Black Ops is a game I thought I loved. It was the first game I've played on PS3 after some years away from gaming in general, so I remember it very fondly.

Recently, I've decided to revisit some of the PS3 catalogue, so I played the campaign on Veteran difficulty...

Technically, Black Ops SHOULD be a good game. The shooting feels good, the visuals are compelling and it includes some really good action set pieces. However, the gameplay is seriously lacking in terms of freedom of gameplay and variety of viable strategies. Even simple stuff like flanking, which should be a staple in FPS games, don't work very well. On regular difficulty, it's a cakewalk, requiring no strategy at all. On veteran, the ONLY viable strategy is to hide behind cover and slug throughout the game. Because of the "need" to portray "realism", the game color palette is full of browns and greys. In some missions, is IMPOSSIBLE to distinguish enemies from the background, which makes it really infuriating dying to some enemy you can't see. S.O.G. on Veteran is probably the worst FPS mission I have ever played.

After playing some incredible FPS games over the years, like Wolfenstein: The New Order and The New Colossus, DOOM and Titanfall 2, and even some reeeeaally old stuff like Red Faction (2001), I can now recognize that, despite not being BAD, this game lacks the mechanical/artistic depth I enjoyed in those games.

The Zombies mode is still incredible though, so I'm bumping it an additional 1 star.

Supergiant Games delivers again a fantastic game with the studio's signature qualities: unparalleled art style, incredible soundtrack, amazing and unforgettable characters, great storytelling, lore and voice acting, and all of that without forgetting that it is a video game for a second.

Though it is probably my least favorite story from the studio so far (but it still great), it kept me surprised throughout the whole game introducing new mechanics without being overwhelming. I could write pages about how entertaining is the gameplay and how much fun it is to get lost in all the mechanical details of this game, such as the build + weapon combos, but I think the best way to learn about these is just experiencing it.

I believe it takes an insane amount of knowledge about game-design to create a rogue-like that simply does not get frustrating, ever. That's what they've accomplished.

I don't like to abandon stuff without giving it a fair chance, but, having played this game for only 4-5 hours, I feel I couldn't bear to sit through and play this game.

There's really nothing much to be enjoyed here. The combat is stiff and repetitive, the main character is honestly high on the rank of the most boring and uncharismatic video-game protagonists, and there's a sense of buginess throughout the whole experience.

I can excuse a game from being kinda wonky and weird, but it has to offer something interesting in return, and i couldn't find much in this game.

Doom's unique execution system, combined with the character's speed, weapon variety and map design creates an incredible fast and aggressive fps game where the combat flows so smoothly that it is almost like a puzzle/rhythm game.

The only major downside i had with this game was it's interface. When you're playing, the UI is clean, minimalistic and fits exactly with the game vibe. Once you open a menu though, it feels like a complete clusterfuck of information, which makes it hard to enjoy the side content, like the secrets.

Overall, it is safely in the top 3 of the best FPS from the PS4 generation.