14 DAY TRIAL // Call of Duty: Black Ops already has a set launch date, for November 9, 2010, and we know that developer Treyarch and publisher Activision are preparing the title for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, the Nintendo Wii and the PC. But apart from a focus on special forces operations, there was more speculation than actual information linked to the actual content which Black Ops is set to offer.
A preview in the Official Xbox Magazine came along to clear some things up and offer fans of the series a taste of things to come. The North Vietnamese Army has been confirmed as being the antagonist on some of the single player levels, with a secret and deep agenda being the reason for all the moves through the entire 50 years covered by the Cold War period.
Vehicles are also confirmed as returning and after the revelation that the SR-71 Blackbird will not be directly controlled by the player, it seems that at least one attack helicopter will be fully usable by the player, with machine guns and rocket launchers ready to wreak havoc on the enemy ranks.
When it comes to multiplayer, Treyarch is working hard on creating dedicated cooperative levels that run alongside those of the single player campaign, with the competitive multiplayer also worked on to allow the gamer even more ways to customize the capabilities of his avatar on the battlefield. Treyarch is saying that a multiplayer beta might be offered at some point, although specific dates were not discussed.
Mark Lamia, who is the leader of developer Treyarch, told the magazine that “We’ve taken some creative risks… We want to do something different than we’ve done before. It’s time… We want the game to speak for itself.” With Infinity Ward probably not delivering more full fledged Call of Duty titles Treyarch really needs to step up and assume the mantle of main developer working on what is currently the biggest Activision franchise.