Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Editor's Notes

PS4 disc version reviewed primarily offline, but with some pre-launch time spent online and in co-op. Review contains some very light spoilers. Review copy included the Nuk3town MP map.

Introduction

Don't call it a comeback, but the black sheep of the massive 'Call of Duty' franchise is back. Treyarch's 'Black Ops' series has the single most devoted 'Call of Duty' fan base in the history, and Treyarch has helped to keep the community active in part by relentlessly teasing a new installment. Once 'Black Ops III' was officially announced, the excitement boiled over as interest in the sci-fi and traversal aspects raised a lot of questions, many of which were answered with a successful public beta on the PS4, Xbox One and PC.

While the new game screams not too distant future in many ways, there is also a partial return to the WWII era in the form of the very noire (1940's style) Shadows of Evil co-op zombie mode, which is fully included in the game.

But zombies is hardly the only co-op aspect. 'Black Ops III' has the series' first ever four player co-op campaign. If that's not enough firsts, 'Black Ops III' is also the first 'Call of Duty' to emphasize the PlayStation platform (specifically the PS4). Though this mainly translates to a PS4 first DLC schedule, it's nevertheless a big part of the biggest 'Call of Duty' release in the new generation of consoles.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

It's been years since I played 'Call of Duty' on a PlayStation platform. The last time was 'Modern Warfare 3,' and ever since then it's been Xbox One and PC. Last year was the first year I didn't play the PC version of 'Call of Duty,' (I normally play both PC and a console version), and I stuck with 'Advanced Warfare' on the Xbox One. Long preamble aside, it's been great to dive into 'Black Ops III' on the PS4. First in early builds, then the beta, and now in the final release. I may end up jumping in on the Xbox One also, but thus far (pre-launch), 'Black Ops III' is triumph on the PS4.

I want to talk about the campaign and the wonderful zombies mode (they should sell a standalone version as well!), but within the absolutely packed feature set of 'Black Ops III,' is an amazing bonus that so many people (and game developers) are likely to miss. That would be the Free Run mode.

Please don't roll your eyes. Free Run mode isn't the reason that 'Call of Duty' has been and will continue to be so successful, nor is it the reason the 'Black Ops III' is (nearly) a must-play game. What I mean is that Free Run mode is another example in a long (for the industry) history of Treyarch taking 'Call of Duty' somewhere unexpected, and the result is fun and surprising.

'Black Ops' has traditionally been as hardcore as any modern shooter, with new players hitting a hard learning curve quickly. For sure, in 'Black Ops III' the trippy campaign (which I'll get to) is instructive, presenting and building on gameplay concepts and difficulty in a way that should teach the player how to play and how to advance.

The campaign, however, is the full monty of presentation. When a game is fun to play at its core, the presentation can be peeled back, and the underlying mechanics should still be fun. Likewise, while the cybernetic abilities of the game make the player feel like a versatile bad ass (it's almost like force powers), a good understanding of the traversal systems, the wall-running, vaulting, climbing, sliding, swimming, shooting in motion, wall hopping, etc. is key to playing well and having fun. The Free Run mode teaches these important basics in a clear, fun, accessible, and building manner. Yes, there is a timer and scoring, but the cacophony in the game's campaign and versus combat is dialed down. For those of us that need it (like me), the Free Run mode isn't just a do it once tutorial, it's there anytime I need to sharpen up or refresh. It's like the training mode of recent fighting games. It has a certain discipline, and it's a welcome way to get better.

So now I've established two things. One, the running around parkour style in 'Black Ops III' is awesome once learned. It's something that many games have tried with different degrees of success, but Treyarch has nailed their version. Second, the fundamentally important core way to move can be learned and experienced in a special fun mode should the desire grab you.

And there's the Combat Immersion mode. I could easily just play this. Box world is a blast (not unlike like 'VR Missions'), and all weapons and bad guys are here.

Ok, with that out of the way, let's talk campaign. We've had years of 'Call of Duty' as a blockbuster spectacle as each installment has tried to top that feel of 'Modern Warfare.' 'Black Ops' has been different, but we've known that this new game would require an augmented, tech-heavy world. Playing the campaign for the first time, and it seems clear that it's going to re-hash the 'Advanced Warfare' cyber-soldier tropes. Well, not so much. Not only is the story wild ('Black Ops' wild, not 'Ghosts' wild), but it goes right after one of the most fertile areas of sci-fi. In effect, take the robots of 'Chappie' and throw them into combat like that prefect post judgment day 'Terminator' film we've never gotten, and that's where the 'Black Ops III' campaign takes the player.

The tactical overlay modes call out the enemies while the cybernetic abilities add an important tool to mix in with shooting, meleeing, and grenading.

Of course, one of the big reasons that I was able to appreciate how my squad and me could fight off these robot/terrorist teams is the larger level design. It takes more room than the typical 'CoD' campaign to enable proper co-op campaigning. It's multiple viable routes rather than one safe path. Here again, there's more than one factor. The vehicle segments (playable level events) have been tuned towards a wicked touch (like taking on Skynet). This again feeds that sense of being a badass.

It was pretty obvious in the versus multiplayer with the specialists that the sub class abilities in 'Destiny' were being put in play in 'Black Ops III.' With the cybernetic abilities, it's ever more evident that it was decided that powerful cooldown abilities could be used in 'Call of Duty.' They are so fun to use in the campaign that I now want them in every shooter.

Speaking of special abilities, transforming in Shadows of Evil is horrific in a good way. I'm glad that Treyarch's specific implementation of zombies has returned complete with building barriers. I also love the dastardly foursome, and the (it's hard not to think of 'BioShock') classic noire style. With the transformations, the mode has that one thing needed to pepper the tempo. (Barriers, weapons, ammo, power, traps- transforming into the Cthulhu darkness fits right in.)

In versus MP, the map design fits with the new traversal system, and for the most part balances say bottomless pits with the familiar three lane design. (More so than the campaign.) Water is welcome, but the specialists and the variety of modes should encourage the mixing of elite and non-elite players. As much as ever, quick-scoping pros will take the lead in matches, which in turn can lead to an onslaught of killstreak deployments. Still, the specialist abilities, as well as the overall perk customization gives even the most hopeless player a chance to have a good match or two. That said, the guns up mobility means that new players are going to be moving (and getting shot) at a slower speed, which certainly gives everyone something to work to work.