Before reading any of the given reviews, remember this - haters will be hating.
About the game itself, Black Ops is probably the most balanced Call of Duty game since the original Modern Warfare. Yeah, indeed, this is another Call of Duty game - but the improvements are noticeable across the campaign and the multi-player. Black Ops has taken a great step toward competitive gaming, i.e. the people who actually try to be good at the game and cannot stand being noob-tubed. Infinity Ward has been trying heavily to accommodate both professional and casual players, but they have done it through compromise of skill and cheapness - i.e. grenade launchers. Black Ops' approach to balance is a lot more promising, hell, you can even counter noob-tubes now(Flak Jacket)! The Currency System is yet another way to promote skill rather than grinding. Remember how badly you wanted that AK-47? Not anymore do you need to tire yourself in front of the television, wasting countless hours for just a gun. Martyrdrom, Juggernaut and Stopping Power are all gone(across the series), you always know that's a good thing.
I didn't mention Zombies or the Campaign all that much, for there is an easy way to summarize the experience. Events in the campaign are entertaining to witness and fun to play through, even if the pace may be a little tiring. Zombies as always remain a very fun tuck-in that may just give you a break from the usual head-shotting in the Multi-Player.
Overall, Black Ops is the game that finally answers it's own call of duty. There is finally a CoD game, aside from CoD2, that directly attempts to promote skill rather than cheapness and grind. If you're a competitive gamer, get this game.