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Secrets of the Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer

Ryan Fleming
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Image used with permission by copyright holder

The PlayStation Blog has posted a look at some of the new multiplayer aspects of the upcoming indie shooter called Call of… something.  Doesn’t really matter, it probably won’t do all that well.  But if you do go out and buy this new entry into the first person shooter market called Black Ops, here are a few details on the upcoming multiplayer that you can look forward to.


Multiplayer online split-screen

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Now, when you jump online you can have a friend join you on the same TV as a guest. If your screen name is “DigitalTrends”, your partner will appear as “DigitalTrends1”, just like in the Halo games. Your guest will begin at level 1 and earn upgrades, but the points earned will disappear once you log off. It’s still unclear whether or not you can log in a second account to play online with your buddy on the same Xbox 360.


Custom games editor

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The options in the custom games have been greatly expanded, and you can now create a file share to pass your saved game modes onto your friends. Black Ops seems to be taking some ideas from the Halo franchise, and that is not a bad thing.


In-Game friends list

Black Ops will feature an in-game friends list that will allow you to easily sort through the players you have recently played with, find friends online, and see what game files people are sharing. This sounds a bit like a streamlined version of the Xbox 360’s friends list with a touch of Battlefield Bad Company 2’s multiplayer selection options thrown in.


Regional Matchmaking and Party Privacy

Although this might not sound like a huge deal, the regional matchmaking could actually be a major benefit to Black Ops. When you are online looking for a game, you can choose the region you want to play in. Besides just being able to talk trash on inter-state rivals, it should decrease lag and speed up the games. Plus, having this option available means that even if you aren’t using it, many people are, which will make it less laggy for everyone. Since Black Ops does not feature dedicated servers for the consoles, every little bit helps.

The party privacy options will allow the party leader to modify the lobby between games to give them control over who enters. That person can then set the lobby to invite only, friends only, or simply close it altogether.


Emblems don’t reset with prestige, but COD points do

Customizing emblems are probably going to start out as a novelty, then as the game ages, you will see more and more players spending time to differentiate themselves. The good news is that when you prestige, you will not lose these emblems. One thing you will lose however, is your COD points.

If you have been following Black Ops, you have probably heard about the wager mode, which will allow you to gamble the points you earn throughout the game (called COD points) in various game types, with the top three players taking the pot. The COD points can be used to unlock new weapon attachments, killstreaks, and several other things, so they are important. When you prestige, you lose your points and start from scratch. Not all that surprising, but good to know.

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Ryan Fleming
Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
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