Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 review: Cinematic campaign mode is best in first-person shooter game series

While the focus and attention has been on online gameplay, the campaign mode is worth experiencing

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is one of the most anticipated game releases of the year. Photo: Activision

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was released on Friday after months of anticipation. The first-person shooter game is the latest in a franchise that continues to innovate.

The story in the new espionage game starts in Kuwait before moving to an abandoned castle in Eastern Europe. Improvements to gameplay and graphics are obvious from the first mission, but my first impressions are that campaign mode should not be overlooked.

Background

Call of Duty games have different branches, each with styles, recurring characters and storylines of their own. The two most prominent are Modern Warfare, which is military focused, and Black Ops, which deals in espionage.

The first Black Ops game in the series was released in 2010, and now, five games later, the sixth is out. Black Ops 6 continues the story from the previous game, Black Ops Cold War from 2020. That game was praised for its exciting campaign mode, which the Call of Duty franchise had slowly started to put to the side to focus on the more lucrative online modes.

Here are my impressions of playing the first couple of missions of Black Ops 6’s campaign mode, and why I think it’s worth picking up.

After the Cold War

It must be prefaced that I’ve not played a Call of Duty game for a while, simply because I have preferred playing previous games in the set-story campaign mode over the online mode, playing live against people.

The story in Black Ops 6 begins after the end of the Cold War, with characters in Kuwait during the Gulf War. I’ve always thought that using a war such as the Gulf War, or the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is distasteful because the ramifications from them are still felt today.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 takes place in 1991 after the end of the Cold War. Photo: Activision

The portion of the first level spent in Kuwait is short, but it does leave a bad taste. After that section ends, the band of spies, who are the stars of the game, move locations to a former KGB nest in an abandoned castle in Eastern Europe.

The plot points are established here and it becomes clear that our “heroes” will be doing some further post-Cold War clean up, especially when it comes to fractured militias that now have weapons and capabilities they should not possess.

Exciting gameplay

From the first mission, the improvements to gameplay, graphics and the all-around experience are obvious. There’s energy to the movement of the controlled character and smoothness to the drawing of weapons, aiming carefully and taking a shot.

A new technology called omnidirectional movement is instantly noticeable. The controlled character feels nimble and his surroundings affect his stance and how he shoots. For example, if the character is standing next to a vehicle, he will lean on it to steady himself when aiming. It’s small details like that that will be noticed a lot more as the story moves along.

There’s not just one setting. The games in the Black Ops series are about espionage and, while we start in a war zone, the next level takes us to a stealth mission where playing carefully and taking out the enemies quietly is required.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 review verdict

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 contains an exciting zombie mode to play online with friends. Photo: Activision

The Call of Duty franchise will remain mostly popular through online play, and that’s what most people who pick up the game will want to do. There’s also a fun zombie mode, which throws waves of the undead towards the player, getting progressively harder to ward off.

Campaign mode in this game should not be overlooked. It appears to be a lot more exciting than previous campaign modes and has a lot of adventures, which will make any player feel like they’re Tom Cruise starring in Mission Impossible.