Activision's "Call of Duty: Black Ops" hit stores today, with many faithful fans lining up at midnight to get their hands on the next version of the popular franchise.
The game, developed by Treyarch, provides "the deepest and most intense 'Call of Duty' experience ever," according to Activision. Players engage in guerilla warfare and covert ops in the middle of the wilderness in single and multiplayer formats.
"Black Ops" includes a variety of new features, including customization, an in-game currency system, Wager Match game play modes, theater video-recording capabilities, combat training, and more.
"From the beginning, we focused our entire studio on creating the most immersive 'Call of Duty' experience ever," Mark Lamia, head of Treyarch Studios, said in a statement. "Treyarch wanted to give 'Call of Duty' fans the ultimate entertainment package this year. 'Black Ops' delivers an epic and cinematic single player experience, an incredibly deep multiplayer offering, and endless hours of co-op fun with Zombies."
The game is available on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, and the PC. It's rated "M" for mature due to blood, drug references, intense violence, and language. Developer n-Space, however, has put together a teen version for the Nintendo DS.
This is the first time a "Call of Duty" game will be available in 3D; a feature announced last month. Users must have a 3D-ready HDTV or a 3D computer complete with the necessary active shutter glasses in order to experience the highly anticipated game in this format. 3D will be available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PCs.
Collector's editions are available for the Xbox and PlayStation 3. The Prestige Edition, which retails for $149.99, includes the RC-XD Surveillance Vehicle, delivering a remote camera that transmits both TFT color video and audio to its operator with a range of up to 200 feet. The Hardened Edition, selling for $79.99, features a custom Black Ops limited edition medal, exclusive Avatar outfit as well as four playable zombie cooperative maps.
The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC versions sell for $59.99, while the Wii version is available for $49.99. The Nintendo DS option sells for $29.99.
Gamestop said it set a new record with 'Call of Duty: Black Ops" reservations, holding more for this game than any other game in the company's history. Activision said thousands of retailers opened their doors at midnight so fans could snag a copy as early as possible.
A few people got the game a bit too early. Earlier this week, armed robbers in Maryland held up a video game store and ran off with 100 unreleased copies of "Call of Duty: Black Ops."
The last iteration of the game, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" was relased in November 2009. An add-on for the game, released in April, attracted more than 2.5 million downloads.