[Nintendo Wii] Call of Duty: Black Ops ROM Download

Call of Duty: Black Ops ROM Description

Campaign

Black Ops’ 60s era plot follows an unconventional path. The story starts out with special forces soldier Alex Mason enduring a brutal interrogation by shadowy figures. Subjected to capture and brainwashing, Mason holds the key to deciphering a code implanted in his mind. Flashbacks take players through Mason’s past. Things can be disorienting at first, but the story begins to gain momentum as the pieces come together.

While the Wii version retains the same overall story arc, some parts have been cut down, destroying the tension and pacing of scenes like Mason’s visit to the Pentagon. There’s no denying that the visuals simply don’t deliver the same impact during the most shocking and dramatic moments.

The campaign in Black Ops lasts a brisk six hours as you fight through missions in Cuba, Russia, and Vietnam. The game might set a record for the number of escape sequences and the adrenaline stays high throughout. You frequently hop on vehicles, gunning down pursuers from a motorcycle and helicopter. But some missions have been completely neutered on the Wii where players on other consoles will experience a frantic riverboat shootout, Wii players have a leisurely cruise without incident.

Multiplayer

Black Ops is the most robust online multiplayer of any Wii game to date. Activision has bypassed many of the restrictive limitations of the platform, giving you the ability to see profiles of people you’ve recently played with, create friends lists, and even use voice chat while playing. There’s still no smooth host migration though, so matches can end abruptly if the host leaves.

Like previous installments, you’ll level up to unlock guns, equipment, kill streaks, and perks. But in Black Ops, you’ll also earn currency to purchase items. The result is that some gear can be acquired more quickly, but the cost can discourage experimentation. In addition to the scores of challenges, contracts let you place bets to accomplish specific tasks within a set time and perks have pro versions that fulfilling goals can earn.

Player counts are limited to 10 but there are 14 maps with all the traditional modes like domination, headquarters, and capture the flag. Wager matches let you bet in-game currency in separate game types like gun game and sticks and stones, mixing up standard deathmatches with fun variations. Meanwhile, World at War zombies return, letting your team up to survive an undead onslaught using your score to purchase new weapons and unlock new sections of the map.

The one problem with having so many options, however is that the Wii’s smaller player base makes it tough to get matches going for some of the less popular modes. While the package is impressive, not everything carries over. Kill cams, camera spikes, and the theater are all missing so you won’t be able to bask in the glory of your exploits. Extra modes like ground war and dead ops are absent. Several kill streaks like the chopper gunner have been omitted and the game is only one zombie level.

Given that there are plans for DLC we’d be disappointed if any of the modes left out show up with an additional price tag. Even if you’ve played other Wii shooters, it can take some time to adjust in Black Ops. Aiming down the sights isn’t as sticky as in GoldenEye, requiring more precision and you’ll likely need to experiment with the settings a bit to find a sweet spot.

Presentation

The battlefield is meant to be a chaotic place but Black Ops suffers from unclear direction throughout the campaign. At one point it’s too easy to overlook the detonators you’re supposed to pick up as another marker urges you to follow someone. Objectives sometimes lack visual cues and verbal callouts can be easy to miss if you’re distracted with immediate danger.

Adding to this confusion, there are also times when enemies can’t be harmed until you walk through some invisible trigger causing you to waste a clip on a guy you can’t hurt. There’s not as much feedback when you’re dangerously low on health so death can come unexpectedly and there’s no death animation, just a jarring black or white screen.

The campaign still has its strong moments. There’s a fun level that has you leaping from rooftop to rooftop and another that lets you blast through soldiers with an incendiary shotgun. It’s just a shame that there isn’t a consistent level of polish throughout.

Multiplayer is where players will spend most of their time though, and that aspect of the game is more finely tuned. The gameplay is just as addictive and rewarding on Wii as it is on other platforms, and there are some great map layouts. It’s incredibly satisfying to seek out a player driving an RC car or to demolish someone’s score with a tomahawk throw-in sticks and stones.

Conclusion

Call of Duty Black Ops for the Wii is a two-headed beast. The single-player game has its high points but it’s an inconsistent facsimile of its HD counterparts. Meanwhile, the multiplayer is a huge step forward for the platform despite the absence of a few features. Call of Duty Black Ops delivers the Wii’s best online experience yet. Whether this version is your only option or if you just simply have an itch to test your skills with the Wii remote, you’re in luck.