Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Superb but violent shooter is definitely for adults only.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 193 parent reviews
Based on 523 kid reviews
Kids say the game is both amazing and highly violent, featuring strong language and graphic scenes that may not be suitable for younger audiences. While some reviewers feel that older tweens could handle the content with the gore turned off, many emphasize the psychological impacts of exposure to violent themes, advocating for a minimum age of 12 or 13 for gameplay.
- graphic content
- appropriate age
- strong language
- fun gameplay
- psychological effects
- multiplayer experience
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's It About?
CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS, the seventh entry in Activision's blockbuster military shooter franchise, sets the action in an era the series has yet to explore: The Cold War of the 1960s. Much of the story is composed of the memories of a special ops soldier under brutal interrogation. Consequently, missions skip around the world, from the trenches of Vietnam to the skyline of Hong Kong to the wintery lands of the U.S.S.R. Outside the story players can hop online in multiplayer where they will increase in rank, unlock new weapons and equipment, and work through a wide variety of individual and team-based modes. Parents should note that both the bloody campaign and deep online play -- which includes open voice chat -- are geared for grown-ups.
Is It Any Good?
Black Ops' single-player missions are perhaps the fastest-paced and most unpredictable of the franchise. Whether players are pulling down a helicopter with a harpoon, blowing up a massive missile mid-launch, or escaping a prison on a motorbike, monotony never has an opportunity to set in. It's not quite as emotional as the series' games set during the Second World War, but it is at least as exciting.
However, few players will spend as much time with the campaign as they will with the extraordinarily deep multiplayer functionality. In addition to all of the franchise's usual modes, challenges, and unlockables, this game also offers a wager mode that allows players to put their hard-won credits on the line in small matches in which the top three players take all the loot. Another new mode, Combat Training, allows players new to online gaming to get their feet wet fighting computer-controlled baddies with their buddies. Adult gamers will enjoy the epic interactive experience.
Online interaction: This game supports open, non-moderated voice communication, which opens the door to inappropriate language and subjects of conversation, as well as the sharing of personal information.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in games. How does watching violence affect you? Does the interactive nature of games make violence in this medium more intense than, say, watching it in a film?
Families can also discuss the depiction of controlled substances in games. Smoking plays a large role in this game, which is set in a time when smoking was not as taboo as it is today. Do you think the storytellers needed to show characters smoking in order to create a convincing Cold War-era atmosphere?
Game Details
- Platforms : Nintendo Wii , PlayStation 3 , Windows , Xbox 360
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Activision
- Release date : November 9, 2010
- Genre : First-Person Shooter
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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