I’ve been playing Call of Duty for nearly 20 years, and I’m very happy to say that Black Ops 6 is one of the best I’ve experienced in recent memory.
With three distinct modes and quality polish galore, it’s clear that the four-year development cycle that Activision allowed Treyarch for BO6 was worth it in every sense. It should become the standard for the franchise moving forward, if this game is anything to judge it on.
Black Ops 6 is the total CoD package, and that’s even before a future update that will integrate the game’s weapons, operators, and movement mechanics into the free-to-play Warzone. It’s a big success.
Gotta go fast
Call of Duty begins and ends with multiplayer for most, and thankfully, Black Ops 6 has a fun offering this year. The main difference to separate BO6 from the pack is omnimovement, a twitchy, fast-paced way to play that adds more skill gap than ever thanks to enhanced maneuverability.
Players can sprint, dive, and slide in any direction, dive into a slide, shoot while diving or sliding, and more, meaning those who really dedicate the time to master movement will blow away the competition more than ever before. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you perform. Lower-skill players will likely be punished by omnimovement, while high-skill ones will end up in tougher games thanks to skill-based matchmaking.
Gunplay feels as crisp as ever, as is usually the case with Treyarch titles, and I haven’t experienced too many desync or packet loss issues like I did in the beta. I’ve enjoyed the majority of what I’ve played online thus far.
The action is played on small-to-medium maps in classic modes or the new Face Off playlist, which features smaller maps for players to get into the action quicker than usual and stay there, all while unlocking weapons, attachments, and the ever-important weapon camos.
Unfortunately, the maps offered up so far are quite lackluster. With additional maps coming in content drops for several seasons throughout the year, along with favorites like Nuketown returning, my hope is that nostalgia will play well with omnimovement and new weapons, because the 16 new maps this year don’t inspire much hope.
Realism be damned, let’s get weird
While many may skip over the campaign, I have to recommend everyone should give this one a shot—because this one feels like the most un-Call of Duty CoD campaign in quite some time.
The missions are varied and fun for a change, with some open world missions sprinkled in between high-octane action set pieces, stealthy exploration, and more choice than CoD gamers are used to. And these are actual open world choices, and not anything like MW3’s slapped-together “Open Combat Missions.”
Treyarch and Raven Software had four years to work on BO6, and you can feel the quality the most in the campaign. It features a fun, 1990s story with new and returning characters. New operators Marshall, Sev, and Felix join up with old heads Woods and Adler to create a dynamic Rogue Black Ops unit that keep the story moving.
Where Black Ops games shine compared to their MW counterparts is their willingness to separate from “realism.” In Black Ops Cold War, it was expressed via MK-Ultra brainwashing, and it gets even more out there in BO6 with hallucinations and over-the-top plotlines galore. I love it.
The story ends on an unfortunate cliffhanger that teases future seasonal story drops (a cutscene or two) as opposed to wrapping things up in a nice bow, but CoD wants players to come back year-round for more, and it works well in that regard.
The lively undead
This year’s Zombies offering may be the best feature out of the box. Ditching MW3’s open world Zombies approach, BO6 launches with two classic, round-based experiences named Terminus and Liberty Falls.
Both maps feature plenty of exploration and Easter egg quests for players to unwrap, while continuing in the footsteps of BOCW’s reworking of how the Zombies system works. Perk-a-Colas, GobbleGums, and loadouts are supplemented with new Augments that customize how players enjoy Zombies, and there’s a lot of joy to be found here.
The excitement for Zombies in BO6 continues in upcoming seasonal drops, where new round-based maps and other experiences are likely to launch alongside weapons, operators, and a battle pass with new items for players to unlock.
The best time to hop into CoD in years
While not everything is perfect, there’s a healthy balance between classic CoD nostalgia and new innovations to appeal to the longtime die-hards and newcomers alike. And if you’ve been on the fence about the franchise, wondering if you’d even like it anymore, I say come on in. The water’s real nice right now.
Just make sure you’re looking out for SMG players sliding past.
