Review: ‘Call of Duty Black Ops 6’ Returns With Zombie-Fueled Action
An all-new campaign, more zombies and an updated War Zone inject new life into the iconic shooter.
The Black Ops sub-series of Call of Duty has always put an emphasis on over-the-top action. Drawing inspiration from Hollywood’s heyday of epic action flicks, Call of Duty Black Ops has produced many fan-favorite entries, and Black Ops 6 aims to do the same with a campaign set in the ‘90s, a return to form for its Zombies mode and a satisfying online multiplayer that’s sure to appeal to the franchise’s loyal player base.
Black Ops 6’s campaign utilizes missions that intertwine espionage and subterfuge with the series’ hallmark run and gun action. The story is told over the course of 11 missions, features a variety of locales and tight FPS gunplay.
Set in the early 1990s, the campaign features twists and turns that’ll keep players engaged and never takes its foot off the gas in terms of action and suspense.
No Black Ops game would be complete without Zombies, the survival mode that pits teams against hordes of undead while upping the ante with increasingly heavy weaponry. Activision has wisely reintroduced the mode as a round-based challenge this year and fans should celebrate the return to form.
Zombies have always been integral to playing Call of Duty, providing the perfect opportunity for gamers to hone both their strategies and skills and then translate them to the solo campaign or take them online against the world. It’s ridiculous fun when played with friends and provides a challenge for a solo campaign, but without the frustration of getting mercilessly merked by people who’ve devoted way too much time to War Zone.
The line between a new Call of Duty release like Black Ops 6 and a new season of the War Zone online multiplayer component continues to become more stark. Is this season of War Zone an actual new release or an entirely different game that happens to share physics and gameplay mechanics, running in a timed tandem with the annual title releases of the COD series? Does 16 new maps make a new game?
Activision seems content to blur the line but now that Microsoft holds the reins, it might not be long before an official separation. For now, downloading Black Ops 6 still requires the inclusion of the exceedingly large files for War Zone, even if you have no intention of taking your game online.
Whether gamers are in it for the awesome story of the solo campaign, the challenge and teamwork of Zombies or testing their skills online in War Zone, there’s little doubt that Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is continuing the COD heritage and delivering one of the year’s premiere and most reliable first-person shooter experiences.
Call of Duty Black Ops 6 is available now on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox Series S/X for $69.99, and is free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.
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