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A lot of gamers doubted “Call

of Duty: Black Ops” could be better than the two super successful

titles of “Modern Warfare” that Infinity Ward developed. Treyarch’s

“Call of Duty: World at War” was a letdown to most who were

hardcore first-person shooter gamers. Activision had a lot of work

to do to build up the hype and then, most importantly, deliver a

spectacular game. 

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The GameStop in Muscle Shoals

was filled with about 150 people as early as 9 p.m. to watch

players in a tournament before the release of “Black Ops.” “World

at War” was in the systems and players were a little let down that

it wasn’t “Modern Warfare 2.” Then, about five minutes after nine,

the manager popped in “Black Ops” and cheers erupted throughout the

store. 

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It was like a nightclub—there

was an employee standing outside checking identification, and if a

customer was not at least 17 or had a parent with them, then they

were not getting in. The Muscle Shoals store is one of the largest

in the area and by 11 p.m. it was packed like a can of sardines.

The official “Black Ops Jeep” was parked in front of the store and

was winnable by playing an iPhone or Droid application. The

environment was great. The employees were dressed in military garb

and had their faces painted up in camo. 

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“I was a little worried

because it was Treyarch, but after seeing the game play first hand,

this will be epic,” said Teran Gray, an eager customer.

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 At the Muscle Shoals GameStop

there were over 600 pre-orders. That number is double the numbers

set by Activision’s previous “Call of Duty” title, “Modern Warfare

2.” Activision had put on a great advertising campaign with slots

during Monday Night Football and made almost everyone forget about

whatever other games were coming out around the same

time. 

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Kaleb Bryan was excited to get

his copy. “The biggest thing I want to see is how deep the

customization is. From what I have seen it looks great,” Bryan

said. 

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Zombies are making a return in

“Black Ops” and will add another way for players to enjoy

headshots. The Hardened edition comes in a steel case with an

Avatar outfit for the Playstation Home or Xbox 360 avatar and a

combat medal to put on display, as well as four additional co-op

maps not found in the regular game. 

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The Prestige edition did not

let anyone down this year. The Prestige includes the Hardened

Edition as well as a fully-functional RC car that resembles the

killstreak in the game and comes equipped with a camera that not

only transmits video, but also sound. The prestige is a hefty

$149.  If the collector’s versions are a little steep, there is

always the regular for $59. 

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“Call of Duty: Black Ops” has

already shattered its predecessor’s records. First-week sales raked

in $360 million and sold 5.7 million copies in first-day sales,

making Activision the holder of two consecutive launches that stand

alone at the top. One thing that most customers attributed to

gaining their pre-order was the innovation Treyarch brought to the

table. 

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The addition of wager matches

and a match recording and editing theater similar to “Halo” really

pulled people in. Time will tell if “Black Ops” will hold the

gaming world’s attention or if players will fall back to “Modern

Warfare 2.”