Call of Duty Black Ops 3 Ign Trailer

It's no secret that Call of Duty is mainly loved for its multiplayer, rather than its campaigns, while some stats suggest plenty of players never actually finish them. But if there's ever been a time to try, it's now, not because we're all in lockdown and have much more time on our hands, but rather because this is easily one of the best Call of Duty campaigns ever made.

While 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot, which was created by Infinity Ward, dished up big set pieces, peppered with military jargon, and sandwiched by dramatic speeches from enigmatic mega-cockney Captain Price, it did leave us disengaged at times with all its super-serious militaristic babble.

Activision / Treyarch

Treyarch's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's campaign is certainly guilty of the same thing at times, but it does such a better job of making you care about its characters, and it doesn't take itself anywhere near as seriously. Plus it introduces engaging new gameplay elements, and has a selection of missions which are incredibly creative, some of the best of which involve hardly any shooting whatsoever.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War review – Story

The game is a direct sequel to the OG Call of Duty: Black Ops from 2010. The plot slots you as a new recruit, codenamed 'Bell', who's just joined an elite unit of soldiers including fan favourites, like Alder, Frank Woods, and Alex Mason. Soon you're reliving past missions, and collecting intel for new ones, as you all hunt for Perseus, a mysterious Russian operative the US has been tracking for years.

Activision / Treyarch

A big moment surrounding hidden nuclear weapons is utterly ridiculous, but you get the distinct feeling that the game has its tongue planted firmly in its cheek throughout. Beyond the very serious briefing cut scenes, you get some great insight into your colleagues during pauses in the hideout, where you can strike up conversations with optional dialogue.

There's also moments throughout the game where you have limited time to respond, with certain choices delivering achievements, to help encourage replay value. Plus, there's at least three potential endings to discover (with differing missions) but sadly, it's only your choices right at the end of the game that impact resolution.

Activision / Treyarch

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War review – Gameplay

If you've ever played Call of Duty, you know what to expect. Slick stop/start shooting mechanics while peering down the iron sights of your various weapons from across the '60s and '80s. The enemies still have all the tactical knowledge of a block of cheese, but they can easily overwhelm in greater numbers, or with well-placed rockets and grenades. We played on Regular and suffered plenty of deaths for that, across the seven hour campaign, but harder settings will likely require more playtime.

You're free to rename your character as you wish, along with selecting your career background, which affects some dialogue through the game. Meanwhile your gender – which impressively includes non-binary as an option – can be chosen, along with personality traits such as aggression, paranoia, teamwork and many more able to be chosen, which gift you in-game perks, such as faster reloading, higher damage, or better accuracy.

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Players can now take enemies hostage to use as bullet shields, before finally pulling a pin on their grenade, and shoving them into scattering soldiers trying to slot you. You're also tasked with collecting intelligence throughout, which brilliantly serves gameplay by informing puzzles, which unlock two optional missions.

But the best moments in the game involve holstering your gun to infiltrate a huge Russian military base with several optional paths to try to access a bunker, very similarly to the Hitman games. While our favourite section sees you playing Bell's hazy memory of a previous mission as Alder narrates, incredibly, moments become more surreal as you defy his narration. Alder tries to adjust, and abstract world-bending moments happen akin to Hideo Kojima's PT, which also demonstrate the unique storytelling power and potential of video games.

Activision / Treyarch

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War review – Graphics

The main campaign looks solid with deep jungles, dilapidated government buildings, snowy mountains, and high-speed chases all playing out with slick realism. As it stands the multiplayer and zombies modes aren't anywhere near as attractive, but we're hoping patches and more stabilised servers will address that soon.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War review – Sounds

The games' voice cast doesn't quite meet the lofty bar set by the original Call of Duty: Black Ops from 2010, which included Gary Oldman, Ed Harris, and Sam Worthington, but the new actors do a very solid job of delivering the script, and threading in lots of gentle humour. Plus there's a suitably epic score, and plenty of era-appropriate tracks to immerse you in the Cold War setting, including Norman Greenbaum's 'Spirit in the Sky', and 'Magic Carpet Ride' by Steppenwolf.

Activision / Treyarch

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War review – Verdict

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's campaign is tight, slick, and lots of fun, it almost avoids getting totally bogged down with militaristic mumbo jumbo, thanks to a barmy plot, and fun, albeit cliched characters, and most importantly, genuinely creative and impressive gameplay mechanics, that don't involve shooting. Sure it's as short as ever, but given it's one part of the package that includes zombies and multiplayer, it's easily the best Call of Duty story for many years, and perhaps one of the best shoot-em-up campaigns, too.

Release date: Out now

Available on: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, and PC.

Developer: Treyarch

Publisher: Activision

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Call of Duty Black Ops 3 Ign Trailer

Source: https://www.digitalspy.com/videogames/a34701098/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-campaign-review-ps4/

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