History VideoGame / CallOfDutyBlackOps

* AbortedArc: Mucking around with the hidden terminal reveals a vast and possibly AncientConspiracy that was manipulating both the West and East, all the way up to being [[WhoShotJFK JFK's REAL killers]] and threatening Hudson with a similar fate. ''Black Ops II, 3, and 4'' dropped this arc, and the only remnant of it in ''VideoGame/BlackOpsColdWar'' is Price's presence, who was manipulated by the conspiracy into hunting down a supposedly rogue Hudson.

* AnachronismStew: ''Black Ops'' has a surprising amount of weapons that weren't even patented, let alone produced during the 1960s setting the game is in. Even if they were the earliest weapon prototypes that the CIA could utilize (and they do HandWave it as such), they're still considered to be pretty damned early for its time. In fact, there are so many anachronisms that it's easier to list the weapons that *aren't* anachronistic.

** The Franchi SPAS-12 was developed in 1972, entering production in 1979 and service in 1982, and yet it shows up in the hands of Soviet special forces in 1968 Hong Kong. That same year, it also appears being used (with explicitly-labeled "Dragon's Breath" shotgun shells, which weren't sold until TheNineties, and woldn't be powerful enough to cycle the action of a semi-automatic shotgun) by the suspiciously well-equipped North Vietnamese Army.

* AnachronismStew: ''Black Ops'' has a surprising amount of weapons that weren't even patented, let alone produced during the 1960s setting the game is in. Even if they were the earliest weapon prototypes that the CIA could utilize (and they do HandWave it as such), they're still considered to be pretty damned early for its time.

** The KS-23 is also anachronistic, slightly less so (it began development in the early 70s) but in the scheme of things still just as much as the SPAS (it first shows up from the opening mission in '61, and from then on is almost entirely exclusive to the Viet Cong who never used it).

** The Soviet Mi-24 Hind helicopter did not have its first flight until September 19, 1969 and did not enter military service until 1972, but that doesn't stop the helicopters from appearing in multiple missions set in 1968. Also (albeit as an AcceptableBreakFromReality), when you take control of it in the singleplayer mission "Payback" or with the multiplayer killstreak, it has a lock-on warning and automated countermeasure system to deal with missiles fired by the enemy - the real Hind did not get such systems until they started losing a few of them to American-supplied Stingers in the UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan two decades later. The Mi-8 is a bit better about this, as for the most part the game takes place a year after it entered service, but that still leaves the fact that by '63 there were only three or four prototypes, and in the two missions set during that year alone you shoot down ''at least'' that many of them. The AH-1 barely fits the bill since it entered service in 1967, and moreover only shows up in multiplayer, so it depends on when exactly the multiplayer is actually set.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: Underbarrel flamethrowers. While the exact model seen is pure fiction, Finland has experimented with the [[https://www.forgottenweapons.com/suomi-m31-and-underbarrel-flamethrower/ M/44 — an underslung flamethrower for the Suomi KP/-31]]. It never went into full production; [[RareGuns only 40 of them were made]].

* RareGuns:
** Ignoring AnachronismStew for a moment, there are some really weird guns in this game, like the ASP 9, Heckler and Koch G11, Spectre M4, M202 FLASH, Walther WA 2000 & MPL, PM-63, and Kiparis. Most of these are not well-known weapons, and others are too rare to see any kind of widespread use as seen in-game even if they were appropriate for the time period.
** Possibly winning an award here: in several missions and the multiplayer, you're able to find the China Lake shotgun-style grenade launcher. This is an actual weapon, of which ''20 to 30'' made it in to service (never in the MACV-SOG) and which maybe six ''still'' exist. Say what you want about the G11 being in the game, the China Lake is possibly the rarest represented gun in any game series.

* SpannerInTheWorks: Dragovich had planned to use Mason as a sleeper agent for his plans to attack the US. Unfortunately for him Reznov also implants ideas of his own into Mason to kill the three main antagonists, and Mason ultimately succeeds in that.[[spoiler: Or at least succeeds on killing two main antagonists. The [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2 sequel]] however reveals that someone is [[NotQuiteDead still alive and kicking]].]]

