Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tested on: PS4
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – Review
Activision is quite known for milking the cow dry when it comes to Call of Duty, which has spawned countless iterations, many bearing a different subtitle. In this case it’s the sub-franchise Black Ops that has received its latest installment, which puts a heavy focus on online play and pretty much scraps the single player campaign which many of the CoD games have to entice those who don’t fancy online play all that much. It seems a heavy focus was placed on implementing Blackout, which is the series’ take on the Battle Royale mode which is plaguing many games nowadays, if the game isn’t simply a Battle Royale to begin with. Black Ops had us won over with its decent content in the past, and of course the ever lovely Zombies mode, which guaranteed some hardcore fun.
Story
It seems that this iteration of the Black Ops series all but omitted the story from the game. You’ll get to see snippets about a group of specialists when playing through the offline ‘tutorials’ for each and every different specialist, but there’s not much story content to be found. It’s clear that the focus was placed on the online modes with Blackout and Zombies in particular, and that the story was just a side dish rather than the main course. If you’re looking to play through a proper campaign and you aren’t interested in any online play, you can pretty much stop reading from this point and replay some of the older CoD campaigns again if you’re in dire need of some story related Call of Duty content.
Graphics
Graphically BO4 leaves us with mixed emotions, as the characters all look good and the maps are quite expansive and nicely designed. Nonetheless, some parts feel a bit blank and it’s sad that there are still no destructible environments in games like this in our current generation. Things get blown up all the time, your characters actually die extremely brutally when you’re hit by explosives, but still there is no damage to be seen on the surrounding environment. That being said, the game looks spiffy enough, and the total contrast between the ‘normal’ online modes and the Zombies mode is actually very nice to watch, as they feel like two totally different games. There are many customization options when it comes to your specialists, so you’ll still have some variation when it comes to the character models.
Sound
The sound design of the game is quite nice, with each specialist having their own few taglines, and the occasional radio calls on the background. Other than that, you’ll have to make do with the feeling of a warzone, with machine guns and assault rifles roaring in the background, explosions all around you, and the occasional shotgun and pistol tagging you from close range.
Gameplay
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a First Person Shooter with a heavy focus on competitive online multiplayer modes. You’ll be disappointed to hear that this installment of the Black Ops series comes with little to no story value, as the ‘story’ levels are mere tutorials for the different specialist classes. Other than that, there’s a plethora of online content to be found in this new release. Mainly all old modes are still present in the title, which will certainly please those looking for something familiar, and the Zombies mode is still present and allows you to play online with up to four people. The new contender on the horizon however is the Blackout mode, which is Activision’s take on the latest hype of Battle Royale games/modes. In this mode you’ll be dropped on an expansive map, in which you’ll have to scavenge your weapons and supplies, in order to be the last man standing. If you’re not quick enough to find a weapon, it will mean certain doom, and if you’re not keen on learning the highs and lows of a big map, this mode will not be your cup of tea.
The gameplay with the specialists does spice things up a bit in the way that the traditional formula makes way for premade classes. These classes each have special abilities, eliminating the traditional grenade throwing buttons. You’ll have special abilities that recharge over time, with one being your main ability, and one a special ability that is only used rarely, as it has a longer charge counter. You can’t properly knife an enemy anymore, as you’ll stomp with your weapon, which is a nice plus, but it eliminates instant kills when you sneak up to someone. That being said, you can actually knife in the game, but this will actually take up a weapon slot.
Overall the Zombie mode remains the same as in the previous iterations of the series, but they revamped this mode with some extra god powers, which do spice things up. Other than that, things remain pretty much the same, but there’s a proper tutorial mode to bring you up to speed.
Conclusion
As an online experience Black Ops 4 does not disappoint at all. The game offers a plethora of game modes for online play, and we’re sure that the Battle Royale mode will attract an even bigger crowd. The gameplay is solid, the graphical prowess is impressive, the customization options are plenty and you’re treated to a qualitative CoD experience that feels very balanced. If you’re not into the normal modes, there’s always the Zombie mode to sink your teeth into, but those looking for a single player experience are left out in the cold.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - Review,
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