ago

I don't think it has anything to do with MS disc size. I think it has more to do with lazy developers who know that the majority of time spent on that game would be on it's MP so why even make a worthwhile campaign mode, which it's not even close to.

ro kurorai
ro kurorai
14 years ago

Saddest part of it: consumers don't care about lazy devs and reward their laziness by buying 20m copies of their game -_-

Jiggy
Jiggy
14 years ago

This is the only way it would be the best CoD game:
-Immense single player campaign.
-An actual co-op experience where you have to work together, not see who can kill the most.
-Online modes where it isn't the most noob-friendly game on the market (one that actually takes skill *cough.not MW2.cough*)
-One kick-ass zombie mini-game (and I'm not talking DLC purchase add-on)
Combine all of these and I would say it would be the best CoD to date.

Godslim
Godslim
14 years ago

noob friendly yes…..but it does still take skill as does any game

just2skillf00l
just2skillf00l
14 years ago

I understand what you mean by noob-friendly.

Did I hear someone utter in a pissed off tone grenade launchers?

Attachment…yes of course. I know! I'll make my grenade launcher attachment pretty much my primary weapon! Screw bullets, why have bullets when you have explosives that you can spam over and over again with the use of the perk scavenger that lets you resupply after every exhausted grenade? Oh yeah and for my second perk…hmmm…danger close is perfect! Explosive damage skyrockets so it doesn't matter how awful my aim is, as long as the explosion nips the target it's a guaranteed kill! Yep! I'm a genius! Oh and just so I can get in a few cheap melee kills, commando is a must. Even when I get filled with multiple gunshot wounds…commando always pull through for me…

You ever met one of these guys, this is just the beginning of how awful and noobish players can get. Why still do I play this game on a daily basis? If it weren't for my friends that I get on with every night…I would have no reason to play this unbalanced title. At least have the heart to release a patch for the many inequities.

FatherSun
FatherSun
14 years ago

As long as they can seamlessly tie all aspects of the 3 teams together then by all means. As far as the Activision/Infinity Ward predicament, they should of course take notice but not let it be a noticeable factor in producing this project. Dont Try to clone IW. Show us what you got TREYARCH. FPSs have to take it up a few notches already.


Last edited by FatherSun on 6/28/2010 12:58:26 PM

Bugzbunny109
Bugzbunny109
14 years ago

Is the story mode short? Is the main focus still on multiplayer? Are they still using the same engine as the previous games? If the answers to these questions are yes, then I disagree with the statement "Black Ops will be the best of Call of Duty".

SnipeySnake
SnipeySnake
14 years ago

more splitscreen online please

NightHawk17
NightHawk17
14 years ago

I was really hyped for black ops but that whole timed exclusive dlc really killed it for me, I mean really it's just stupid and ignoring 2 other fanbases. So I'll probably pick it up further down the line.

Phoelix
Phoelix
14 years ago

They should leave Activision. Call of Duty is too overdone for me to buy another.

… but I guess we'll see; I shouldn't just sign it off because Activision is run by monkeys.

StangMan80
StangMan80
14 years ago

I don't plan on picking this game up at all. I hated MW2 and they did not deserve all those sells. MW2 sucks!

AcHiLLiA
AcHiLLiA
14 years ago

MW2 was rushed in the making, that's why there is alot of problems in the game and it does suck.

RekeHavick
RekeHavick
14 years ago

This isn't Modern Warfare.

AcHiLLiA
AcHiLLiA
14 years ago

Who said I was talking about Modern Warfare, I was replying @StangMan80's little comment on Modern Warfare 2.

Jawknee
Jawknee
14 years ago

Just goes to show, mediocrity sells.

Wissam
Wissam
14 years ago

Good job hyping this piece of crap Activation.

AcHiLLiA
AcHiLLiA
14 years ago

I have good hopes for this game, they did a good job with W@W. Like I always do I will wait and see.

