I admittedly play the new Call of Duty every year. While I prefer some more than others, I generally stick with the newest release and push forward for another year. While our review of Modern Warfare 3 was generally favourable for its solid multiplayer and satisfying gunplay, it ultimately disappointed us in the campaign department.
While Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 feels relatively safe at times, it brings an incredibly interesting campaign that isn’t afraid to shake things up. The remaining Multiplayer and Zombies modes also lean into safer territories, even if it hits all the right notes when fine-tuning what we’ve come to expect.
Campaign
The experience is generally split into three pillars yearly, so let’s break things down starting with the campaign. Set in 1991 and following on from the events of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, we catch up with Woods and Adler, hot on the trails of a new secret organisation that has seemingly infiltrated the CIA and is set to release a deadly biochemical weapon on the United States, infecting its citizens.
While I won’t spoil more than that, it’s great to see the old gang back together, along with some newer faces like Troy Marshall, Sev and Helen Park, each of which plays an integral role at some point in the story. Players take control of William “Case” Calderon, which unfortunately feels like an afterthought. I understand these characters are intentionally plain to make the players feel like they’re the ones taking charge, but the narrative sets up a few interesting beats with this particular character, that never really pay off, making him feel rather inconsequential. He also never shows up in cutscenes, which is just strange.
The story, however, does see you partaking in several unique tasks, from infiltrating a U.S. Senator’s rally party with nothing more than a camera to breaking into a fancy casino for the ultimate heist, Ocean’s Eleven-style. There’s even a mission that sees you sneaking through an Italian village to take out a person of interest from afar, which makes you feel much more like James Bond than Rambo. There are even a couple of brief horror-themed missions that got a couple of decent jump scares out of me. Play with those mannequins and you’ll see what I mean.
I was also impressed with how slick character models look in both cutscenes and general gameplay, although it’s still pretty obvious when the game leaves its in-engine gameplay in favour of pre-rendered cutscenes. But, in the same breath, everything is well-acted and well-presented, shot much like a high-stakes political thriller, soundtrack, voice performances and all.
The fact that the campaign isn’t afraid to stretch its wings gives me faith that the series isn’t done learning new tricks, and while it’s short at around 8 hours, it’s a riveting ride, to say the least.
Multiplayer
The multiplayer modes possibly take the safest approach regarding the game’s three pillars, but I still think it holds up in a few departments.
Firstly, Black Ops 6 introduces the new omni-movement system, which allows players to dive in any direction, instead of straight forward. That seems simplistic enough, but your operator’s body will shift dynamically in that direction, meaning you’ll feel the weight of dives.
This also means that enemies will see your torso turn individually for example, as you dive and backwards onto your back. Your body won’t simply dive and turn as if it’s on some sort of still horizontal plane. It certainly makes a difference when it comes to sliding and diving, and simply looks and feels way more natural when you’re blasting through the chaotic scenery.
Black Ops 6 also manages to pack in 17 maps, including the classic Nuketown which launched a week after the game’s initial release. The maps are split across Core maps which hold classic 6v6 matches, and Strike maps which hold smaller 2v2 matches. There’s a decent amount of variety on offer here, with maps both large and small, allowing players to take advantage of a sense of depth and verticality. I’m sure fans will find their favourites, but I recommend either the Babylon or Red Card maps whenever you get the chance to vote for one.
Progression is also relatively straightforward, as reaching level 55 will reset you to level 1 as you hit Prestige ranking. It’s a more traditional approach, but I’m all for it. Weapons also have 40-50 levels to tick off as you unlock various attachments and camos for them. It’s once again a classic approach, and your Prestige ranking can even be used to permanently unlock a gun of your liking, letting you keep all of your attachments and camos. Everything else will reset to level 1. I can’t complain about this as it encourages replayability and experimentation, without forcing you to use other weapons to unlock attachments for other weapons, as previous Call of Duty titles have done.
The only real gripe I have with the progression here is that it rarely asks for more than the basics. Hit 10 headshots to unlock this skin. Hit 20 headshots to unlock the next, and so on. I don’t mean to immediately go against this more traditional approach, but I wish these tasks were a little more varied, possibly even taking advantage of that newer omni-movement system for example.
While there’s nothing more to write home about, I still feel that much like every year, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 finds its footing in the incredibly satisfying TTK (Time to Kill) and consistent chaos, across each of its nine modes. While the progression might feel stale for some and nostalgic for others, I can’t deny the new omni-movement system makes the experience that much more satisfying to play, no matter which way you look at it.
Zombies
Zombies return once again, dishing out two maps in the form of Liberty Falls and Terminus. Liberty Falls presents itself as a quaint and open mid-western town but soon devolves into madness as you scurry about its various alleyways and staircases in a bid to survive. Terminus feels a little more claustrophobic, but a little more tense as you feel constantly cornered.
Gameplay is generally round-based this year, but there are plenty of easter eggs to unlock, which are unique to each of the two maps. For the most part, I feel like Black Ops 6 runs that line quite well, presenting a mode that’s easy enough to jump in and play, or deeper enough to explore as you tick off certain objectives and discover cool easter eggs about the map. Certain objectives are obvious, such as turning on generators in the Terminus map or reaching the church on the other side of Liberty Falls, but there’s surprisingly plenty to do and see, should you be willing to look for it.
The omni-movement system also helps things feel fresh here from a gameplay perspective, as you duck, dive and weave through waves of zombies. Along the way, you’ll also be able to take advantage of new abilities in the form of Gobblegums found in various gumball machines, and even old-school perks like Jugger-Nog and Quick Revive by drinking a trusty Perk-A-Cola. You can even customise classes and weapons alike.
The voice-acting here is a little more annoying than it seems, particularly as the rounds wear on and you hear a couple of the same one-liners once again, but I can generally forgive the performance here as it’s not that important to the overall experience.
Overall, this newer Zombies mode feels generally safe, but also incredibly fun in shorter bursts. While various easter eggs are on offer, I can appreciate the more linear round-based gameplay that makes things so much easier to jump into at certain times.
Final Thoughts
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 feels safe in certain places, but never broken or frustrating. To me, it’s a huge win, thanks to the varied campaign and smoother omni-movement system, that strengthens and at times, reinvigorates the core gameplay, without ever losing its identity.
While the overall experience might not do much to win over those who are rarely interested in the franchise year-on-year, there’s plenty to love about this year’s action blockbuster, on multiple fronts.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Same solid gameplay; New omni-movement system feels great; Engaging campaign mode
Lowlights: Feels a little safe at times; Certain voice performances can become a little annoying
Developer: Treyarch, Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Sledgehammer Games, High Moon Studios, Beenox, Demonware, Raven, Activision Shanghai
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on PlayStation 5 with a pre-release code provided by the publisher.
