Call of Duty: Black Ops is all about "variety" says Treyarch

Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia and community manager Josh Olin were in London this week showing off Call of Duty: Black Ops, and if we learned only one thing about the game while chatting with the fellas, it was that the game is all about "variety".

Speaking with freelancer Adam Hartley, Lamia said that it was important for the team to "retain the essence" of the Call of Duty franchise while also introducing new gameplay mechanics, weapons, and "things to do" - one of which is rappelling.

"In the Russian mission, we open it up introducing rappel gameplay, doing a rappel breach, approaching a situation in either an action fashion or a stealth fashion," said Lamia.

"All those new gameplay mechanics you saw were introduced in that small section of that one level. Which is a good example of what we wanted to do, in terms of variety of gameplay and keeping it fresh".

"We are making a strong focus on deep narrative, and with that comes strong, complicated characters and character arcs, so they are going to progress through the game as you play through it," added Olin.

"I wouldn’t want to spoil anything about our story, but what I can tell you is that the variety of gameplay we’re providing the player is going to be unparalleled in any other Call of Duty.

"You are not just fighting a normal war and you are not just a common foot-soldier. Our story – like a needle and a thread – is going to weave its way through time and through these points of reference in history. You weave through the Vietnam war and the Battle of Hue City, but it is not about that battle, it is not about the war; it is about your objective in our story.

"You know, for the first time in CoD you have a character voice, you are a player, you will have your own identifiable voice. You have your own identify in the game. You are the one who is taking control of the battlefield, and as such you can really effect change and take the direction of the battle one way or the other".

According to Treyarch, Black ops will have a strong focus on personalization and customization for the player, as well as a socialization aspect that promises to "extend the game beyond just the match that you are playing in multiplayer".

Sounds groovy.

You can get more on Black Ops through an interview we had with Mark Lamia in LA, as well as impressions and a nice bit of screens from the game, which we've posted here