Get ready all of you Call of Duty fanboys, Activision and Treyarch’s next big title, Call of Duty: Black Ops is just around the corner, and it is going to blow your minds.
For all of you that thought this would be a cheap spin-off of the older installments, think again. Call of Duty: Black Ops has an entirely new system to offer for matchmaking along with brand new features that will probably keep you on your ass for months. You might want to warn your lady-friends you’ll be busy … for a while.

Ever get bored of simply killing people and gaining experience? Of course not! But for those of you that have, Treyarch has added some new features just for you.
On top of all the glorious multiplayer options already present in the Call of Duty series, a new “wager” system has been added. That’s right, time to gamble boys and girls, and it looks awesome.
The question may arise, “Gamble with what, gaming guru?” Well, with the new CoD Points currency system of course. After unlocking something via experience, players now have to purchase it with CoD Points. For Perks and Killstreaks, after a certain level (4 and 10, respectively) all of them become available for purchase.

Going back to why people will love Wager matches; they let you gamble on your skill and CoD Points for a chance at winning more points than you bet. The system then chooses from a handful of different matchmaking types that take on a whole new of gameplay.
In one game type, you start with a pistol and one bullet — have fun. Another starts you off with a pistol and gives you a new and better weapon to use after each kill, but watch out for melee attacks. Those will set you back a level (similar to Gun Game, if you have played Counter Strike Source).
On top of the new currency system and Wager match, you can pick up Contracts (for a small fee), similar to Halo: Reach’s daily challenges that have an in-game time limit to perform some feat of strength. If performed successfully, you will come out with more CoD Points than you put in and some experience to boot. Fail, and you lose the CoD Points you paid to purchase the Contract.

Now if only you could view each match afterward to see how that MLG pro you lost to played. Oh, wait. You can! Another new feature is the ability to watch previous matches in a theater similar to Halo 3 and Halo: Reach.
So all those sneaky hiding places the snipers like to camp in can be analyzed inside and out to find the best place to toss a grenade and do the most damage. You no longer need to laugh at that kid who ate a grenade to the face. You can watch it over and over and show your friends.
Last but not least, and this is a small note, Call of Duty: Black Ops will be offered in stereoscopic 3D. So, if any of you have a 3D TV, be prepared for an entirely new feel to gaming.

All in all, this is going to be one game that no gamer should go without. With a slew of new features and an updated graphics engine, along with being playable in three dimensions, Call of Duty: Black Ops will blow everything you knew about the CoD series out of the water.
Make sure to get it when it drops Nov. 9. (And don’t forget to take those days off via vacation or being “sick.”)

Clayton Martin/Freelancer
Clayton Martin can be reached at [email protected].