** Also, "[[Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival Fortunate Son]]" from ''Music/WillyAndThePoorBoys'' is being played on the radio in January 1968, almost two years before its release in November '69; "[[Music/TheRollingStones Sympathy for the Devil]]" from ''Music/BeggarsBanquet'' at least got the year right, but was months too early (released on December 6th, whereas the mission is set on February 11th - the album didn't even begin recording until March). The biggest musical anachronism, however, is probably "[[Music/CeliaCruz Quimbara]]" from ''Celia & Johnny'', which plays over a radio in a mission set in 1961 despite the song not being recorded and the album not coming out until 19''74''.

* IsntItIronic: Ads for the game had Music/TheRollingStones' "Gimme Shelter" playing in them; a song about the horror and ugliness of war. Likely an intentional example, given actual soldiers in Vietnam played anti-war songs on the radio while they were there, much like how the first level of the game set there is bookended by verses of Creedence Clearwater Revival's famous protest song "Fortunate Son".

* UpToEleven: The game's sales. It even surpassed ''Modern Warfare 2''.

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler: Bowman. TakenUpToEleven as he is the only major character allied with the protagonist to receive an on-screen death]]

* DeadlyGas: You can equip and throw Nova 6 Gas grenades. They deal middling damage, [[InterfaceScrew slow the movement of]] ''[[UpToEleven and]]'' [[InterfaceScrew blur the vision]] of enemies caught in the cloud. However, only one can be carried at a time, and it's easy enough to move out of the cloud's radius and the Tactical Mask perk completely negates its effects, though it can still be hard to see through the cloud itself.

** The Franchi SPAS-12 was developed in 1972, entering production in 1979 and service in 1982, and yet it shows up in the hands of Soviet special forces in 1968 Hong Kong. That same year, it also appears being used (with explicitly-labeled "Dragon's Breath" shotgun shells, which weren't sold until TheNineties) by the suspiciously well-equipped North Vietnamese Army.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: In addition to everything listed in anachronism stew, the game makes one glaring mistake about the Bay of Pigs Invasion. The game treats Casto's subversion of his assassination as a master stroke of spycraft but in reality any secrecy surounding the invasion was blown when THE NEW YORK TIMES reported on it before it happened. The CIA and the rebels ultimately went ahead with the invasion figuring they could make it work anyway. However, the failure to destroy the Cuban Air Force and Kennedy's refusal of a second round of air cover, in additon to all the other problems they suffered, doomed it.
** Although it is a send up to the movie the Deer Hunter neither the Viet Cong nor the NVA ever made POW's play Russian Roulette. They much prefered other tortures like beatings, food deprivation and forced labor. Funny enough this was actually a major criticism of Deer Hunter and actually caused a minor international inceident.
** Finally this trope is played with in although the Vorkutalag was already closed by the time of the game, it is correct in that Vorkuta was the main holding place for American Prisoners.

** The Heckler & Koch G11 was developed over a period of twenty years, from the late '60s to 1990. It was a technical success, if not [[ReliablyUnreliableGuns prone to issues]] due to it's incredible mechanical complexity, but never made it to mass production. The G11 depicted ingame is the K2 variant that was produced right before the Berlin Wall fell and the project got canned, in ''1989''.

** Similarly, the Masterkey underbarrel shotgun was not developed until the 80s. The Remington 870 it was based on has been around since 1951, however, so the in-game version could be justified as [[MacGyvering random soldiers sawing them down and attaching them to their rifles for the hell of it]] - makes sense given it's used as a quick close-range weapon in this game rather than as the door-breaching tool it is in real life.

** The Franchi SPAS-12 was developed in 1972, entering production in 1979 and service in 1982, and yet it shows up in the hands of Soviet special forces in 1968 Hong Kong. That same year, it also appears being used (with incendiary rounds, no less) by the suspiciously well-equipped North Vietnamese Army.

* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: [[spoiler:[[TheReveal Mason]]]], twice over: he's brainwashed to kill [[spoiler:the President of the United States]], and he's ''also'' brainwashed to kill [[spoiler:the same people who performed the initial brainwashing]].

