6 reasons why Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is much better than people think
A lack of maps and guns are a couple of reasons why Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War hasn’t been seen in a positive light. But we’ve compiled 6 reasons why players should reconsider these sentiments and appreciate what a good game Treyarch has made.
Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops I – these are arguably the best Call of Duty games ever made. Any subsequent CoD title is measured against these games as they are considered standard-bearers in not only the franchise but FPS gaming in general.
Black Ops Cold War was admonished in the first few weeks of its release, but fast-forward to August 2020, and Treyarch’s 80s shooter deserves more praise than it gets.
The way in which video game content is presented has changed in the industry, and Cold War has been a shining example of this change. We’ve highlighted 6 reasons why Treyarch has taken advantage of this with Black Ops Cold War.
6. Black Ops Cold War has an incredible number of maps and counting
Heading into Cold War Season 5, the latest Call of Duty game has 20 6v6 maps, 7 Gunfight maps, 5 Fireteam / Outbreak maps, 3 round-based Zombies maps, and a sprawling, varied Dead Ops 3 map.
If you’re not keeping count, that’s an astonishing 37 different maps that Treyarch has created for Black Ops Cold War!
Not only that, but several of the 6v6 maps also have bigger versions of themselves for Combined Arms, and there are plenty more on the way.
Heading into Season 5, it’s reported that at least 12 more maps are still to come in the game, despite the fact we’re coming to the end of its year in the sun – with Call of Duty Vanguard 2021 on the way.
A leak has also suggested that Black Ops Cold War will go on to receive post-launch content, and will become the “most supported CoD title” ever.
Its initial content may have felt paltry to some, but thanks to the ability to add updates, players aren’t having to pay for map packs anymore, and are drip-fed new content to ensure extreme longevity in their purchase.
5. Cold War has a balanced meta with lots of guns to use
Unlike the different reigns of terror that Warzone has to contend with the DMR, AUG / M16, and AMAX meta, Cold War has had few complaints in that respect.
Yes, certain weapons have stood out more than others such as the Krig 6 or LC10, but there are more than enough viable options for players to use and experiment with.
From Assault Rifles to SMGs to even Sniper Rifles now, Black Ops Cold War has 50 different weapons to use in the game’s online portion of the game – discounting Zombies Wonder Weapons.
Even weapons that were underused in the earlier stages of the game’s life have become more potent such as the KSP 45, Milano, and Sniper Rifles in general. Whenever a weapon starts to feel too imbalanced like the FFAR or MP5 was, the devs are always quick on the case.
4. So many different ways to play Black Ops Cold War
Treyarch has tried to be meticulous about its content drops as dropping everything at once would lead to certain modes becoming obsolete rather quickly.
By spacing out the introduction of big game modes such as Gunfight and Gun Game, it has allowed each of them their time to shine in the sun.
New game modes are being added all the time with Capture The Flag being the newest one, and Die Hardpoint being a terrific example of Treyarch keeping up the creativity and chaos of Call of Duty!
Players certainly cannot complain about the wealth of game modes on offer in Cold War, meaning it should be very hard to get bored of the game’s multiplayer.
3. Outbreak & Zombies in General
As covered previously with the map packs, there was a time when extra Zombies maps were paid content that players would gravitate to in droves.
Now, it’s completely free, and maps like Mauer Der Toten continue to deliver exhilarating Zombies experiences with more Perks, more special weapons, and deep Easter Eggs.
Die Maschine, Firebase Z, Mauer Der Toten, and Dead Ops 3 aside, the real success story of Black Ops Cold War’s Zombies experience has been Outbreak. Whilst the concept of Zombies has remained largely the same for over 10 years and isn’t particularly fading, Outbreak offered a welcome shock to the system.
By making it more open-world and freeing, Outbreak has taken on a completely different structure. Its different objectives, side missions, and areas make it the most diverse Zombies experience in the game’s history – and it’s free.
2. Its campaign has gone unsung
There was a time when online multiplayer wasn’t really a thing, and the campaign was the predominant way of judging an FPS, console shooter.
Times have most certainly changed, and whilst other games are opting to leave out campaigns altogether, Call of Duty, with the exception of Black Ops IIII, is persistent in its goal to deliver compelling narratives.
Russell Adler is already one of the more interesting and memorable new characters that a Call of Duty campaign has produced in years. Cold War’s story may have retread some familiar ground with the original Black Ops games, but its twisty-turny developments made it engaging enough to be considered a solid campaign.
It had set-pieces, tense missions, cool puzzles, and culminated with a couple of pivotal moments that shaped how your story ended. Not only this, but Treyarch rewarded attentive fans by continuing this story into the game’s multiplayer and expanding upon it further.
1. Black Ops Cold War isn’t perfect, but no game is
Since the dawn of video games, they’ve had a bug or a glitch in them that has impacted the gameplay experience for the user.
Modern gaming is the most susceptible the industry has ever been to complacency and rash development. With most gamers having internet connections nowadays, it’s all too easy to release a game, and then add updates to it as the game goes on.
This has been standard practice since the PS3 and Xbox 360 were launched. Even some of the highest-rated games of all time use this method, and they remain successful.
Furthermore, Black Ops Cold War was arguably the most difficult release in the Call of Duty franchise, ever. Its development coincided with a worldwide pandemic that naturally would’ve affected the game’s planning and production.
Given that Call of Duty is a yearly release, Treyarch was always going to be lagging behind in terms of content, game testing, and overall completeness. In the end, they have been able to catch up and have a game containing an obscene amount of content, whilst still listening to fans to try and fix the game.
Between Cold War’s campaign still being updated, round-based Zombies, Dead Ops, Outbreak, League Play, general online multiplayer, Treyarch has had to juggle a lot on their plate.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will probably not go down in the annals of the series’ storied history as a top 5 great. But the amount of hate and criticism the game has received hasn’t all been just and warranted.
The game is shaping up to be the most loaded CoD title ever and has to compete with the rip-roaring success of Call of Duty: Warzone. At the end of the day, we think Cold War could’ve been a far worse game given the circumstances, and it’s bounced back to become a solid game.
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Image Credit: Activison / Treyarch