Call of Duty Black Ops 4 Review

  At first, I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to cover this game.  The reason is like IGN had noted, you are getting 3 games in one.  They all have the same backbone of shooting mechanics and weapons but any of the 3 modes of Call of Duty Black Ops 4 by Treyarch, Beenox, and Raven Software could be considered a stand alone in their own right.  All of which are packed into a $60 game that I was excited for after the beta weekend and am now a happy owner of.

  Call of Duty is one of the longest standing FPS in gaming and while about a decade ago I was into it, the next iteration felt too much like clones for me to be interested.  Now that they have stepped into the world of BR I wanted to try it out and of course, this is where I started.   If you are new here I am a huge BR fan so this is where I am coming from.

Blackout

  I gave a lot of thoughts on how I felt about it during the beta weekend and not a lot has changed.  The shooting is tight, the controls are tight, and the game itself is one of the fastest battle royals out.   Call of Duty has always been a twitch shooter and it translated well in Blackout.  This map is just big enough to allow for 88 players to drop and not have too much downtime before your next fight.

  One gripe I have is the body armor is a bit overpowered.  Fighting someone with level 3 armor feels like you are shooting a brick wall.  Two clips later they can turn and melt you with a few rounds, which is a bit ridiculous.  Then again, like the perks that make you silent, it's nice to be the one to have it.

  The variety of weapons is really what makes this game for me.  The different weapons have different personalities and knowing them will let you know what engagements you can and can't win.  (Much like bar dating)  It also helps fit playstyles by being able to find the right set up.  Then again you have to find it and like all battle royals you are subjected to the RNG gods on what you will be able to get.

Multiplayer

  It's been a minute since I have stepped in the arena that is the CoD multiplayer and the fast pace hit me as a surprise at first.  This took some getting used to but I started to catch my stride and do some damage.  In Black OPs 4 you will be able to pick through several classes, each with their own perks.  For example, the character Crash drops assault bags, which players can use to get extra clips, he also has an ultimate that heals everyone on his team to the max amount.  This gives the game a bit more of a dynamic as you need to learn who you are against and what they can do. 

  The kill streak bonuses are back and as frustrating as ever.  After the other team has been dominating you for 10 minutes they will unload all the perks like attack helicopters, which can continue the slide.  The only thing that kind of counters this is the ability to quickly swap weapon sets between deaths, but you have to be careful because in some game modes you only have so many. 

  On top, if the kill streak bonuses I found some of the weapons, like the sniper rifle is unbalanced on PC.  These one-hit one-kill guns are much easier to wield with a mouse allowing players to accurately fire round after round with little recoil.  The face the second weapon can be a shotgun makes it even more frustrating as closing the distance can mean nothing.  

  While I have two substantial complaints the game wasn't completely destroyed for me.  There are several game modes to jump around to within multiplayer and quite a few levels in each.  I have only had about 6 hours of this mode in so far so it might be to soon to say I wasn't getting bored at all.  At least not yet. 

Zombies

  At first, I wasn't sure I cared about zombie mode at all.  About 5 or 6 years back that seemed like the only type of game coming out and to say I was burnt out was an understatement.  After having a few bad rounds in multiplayer I decided I had to give it a go and was decently surprised.  The game has three locations at the time and each has their own story.  You learn what's going on through an opening video and dialogue throughout the rounds.

  The goal of the game is to survive as long as you can because you will eventually die.  Before that, you will survive by killing zombies, gaining points, and in turn buying stronger weapons.  What makes this really unique is the secret weapons hidden in the level.  You get these by completing hidden tasks through the map.  This gives you something to do while fighting off the hoards of zombies breaking the boredom of just sitting in a corner with friends and picking them off as they come in the room.

  This game needs to be played with a party to make any real progress.  Playing alone means it's you against the hoards solo while playing with bots is a good way for the idiot computers to kite zombies into your back.  Without some experienced players, the game can be super frustrating and will take away from the overall experienced.  If you get lucky and get the group, these are a great time.

In Conclusion

  I do want to address the lack of a campaign mode.  It would have been nice but this is not why I bought the game nor is it a reason a vast number of people play them.  A while back I posted about how only about a third of people ever finish a game.  From what the devs were saying only about a third of people playing Call of Duty were even playing it at all.  It's unfortunate they let it go but as a business decision, it makes sense.

  If you can get past the loss of solo play and you are down for all of the multiplayer this game has it and in spades.  There are three solid modes all with the ability to level up and gain skins and other unlocks as you progress, with no microtransactions.  While there still needs to be some balancing with snipers on PC multiplayer, armor in BR, and a DC or two they aren't game breaking.  It's been a great time so far and the only thing I am worried about now is keeping up on blog posts as it's going to be a time vampire for weeks to come.

TL:DR;

  Call of Duty Black Ops 4 is a complete multiplayer package with plenty to do.  Its a really good multiplayer shooter and has a genuinely great BR experience.