** [[spoiler:The next line as well, not because of what is being said - we've [[RashomonStyle already heard it once]] - but because of ''who is saying it.'']]

** At two points during the campaign where a flashlight is used, Reznov and Mason utilize the Harries technique to hold their pistol and flashlight. Thing is, the Harries technique was developed in the early 1970s, and for law enforcement use at that.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Plenty. Execution of surrendering soldiers, execution of civilians for collaboration, exposing non-combatants to chemical/biological agents just to see if they're effective, ColdBloodedTorture, [[MindScrew attempts at brainwashing]]; nobody's hands are clean by the time it's over.

** The L96A1 sniper rifle is hugely anachronistic; it wasn't developed until the early 1980s, but appears in missions set in 1968. The variant depicted is the Arctic Warfare Magnum, which wasn't developed until much later in ''1998''. The L96A1 designation is also incorrect as that is for an Arctic Warfare Precision Marksman. The correct designation would be L115A2.
** Taken to ludicrous levels with the FAMAS. Not only did the original FAMAS F1 only enter production in the mid-70s, the FELIN model used in the game wasn't developed until 2001! Handwaved with being a prototype, just like the [=MP5K=] and several other guns, and it shows (for example: the Enfield, G11, and Commando use the same aftermarket iron sights, the [=MP5K=] has the foregrip of its very first prototype, et cetera). Although those folding rear sights are Troy [=BattleSights=], which also did not exist until the 2000s, though most of the text on them is taken from similar folding rear sights that actually were experimented with in the mid-60s.

** The M203 just barely fits the bill; it entered service in 1969, but there is a documented history of special forces (MACV-SOG) using similar prototype underbarrel grenade launchers for longer than that, which would fit the time period (other than the fact that the M203 shows up on one of your starting guns from "Operation 40", which is set in 1961). However, the GP-25 is ''way'' off base - it wasn't around until the 70s, and American forces never saw it in action until a decade later. Not to mention that the opposing Viet Cong in singleplayer have access to ridiculous numbers of the M203 for no particular reason as well, as every other FAL they drop will come with one.

** The Stakeout is a less-justifiable example, as the standard Ithaca 37 was developed in the early '30s, and was in limited use with the US military as a trench gun during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, but the version from the game (with a factory-shortened barrel and a pistol grip, rather than a sawed-down stock) did not exist until 1981.

** The [=PM63=] is another near miss. It was designed in 1965. Seeing as most of the game is set in '68, it wouldn't be anachronistic... except the first of only three singleplayer levels it appears in is "Executive Order", set in '63.
** The BGM-71 TOW from "S.O.G." is a triple-whammy - it was not developed until 1970, none of them ever made it to Vietnam until 197''2'', and [[http://www.imfdb.org/images/1/1c/CODBO_TOW_%282%29.jpg some writing visible on the actual tube]] indicates it's actually the TOW 2B version developed in ''1991''. For added anachronism, it's mounted on [[ProductPlacement an even more anachronistic 2011 Jeep Wrangler]].
** There are numerous other anachronisms, but they are relatively minor compared to the ones above. For example, the AK-47 isn't an AK-47. It's a mishmash of several Kalashnikov variants, most of them actually based on the AK-74.
** Also, "[[Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival Fortunate Son]]" from ''Music/WillyAndThePoorBoys'' is being played on the radio in January 1968, almost two years before its release in November '69; "[[Music/TheRollingStones Sympathy for the Devil]]" from ''Music/BeggarsBanquet'' at least got the year right, but was months too early (released on December 6th, versus the mission on February 11th - the album didn't even begin recording until March). The biggest musical anachronism, however, is probably "[[Music/CeliaCruz Quimbara]]" from ''Celia & Johnny'', which plays over a radio in a mission set in 1961 despite the song not being recorded and the album not coming out until 19''74''.

** The level set during an uprising in Vorkuta takes place in late 1963, a year after the real gulag was closed and ten after the real uprising.

** At two points during the campaign where a flashlight is used, Reznov and Mason utilize the Harries technique to hold their pistol and flashlight. Harries technique was developed in the early 1970s and for law enforcement use.

