Another year another Call Of Duty, the annual release of the popular FPS has brought a lot of enjoyment throughout the years, and even more recently the game shifted to a three year cycle with three different developers taken helm on their own series of games.
These year we see the release of Black Ops 3, which is aimed as a sequel to the very popular Black Ops 2 from a few years back. This new title is also Treyarch’s first run on the Xbox One and PS4 with the new three year cycle.
It’s worth noting at this point, that while the game is launching on previous generation consoles, the Xbox 360 and PS3 will only contain the Multiplayer aspect of the game – It’s also a good few degrees different with mostly different textures and of course quality compared the full version on the Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
We’re here to talk about Black Ops 3, and our console for the review is the Xbox One. So let’s dive right in and check out what Call of Duty Black Ops 3 has been like for the past few weeks.
Campaign
Black Ops 3 much like its predecessor is set in the future where technology has gotten even more advanced that before. Soldiers have augmentation done where limbs are replaced with robotics, and then controlled via a Direct Neural Implant. This allows for the fast paced action the trailers have shown us oh so well.
Gameplay
After the launch of Advanced Warfare, which brought some very smooth and fast gameplay as a first for Call of Duty. Treyarch have taken the natural speed of the game up a notch and the pace feels faster.
While the first mission lacks any of the foretold enhancements, your quickly given the opportunity to try them out (While the character is getting them in fact), but more on that later.
Cyber-Cores
The cyber-cores are one of the another big addition to the games dynamics. They offer a new form of weapon or protection depending on your choice between each different core. There are three different core categories available be it Control, Chaos, or Martial. A quick breakdown below shows what each three can offer.
Control
Martial
Chaos
Throughout the game we found gameplay to be an excellent balance between the fast paced typical run and shoot aspect and a semi think before you move mechanic. The extra cyber-cores offer users a very powerful feature , but only if they put thought into it, and change to a different core at a mobile load-out in game when available.
Even with the wall running and insane tech advancements, for the most part the game is still very grounded like most Call of Duty games before it. The missions are linear with players following along the guided path.
Gameplay is one of the finest points for the Call of Duty series and Black Ops 3 is easily one of the most enjoyable we have yet to play. The included Cyber-cores and wall running can give the users some pretty awesome moments when sticking it to the enemy. TreyArch also included 4 player co-op throughout this as well. So your buddies can join in throughout the entire campaign.
Story
Black Ops 3 takes what Black Ops 2 offered, but further into the future and with humans now augmented by robotics and computers. The main character starts of as a normal solider on a rescue mission, but literally gets ripped apart of by a robot near the end of the mission. This event starts the real game, whereas your player begins his surgery for augmented limbs, and the DNI is then implanted into his brain.
Your teammate Hendricks opts to undergo the enhancements as well. During the operation you get an insight into the John Taylors team as they take you through an virtual reality of previous events that help you learn how to use your new abilities and control other tech simply with your mind.
After the surgery, the game jumps 5 years into the future with some glimpses on missions that you and Hendricks have done.
As the story progresses, your team investigates an attack on CIA Black Site, and this is where the real story starts. Without giving away too much information – your team are tasked with tracking down Taylor’s team, who are shown to be responsible for the attack on the CIA Black Site.
The story focuses on tracking down Taylor’s team and uncovering exactly what happened at the ruins of the Coalescence Corporation headquarters in Singapore – where over 300,000 people were killed. Throughout the story you also fight against the 54 immortals, which is Singapore’s most powerful criminal organization.
The overall story tries to build towards this epic reveal, but most of the details become plainly obvious pretty quickly. Again, without giving it away too much, we will say, that this story isn’t original and has been done before. The story isn’t the best to come out of a Call of Duty game, and it’s certainly not the longest, but it does offer a lot of action and some truly crazy moments that only make sense when you play the entire game.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer is of course one of the biggest selling points of any Call of Duty game, and to think it has already been three years since Black Ops 2 launched on previous generation consoles. Black Ops 2 multiplayer was easily up there with the other great COD games that offered a great multiplayer experience.
Last year saw the release of Advanced Warfare, where Call of Duty multiplayer got it’s first real change in gameplay. The addition of the Exo suit allowed for faster movement, and more vertical gameplay throughout the match.
Black Ops 3 takes things in different direction, but doesn’t completely return to the previous style of gameplay. This time the game even feels faster than before, we have the thruster double jump, and players can even run on walls and perform some nice slides – all while shooting their gun.
My biggest enjoyment for any Call of Duty game has also been the fast pace action, and continuing that fast pace style even after you died. The mentality was to keep the game going and never stop or slow down. Black Ops 3 does this perfectly. Players have to keep moving, and think fast in nearly every match.
Maps are mostly large enough, with some being fairly small, but again the idea that the enemy can be around any corner is something COD has always brought to the table, and larger maps can sometimes make it longer to come by enemies and dull the momentum of the game.
Treyarch continue with the pick-10 system for your loads-outs, and nothing has changed with regards to the perk system much. A new addition however, is the Specialists. This allows every player to pick from 9 different Specialists with each offering a unique weapon or ability. Each Specialist can only have their weapon/ability used shortly/once as the meter builds up.
Call of Duty Multiplayer hasn’t felt this good in sometime. While Advanced Warfare did a fantastic job on adding something new to the core-dynamic. Black Ops 3 takes pace further and makes the main aspect of the game fun again. Anyone has been a fan of Call of Duty throughout the years is definitely going to have some great fun with the new multiplayer, and nothing is more fun that wall running and jumping into a slide around a corner and taking out the enemy with hip-fire.
