Developer Treyarch set to break the repetitive nature that had been in the Call of Duty series for the past few years. This is where Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 supposedly came to be. Treyarch took a very ambitious stance by removing the franchise’s staple - the traditional single-player campaign. This gamble may have paid off, as Black Ops 4 features more modes, options, and ways to engage with the community than ever before.

For those who were looking for a traditional campaign, it isn’t all bad. The Specialist HQ offers a series of tutorial missions that when finished, give access to hidden pasts and untold secrets. The tutorials range in difficulty, but there is no need to go for the challenge if you’re just in it for the well-polished cutscenes. Each tutorial lasts about 10-20 minutes and the cutscenes continuously make me wish they would have created a campaign out of it. The lore is rich and pays careful attention to the personalities of the specialists that were seen in Black Ops III, but never really expands on anything outside of the videos on offer.

You have access to seeing each Specialist’s background story, and that is followed up by a soldier who tells you all about what each Specialist can do. He does, however, have the tongue of a drunken sailor and will find any excuse to fling the odd vulgar word here and there. That being said, I really wished that the Specialist HQ had more engagement to it.



There are plenty of multiplayer modes on offer. The regular Team Deathmatch and Free For All modes join the options, but the stand out mode would have to be Capture The Zone, a beautiful blend of tactility and the traditional run-and-gun nuances that we've come to expect from Call of Duty. While Team Deathmatch offers players the individual freedom to show off their skill, Capture The Zone forces you to work together with your squad and the limited amount of lives really add to that dynamic. Other modes, such as Heist, suffer from long waiting times and that can really dull the mood of a squad raring to get into another match.

Treyarch fixed most of the issues that would generally plague the multiplayer maps at launch, such as broken spawn points. Very rarely did I get into a match that had players camping out spawn zones, and even then, it wasn’t that hard to fight them off. Black Ops 4’s new mechanics are finely tuned to get players thinking more about objective than raw kill statistics. You can tell exactly where Blizzard offered their help, and it mostly reflects in the Specialist’s abilities.

...the stand out mode would have to be Capture The Zone, a beautiful blend of tactility and the traditional run-and-gun nuances that we've come to expect from Call of Duty.

Think of the Specialists as different classes. Some abilities are more accustomed to causing damage, while others are there to play support roles. That being said, support classes felt better than others as the guns deal more than enough damage to mitigate the need to run any of the damage classes.

Guns haven’t been reinvented, but instead, fine-tuned (there’s no need to reinvent the rifle here). Assault Rifles are able to work in a multitude of ranges, while submachine guns have been nerfed in comparison to Black Ops III (finally). Light-machine guns (LMGs) have been given the most drastic change, offering high amounts of mobility that allow you to rush enemies with ease.

Each gun genuinely feels different from the other. The Hades LMG felt completely different to the Titan LMG. While one boasts a higher rate of fire and is meant for mowing down enemies, the other is more tactical and provides better cover fire.



Zombies mode is much more expansive than before, with three different co-op maps available (four if you are a season pass owner) and a plethora of different settings to go through, allowing players to tailor their experience through the various modifiers.

Those who mourned the lack of campaign will find some form of happiness here. Each map immerses you into an arcade-like scenario that delves deeper into the depths of horror and the occult. Whether you’re travelling through the time-warped environments pulled straight from Roman, Egyptian, Norse, and Celtic mythology in the peculiar IX, or scavenging through the depths of the Titanic in Voyage of Despair, Zombies has a tale to tell between every wave.

Not only can you customise your zombie experience, but players are also given access to character unlocks which turn you into an even better zombie-killing machine. Some may see the grind as tedious, but it does give a lot more meaning to playing the zombie mode - especially when the progression system is this expansive. Powerful talismans and ancient weapons give you an exciting edge over the zombies while the map is littered with new perks and skull-based mystery boxes. One talisman gave me the ability to start the round with an AR, which was nice. Paired with quippy characters, peculiar stories, and enough customisation to leave you spoilt for choice, Zombies has never been better.

Whether you’re travelling through the time-warped environments pulled straight from Roman, Egyptian, Norse, and Celtic mythology in the peculiar IX, or scavenging through the depths of the Titanic in Voyage of Despair, Zombies has a tale to tell between every wave.

Okay, I’ve made you wait long enough. Let’s talk about Blackout. While the other modes are fantastic, Blackout suffered the most. This is Call of Duty’s first Battle Royale mode and it really is well-made... if I could find a match. The lobby takes forever to fill up, and even then it barely does. I have often started games with around 50 players in the lobby. That made the mode almost unplayable, especially when you’re just stuck in an empty map waiting for the game to start. This can perhaps be attributed to the fact that Blackout hasn't quite taken off just yet, and players simply prefer the traditional multiplayer Call of Duty experience. The lobbies are emptier as a result, but I believe it may pick up soon with enough interest.



That being said, once you do find a match, it is quite fun. Intense combat seems to be the name of the game. Supply drops and mystery boxes drive players to clear the field of enemies as quickly as possible. A.I Zombies create tactical risk versus reward situations. Then comes the helicopters. While the other vehicles are fun to move around, helicopters offer the best form of engagement in Blackout. If you’re in the helicopter, you have to do your utmost best to prevent enemies from shooting it down and vice versa.

You can play Blackout in solo, but the four-player squads are truly where the game finds itself at home. Coordinating movement with your teammates while trying to fight off other squads adds a greater sense of immersion to the battle royale mode. That being said, I prefer the other multiplayer modes over Blackout, as they do take more advantage of the new game mechanics.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has made a sacrifice that will definitely cause some to turn away from the title. However, removing the campaign came with its own line of benefits. Multiplayer has an addictive twist for those who like their traditional Call of Duty experience, Zombies is as engaging and fun as ever, and Blackout is arguably one of the best Battle Royale experiences available. While I do wish there was a traditional campaign, Blacks Ops 4 has done more than enough to let me go without it.