Ok, time for some more rumour, truth and speculation on what will be one of the years biggest shooters: Call of Duty Black Ops.

COD Points Despite rumours claiming otherwise, you still unlock certain items while you’re ranking up, as in previous Call of Duty Games. XP, ranks and prestige leaderboards are still in Black Ops. The biggest difference is that when you rank (or level) up, you unlock a full set of items that you can then purchase with COD points, the in-game currency. Apparently you get to unlock all perks at level 4. It’s up to you which perk you prefer and would like to purchase first.

It really allows you to choose the way you play. Instead of being forced into using the Red Dot Sight, you can purchase the ACOG Sight when you please. Just make sure you have the money for it. Same goes for the Custom Reticles (the smiley face in your reflex sight for example), they become available for purchase for all guns once you unlock them. 

Same goes for Killstreaks, which you unlock at level 10. You don’t need wait for the higher killstreaks until you’re a high level player, once you unlock Killstreaks you can go ahead and purchase the highest killstreak if you like. That being said, you do need the money for it… Obviously the later killstreaks are more expensive than the earlier ones, so you will have to save up some money before you buy them. Of course, this also means you don’t need to waste your money on the lower killstreaks!

Earning money How to get the money fast, you ask? That’s up to you, as there are basically three ways of doing it. Just play the game like you were used to. It will not earn you money fast, but you will be awarded money nonetheless. Secondly you can easily earn a lot of money with the new Wager Matches. You bet a set amount of COD Points to wager that you will be in the top 3 players of that game. If not, you lose your money. If you are, you will earn a big sum of COD Points.

You can also do contracts, a new feature that’s a lot like the default “do x-amount of headshots with this weapon” challenges, but with a twist. Contracts include challenges like “call in 2 napalm strikes in one match, without 40 minutes of play time”. You need to buy these contracts and when you fail you loose your money. But if you complete them, you will be awarded both XP and COD Points. By the looks of it, every 24 hours you can pick from a new set of contracts.

Tactical Insertion
Tactical Insertion is like a four letter word for many MW2 players, but Treyarchare absolutely sure that it will not be abused the way it is in MW2. One major element of Tac Insert that has been changed in Black Ops is the fact that you can actually cancel your own Tac Insert in the Killcam. So you won’t be spawn killed as easily as in the previous game. And then there’s the reporting system. Report boosters and Treyarch has promised to lay the ban hammer on them. Do this to enough people, word will get around that they don’t take too kindly on this sort of thing.

X360 and PS3 Launch Playlists
This is total rumour, but by the sounds of it, this is what the playlist will look like at launch. Wager Match is not included in this list, but it goes without saying that it will be included at launch…

Core: Team Deathmatch (TDM) Mercenary (MERC) Free-for-All (FFA) Domination (DOM) Ground War (GW) Demolition (DEMO) Sabotage (SAB) Headquarters (HQ) Capture the Flag (CTF) Search and Destroy (SnD)

Team Tactical (TEAM TAC)

Barebones: Pure (No perks, killstreaks, attachments, equipment, or contracts) Classic (Killstreaks at 3, 5, 7 kills)

Team Tac (Pure version with mixed bag of objective modes)

Hardcore Team Deathmatch Search and Destroy Headquarters

Free-for-All

In Combat Training you will only be able to play Free-for-All and Team Deathmatch (alone, split-screen or over the net).

Shotguns
Shotguns are perhaps the hardest weapons in the game to balance in first person shooters. They’ve been switched back from secondary weapons (MW2) to primary weapons in Black Ops. Some have a bit of range (like the Olympia) but that will only have two shots in the barrel. They’re doing their best to make shotguns amazing effective at super close range. But if you’re more of an medium ranged runner, SMG’s might be your poison.

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Rate this item Ok, time for some more rumour, truth and speculation on what will be one of the years biggest shooters: Call of Duty Black Ops. COD Points Despite rumours claiming otherwise, you still unlock certain items while you’re ranking up, as in previous Call of Duty Games. XP, ranks and prestige leaderboards are still in Black Ops. The biggest difference is that when you rank (or level) up, you unlock a full set of items that you can then purchase with COD points, the in-game currency. Apparently you get to unlock all perks at level 4. It’s up to you which perk you prefer and would like to purchase first. It really allows you to choose the way you play. Instead of being forced into using the Red Dot Sight, you can purchase the ACOG Sight when you please. Just make sure you have the money for it. Same goes for the Custom Reticles (the smiley face in your reflex sight for example), they become available for purchase for all guns once you unlock them.  Same goes for Killstreaks, which you unlock at level 10. You don’t need wait for the higher killstreaks until you’re a high level player, once you unlock Killstreaks you can go ahead and purchase the highest killstreak if you like. That being said, you do need the money for it… Obviously the later killstreaks are more expensive than the earlier ones, so you will have to save up some money before you buy them. Of course, this also means you don’t need to waste your money on the lower killstreaks! Earning money How to get the money fast, you ask? That’s up to you, as there are basically three ways of doing it. Just play the game like you were used to. It will not earn you money fast, but you will be awarded money nonetheless. Secondly you can easily earn a lot of money with the new Wager Matches. You bet a set amount of COD Points to wager that you will be in the top 3 players of that game. If not, you lose your money. If you are, you will earn a big sum of COD Points. You can also do contracts, a new feature that’s a lot like the default “do x-amount of headshots with this weapon” challenges, but with a twist. Contracts include challenges like “call in 2 napalm strikes in one match, without 40 minutes of play time”. You need to buy these contracts and when you fail you loose your money. But if you complete them, you will be awarded both XP and COD Points. By the looks of it, every 24 hours you can pick from a new set of contracts. Tactical Insertion Tactical Insertion is like a four letter word for many MW2 players, but Treyarchare absolutely sure that it will not be abused the way it is in MW2. One major element of Tac Insert that has been changed in Black Ops is the fact that you can actually cancel your own Tac Insert in the Killcam. So you won’t be spawn killed as easily as in the previous game. And then there’s the reporting system. Report boosters and Treyarch has promised to lay the ban hammer on them. Do this to enough people, word will get around that they don’t take too kindly on this sort of thing. X360 and PS3 Launch Playlists This is total rumour, but by the sounds of it, this is what the playlist will look like at launch. Wager Match is not included in this list, but it goes without saying that it will be included at launch… Core: Team Deathmatch (TDM) Mercenary (MERC) Free-for-All (FFA) Domination (DOM) Ground War (GW) Demolition (DEMO) Sabotage (SAB) Headquarters (HQ) Capture the Flag (CTF) Search and Destroy (SnD) Team Tactical (TEAM TAC) Barebones: Pure (No perks, killstreaks, attachments, equipment, or contracts) Classic (Killstreaks at 3, 5, 7 kills) Team Tac (Pure version with mixed bag of objective modes) Hardcore Team Deathmatch Search and Destroy Headquarters Free-for-All In Combat Training you will only be able to play Free-for-All and Team Deathmatch (alone, split-screen or over the net). Shotguns Shotguns are perhaps the hardest weapons in the game to balance in first person shooters. They’ve been switched back from secondary weapons (MW2) to primary weapons in Black Ops. Some have a bit of range (like the Olympia) but that will only have two shots in the barrel. They’re doing their best to make shotguns amazing effective at super close range. But if you’re more of an medium ranged runner, SMG’s might be your poison.