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Almost two weeks ago, Call of Duty: Black Ops was released worldwide for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and even the Nintendo Wii. Black Ops quickly set sales and revenue records and garnered huge review scores from critics but is it all it is cracked up to be or is Black Ops a black eye on the Call of Duty franchise?

The first thing you’ll notice when playing Black Ops for the first time is the sound quality. Everything from explosions to the gunfire sounds extremely realistic. Treyarch actually recorded real world gunfire to put in the game and you can definitely notice a big difference between the sounds in Black Ops when compared to Modern Warfare 2. Playing this game with surround sound makes it feel like you are really on a battlefield.

The multiplayer in Black Ops is much improved over previous iterations in the series. Treyarch removed many controversial perks like stopping power, juggernaut (pain pill), and martyrdom which people hated in previous Call of Duty games. The killstreaks were also fixed so no longer will gamers have to constantly worry about missiles raining down on their heads from the clouds. Many of World at War’s killstreaks such as artillery and attack dogs have made a comeback in Black Ops. Call of Duty: Black Ops is much more about skill than it is wracking up kills with killstreaks, however, and you won’t see things like AC-130’s constantly hovering above you. Deathstreaks were completely taken out of the game. These never made sense anyway. Why should a player be rewarded for sucking?

Treyarch also introduced a brand new unlocking system for multiplayer which this review would not be complete without mentioning. Instead of unlocking new weapons and perks at set levels, you need to “purchase” them with CoD points. CoD points are earned by killing people, completing challenges, and winning games. This makes it a lot easier to unlock your desired loadout right off the bat. Right away you will be able to use the guns and perks you want. Don’t ever use shotguns? Don’t buy them! It is a great new system that rewards players for doing well instead of just playing for a long time.

The level design is a bit better in Black Ops than it was in MW2. No longer do the maps seem to cater to campers. Unlike in Modern Warfare 2, where there were tons of nooks and crannies for campers to hide in, the maps on Black Ops are more open and straightforward. Obviously, no game has perfect maps and Black Ops isn’t without its problems. There are a few levels that have earned the ire of gamers for being too small, like Nuketown for example, and you will get spawn killed on it more often than not. For the most part, though, the maps are fun.

Call of Duty: Black Ops also allows split-screen multiplayer for the first time in the franchise. This is a great addition to the game and allows you to have fun with a friend right there with you. This has been a long time coming in the Call of Duty series and it is good to see it was finally added. Unfortunately, split-screen co-op is no longer featured in the campaign which is baffling considering it was in Treyarch’s previous game, World at War.

Speaking of the single player campaign, while it is definitely short (about five or six hours long), is a great addition to the Call of Duty franchise. With an in-depth story that includes an attempted assassination of Dictator Fidel Castro, gamers will be immediately immersed in the plot. The game takes place during the Cold War so players will see a variety of locations such as Vietnam, Russia, Cuba, and Laos. The story is told through a series of flashbacks with the main character, Special Forces operative Alex Mason, having been strapped to an interrogation chair and drugged in 1968. As his interrogators question him about certain events, players will flashback to that time and level, going as far back as 1961.

Overall, Call of Duty: Black Ops is a must have for any fan of the franchise. There is a lot of secret hidden content (like Dead Ops Arcade) making it well worth the sixty dollar price tag. Zombies mode is back and better than ever as well. Just the first level, “Kino Der Toten,” is at least twice as big as what was in World at War. Zombies also has somewhat of a storyline this time around and even allows players to control President John F. Kennedy, President Richard Nixon, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, and Cuban President Fidel Castro against the zombie horde in the map “Five”.

Most gamers will probably get Black Ops for the online multiplayer, however, and they will not be disappointed. Call of Duty: Black Ops takes everything that people loved about previous Call of Duty games and improves upon it.

Yesterday Activision announced that Treyarch’s newest release, Call of Duty: Black Ops, broke theatrical box office, book, and video game sales records through the first five days after release. In its first five days after launch, Black Ops earned over $650 million which even exceeded the Modern Warfare 2 release which earned $550 million in its first five days on the market and itself shattered records.

“Call of Duty has become the first entertainment property in history to set five-day launch records for two consecutive years across all forms of entertainment,” said Robert Kotick, CEO, Activision-Blizzard in a press release.

In addition to setting new sales records, Call of Duty: Black Ops also set two new Xbox LIVE records. According to Microsoft, more than 5.9 million multiplayer hours were logged on Black Ops by the end of launch day alone. The game also saw over 2.6 million unique players on November 9th.

Black Ops wasn’t just a huge success on the Xbox 360 but also on the PlayStation 3. According to estimates on VGChartz, the game has already sold 3.77 million units on PS3 (and 5.36 million on Xbox 360). Adding the PC sales into the mix, Black Ops has already totaled nearly 10 million units sold worldwide and has easily surpassed Halo: Reach, another game that was a huge success at launch (albeit only on one platform). Obviously Black Ops is extremely popular.

The success of Black Ops can be largely attributed to the number of pre-orders the game received. Modern Warfare 2 set the stage for Black Ops’ success as gamers were ready to move on to something new. “Call of Duty: Black Ops had the highest number of pre-orders of any video game to date,” said Paul Raines, CEO, GameStop. “It went on to become our biggest video game launch ever, which bodes well for game sales as we enter the holidays.”

