For me the Black Ops story arc has always been the most interesting in the Call of Duty series, and the team at Treyarch have not disappointed.
Picture this, you are on a routine assignment to capture an enemy asset. Everything is going according to plan. The vehicles have been disabled and you are picking off any enemy stragglers. You acquire your target who seems to think he is already in the hands of your agency. Out of nowhere a heavily armed force appears and now you are in a fight for your life. As you make your way to exfil a familiar face appears, but now he is wanted by the CIA. This starts the ever-circling web of lies and mistrust that is Black Ops 6.
Black Ops 6 is set roughly 10 years after Cold War and no matter your decisions in Cold War it has taken the defeat of Perseus and elimination of Bell as Canon.
Black Ops 6 follows the now wheelchair bound Black Ops Veteran Frank Woods and his team as they try to uncover the identity behind this new threat that could have ties to the CIA itself.
The story is a lot of fun and dives into the physiological and chemical warfare that surrounds the Black Ops franchise and plays more like a spy thriller than a typical run and gun Call of Duty. You must recruit a rag tag team of specialists to help you chase down leads all across the world.
While you play most of the 6ish hour campaign as mute Willam "Case" Calderon and get more of the back story of what Adler and Woods have been up to the cast really shines with the new additions to the team. Troy Marshal, who was one of the multiplayer operators from Cold War leads the team and its obvious that he is still learning the ropes of leadership and struggling with the fact he can't trust anyone. Sev is an underworld assassin who joins the team after you help her take out members of the guild who betrayed her. Then there is Felix a tech genius who was involved with the Stasi.
Their back stories are really well fleshed out, and while under utilized you can learn more about them between missions in The Rook.
The Rook is an abandoned safe house used by the team to stage their next mission. There are no collectables in Black Ops 6 persay, but there are safes and money hidden around the areas, this cash can be bought back to the safe house and used to upgrade The Rook. These upgrades come in the form of holding more ammo and armor plates. Adrenaline shots lasting longer all the way up to some of the perks we know and love from multiplayer. None of the perks make you seem over powered but will defiantly make your Veteran run a little less brutal.
Black Ops 6 does a fantastic job of keeping things fresh. The mission design never has you doing one thing too often. You will be infiltrating gang lands, breaking into government black sites, schmoozing with Politicians, taking part in poker games and storming a certain Palace in Desert Storm. There is even a special level which I will not spoil which left me wanting more!
There are a few levels that have multiple ways of completing like Cold War, then I came to an "open world" mission. I had flashbacks of the lackluster MW3 campaign and thought no, not again. I was pleasantly surprised that this was the only level of its type and didn't out stay its welcome. You can push the main objective or spend the time exploring the POI's which will make you job a lot easier. The only problem with so many different mission designs and complicated story it loses momentum multiple times throughout the experience.
There is a lot of emphasis on sneaking, something Call of Duty can never seem to get right, unfortunately this is the case with Black Ops 6 as well. The enemy AI isn't very clever and you can sneak right up behind them to and follow without being spotted. The only redeeming quality is its very satisfying to get off that head shot as you are about to be spotted.
Now onto what Call of Duty does best. The Shooting. Every gun fight feels incredible. Every weapon you pick up has a different feeling and the addition of omni-movement makes you feel like an action star. Like every Call of Duty campaign in the past the set pieces are intense. Having all sorts of enemies thrown at you, including elites. These enemies are kitted out with an array of different gadgets and weapons making you change tactics on the fly.
Speaking of gadgets, what spy thriller isn't complete without its toys. You have a backpack full of wild and wonderful gadgets like deployable tasers, remote throwing knives and the ever faithful RC-XD.
Like the action, the music and sound effects are on point as well. The shredding guitars chug as you plow through waves of enemy combatants, the bullets whiz overhead and the mortar rounds explode leaving a ringing in your ears, it is the full package.
I played Black Ops 6 on the Xbox Series X and only had a few minor frame drops during some of the more chaotic cutscenes, but that was it.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Black Ops 6 and can honestly say it's the best we have had in a long time.
Just remember the Truth Lies...
Black Ops 6 was reviewed on Xbox Series X and is available on PlayStation 4 & 5 as well as on PC and Xbox Gamepass. Gamer Social Club was provided a review code for purposes of coverage