DjEezzy
DjEezzy
14 years ago

i'm actually getting back into Killzone 2 again and its one of the better online experiences i've ever had. The combination mode in multiplayer where they throw like 7 game modes at you is awesome!!! Plus Killzone pretty much blows most shooters out of the water when it comes to graphics. Even in Multiplayer. Such fantastic textures. Another co-op experience i'm really enjoying is Battlefield Bad Company 2 Onslaught mode. It's pretty intense. Pretty awesome i must say

Jawknee
Jawknee
14 years ago

7 modes in one session is extremely hard for me to do. I just don't have the time. I haven't really ranked up much in Killzone 2 for this reason.

Mavfan321
Mavfan321
14 years ago

Yeah I have to get back into KZ2 for my FPS fix soon, I love the changing objectives and the longer games. It's a nice bit of variety not to mention you can't just focus on getting kills you have to work towards the goal and be a good teammate.

johnld
johnld
14 years ago

i just want the hard modes for treyarch cod games to be actually hard and not a damn fragfest. played world at war on veteran and the combination of grenades everywhere so that theres no chance to hide and more bullet damage was frustrating.

Im pretty glad that medal of honor has a good online multiplayer because thats what i'll be spending my time on. it allows me to pick up black ops when its really cheap and i dont really plan on playing online with it when i get it. right now black ops is last on my list. first its medal of honor and a few games then playstation move. i hope they bundle socom 4 with a nav or move controller.


Last edited by johnld on 6/28/2010 2:43:05 PM

Jawknee
Jawknee
14 years ago

I liked World at War but I do agree. The constant frags was annoying.

ace_boon_coon
ace_boon_coon
14 years ago

i really love treyarch's work, but i can't see myself buyin this game day one. i'm going to stick with bc2, and i'll get MOH.

JackC8
JackC8
14 years ago

If you've got a budget of X amount of dollars, and half of that goes to the multiplayer, it doesn't make any difference how many teams you've got working on it. There's still only half the money left for the single player. And that's the bottom line.

I actually think it would make a lot more sense to have one team do everything – When you've got two groups of people working on the same game, there's going to be a whole lot of duplication of effort, and that's a complete waste.

Jawknee
Jawknee
14 years ago

World at War is a solid game and I have no doubt they will one up IW again with this title but military shooters have grown bland. Medal of Honor is the last one i will be buying for awhile.

Killzone 3 is the only one I'm looking forward to at this point.

ace_boon_coon
ace_boon_coon
14 years ago

yeah killzone 3 will be the end all be all. i'm excited about that one

TheOldOne
TheOldOne
14 years ago

PS3 owners are second class gamers for Activision. I suffered this with MW2 DLCs and I refuse to let it happen again. I will not buy Black Ops!

Jawknee
Jawknee
14 years ago

Sad really, Activision is really only hurting the developers like Treyarch with these back room deals they make with MS.

Buying early DLC is petty and only hurts the developer. People who would have coughed up the money on day one are less likely to get it later because they have to wait. They will likely be playing new games by the time it comes out.


Last edited by Jawknee on 6/28/2010 3:34:07 PM

ace_boon_coon
ace_boon_coon
14 years ago

who cares about activision? we have EA on our side

Radiitz
Radiitz
14 years ago

So this is going to be like 3x the COD experience? If thats the case, this should be half decent at least…

Rings0fUranus
Rings0fUranus
14 years ago

LOL, BURN! 🙂

kraygen
kraygen
14 years ago

maybe, but 3x the crap just means you have a lot of crap.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
14 years ago

If you want a full SP and a good MP that's what Blu Ray is for.

CharlesD
CharlesD
14 years ago

I have said what I expect from this one before, and I really hope they reach that bar. It won't be easy as I'm expecting a lot.

dkmrules
dkmrules
14 years ago

So does this mean its going to be three times as bad??? Hopefully not, but I dont care im not getting this anyways. I have enough FPS to last me a while. I need to catch up on the really good stuff anyways(GOW3 and Uncharted 2). Besides my november game is going to me Gran Turismo 5


Last edited by dkmrules on 6/28/2010 4:41:40 PM

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