If there is one game whose announcement no longer surprises: it is the new annual Call of Duty from Activision. Despite the group's acquisition by Microsoft in 2023, the famous FPS license is back in the spotlight this fall with a new opus, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Its simple title already gave fans hope of having a game that lived up to their expectations after the uneven Modern Warfare III, II and Vanguard.
The big return of Zombies per round, for its part, gave a glimpse of the desire of the players involved to win back their historic audience. Good news, this is not the only reason why long-time fans, but also any FPS enthusiast, must see this already record-breaking Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 as a must-have.
The fresh air of the campaign
Calling Modern Warfare 3's campaign disappointing is an understatement. It was mocked from all sides for its meager lifespan, even by Christopher Judge in a cult sequence from the 2023 Game Awards. Treyarch and Raven Software are revising their copy for Black Ops 6, and in what way.
The campaign of this new COD is pure pleasure. To begin with, the storyline, taking place after that of Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War, is rather interesting to follow. You play as Case, an agent on Frank Woods' team, tasked with investigating a mysterious organization, the Pantheon.
We appreciate that the geopolitical context of the end of the 20th century is so faithfully transcribed and serves as a framework for the fiction narrated in the campaign. It's still a shame that Case, the main character, doesn't have the ability to speak, but we quickly get over that.
The story manages to draw us in thanks to its well-written dialogues, which are more subtle than usual (not up to the standard of Metro either, obviously) and its endearing characters that the French dubbing really highlights. The regular revelations won't make you fall off your chair, but we still go through the single player wanting to know more about what's going on within the CIA and the Pantheon.
If the campaign of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is so gripping, it's mainly due to the stunning diversity of the missions offered. It's very simple: none of them are the same. We go from high-octane action to infiltration, vehicle phases or narrative sequences, sometimes within the same mission, all with great pleasure.
In addition to this mastery of rhythm, Treyarch and Raven Software have built levels perfectly adapted to each phase of the game. The action sequences are renewed thanks to levels that are sometimes tighter, sometimes more open or sometimes focusing on verticality. The AI will not hesitate to intelligently bypass you or throw well-placed grenades at you in higher difficulty levels, bringing a good dose of tension to these phases.
A surprisingly subtle 8-hour solo
During the Black Ops 6 campaign, the allies accompanying you in combat will be particularly useful to you not only because they are really capable of taking down enemies, but also thanks to their valuable indications. They can inform you when new attackers arrive in the area and from which side or indicate when a shot could make you spotted during a stealth sequence.
Infiltration, precisely, is also gripping. You have a few gadgets in your pocket and always several paths to achieve your goals thanks to well-constructed levels. There are even a few hidden paths that allow you to get where you want to go faster. Generally, the game lets you choose whether or not to attack the enemies in your path. In fact, you can use them as human shields, a first.
In this regard, the open-world desert sequence should delight fans of stealth (and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain). The campaign is also not lacking in subtlety thanks to a few mini-games such as lockpicking, deciphering codes on a computer or a numeric keypad with black light that often have to be done quickly and discreetly.
On this point, it is especially in the Tower that we have more fun thanks to its series of puzzles to solve to open a safe located upstairs. The various puzzles almost give the impression of being at the Bakers' house from Resident Evil 7 or in Lara Croft's mansion. There is a good chance that you will be left a little hungry once you reach the end of the secret, as Treyarch and Raven Software have demonstrated surprising mastery.
Beyond its puzzles, the Tower also allows you to improve your combat abilities thanks to the money collected during missions. We still wonder about the usefulness of this system for an 8-hour campaign during which you will ultimately not find that much money, unless you open the chests hidden in the levels. Perhaps the various improvements should have been hidden directly in these chests.
Gameplay enhanced by omnimovement
You probably don't want to buy Black Ops 6 for its gunfights rather than its puzzles. Yes, a good soldier must be well equipped, but without forgetting to be agile. That's why omnimovement is making its debut in Black Ops 6. This new movement mechanic allows you to sprint, slide and dive in all directions while maintaining a 360-degree shooting angle. The gameplay becomes significantly smoother thanks to this mechanic, but also more immersive. You will use it above all to quickly take cover, whether in solo or multiplayer.
Rest assured, the shooting sensations are perfectly there thanks to a successful sound design and an impact perfectly transcribed not only with the controller (or mouse) in hand, but also when your bullet hits its target. Each weapon offers a unique feeling, even within the same category. Enough to make us want to try them all, both during the campaign and in multiplayer.
The in-house graphics engine IW Engine in version 9.0 works wonders, regardless of the multiplayer map or region of the world explored during the campaign. The effect of the flashes and the various explosives is very successful, but you will have little time to enjoy them if you fall victim to them as this equipment is so deadly. The character models stand out for their details and realistic facial animations. Of course, the design of the various weapons, from the XM4 to the Tanto .22 to the SVD, still looks as polished as ever.
Unfortunately, Black Ops 6 doesn't take advantage of the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers of the DualSense on PS5. It's really unfortunate to see so few studios seize the opportunity to offer a somewhat refreshing experience thanks to this controller whose capabilities Sony praised for months before the release of its console. It's all the more frustrating when it comes to an FPS.
