Prerelease:Call of Duty: Black Ops (Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Call of Duty: Black Ops (Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii).

To do: Screenshots. More differences. Fix the video previews.

Articles

Official Xbox Magazine May 2010

To do: What specific issue is this from? The date listed here is from when the issue was released.

An interview in the May 2010 issue of the Official Xbox Magazine describes some content that does not appear in the game.

• The interview describes a sequence in The Defector that does not occur in the final game. In this sequence, which takes place in the building at the start of the level, Mason and his team enter a room with NVA soldiers who are all suddenly killed by the rotors of a US helicopter that crashes into the room and then falls down to the streets below.
• The interview describes a helicopter being shot down during the start of the village segment of Victor Charlie, which does not occur in the final game.

The Guardian London Press Event

In an article on The Guardian about the May 2010 London Press Event, the article mentions that Spetsnaz soldiers in the campaign would be capable of performing unique melee attacks. These are absent in the final game.

Demos

London Press Event

In late May 2010 a press event was held in London that showed a playthrough of the campaign missions "WMD" and a partial playthrough of "The Defector". These versions of the levels have some differences from the final game.

• Mason and Hudson's dialogue had not be added to yet so their dialogue is spoken by a different actor and was meant to be a placeholder.
• The Defector:
  • The level is called "Slaughterhouse".
  • During the part where Mason takes the radio from Crosby, in an interview with AusGamers, Josh Olin mentions that Mason throws the radio away after using it, which does not happen in the final game.
• WMD:
  • The start of the mission where Mosely walks up the SR-71 originally had a part where airforce personnel inspected Mosely's and Neitsch's flight suits or outfitted them with extra equipment (the TotalVideoGames article is not clear which happened) before they entered the SR-71.
  • In the stealth segment outside the comstat building where Hudson has to use his Crossbow to kill enemies, some enemies have AK47s, which are absent in the final.
  • The door leading into the comstat building in the final is entered by Hudson shooting the hinges of the door and then Weaver knocking the door down with the butt of his AUG. In this demo of the level, Hudson kicks the door down.

(Source: Kikizo, TotalVideoGames, Kikizo, AusGamers, The Guardian)

E3 2010 Demo

The E3 2010 demo shows a bit of rat tunnel section of "Victor Charlie" and the mission "Payback". There are quite a few differences between the demo and the final game.

Differences

• The HUD is very reminiscent of Modern Warfare 2. Like in that game, the amount of bullets in a magazine are graphically represented instead of numerically.
• The font used in the prompts and HUD is different.
• The Python is called .357 Magnum.
• Commando:
  • The Commando with no optical attachments has a different rail.
  • With the Commando Grenade Launcher, switching from the Grenade Launcher back to the weapon is faster than the final.
  • The iron sights of the weapon in ADS shake differently than in the final.
  • During the reload animation, the player does not take as long to insert the new magazine, although the overall reload animation appears to be the same length as the final.
• The AK47 pickup icon is in color.
• Payback:
  • Mason and Woods have Commandos, which are absent in the final.
  • The following text is different.

Type	Early	Final	Notes
Objective	Defeat the Hind crew	Capture the Hind
Objective	Get in Hind Helicopter	Get in the Hind
Objective	Fly to the Secret Base	Fly to Kravchenko's base	May have been changed in the demo due to this story element not having been revealed prior to this event.
Objective	Neutralize all the trucks	Destroy the NVA defenses
Objective	Neutralize Enemy Helicopter	Destroy Soviet HIP
Objective	Neutralize SAM site	Destroy SAM site
Hind instructions	LS[analog stick] to move - RS[analog stick] to turn	Use LS[analog stick] to move / strafe Use RS[analog stick] to aim

Trailers

Debut Teaser Trailer

This trailer was uploaded on April 28, 2010, and was a teaser for the game. It can be seen here. It had the following differences from the final game:

• At 0:31, there is a scene with two marines near a box, one standing near the box and holding an AK47 with a SPAS-12 on his back, and the other running away. This scene is absent from the final game. Interestingly, there is an unused SPAS-12 in the game files titled "spas_12_sog".

World Premiere Uncut Trailer

This trailer was uploaded to YouTube on May 18, 2010 and can be seen here.

• Rappelling sequence from "The Defector":
  • During the part where Woods jumps out of the helicopter, there is less smoke in the background.
  • During the part where the helicopter crashes, it can be seen that the helicopter Mason rappels from has a protrusion at the front, a mouth decal, turrets on either side, and the explosion is larger and blows pieces of metal out of the helicopter.
  • There are mountains in the background that are absent in the final.
  • There is a large cloud of smoke that Mason moves through while holding on to the rappelling line.
• Second room of the first building from "The Defector":
  • The lighting is different, there is some more rubble on the ground, and on the left wall there is a poster that is absent from the final.
• The Defector: The room Mason is in upon crashing has lighting that is different from the final and there are some books on the ground that are not present in the final. This version of the room is the one used in the Wii version.
• WMD breach sequence:
  • Weaver has no eyepatch, his rope is white instead of black, and less of the handle of his AUG is white.
  • The icicles on the railing are in a different formation.
  • The camouflage on the AUG is in a different formation.

Multiplayer Teaser

On August 9th, 2010, Treyarch released a teaser for Black Op's multiplayer. It contains quite a few differences.

• The font used in the HUD and score counter is different.
• The Crossbow sprinting animation is different. Instead of pointing it diagonally to the left, the player pulls it down and it bobs up.
• The FAMAS uses a different firing sound.

Teaser	Final Game

Wager Match Trailer

This trailer contains several differences from the final game.

