Game Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

1812Overture

On October 12, 2018, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. This is the newest Call of Duty developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. This game features three game modes: Zombies, Multiplayer, and Blackout. Unlike previous CODs, Black Ops 4 does NOT have a campaign. While Black Ops 3 featured anti-gravity options, Black Ops 4 excludes this feature. New guns, new maps, and a new mode is introduced.

ZOMBIES

Game Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Coined by the Black Ops series, the Zombies fan-favorite IS included in Black Ops 4. Within this game-mode are three maps: Voyage of Despair, IX, and Blood of the Dead. Voyage of Despair takes place in the Titanic, IX takes place in ancient Romanesque coliseum, and Blood of the Dead takes place in a prison. The story follows Scarlett Rhodes and the disappearance of her father. She uncovers a “prized relic” which holds “extraordinary power that threatens all of humanity.” Black Ops 4 Zombies gives the player a lot of choice when it comes to in-game perks and abilities. I especially dig the fully packed arena concept in which IX takes place. On Voyage of Despair, some zombies are made of ice and will freeze a player!

MULTIPLAYER

Game Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

My most played game-mode of Black Ops 4 is Multiplayer. After a few much needed nerfs and patches, combat is much more enjoyable. In this C.O.D., familiar maps from the original or previous Black Ops games made a comeback including Summit, Firing Range, Nuketown, Jungle, Slums and more. The guns in each gun type are minimized to no more than six, with some only featuring three. This feature makes it easier to get diamond and dark matter on all guns, with some camos being exclusive to certain guns.

An option in Multiplayer are the ten Specialists including: Ruin, Battery, Recon, Seraph, Crash, Torque, Ajax, Nomad, Firebreak and Prophet. I found it more useful to use Seraph or Recon for Search and Destroy. Seraph uses a Tac-Deploy Beacon, which gives you an extra life if you die. Recon uses a Sensor Dart over a certain area and Vision Pulse which reveals an enemy’s location. For hardcore modes, Torque’s Barricade and Razor Wire are very ideal. I personally use Nomad’s K-9 Unit and Mesh Mines on Free-For-All. For every specialist comes skins or outfits. Throughout the game you can either purchase, through the Black Market, or earn these outfits along with gestures and spray paint tags. Seasonally, BO4 will feature exclusive skins and gestures. These can be used in Multiplayer or Blackout.

Aside from the SDM, sniper rifles have a lower fire-rate and smaller magazines. Unlike any C.O.D. ever, BO4 includes a strobe light attachment on the SG12 shotgun. While rare to see a player with it on, with a light trail, this ultimately blinds the opponent and makes it very hard to kill the user. With newer C.O.D.s, reload time seemingly decreases so in this games, SMGs are VERY OP due to less recoil, power, and heavier loaded magazines. At the moment, for close range maps, guns like the Saug 9mm are extremely overpowered with a very high firing rate, quick reloads and dual wield.

Although some Specialists have the quickly accessible features, having equipment included in a class will take the features away. This makes it less appealing to equip a grenade, stun, or combat ax. I personally enjoy this because they are VERY annoying.

To me, a huge flaw in the game is in team respawn modes like TDM or KC, the Hellstorm Missle or Lightning Strike can take out an entire team due to the open map and same-spawning. This is especially OP in try-hard modes like Control or Hardpoint because it makes it harder to finish the objective and easier for the enemy to get more Killstreaks.

BLACKOUT

Game Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

This game mode is exactly like PlayUnknown’s Battlegrounds or PUBG, minus the different maps. Where you land on Blackout is a map from previous Call of Duties i.e. Array, Nuketown, etc. In the beginning of the match, I found the best landing strategy to be go directly down at full-speed until you reach 60-66 speed then swoop up and soar to your destination. The hottest spots at the moment are Firing Range and the six houses near Array.

On Blackout, certain locations will spawn a fixed amount of zombies, which you can kill to receive the Mystery Box and various loot. The main reason most kill the zombies is to acquire Level 3 armor, the strongest armor in the game and the only armor that protects your head, not available in Zombies or Multiplayer. But most times Level 3 armor is randomly placed. Some times you can even acquire the Ray Gun!

At first I hated this game mode, but after a lot of gaming I grew to love it! My favorite place to land is Firing Range but it’s very hard to get out of. All guns and equipment available in Multiplayer are in Blackout and most perks as well. This game mode has additional perks such as Looter and Outlander, which you cannot find in Multiplayer. I found the Sensor Dart, Cluster Grenades, Dead Silence, Outlander, and Grapple Guns to be the most useful. In terms of guns, the ABR 223, Rampart, and Paladin are better for long-range shooting throughout the game. In the beginning of the game, an SG12 or Saug 9mm are ideal for close-range kills, the ammo is everywhere and it’s easy to pick off the unarmed.

When I wanna sweat during Multiplayer, I tend to use SMGs because of how resourceful and powerful they are. In Blackout however, these guns seem less useful and more of a waste of time. The Auger is a really good gun for long-range shots but the recoil is VERY bad, if I can’t find an ABR, I’ll still carry it because it’s VERY good long-range.

The vehicles are very useful in this game. If you land away from the squad, you can easily take an ATV (2 players max) or a Cargo Truck (5 players max). The only downside to these vehicles is the loud noise they produce which can alert enemies to be on the look out. As for the Cargo Truck, the players in the back of the truck CAN be downed, but instead of falling out of the truck, they stay on while they’re downed. However, these trucks are very susceptible to Cluster Grenades which can take out the ENTIRE team. Another useful vehicle used on water is the Zodiac inflatable boat, this can fit four people max. The only bad part is if you accidentally steer it onto shore, there is no way to use it again. Flyable helicopters are available but are very loud and can be locked into sight by a rocket launcher.

Game Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
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