Afte my re-evaluation of The Simpsons Game, I was a little hesitant to port my old review here. I thought I still might be missing something, and a more comprehensive look may be needed. I was right to a degree, but this playthrough still didn't radically change my opinion.

I was able to enjoy certain missions a lot more than I did on my previous two playthroughs, but others proved just as much of a chore as before. I think Black Ops works best in minimalistic (by its standards) missions that focus on close-quarter shootouts and fast progression. When you enter a room, identify enemy positions, take them out and move to the next room, there is a kind of momentum that builds and makes the game almost feel like an old school shooter. Because even for a Call of Duty, there is a lot of encouragement here to not sit in the cover as much as you did in the previous games. This is mostly reinforced through the abundance of shotguns and SMGs and magazine extensions. At times, especially as it tonally and narratively dips into the neo-noir thriller territory, it really resembles a kind of softcore Soldier of Fortune.

Then there are gimmicky moments, which range from cool to abysmal. Again I would say these work in the aforementioned minimalist missions. Like when you're given a SPAS shotgun with incendiary bullets and you move through close-quarters lighting dudes on fire. It removes a lot of complexity from the game and almost plays like a mini-game, but its momentum and level-design still work to deliver an engaging experience.

The occasional callbacks to World at War (beyond just reoccurrence of Reznov) are also a nice touch. There's one moment you get a flamethrower, and another where you have to take out snipers in the trees. However, these are not foundational mechanics here like they are in WaW. The second time you get a flamethrower is even not accommodated by an appropriate level-design like it was in WaW. You're thrown into a situation where the flamethrower is mostly useless.

The worst mission by far is the helicopter ride. I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're on rails and can't control your elevation, which leads to ridiculous moments like when the enemy helicopter is just slightly above your reticle and you can't do shit without first retreating back to a position where you were slightly higher-elevated. Furthermore, due to poor physics, shooting ground targets is very frustrating. You seem to be causing mayhem of explosions, but still some infrantry soldiers come out of that unharmed and you have to hit them with ultra-accuracy.

I found the story more enjoyable this time around, even though it's still rather silly. I never noticed this before, but the main revelation is kinda meta. The game telling you that a certain character and AI-companion was never real, but really nome of them are. As it talks about brainwashing, there is an indirect implication that video games are also a kind of brainwashing tool, and that the players are going schizo. I also like how the typical CoD ending is subverted. There is a kind of faux-triumph that looks almost like a parody, which is then negated by the epilogue.

All things considered though, I think the game overall leans more towards the "style over substance" end of the spectrum. And for what it is, it's quite creative.