May 14, 2010 | Author: Boyle111

The Official Xbox Magazine (UK) is now available to buy and oh does it contain a lot of great Black Ops news!

The magazine cover shows what could be the main character rappelling through a glass window and into a room which looks to be the same room that featured in the teaser trailer and the GKNOVA6 viral marketing campaign. The character is also seen holding a silenced mini-uzi and we become instantly aware of how detailed the game is, especially the shattered pieces of glass.

The first Black Ops page in the magazine shows the cover image as well as two never before seen images. Both of them are set in a snowy Russian area and show two weapons, the new military crossbow and a AUG assault rifle. It's clear by looking at these images that "this is a massive graphical step forward from WaW".

The magazine then starts to talk about the setting of the game, stating that Vietnam is part of the game but it isn't a Vietnam game and that you'll be fighting against the North Vietnamese Army but they are not your true enemy. You are a member of the Studies and Operations Group (SOG) which is a small organisation of CIA-sanctioned forces.

The first mission that they played seen them visit Hue City in which they bombed several rooftops from the sky and then rappelled out of the heli, it's at this point that they mention how "unbelievably gorgeous" Black Ops is. As they rappel down from the chopper, the characters are flung through a window of a building that they wish they could have infiltrated more sneakily.

One character then grabs an enemy and sinks his knife into his throat, he then tosses a SPAS-12 shotgun to the main character. One of the new weapons is a shotgun that contains dragons-breath, this is basically incendiary rounds. The mission then ends in classic Call of Duty style as you fight in the streets while destroying anything that stands in your way, including a tank.

The second level that they played is called "WMD" which is the same level that USA Today » also previewed. This is the level in which the SR-71 blackbird recon plane is featured.

Five new Call of Duty moments that they have listed include; the SR-71 blackbird, the dragons breath ammo, flying helicopters (yes - YOU fly them!), diving and swimming through murky water and rappelling. Reinforcements also seem more natural this time as helicopters drop off extra men to help assist, your character has a voice and you can call in choppers to wreak havoc.

The third and final level that they were shown was titled "Victor Charlie" which kicks off in dramatic fashion as a helicopter crashes on the Huong River. You'll have to kill few enemies but due to the chopper sinking in the water, you'll have to swim underwater to find the nearest fishing boat. During a fiery shootout, when you get the final headshot a matrix style slo-mo effect will show the bullet slowly heading into the skull.

Later on in the level, they picked up a M202 'Grim Reaper' rocket launcher which simply destroyed the straw huts, passing gunboats, stray vietcong and a turret - all signs of possible increased destruction in the game. Also worth noting that gore is certainly back.

Although Treyarch were keeping multiplayer a secret, there are a few things that they let slip. They mentioned that vehicles will return but not like they were in World at War, this could mean that the vehicles are now a part of the killstreaks. There will be dedicated co-op with separate levels, however Treyarch avoided a question about the popular Nazi Zombies mode. They also said that a multiplayer beta is being considered, a literal wink soon followed this which tells us that it certainly seems there will be a multiplayer beta at some point.

They are improving matchmaking to ensure that it's easier for people to join games in a party with friends. Treyarch will be improving multiplayer by listening to feedback, this includes the under-the-map glitches that terrorized WaW. Multiplayer was up and running pretty early which mean that some of the single player levels were created from some multiplayer maps, whereas it's normally the other way round. They then ended off by saying that create a class 2.0 will allow for more customization than ever, which includes kit and appearance items as well as perks.

And last but not least, we have some great news for PC gamers. Thanks to CVG » they have noticed that in a separate interview with PC Zone Treyarch's studio head he has confirmed dedicated servers for the PC version of the game. This will be a huge relief to PC gamers that were left disappointed with Infinity Ward's decision to remove dedicated servers from the PC version of Modern Warfare 2.

To read the full preview of Black Ops, be sure to buy the Official Xbox Magazine that is on sale now. Also make sure you keep an eye on the other magazines covering Black Ops that will be arriving soon, including PC Zone and the Official Playstation Magazine.

And to end us off, get ready for the first full Call of Duty: Black Ops reveal trailer 18th May!