Call of Duty needs a win following last year’s universally criticized Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which scored a 56 on Metacritic.

The task falls to this year’s Call of Duty Black Ops 6 from developers Treyarch and Raven Software and on paper it certainly looks up to the task.

Black Ops 6 has one of the longest development cycles of recent COD games. This allows the game to obviously explore some major improvements to the proven experience.

But at the same time, Black Ops 6 decided to build on past successes in interesting ways that could really benefit the whole package.

If the marriage of new and old goes well, Black Ops 6 will easily be seen as a return to form for the struggling series.

No one needs to spend a lot of time here – COD never has a problem establishing itself as the best on the market when it comes to visuals, considering the budget, the talent involved, and many other factors.

Black Ops 6 is simply stunning when it comes to realistic character models, captivating details on weapons and environments, and best-in-class lighting and shadow work. It should go without saying, but the sound design, from the voice acting to the ambient noise to the punchy-sounding weapons, is also superb.

But where this entry in the series really impresses is in the variety and memorability of its locations. The campaign takes players everywhere, be it cold Russia, the much warmer Middle East, and the United States itself, to name just a few of the globe-trotting locations. Some of them are also not current and the locations are never immersive.

Where Black Ops 6 really takes risks is with the retooling movement. The game calls the system upgrade “Omnimovement”, which, frankly, might bring to mind one of the silly names sports games give to small annual upgrades to physics and the like.

But the upgrade is anything but minimal. This is a universal overhaul of player control, including 360-degree movements while prone. This is a huge deal, because in the past, going prone in FPS games essentially meant becoming an easy target with limited ability to defend yourself. Now players can move as needed and stay in the fight.

The newfound freedom really opens up many new doors in terms of strategic approach on the part of the player, especially in Campaign and Zombie modes. That said, it seems specifically geared toward controller gamers, given that gamers using the PC’s mouse and keys can already do a lot of these things.

Alas, even though the game suggests it’s in the name of “tactical flexibility”, that definition only goes so far. It’s easy to imagine that, before long, these random dives in all directions with super-precise shots and jerky movements might become boring in multiplayer. Some will call it a skills gap, others will say no thanks, and neither side is 100% right.

Beyond this major innovation, it’s the same precise shooter that only the Destiny series has been able to match over the past decade. Each weapon is distinct and impactful, the melee combat is good, exploring environments or hiding is fun, and new wrinkles like peeking around a corner are welcome.

Overall, when you’re in the thick of the action, this is the most enjoyable Call of Duty yet.

Story, multiplayer and more

Part of the story in Black Ops 6 takes place in the 90s and loops with Frank Woods and other notables for another adventure. But it won’t be long before the mind-blowing little things that made the original Black Ops tales so popular emerge and send players everywhere and into different decades.

Along the way, missions run the gamut of expected variety, from stealthy infiltrations to large-scale zoom-out battles. In some cases, there are multiple ways to approach certain missions, making it fun to go back and experiment.

The story also strays from the standard expectations of COD gameplay, often asking players to improvise on the fly in combat situations in a way that would make Jason Bourne proud.

A new campaign hideaway allows players to explore a hub, converse with characters, and generally relax between missions, or even solve problems like puzzles.

Taking a break and spending time at the hub is a nice little touch of realism. But the real star of the show is the storylines and settings, even if the overall story being told isn’t that gripping, risky, or offers serious commentary on anything.

In multiplayer, the game features 16 new maps, 12 of which are of the 6v6 variety, while the rest accommodate smaller accounts and the like.

Many of the series’ staple game modes return, from larger battles and deathmatches to more intimate gunplay and 2v2 variations. Systems such as wildcards are also returning.

One of the big new features is a combat specialties system, which is a fancy way of naming a general overhaul of how player perks work. There are three combat classes, and stacking perks in the same color rewards players with what is essentially a fourth bonus perk. It’s a good way to encourage playstyles, although it will be interesting to see if, for example, Recon’s bonus granting wallhacks after respawning becomes too OP.

Most importantly, Black Ops 6 thankfully brings back the prestige system. Players can once again enhance their ranks and continue to find ways to progress in this old school sense.

Multiplayer also sees the return of Cinema Mode for viewing replays and, of course, a host of new weapons, tactics and other gameplay elements to keep things fresh.

Elsewhere on the theme of progression, the gunsmith system is much easier to use than in recent efforts. And unlocking camo skins for guns has also been made very simple in a good way.

The zombies might just be the highlight of the whole package this time around.

This year’s game returns to a turn-based Zombies that takes the mode back to its roots and its most basic form, which is a welcome refresh.

In doing so, Zombies introduces players to two new maps at launch and the mode weaves its own ongoing story tied to previous games along the way, with some interesting context brought up by team members as they chat.

Teams of four players once again face waves of undead, although it’s not always as simple as hiding in one place. The new wrinkles also require players to keep moving, which is a good way to keep them guessing.

Zombie has its own weapon customization and upgrade system, which players will want to rely on early and often: there are minibosses and a fairly surprisingly large variety of enemy types that push players to upgrade quickly specific versions the right way.

This is also the first time players can zoom in and play zombies from a third-person perspective. It feels like this will end up as a niche, but it’s not bad to have the option.

Speaking of options and accessibility, the game arrives with some unique and new settings, such as a toggle to reduce the actual number of button presses needed to traverse environments.

Elsewhere on the ease-of-use front, this year’s game introduced global weapon builds, allowing players to save specific equipment for use in any game mode.

Performance is also quite good, although any game offering an “always online” component to its single-player campaign is a major stink, as players attempting to experience it shouldn’t be at the mercy of stability online servers. And installing the game from the COD launcher is still a controversial task.

In many ways, Black Ops 6 harkens back to the golden age of Call of Duty.

Black Ops 6 has the best campaign in years. Multiplayer restores the fundamentals like the prestige system while evolving the movement. And Zombies is simpler and doesn’t get bogged down, managing to walk that pick-and-play tightrope well against impressive depth.

Considering that, this is easily the best entry in years for the series. It has the power to make even inactive fans cringe for a multitude of reasons, and impress even skeptics who don’t typically watch the show.

It’s also worth noting that this is a proof of concept that longer development time can be beneficial and that some of these old school details have stood the test of time and don’t. don’t necessarily need to be upgraded or replaced just for the sake of it. do it.

If Black Ops 6 is the new foundation for future Call of Duty games, the series could well begin to flirt with a new golden age.