Trending
Two facts are certain in this life: the sun will rise from the east tomorrow, and Activision will release a new Call of Duty game in the autumn season. Jokes aside, one of the most consistent franchises in the realm of video games is Call of Duty, that is for certain, because every single year, a new Call of Duty is here to show us the beauty of a pure adrenaline rush where we have the opportunity to kill thousands of virtual baddies.
Since its debut in 2003, this franchise has delivered over twenty intense titles, covering a vast array of settings. We've fought across the battlefields of World War II, through the Cold War, in modern conflicts, and even on futuristic, interplanetary terrains. Despite the different settings, each game has consistently delivered thrilling action sequences that keep us on the edge of our seats, with adrenaline-pumping gameplay that never disappoints.
Across these twenty-plus titles, we haven’t always seen good, not even decent campaigns. Of course, there are the unforgettable ones, like Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and its two direct sequels, which delivered one of the finest war stories, and the Black Ops series, which took the world of espionage to a thrilling new level. However, for quite some time, Call of Duty has struggled to deliver compelling stories or campaigns that will thoroughly impress us, but that's about to change because the Black Ops 6 campaign is arguably one of the best, if not the best campaign, Call of Duty serial offered us over these years.
It appears that Activision, with all its available studios, truly listened to the fans this time and put in the effort to deliver another memorable story that we've been craving for all these years.
For all fans of Call of Duty stories, it’s well known that the series features two main storylines: Modern Warfare and Black Ops. The first Black Ops game unfolded during the Vietnam War and introduced intense elements like brainwashing, high-stakes espionage involving both the CIA and the KGB and a range of fascinating wartime intrigue.
Black Ops 2 continued with the same storyline and was highly appreciated among the players, and then Black Ops 3 went on an entirely different path, with different characters and a completely different timeline. Black Ops 4 didn't even have a campaign to begin with, while the fifth instalment, Cold War, decided to try and return to the roots and introduced an interesting yet very short campaign that left a lot to be desired.
This all leads us to Black Ops 6, which delivers a campaign reminiscent of the classics we loved, featuring 22 missions and over 7 hours of pure Call of Duty enjoyment set in 1991, during the Golf War. It’s a nostalgic return to the golden days of Call of Duty that fans will appreciate, even if just for a while.
Regarding the story, you step into the role of Case, a former CIA agent who, along with his team, has been dismissed from the agency after a high-value target was killed in their custody by a rogue ex-CIA operative. Although they managed to capture the rogue agent, Case’s team was dismissed rather than imprisoned. But, as often happens in espionage plots, they refuse to walk away quietly and instead decide to take matters into their own hands.
The story introduces some new characters apart from Case, while there are some well-known faces as well, like Frank Woods and some others whose names I won't mention for the sake of not spoiling the story. After the team steps into the action, you'll be going from mission to mission, from one to the other side of the world, solving great conspiracies and saving the world.
The story has some connections with previous Black Ops titles, but if this is the first Call of Duty title you play, it won't be a problem to follow the story because it is told in a quite straightforward way. Of course, that doesn't make it any less interesting because, trust me when I tell you, you'll be truly satisfied once the credits roll.
While playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, I realised that the developers mastered the campaign at the highest level, seemingly with ease. How, you ask? By drawing on everything at their disposal: years of experience, over twenty titles, nine contributing studios, and the desires of fans. They created a campaign that blends the best elements from previous games with fresh ideas, all wrapped in a compelling story. Success was practically guaranteed—there was no other way it could have turned out.
For example, a very good safehouse, hub area element from the Cold War is implemented here too, only this time the safehouse is way bigger, with elements like a training area, gunsmith, and even some very neat secrets you can reveal if you decide to immerse yourself deeper in the game.
The missions are more diverse than ever before. Remember the undercover mission from the Cold War, inside the Kremlin, where you played as an undercover agent? This mission was rated as one of the best in this game. Well, in Black Ops 6, you'll experience such missions again, but this time with even more choices and outcomes than before.
One mission will send you into an Italian casino where you'll play an orchestrated cons with all your team members taking control of all of them simultaneously. I felt like the stars from the famous movie "Now You See Me" while playing this mission. The feeling was incredible.
While many of the missions will follow a classic Call of Duty formula where you shoot the hell out of everything that moves in front of you, some missions will even introduce maps and complete freedom of which objective to play next, like in the true sandbox-style.
And that's not the end, no. During one mission, you'll even have to fight four different bosses with very good boss design and the setting that turns this game upside down. I tell you, the Black Ops 6's campaign is an entirely different monster and an experience well worth exploring.
When it comes to gameplay, Black Ops 6 has taken the best elements from its predecessors and blended them into a fantastic mix too. It’s no secret that the shooting mechanics in Call of Duty games are the closest thing to perfection; responsive controls, precise movement, and accurate targeting are hallmarks of the franchise. But the way all of this is integrated into Black Ops 6 is truly impressive.
