Review #801: Call of Duty Black Ops - Declassified

 There's a reason this game got declassified.

 I'm not a Call of Duty, I'm really not into the whole 'realistic military shooter' genre, as I find it quite dull. But maaaan, Black Ops was something else, it offered so many neat extras, like the fantastic zombies mode and the top-down shooter secret mini-game, it felt like an altogether fun game. And color me surprised, the campaign wound up being so interesting thanks to the plot twist! It wasn't your average military shooter, and that's why it was so good. Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified is a spin-off set between Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2, exclusive for the VITA, by the creators of Resistance Burning Skies, which wound up being much better than reviews led me to believe...sadly, this is not the case.

 The game's story mode is not an story mode, but a mode called 'Operations', being made up of 11 6-minute missions. Since this is a handheld game, bite-sized missions was probably the right idea, but the execution is not, as it ends up feeling very disjointed. Basically, you'll play as either Frank Woods or Alex Mason, the final mission being played as an undisclosed agent, and every mission is pretty much "This is why Alex/Frank is so awesome". I think the correct approach would've been a proper story campaign, although divided into 6-minute chunks. Then there's Time Trial, in which you get about 6 missions of running around shooting at dull cardboard cutouts. The last Single Player offering is Hostiles, which is an endless wave survivor mode which isn't half bad. That said, when it's all said and done, you're looking at about 3 hours worth of Single player content, which just doesn't cut the mustard. Hostiles does have some longevity, but it's not random enough and you can't even select your initial load out, and while Operations is made in a way to be replayed to get better times... why would you? There are no rewards. The game used to have Multiplayer, but it's pretty much dead.

 The basic gameplay is pretty good, they managed to capture how CoD feels, you've got your 2 weapon maximum, your iron sights to aim, regenerating health, etc. Melee and grenades are relegated to the touch screen, which works pretty decently. It's not a perfect solution, but it works. Sprinting is automatic by default, but you can change it to pressing down on the DPad, which works really well due to the analogs placement, that said, I think it's better to turn it off because movement feels very slippery as it is.

 Alright, so while the basic gameplay nailed how CoD works... the rest of the game didn't. The AI is relentless, as soon as you kill any CPU, all of them will automatically know where you are, and they are incredibly aggressive, they'll empty their entire clips onto the walls you are hiding behind just because. They don't attempt to flank you or find you, except in hostiles mode, they'll just shoot and shoot and shoot. Sometimes they'll crouch behind cover and.... start shooting against the wall that's right in front of them trying to... reach you? They are dumb, but deadly. This also means that most missions in Operations Mode will play out exactly the same because the CPUs will always be more or less on the same exact places, trying to empty their clips on you or your cover. In Hostiles the enemy is actively trying to find you, so they behave much better there.

 Black Ops on Vita is not terrible, but it's very forgettable. There's not enough Single Player content for someone playing on the go, and what little content there isn't particularly good. Considering that they managed to capture the feeling of CoD, ignoring the terrible AI, maybe the game fared better in Multiplayer, but considering that's no longer a selling point.... the game just isn't up to snuff, which is kinda pathetic considering how decent the DS CoD games were, at least the one played.
 4.0 out of 10