An interrogation, numbers flashing, and a controller that answers in a tenth of a second.

When the community decides on gut instinct, Black Ops lands ahead of more than eight games out of ten. And the controller feel confirms it in style: ahead of 98% of titles, right at the top. The fun that carries you through the night and the soundtrack follow, high too. But look at the contrast: attachment collapses, ahead of just 10% of games, and the art style stays low. That's the tension here, a sensation machine you love to pick up but barely bond with. You're hooked on it, you don't quite love it.

Against other shooters, it holds a prime spot, carried by a multiplayer and a tempo that marked a whole generation of nights with friends.

So, who's it for? For you if you're after pure snappiness, the move that lands clean, and evenings that fly by. Much less if you want a game that marks your heart and follows you for years, here it's adrenaline talking, not emotion.