• The font used in the HUD is different.
• The Stakeout is called the Ithaca.
• The SPAS-12 is called SPAS.

G4TV Wager Match Gameplay

A video of Wager Match gameplay was uploaded by G4TV prior to the game's release. A reupload of this video can be seen here. It has the following differences:

• The announcer lines are different from the final might be placeholder ones.
• The Crossbow sprint animation is the same as in the Multiplayer Teaser.
• In One in the Chamber, the message for getting an extra bullet is accompanied by a sound effect of the slide of a pistol being pulled. This sound still exists unused in the final game.
• PM63:
  • The weapon is held further out from the player.
  • The reload animation is slightly different.
  • The sprint animation holds the weapon completely sideways while the final points the weapon diagonally left.
• In Sharpshooter when switching from the Olympia to the RPG, the Olympia appears to use the quick drop animation (normally seen when switching to a pistol in multiplayer) instead of the standard drop animation.
• The sprint animation of the RPG is different in that the weapon is shaken more dramatically than in the final.

Videos

IGN Launch Video

A short video of the Launch map was posted by IGN on their Youtube channel on September 3rd, 2010, and can be viewed here.

• During the G11's reload, the weapon is tilted around while the player character pulls out the magazine and inserts a new one. In the final version, the weapon is pointed to one side and not moved at all.
• The Blackbird and Spy Plane have a different acquisition icon.
• The text informing the player who they were killed by is rendered as "You Were Killed By", whereas in the final it is rendered as "Killed By".

IGN Summit Video

A short video of the Summit map was posted by IGN on their Youtube channel on September 3rd, 2010, and can be viewed here.

• The Spectre has a different reload animation where the gun is not angled towards the player when taking out the magazine. Additionally, the weapon's iron sights are still present on the weapon when the Red Dot Sight is equipped.

Early Video Content

Several employees from Spov, the company who handled the pre-level briefings, uploaded early versions of some of these briefings. They are largely the same as the final but have some small differences.

• Numbers: The interrogator goes over the masterminds of Project Nova in the order of "Kravchenko, Clarke, Steiner" and Mason recounts their names. The final swaps Clarke with Steiner and Mason only mentions Dragovich.
• WMD: Some of the lines are different.

Voice	Final	Early
Interrogator	A fully operational military complex buried deep in the Ural Mountains.	A fully operational military complex buried deep in the Ural Mountains, stockpiled with enough Nova 6 to blanket the entire planet.
Mason	That's where Hudson was contacted by Friedrich Steiner—the Nazi scientist that developed the initial strain of Nova-6 for Dragovich --	That's where Hudson found Friedrich Steiner—the Nazi scientist that developed the initial strain of Nova-6 for Dragovich --
Mason	Oh my God... the numbers are REAL...	The numbers are real.
Interrogator	They've always been real Mason. This isn't a game. We face annihilation unless you cooperate. Where is the broadcast station?!	They've always been real Mason. This isn't a game. Where is the broadcast station?!

BradyGames Strategy Guide

To do: Determine if the following content is indicative of content from a pre-release build or just incorrect, Silencer on the SPAS-12 dramatically reduces range (page 206). Rerolling Care Packages with Hardline Pro does not allow for the rerolled Care Package to contain Attack Dogs or a Gunship (page 223). The guide mentions on page 210 that the Tomahawk can be used to cancel sprinting and mantling. Determine if this cannot be done in the final game. If not, determine if it is worth mentioning.

The BradyGames Strategy Guide for Call of Duty: Black Ops describes some content differently than what appears in the final game, which appears to be indicative of content from a pre-release version of the game.

• The AK74u's Grenade Launcher rounds never exploded on contact with any surface but would explode a short period of time after landing. This is referred to in the strategy guide as the grenades lacking a contact fuse, and is described on page 206.
• In the final game, Tactical Mask grants immunity to Nova Gas grenades and Tactical Mask Pro reduces the effect of Flashbangs and Concussion Grenades and identifies on the targeting reticule the direction of enemy players affected by Flashbangs and Concussion Grenades thrown by the player. According to page 222 of the Strategy Guide, at one point in development the base version of Tactical Mask reduced the effect of Flashbangs and Concussion Grenades while the Pro version is described as "protecting against Nova Gas", in addition to the second Pro effect present in the final.
  • This early effect for the base version of Tactical Mask is also mentioned by the following unused loading screen line in the final game: "The Tactical Mask Perk protects you from most Tactical Grenades.".

Team Wager Matches

During the COD XP 2011 panel "The Making of Call of Duty: Black Ops", the development team shared during the Q&A session that a significant amount of money, almost $2 million dollars according to multiplayer director David Vonderhaar, was spent on developing team-based Wager Matches, which ultimately were cut from the final game.

(Source: Engadget)

Hangar 18 Name

The DLC map Hangar 18, included in the Annihilation DLC, was called Area 51 for a significant portion of development, presumably the entirety of development given that its codename is mp_area51 and these appear to be set in early development. According to Alex Conserva at COD XP 2011 during the "Making of Call of Duty: Black Ops" panel (9:40 - 10:24 in this video), the decision to change the name was due to Activision's legal team informing the team 3 days before the deadline for completion of the DLC that the name could not be used due to being legally problematic. After the team was informed, the team spent the remaining days trying to brainstorm a name, and it was only minutes before the deadline that the name Hangar 18 was selected.

Call of the Dead loadscreen

The loadscreen for Call of the Dead shows in the top-right corner a small part of Shangri-La's loadscreen. This part differs slightly from the final Shangri-La loadscreen in that the fern is farther away from the temple.