But high sales do not necessarily mean a game is good, so how was it actually received? Call of Duty: Black Ops averages an 88 aggregate review score on Metacritic for both 360 and PS3 versions which is described as “generally favorable reviews” on the site. Critics seem to love this game with its biggest criticism being that the campaign is too short. That is to be expected of any FPS, however, where the main draw is typically the online multiplayer.

Historically, Infinity Ward and Treyarch have taken turns on development of Call of Duty games so IW will have their work cut out for them if they want to top the Black Ops release.

When Call of Duty: Black Ops is released on November 9th, Halo: Reach will stand no chance. Currently, Reach is the number one played game on Xbox LIVE but this will change when Black Ops hits store shelves.

Just looking at sales, Black Ops will easily eclipse Halo: Reach for the simple fact that it is on multiple consoles while Reach is an Xbox 360 exclusive. Modern Warfare 2 sold over twenty million copies on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 combined, almost quadruple what Halo: Reach sold. If Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and COO Thomas Tippl are correct when they said Black Ops is going to be the biggest launch in company history and will break Modern Warfare 2’s record-setting sales numbers, then Black Ops should blow Reach out of the water. More sales means a wider audience and a wider audience means a higher chance of success.

Gamers seem to be getting tired of Halo. According to VGChartz, sales of the franchise peaked with Halo 3 (around 11 million sold worldwide). Halo: Reach has only sold 5.83 million copies worldwide to date. That is less than even Halo 2 which managed to move over 8 million. While Call of Duty games seem to be getting more and more popular, Halo games are selling less. One reason that Reach has seen a lesser degree of success than its predecessor is that Bungie may have alienated fans with their so-called “quitter ban.” If you dare to quit a game before it’s over, you run the risk of being temporarily banned from matchmaking. What a stupid system. What if you are the last player on your team facing four opponents? Why should you be forced to stay and endure unnecessary punishment?

Black Ops isn’t like that. Call of Duty games allow players to jump in and out of matches already in progress. Bungie hasn’t seemed to yet learn how to do this yet as once a game begins, nobody can join mid-match. Quitters and cheaters are therefore a much bigger problem on Reach than it will be in Black Ops. If you run into someone using a lag switch you can just leave the game and immediately join another.

It could also be argued that a major reason for Halo: Reach’s success was that many Call of Duty fans bought the game to “tide them over” until Black Ops was released. It will definitely be interesting to see how the Xbox LIVE Activity Charts look after Black Ops comes out in November but all indications would suggest that Black Ops will be topping the charts for some time to come.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is now just around the corner. Set for release on November 9th in North America, it is poised to become the number one game of 2010. Here are the top five reasons that Black Ops will be the Game of the Year.

5) Name recognition. Much like Halo, the Call of Duty franchise is a name that gamers have come to know and love. Where other shooters like Medal of Honor fall short, Call of Duty excels. Call of Duty has been a leader in the first shooter genre for years and the sales certainly reflect that. Video games are one medium where consumers base a lot of their opinion on brand name of the product. Despite how good or how bad Black Ops actually is, many people will probably buy it for the sole fact it is a Call of Duty game.

4) Call of Duty has an established fan base. According to VGChartz, Modern Warfare 2 sold over twenty million copies on the Xbox 360 and PS3 combined. With many of those players eagerly awaiting Black Ops, sales could be bigger than ever. Activision is definitely expecting amazing sales right out of the gate. Company CEO Bobby Kotick and COO Thomas Tippl have gone on record to say that the Black Ops launch would be the biggest in the company’s thirty-one year history and the game is on pace to top Modern Warfare 2′s record-breaking sales. Although some industry analysts disagree, it is fairly obvious that Black Ops is one of the most anticipated games this year.

3) The simple fact that Black Ops is a first person shooter puts it head and shoulders ahead of many other amazing titles in this year’s Game of the Year race. It’s no secret that shooters are the most popular genre of video game in today’s day and age. This is evidenced by the fact that five out of the top six selling Xbox 360 games as well as the best-selling PlayStation 3 game (Modern Warfare 2) are all shooters. Because it is an FPS, Black Ops will appeal to a much wider audience than other blockbuster titles released this year like Fable III, God of War III, and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

2) Although Modern Warfare 2 has seen unprecedented levels of success, many gamers have grown weary of it. Sometimes referred to as the “noobified” Call of Duty, there is just way too much stuff constantly coming at you from the sky all the time. Whether it be Elway Grenades thrown across the map, Predator Missiles falling on your head, or an AC-130 raining terror down on the battlefield, it just isn’t as fun as previous Call of Duty games have been. It seems like it takes a lot less skill because the maps in MW2 were tailor-made for campers to sit there and wrack up their killstreaks. How hard is it to go 20-0 when all you are doing is watching a door and calling in a Chopper Gunner? It’s time for a change. Treyarch has made some of the best balanced games in the series so fans are eagerly anticipating the next installment.

1) Timing is the number one reason that Black Ops will be the Game of the Year. Releasing just before the holidays has historically boosted video game sales as consumers look for that one great present for the gamer in the family. Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare 2, and even World at War were all released in November of their respective years. This has played a significant role in the success of each game and even the Call of Duty franchise in general. With the release of Kinect, Xbox 360 owners are especially going to be looking for something a little more “hardcore” and Black Ops will be where they turn.