Call of Duty: Black Ops (Multi Player) - Sound Review

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will not be one who says "Come on, that doesn't sound like a real M16!!" I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible. I will not rate anything on gameplay. I am just rating sound.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Multiplayer for Call of Duty Black Ops sound review…

Opening statement:
My initial thoughts as I play all Call of Duty games is that they are very fast paced and fun to play but since I am sound guy, I like to hear great sound when I play these games. I will be writing my review on MP (Multiplayer) sound in general here shortly but here is one I just did on #CODBlackOps. I enjoy playing Black Ops with my friends as well as checking out the different sounds while by myself in a private match or system link. It always intrigued me on how the developers and sound engineers came up with the various sounds when creating this game. Here is my personal take on the sound design and engineering for #CODBlackOps.

Music: I am not going to review music for MP. I only do that for SP (Single Player).

Ambient: Let’s first talk about the walking/running/jumping in MP. It sounds so squishy and goofy. I feel like I am in a cartoon sometimes. I wonder how the foley artists and the developers sat down to design the sound for this. It is the one thing that annoys me the most when playing Black Ops MP. Also walking/Running/Jumping is just a bit too loud for my taste as well. Switching of weapons is not too bad. Not too loud and distracting. Ambient sound of ammo/gear while running is another item that is kind of annoying. Sounds like plastic sticks in my front pocket. I am just not fond of those sounds. Walking/Running on objects… it is ok just not great. The grunting noises that the characters make while climbing through windows or up walls were close-to-real and sounded pretty good. I give props to the developers to put this into the game but if you use Ninja Pro, you can still hear them. (My take on that is if you are going to make a perk absolutely silent, cut out the climbing noises as well). Ambient noises like wind, birds, snow, etc. was done very well. I did like the sounds of doors opening, sparks, buzzers, trains, etc. That seems like it had the most work put into it. Walking into “tanks” noise was cool, but why nothing else like walls or forklifts??? Makes no sense to me… feels like a trial run to see what people thought I guess. I know, you are thinking I am slamming #CODBlackOps but I am not. I was pleased with gameplay but the sound just lacked in some parts of MP. Compared to MW2, it doesn’t stack up. I guess I will need to play WaW first to see if it is a developer specific issue when it comes to sound. Aside from the character sounds (walking/running/etc) I give Ambient an 8.

Dialog: TOO much of it in MP. I like Ice Cube and all, but if I hear him yell “ENEMY HAS BRAVO” again, I am going to drink myself into hell. I think the dialog in MP was a little loud and overpowering. Keep it simple I say. Turn it down a bit and less talking and more action. Rating: 6

Vehicles (Playable): Since the only vehicles that are in #CODBlackOps are aircraft and a R.C. Car, I liked what they did with them when it comes to sound. They weren’t too loud and you could distinguish the sound of what vehicle was active no matter which team you were on and hoped that when you did hear the RC car roll up that it was your team mate’s car and not the other team’s. Good job on that one!! Rating: 7

Equipment: Equipment sound was done pretty good. Not too loud and has distinctive sounds when in the proximity of the equipment like Tac inserts, motion sensors and jammers. Again, good job on that one. Rating: 7

Weapons: By far my favorite sounding weapon in #CODBlackOps has to be the M60. It is a fun sound when you shoot this thing especially when you have 4 of your friends who all have them and you come walking around the corner to face the enemy. Not only does it drown out the silly sounding walking, but it intimidates the hell out of the opposing side when they hear you coming.

Explosions are done well. Not too loud and not to BOOMISH… just right for this type of FPS.

Not liking the silenced weapons. Again, sounds cheesy and “too silenced”.

Pistols were done pretty well as they had noticeable echo when shot.

It is nice to hear the weapons sound different based on what area you are located while on a map. (i.e.: Indoor vs. Outdoor) so good job on that!

So, let me break the primary weapons down generally for now:

Sub Machine Guns:
Overall good sound to them. Not too cheesy and have appealing sound that I like playing them all.
Assault Rifles:
Again, overall good sound to them all. I really like the FAL, that one sounds awesome as well as the AK-47
Shotguns:
The shotguns sounds were done nicely. Very distinctive sound between them all.
Light Machine Guns:
Is it me or does firing the Kiparis seem louder than firing the Stoner? Anyway, the LMG’s were good sounding but by far the one that stands out the most is the M60. It is just a beast!
Sniper Rifles:
Sniper rifles sound like crap. No other way to put it. I don’t like the sound of them at all.

Weapons gets a 7

Overall Sound: #CODBlackOps did a good job with the sound engineering except for Ninja as it appears to just lower the volume of game play and not raise the sound of enemies that much at all. Maybe it is the whole balance thing… Whatever… So… when it comes to sound design, I just feel like some parts were rushed into the game than others. Maybe that is the business side of it (to get it to market) but it just was a little weak. I think the sound is “cartoony” when it comes to the characters interactions with the elements and it is the only thing that drives me away from playing this game as much as I would love to... Ambient gets the top mark for this one though.

CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS overall sound review: 7

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.