I feel like I owe Treyarch a bit of an apology. I kind of went out swinging criticism towards them the first couple days of release. Now that I've had it a week, unlocked some good stuff, unlocked the modes I actually want to play (Hardcore) and learned the maps a fair bit, I have begun to have a great time! I am finding the game to be much better balanced, even than CoD4. I could easily dominate a few of the maps in previous CoD games whenever I learned an exploitative strategy. I don't really see anyone doing that with Black Ops, at least not yet.
Also, the extra stuff like the theatre and stats I thought were totally fluff at first. However now that I have actually used them, I think that they are a great addition.
Good job Treyarch!
Now just make Veteran difficulty mode not so controller-breakingly-frustrating and I'll love you forever.