The movements are a bit faster than before, and some other elements, like armour plates from the latest Modern Warfare titles, are integrated as well. The weapons cannot be modified in a campaign—you use the ones you find. Also, the loadout cannot be chosen at the beginning of the missions, as was the case with some previous titles.
This can be considered a small drawback, but I found no problem with that because it felt natural to play with the weapons the game gave me for a given moment. Make no mistake, this doesn't affect the variety of the weapons—you'll find a lot of them in a true Call of Duty manner.
A refreshing addition in Black Ops 6 is the inclusion of mini-puzzles, where you solve codes for safes and engage in other spy-centric mechanics, like hacking computers, uncovering door codes, picking locks, and finding keys. Though these activities aren’t overly frequent, they’re well executed and bring a breath of fresh air to the gameplay, standing out against the more straightforward approach of previous campaigns.
In terms of visuals, Black Ops 6 is the best-looking Call of Duty game to date with graphics that aim to show quality in the areas where Call of Duty games always excelled, like stunning animations, extraordinarily realistic face models, and very lifelike weapon models showcasing them fatefully to the smallest detail.
The attention to detail in the graphics is impressively realistic, showing that the developers put in real effort rather than rushing through. In one mission, for instance, in a safe house, you’ll find Marshal (a new character) repairing a storm-damaged wall. If you look closely, you can see him driving nails into the floor, each strike sinking the nail deeper until it’s fully embedded.
Or during one mission, Sev (a new character too) will go out to do something outside, and she will shut the door in front of you. The developers could just make that door inaccessible at the given moment and be done with it, but if you decide to follow her, you'll see her entering a car, turning it around, and actually going.
Okay, I know it isn't something never seen before; many games like to add those small details to make them more realistic, but never a Call of Duty game. This attention to detail is very commendable, especially in a Call of Duty title.
Playing the Game Pass version allowed me to test it on both the console and PC. On the Xbox Series S, I was pleasantly surprised by how well-optimised the graphics are for this smaller, less powerful console, with nearly imperceptible graphical differences.
On the Xbox Series S, many games are simply locked on 30 FPS because the console is not powerful enough to handle high graphic settings on high resolutions, but Black Ops 6 is running on 60 FPS while the quality is really impressive. Of course, it isn't the same level as it is on the PC or probably Series X, but it is very much acceptable.
The graphics on PC, however, are a completely different story with so many options to tinker with, and if you possess a decent gaming rig, you can turn this game into a true visual spectacle. However, I must say that Black Ops 6 isn't "a hardware eater" like you might think.
On my Ryzen 5 5500 PC with an RTX 3060 Ti GPU and 16 GB of RAM, Black Ops 6 runs smoothly on extreme settings (the highest graphics level) with Nvidia DLSS set to quality. The game consistently maintains FPS above 60, with only occasional drops during high-intensity moments like explosions or intense shootouts.
The sound design is equally impressive, though that’s standard for Call of Duty games. From the powerful gunfire that amps up the adrenaline to the thrilling explosions and an outstanding soundtrack that again exceeds expectations, the audio quality is exceptional. Call of Duty has set a high bar in this area, but it’s worth noting regardless.
The voice acting is also top-notch, as always; Black Ops was among the first games to feature Hollywood stars like Sam Worthington, Michael Keaton, and Ice Cube. Thankfully, this high standard continues in the latest installment, delivering fantastic voice performances once again.
Conclusion
In the end, I would like to add that the Black Ops 6 campaign is something that I personally have been waiting to happen for more than ten years, and I am very glad that the developers finally listened to us fans of a good campaign and finally brought this segment back in its full glory.
Apart from a very good story that will bring back some old Call of Duty memories, you'll encounter a huge variety in mission design, redefined gameplay that introduces some new elements like hacking, lockpicking, and puzzles in general, and, of course, everything else that made Call of Duty so glorious.
Add a fantastic graphic and sound presentation to the equation, and you'll get a game delivering tonnes of entertainment. Of course, I'm not even mentioning multiplayer and zombies (we will write about those on another occasion), and on top of all that, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is available on Game Pass from day one.
So, if you are the respective owner of this Xbox subscription, do not miss this one because its campaign will hit you very hard, especially if you enjoyed Modern Warfare and the original Black Ops.
The Good
Engaging and memorable campaign story- Diverse and varied mission design
- High-quality graphics and attention to detail
- Impressive sound design and voice acting
- Integration of new gameplay mechanics (hacking, puzzles)
- Well-optimized for both console and PC
- Available on Game Pass from day one
The Bad
The lack of weapon modification and weapon selection before missions(a minor problem)
