The Call of Duty franchise is back with their new game, Black Ops. There were a lot of expectations for this game, but Treyarch, with a few exceptions, has risen to the challenge and met all of them.

For those of you who don't know, Black Ops is a first-person shooter, set in Vietnam during the cold war. The U.S. is on the brink of war with Soviet Russia, and you hold the key to averting the crisis

Only one problem: You have been brainwashed, repeating sequences of numbers continuously interrupt your thoughts, and you are fighting through flashbacks. You have been captured, and you don't know where you are, or who has captured you.

This is how the single-player campaign mode starts off. As you are being interrogated, your thoughts trigger flashbacks, which comprise the actual missions of campaign mode.

Your first mission is to Cuba, to assassinate the infamous Fidel Castro. During this mission, you sacrifice yourself to save the rest of your team. You are captured, and sent to a Russian labor camp.

During the course of your interrogation and flashbacks, you realize that the Russians are preparing to release a nerve agent, "Nova 6", in the United States. It is this that becomes the main crisis of the story.

Although the story is a bit confusing at first, don't give up on it. Everything ties back together in the end and it all starts to make sense, producing a pleasantly unpredictable storyline.

Another good thing about the game is that real people from history are tied into the story. As previously mentioned, you are first sent to kill Castro, and you meet President Kennedy and Secretary McNamara. These real world references help you to feel more connected with the game.

What really make the game great, however, are all the details. You don't feel like you are playing a video game. You feel like you are controlling a movie. This is achieved, with the help of great graphics, by things like motorcycle jumps, prison escapes, strafing runs in helicopters, and incredible sneak attacks and hand to hand combat, just to name a few.

At the end of campaign mode, after the credits, a cut scene starts to play in which Kennedy is sitting at a table with McNamara, Castro, and Nixon. He is talking with them about burying the hatchet when suddenly loud bumps are heard in rooms next door…

Zombie mode is back! Now with new maps (including the pentagon), guns, and characters, it is just as fun as "Nazi Zombies" from World at War. In some ways, it's even better - getting to hear Nixon brag about his zombie-killing prowess is priceless.

Now for what many of you began reading this article for in the first place: the multiplayer mode

A great deal has been changed on the multiplayer of Black Ops compared with that of Modern Warfare 2.

Of course there are the standard changes like new guns and new maps, and there are cosmetic differences, for instance, the guns look a little funny compared with the guns in Modern Warfare 2, but a few changes in particular stand out above the rest.

The first is the addition of "Combat Training". This is a change for the better. Basically, it is for people new to FPS multiplayer to get them acclimated to the style of play.  You basically play a regular multiplayer match, the only differences being your teammates and the enemy team are made up of computer AI. Everything you earn and unlock, including your statistics, does not transfer to the other game modes.

The second is the addition of "COD points." This is basically a currency system that is used to buy things like camouflage, face paint, guns, attachments, and really just about everything having to do with the "create a class" option.

This is honestly a bit annoying, especially at first. Things like guns first have to be unlocked via a rank level (achieved by gaining experience points) and then "bought" with COD points to be used in game. This makes it very hard to try out all the different weapons and figure out which ones you like best.

It does have a positive side however. First of all, this means that once you have a given weapon, you don't have to wait ages before you can unlock the attachment you want to use on it. Instead, you can just buy it right away.

The second good thing about the addition of COD points is it has lead to a new class of multiplayer games: wager matches. Now you can win more than just bragging rights while playing online. You can gamble one of three different amounts of your COD points against other players in one of four game modes: "one in the chamber", "sticks and stones", "sharpshooter", and "gun game."

Other notable changes include the ability to carry out "contracts"; challenges that, if completed in the allotted time, award bonus COD points. The ability to record and view yours' and others' games, and the ability to change your characters appearance in "create a class" have also been added.

Overall, this is a good game. Although the story mode can at times be a bit confusing at the same time it is also VERY fun. The multiplayer does take some getting used to but it is still a great system, and although the currency system is annoying at times, it also allows for some very cool game modes. I would recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of first-person shooters.