Gaming Tip Sheet: “Call of Duty: Black Ops”

  • Share
  • Read Later

Don’t run around the game shooting like someone just chopped off your head. Here’s some tips from Call of Duty: Black Ops project manager Josh Olin to help you win against your enemies and find some things you didn’t know you should be looking for.

To The Left, To The Left

When you first load up the game, get out of that interrogation chair by alternating pressing the left and right trigger repeatedly. Once you break free, don’t forget to look around.  If you stand up from the chair, around the corner to the left you’ll find a terminal. Push your action button (X on your Xbox controller). You’ll see a command line come down. It’s time to plug in your keyboard. The word “help” will give you the commands you need to use the terminal. There may be a number of easter eggs and a couple of mini games. Just saying.

Stick and Stones Will Break Your Bones, But Tomahawks?

If you’re playing the wager game modes and playing Sticks and Stones, don’t pull out your other weapons just yet. Since your tomahawk will automatically bankrupt the points from the other player if you kill them with it – and is the only thing the game that has the ability to do that – why not do one or two easy kills and then spend the game trying to kill the leaders with your trusty weapon. That way you’ll find yourself on top, and they’ll find themselves without any points despite having the most kills.

Going Through The Vents

It might seem like a cliché move in a spy movie, but using the vents with your RC XD, which you get after three consecutive kills in multiplayer mode, lets you cut through buildings. If you see a small hole or vent in the wall go for it, you might be able to surprise your opponent by dropping a bomb right in front of their feet undetected.

Dress for Success

Whatever a player is wearing in the multiplayer mode directly corresponds to the first perk they picked. For example, if they aren’t wearing that much in Capture the Flag, they have the lightweight perk and can get away from you quickly. That means they’re probably the flag runner so switch your weapons to prevent them from taking your flag – lest you lose to them in a foot race.

Bringing A Gun To A Knife Fight

In One in The Chamber, you start out with one bullet and get that bullet back each time you kill a player. But did you know that if you knife someone you get a bullet as well – and your gun can hold more than one bullet? If you start out by knifing people, you can collect a back stock of bullets so if miss on your first shot, you can surprise your enemy by whipping out a second or even third one.

Keep You Eye on the Prize

Keep on the lookout for the various intel pieces out there. There’s at least one each level and if you collect them all, you’re in for a treat. Same goes with the audio recordings that are hidden throughout the zombie levels. If you collected all the audio clips, you might be able to find the conspiracy theory behind all the zombies and part of the backstory what they’re really there. Olin assures us there’s definitely more than one or two, and he’s keeping his eye out for your zombie-philes who have figured out that the recordings might be telling you something.

Stay Close To the Source

Can’t figure out how to get rid of the zombies in Kino Der Toten? It’ a lot easier to kill the Pentagon Thief if your team stays in the basement near the power switch.

Building A Mystery

For those of you with points to spend, when you get the mystery box in the zombie levels don’t hesitate to wait the 15 second it take for the box to lower the weapon and raise a new one. 950 points a pop might seem like a lot to spend on a mystery weapon that might be good or bad, but when you’re in a time crunch in the zombie levels Olin suggests just taking what you’re given and trying again. As soon as you take the weapon, the box resets and the chances of you getting a good weapon increases over time – you eventually have to get one – so just pick up that horrible pistol and hope the next 950 points is worth it.

Game on!

More on TIME.com:

“Call of Duty: Black Ops” Secret Code Cracked on YouTube

“Call of Duty: Black Ops” Sets Video Game Sales Record

Could Playing “Call of Duty” Lead To A Successful Career?

Why the Cuban Government Is Speaking Out Against “Call of Duty: Black Ops”