Pre Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, It’s no secret that the Call of Duty franchise has struggled to keep its annualized approach fresh between developers Sledgehammer, Infinity Ward and Treyarch. Call of Duty used to be the king of FPS. From it’s snappy aim and weapon mechanics to its well-balanced online play in Modern Warfare 1/2 and Black Ops. It has since seen a decline thanks to a lack of innovation and the rise of the Battle Royale format.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Serving as a direct sequel to the original Black Ops, Cold War throws players into the middle of the 80s stalemate. This outing borrows from some heavy hitters in the stealth genre, most noticeably Assassin’s Creeds sneak/alert/body hiding mechanics when sneaking behind enemy lines. A cold war setting screams covert ops after all.
Other new additions such as dialogue options, character creation, lock picking and dynamic storytelling mirror modern-day role-playing games. Building on these features is some sandbox missions that allow players to pick their own way of accomplishing a goal. A top-down twin-stick shooter has also been included. It’s nothing to write home about, but it’s nice seeing annualised franchises taking risks. Well done Raven Software.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Now with Intel!
Unlike previous instalments, Black Ops Cold War runs its missions from an objective map. Each mission focuses on gathering intel for the next task, with option missions available for completionists. As usual, the control layout and feel are fine-tuned to the level players expect for a Call of Duty game. Guns feel snappy with just the right amount of rebound and sonic pop to ooze authenticity.
Call of Duty games aren’t always celebrated for their campaigns, but Cold War is certainly a job well done. Clocking in between eight and ten hours, there’s enough content to please unsociable gamers such as this writer. Although it doesn’t have much time to establish character development. Each member of the players’ team is believable with well-written dialogue to match their personality traits.
Zombie Eh Eh?
Zombies are back to give players their dose of CO-OP action either online or via local split-screen. Whilst only one map is available at launch. It’s a big one with scope for various scenarios to play out with players and their buddies. Players will be doing the usual levelling up whilst also managing their own abilities, making for hours of replayability in its own right.
Multiplayer returns with cross-play and a tied progression system across Zombies and standard Multiplayer modes such as Deathmatch etc. Call of Duty has always excelled in matchmaking, but this ensures players won’t be sat in empty lobbies. Eight maps are available at launch. Which is more than enough for now, given players have Zombies and Campaign modes to be getting on with. It’s worth noting that all multiplayer maps are well made and provide healthy competition.
All Mapped Out?
In an attempt to mirror Battlefield’s large scale multiplayer, Cold War has included Combined Arms in the slew of multiplayer modes. Vehicles alongside objective-based gameplay make for a fun experience for fans of similar multiplayer modes.
Frame rates behaved well on the Xbox Series S, Matchmaking worked great and split-screen is looking smoother than ever. The audio engineering is spot on, as I expected for a AAA behemoth and the gameplay is pretty tight overall. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War isn’t a revolutionary title and it has old habits baked in, but that’s kind of what people want from the franchise.
Future Content
With the addition of the Nuke Town ’84 map dropping later this month and Season One starting 10th December. Multiplayer enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to when it comes to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. New playable characters, maps, modes and more have been promised.
