Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War: Review

The next chapter of Call of Duty Black Ops has arrived, just in time for some shiny new consoles. Well, if you can get one that is.

The new game is a good mix of great shooter content for multiplayer lovers, and has a compelling single player campaign to boot.

Here’s what we liked most from all the major game modes.

Who did what now?

Call of Duty single player campaigns never stray far away from the imagination, and Cold War stays true to that.

You drop in to the story during the height of the Cold War, where the United States has pledged to protect “the free men and women of the world”. The fight picks up a few years after the Vietnam War, and sees you play the role of a new agent to a brand new CIA squad under the command of what is surely the most outrageous rip-off of Robert Redford’s likeness ever seen.

Your team must track down a mysterious Russian spy, who is hell-bent on setting off a nuclear weapon (again, it’s not the most imaginative of storylines). Along the way there are few memorable missions, including one excellent level that sees you infiltrate the Kremlin.

Ultimately, there’s more than enough variety in the missions to keep things interesting – from large-scale firefights, to helicopter set-pieces and the obligatory sniper level, it’s definitely not boring.

It looks fantastic too. That’s thanks to both next-gen consoles supporting 60+ framerates at 4K resolution.

Where’s the rest of it?

As per usual, it’s the multiplayer modes that will have the most lasting appeal. It feels like a return to form for the excellent Black Ops multiplayer experience; maps are tight and well-made and while it has become slightly controversial, we enjoy that it takes slightly longer to take down enemies.

The only niggle here is that there isn’t very much of it. At the time of reviewing there are a few guns that are even worth using (we played a multiplayer match and found that every member of our team was using an MP5) and 12 maps.

Our favourite is the new Fireteam mode, which sees 40 players (four teams of ten) attempt to collect as much uranium as possible to set off a dirty bomb, which then changes the multiplayer map from that point on.

Braaaaaaaains…

The zombies mode is always good fun in any Call of Duty game, and ramps the supernatural up a notch.

Instead of just fighting off ever-increasing hordes of zombies (as if that weren’t enough) the new mode will see you entering portals that will transport you to another world to fight off the undead. There are a load of different zombie types, and upgrading your guns to take down more and more each round (and letting that XP roll in) is incredibly satisfying.

So it’s good then?

Any niggles mentioned above are just that, niggles. The difference between a very good game and a solid entry in the Call of Duty franchise and near gaming perfection.

At the end of the day, if you are in anyway a fan of the franchise then this is a must-play.

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