The strong return of Zombies by rounds in Call of Duty Black Ops 6
The release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 marks the big return of Zombies by rounds. For the moment, only two maps are available: Liberty Falls, a city in West Virginia with its alleys and a few shops, as well as Terminus, a prison complex spread over several islands.
These two maps have several objectives to accomplish displayed on the screen, then leave you to your own devices to discover their secret. You have to be smart and search all the areas well to succeed in getting to the end of the hidden story of each of these maps, which we will obviously tell you nothing about here.
Of course, you can just chain the waves together trying to survive as long as possible without worrying about the secret of the maps. The Zombies structure by rounds remains similar to those of the old Black Ops, but there are some interesting developments to note.
The most notable is the integration of a third-person view. Switching from FPS to TPS gives a new dimension to the Zombies round-based mode, even making it a little easier since you become almost omniscient. Note that you can choose to play in third person but switch back to first person when aiming by going to the settings.
In this COD, you can also club together to open a door, preventing a single player from spending all their money to access an area. In addition, Treyarch and Raven Software are integrating new weapons such as the Thrustodyne Model 23, capable of sucking up and shredding zombies. On the other hand, the new system for accessing perk upgrades and ammo mods is a little too messy for our tastes.
In concrete terms, you must first "search for an augmentation" before starting a game, i.e. select it, then gain a certain amount of experience to unlock it. You'll have to grind for a long time to acquire some of them, so arm yourself with patience. In Cold War, the augmentations were obtained with Ether crystals to collect during the games, which was much less tedious. In addition, you can only choose one augmentation at a time. We understand the studios' desire to gradually distil the improvements to keep the players, but this is too much.
Let's be honest, the Zombies round mode didn't really need a revolution to be a success as its foundations are solid. The additions made by the development studios still make the experience even more enjoyable... when the game starts.
Local co-op is there, but in what state?
Unfortunately, as it stands, it is very difficult to start a local co-op game with two players or four with two other players online. Once the map is selected, it often happens that the game does not start or that players remain stuck in the loading time before being ejected from the group. In this case, closing the game is the only solution to hope that a game will eventually start normally. Let’s hope that these particularly frustrating problems are quickly resolved.
Note that other errors can also spoil the fun in local co-op, such as the interface of objects on the ground that pop up in the middle of the screen or certain prompts simply not appearing, like those related to the chest in Liberty Falls. It also happens that SAM's challenges do not start. Less serious, but still curious, the round counter inevitably ends up stopping evolving for one of the two players.
Let's hope that Treyarch and Raven Software do not neglect those who still enjoy playing on the same couch and correct all these problems. AAAs offering a local co-op mode are becoming increasingly rare, so it would be a shame if the studios did not follow through on their approach by offering an optimal experience.
A multiplayer driven by its maps and game modes
If the campaign is the starter and the Zombies mode is the dessert of this BO 6, we can call the multiplayer the main course, the one capable of satisfying players looking for kills. A new game mode is making its appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. It is called Execution Order.
Each round, one player from each team is designated as the priority target. They will appear on the map and with a marker indicating how far away they are. Killing them earns more points than a classic elimination, while killing someone while being the priority target also makes the score go up faster.
Note that the priority target can be revived by an ally once they are down for a short period of time. This new mode is a success, since it requires a better tactical sense than the classic "Team Deathmatch". As such, it may be a little better suited to private games, as other players may not be interested in protecting their priority target at all and will approach this mode in a more traditional manner. Nothing serious, since the pleasure of eliminating a priority target or finding yourself with a sword of Damocles hanging over your head energizes the games.
Of course, the multiplayer modes wouldn't be so enjoyable without successful maps to highlight them. The good news is that almost all of the maps are fun, part Protocol, which we find a little rigid with these two large buildings with open windows placed one facing the other.
The maps almost all have their hidden passages, their narrow corridors and their more open areas. Some offer an interesting verticality, such as Skyline and Scud. Even Babylon, one of the new maps of Black Ops 6 with a rather restricted scope, turns out to be exciting for its dynamic confrontations that leave no respite.
Some levels like Vorkuta, very unstructured, require a real knowledge of the terrain to not be surprised. You will only know the smallest corners after many games. Remember that new maps will arrive this November in Activision's FPS.
And what about SBMM?
As in previous Call of Duty games, you will earn a good amount of experience after a victory and a little less after a defeat. The higher your level, the more powerful weapons and combat upgrades you have access to. Now, equipping three assets of the same color allows you to equip a specialty, a fairly important advantage in combat.
To prevent weaker players from being eliminated by the more experienced and better equipped, multiplayer still includes skill-based matchmaking, or SBMM. This is an algorithm that is supposed to bring together players with a similar level (the one indicated in the game, but also based on statistics such as the ratio) in order to make the games balanced and fun for everyone.
SBMM seems to fulfill its role rather well. Don't be scared by seeing players several levels above or below yours when entering a room: generally, the scores and ratios at the end of the game are rather homogeneous, demonstrating a certain reliability of the system.
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