CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS IIII
Campaign-free FPS flirts with Fortnite but misses its shot
You know what Activision’s latest megaton shooter is reminiscent of? That “How do you do, fellow kids?” Steve Buscemi sketch from 30 Rock… only with a bunch of semi-arthritic supersoldiers straining to relate to Fortnite’s sugary cast. Just replace the backwards caps with chest-beating emotes and cartoon chicken graffiti you can plaster over walls, and you’re pretty much in bemused Buscemi territory. Call Of Duty: Black Ops IIII isn’t a bad game, but it is a tired one. Where once the shooter series pushed the envelope, now it feels like Activision and Treyarch are scrambling to stay relevant. The invention that birthed the original COD Zombies back in 2008’s World At War is nowhere to be seen. Instead, you’re left with a mishmash of modes that copy from competitors.
SOLO SURVIVOR
It leads to a half-hearted end product that never quite covers up that gaping campaignsized hole. In fairness, BLOPS4’s lack of solo campaign was never covered up in the build-up to release. Seemingly, both publisher and studio were confident the trio of modes that prop up this year’s COD – traditional multiplayer, Zombies, and the Fortnite-like Blackout – would be enough to make up for ditching a traditional story mode. Spoiler: they’re not.
As for Blackout, how much mileage you’ll get out of it will depend on whether you still have the stomach for battles royale. It apes the antics of Fortnite, H1Z1, and the like. 100 players parachute onto an island; they salvage supplies; the last player standing wins. And while it outperforms other games in the genre, COD’s safe take on the formula is unlikely to enjoy the lasting impact of Epic’s phenomenon. Still, the fact Blackout – actually, the entire game – runs at a mostly locked 60fps shouldn’t be sniffed at. The action has a buttery fluidity as you scurry across its cannily designed map – the nod to the first BLOPS’ Nuketown is particularly cool. Whether you’re performing knee-sliding shotgun kills or nipping about in an ATV, having COD’s assured control scheme transplanted onto a Fortnite-style setup is welcome.
Despite the technical assurance, Blackout feels like it arrives six months too late. After playing dozens of hours of Fortnite, hiding in toilets to outsurvive another 99 players
“IT’S UNLIKELY BLACKOUT WILL ENJOY THE LASTING IMPACT OF FORTNITE.”
no longer has that nerveshredding wow factor.
COD’s core multiplayer also fails to astound. Are games of Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, and Control more welcoming this year? A little. Treyarch gives your soldier 150HP, making them more resilient. The wallrunning silliness of BLOPS3 has been ditched, though a certain flair is retained thanks to a couple of cracking maps. Contraband (a beach-set maze of bunkers) and Icebreaker (a frosty battleground set around a marooned sub) are the stars of the current arenas. Still, next to the refined, ever-evolving Crucible in Destiny 2, COD’s suite of online match types lacks a killer USP.
DEAD ON ARRIVAL
Rounding off the package is Zombies; a mode which feels increasingly toothless. While the three new maps sport cute window dressing, the action feels cluttered. That said, what window dressing – IX goes all Gladiator and takes you to the Colosseum; Voyage Of Despair plants you on a posticeberg Titanic; while Blood Of The Dead imprisons you on Alcatraz. Yet despite the spectacle, confusing modifiers and overstretched arenas rob Treyarch’s latest horde of the unfussy joys of World At War’s debut Nacht Der Untoten map.
What you’re left with is a shooter left stumbling for an identity. It’s also ugly. Perhaps it was a necessary sacrifice to obtain 60fps, but even on PS4 Pro the game looks bland. For a series that once defined FPS thrills, the hotchpotch BLOPS4 is a muddled misfire.