Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision Blizzard
Platform: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Tested on: PS5
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 – Review
Even though we have been Call of Duty fans since almost the beginning of the series, it’s easy to admit that the last few installments were a bit underwhelming. Not only was the gunplay nowhere close to what it once was, the games were often riddled with bugs. Graphical bugs have still not been fixed in Call of Duty: Vanguard, and there are still quite a few technical issues with the previous installment, Modern Warfare III. We expected more of the same for Black Ops 6, and so we assumed that this would be an easy review. We were proven wrong almost right off the bat, as Black Ops 6 goes back to basics, and it might just be the best of what CoD has to offer.
Modern Warfare III’s campaign mode left a bit of a bad aftertaste in our mouth, and we were honestly expecting Black Ops 6 to be a similar experience. Before we knew it, however, we were enamored by the game’s campaign. While the story still has a high focus on interesting gunplay throughout the missions, we also felt like we were playing an homage to older shooter titles as well. We found ourselves doing more than just going through story sequences and shooting down our enemies. Outside of combat, we found ourselves at a high-profile event doing undercover tasks as well, for example, and this was properly fleshed out. Often when doing secondary tasks such as these in FPS titles, things feel rough around the edges. That wasn’t the case here, and we were actually enjoying the original mechanics that were thrown into the mix.
Of course, the game’s meat and potatoes come from its expansive online modes. The classics return, and you’ll have a great time just duking it out online, be it in a free-for-all format, or when capturing points with allies in the domination mode. Many modes make their return, and we probably lost too much time playing the Nuketown map over and over again. It’s classic maps such as this that make Black Ops 6 a great experience. While the map variety isn’t that amazing for the time being, we clearly see an effort from the developer to add new maps. For example, the aforementioned Nuketown map was a post-launch addition. Most maps have a decent layout, and the battles feel rather fair for the most part. We didn’t encounter any real unfair spawn locations during the matches we played online.
The Zombies mode makes its return, and it’s as good as ever. Outside of having some matchmaking issues where we always ended up in a session that was already halfway done, the mode is just simple fun. You’ll run and gun your way through hordes of zombies that spawn in a wave-based format. Upgrading your gear is key here, and the overall atmosphere and the story that unfolds are quite nice. The mode doesn’t do anything that innovative, but it’s simple fun for you and your friends.
Even though the game will instantly feel familiar to many CoD fans, there is one thing that does revolutionize how you play the game and that would be the omnimovement mechanic. The new omnimovement mechanic allows players to sprint in all directions, while also being able to dive into different directions as well. This adds more maneuverability in the craziest gunfights and allows for new strategies to ambush your opponents. The system is extremely intuitive, but it does take some time to get used to. At first, you’ll still have the muscle memory of using the simple sprint and dive mechanics, but after a while, you’ll be whizzing through the air in true Max Payne-esque fashion. We were somewhat unsure at first that this would be a great addition to the franchise, but we ended up loving the omnimovement system.
All in all, the gunplay in Black Ops 6 is extremely enjoyable. Things never felt unfair, the controls are very responsive, you can tweak settings to your liking, and the aforementioned omnimovement system feels smooth and adds a new layer of strategy to the mix. The guns on offer are diverse enough to experiment with, and the overall progression curve doesn’t feel too slow. Even in matches where we performed poorly, we still received quite a bit of experience to ensure that things never came to a halt. Of course, there is enough content to grind to make sure you can sink a lot of hours into the game, but this isn’t a bad thing at all.
Something that was also an issue with titles such as Call of Duty: Vanguard were the many graphical bugs. In Vanguard, we often had our weapon or character models disappear or we found ourselves clipping through surfaces a lot. Black Ops 6 might not be perfect just yet, as we did encounter the occasional clipping issue, but it does look amazing on PlayStation 5. The game is extremely detailed, the kill animations are nicely done, the weapon models look realistic, and the maps are nicely designed. We didn’t notice any frame drops, even during hectic and explosive matches, and the overall quality remained high throughout. The sound design was also quite nice. The campaign did have quite a bit of high-quality voice acting, which was a nice touch. During battles, characters may repeat some oneliners a bit too often, but that’s not uncommon for the genre. The weapon effects sound realistic, and we’d advise playing the game with a headset. When doing so, you’ll find yourself in the middle of an actual battlefield, at least if you don’t hear a 10-year-old screaming through the voice chat.
Conclusion
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a breath of fresh air in a franchise that had grown rather stale in the last few years. Previous editions suffered from loads of bugs, uninspired campaign modes, and a general lack of polish. Black Ops 6 makes up for this by adding enough content to keep you entertained for a while, as well as implementing the new omnimovement system and returning back to its roots with a meatier and better campaign mode. Of course, the Zombies mode didn’t fail to entertain us, and we are quite enjoying our Season 01 experience. If you have lost faith over the years when it comes to the franchise, this one might be what you need to return to the battlefield.
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