* SpannerInTheWorks: Dragovich had planned to use Mason as a sleeper agent for his plans to attack the US. Unfortunately for him Reznov also implants ideas of his own into Mason to kill the three main antagonists, and Mason ultimately succeeds in that.[[spoiler: Or at least succeeds on killing two main antagonists.]] The [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2 sequel]] however reveals that someone is [[NotQuiteDead still alive and kicking]].

* SpannerInTheWorks: Dragovich had planned to use Mason as a sleeper agent for his plans to attack the US. Unfortunately for him Reznov also implants ideas of his own into Mason to kill the three main antagonists, and Mason ultimately succeeds in that.[[spoiler: Or at least succeeds on killing two main antagonists.]] The [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2 sequel]] however reveals that someone is still alive and kicking.

* SpannerInTheWorks: Dragovich had planned to use Mason as a sleeper agent for his plans to attack the US. Unfortunately for him Reznov also implants ideas of his own into Mason to kill the three main antagonists, and Mason ultimately succeeds in that.

** Similar to ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'''s [[spoiler: NICOLE IS DEAD]] message, all of the mission start briefing messages contain a word from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, with X-RAY hinting at spaces. Subtracting these [=X-RAY=]s, the "letters" chronologically spell [[spoiler: REZNOV IS DEAD]], and according to the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLZlfHGo-Ro Maverick Code]], the numbers listed after each alphabet ultimately spell out in alphanumeric code [[spoiler: Or is he?]]
** At one point after a conversation with [[spoiler: Reznov, Swift will angrily ask Mason "what the fuck is wrong with you?" since he's hearing Mason talk to ''no one at all''.]]
** During the scene where Mason receives his mission from JFK, there is a moment where [[spoiler:Mason quickly hallucinates pointing a gun at JFK's head.]]
** Astute players will notice that at no point do any of the [=NPCs=] that Mason interacts with [[spoiler: directly address Reznov nor talk about him, hinting at his non-existence.]] There's other hints, such as [[spoiler: Reznov being FriendlyFireProof - shooting him will show animations indicating that he's been hit from behind and he will shout the typical "Friendly fire!" lines, but pursuing this reveals that the player ''cannot fail the mission'' no matter how many times it's done. Because he's not really there.]] Even more astute players will notice that [[spoiler: Reznov has both index fingers intact in many of his appearances. Reznov lost his right index finger in Stalingrad, just before his introduction in ''World at War''.]]
** When playing as Hudson, the character's watch is matched to the time on your computer[=/=]console's system clock. When playing as Mason on Rebirth Island, the character's watch switches time at random and never gives a consistent reading. [[spoiler: This shows Mason's unraveling sense of reality.]]

''[[TheStinger "Ascension."]]''

** The first mission of the campaign, which involves the assassination of Fidel Castro. Since he was still alive at the time of the game's release, we already know that the attempt to assassinate him will fail. [[spoiler:You do put a bullet in his head, [[DoubleSubversion but then]] he shows up alive and well at the end to tell you that was a BodyDouble.]]

---> "Brave comrades of Vorkuta, the time has come to rise against our oppressors! Today, we show them the hearts of true Russians! We have all given our blood for the Motherland. We have answered her calls without question. We gave our youth, our hearts, our very souls for her protection..As brothers, we fought side by side against the German fascists. We crawled through dirt and blood and sand to achieve our glorious victory..Not for medals, or glory...but for what was right. We fought for revenge...When Berlin fell, how did our leaders repay us? We returned not to the rapturous welcome...but to suspicion and persecution. In the eyes of our leaders we were already tainted by the capitalist West. Torn from the arms of our loved ones, we found ourselves here... this place... this, this terrible place. Here we have languished, with no hope for release... No hope for justice. We have toiled in Dragovich's mines until the flesh peeled from our bones... We have watched our comrades succumb to sickness and disease... We have been starved. We have been beaten. But we will not be broken! Today, we will send a message to our corrupt and arrogant leaders. Today, my comrades... Vorkuta - BURNS!!!"