Richard ChristieYesterday Activision officially introduced the world to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. The game will be set between the events in Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 3 and promises a more boots on the ground experience than some of the most recent additions to the Call of Duty series. So no more wall running or thrust jumping. As many pointed out, there was no sign of a single player campaign, a first for the Call of Duty series.
There had been rumors for months that Call of Duty would be dropping the campaign and now Treyarch have officially confirmed this to be true, sort of. Each of the multiplayer Specialists will have their own solo missions, fleshing out each individual characters back story , but a single player story campaign with all the spectacle fans have come to expect is gone.
What’s changed?
Weapons are getting an overhaul, attachments are no longer shared across a class of weapon. Instead each weapon will have its own attachments and there is an additional attachment type known as an Operator Mod; “This is the ultimate expression of a gun’s profile and expands its capability in ways that go beyond its core function.” as stated over on the official Call of Duty website.
Another big change is how health works in the game as it will no longer automatically regenerate. Healing will involve a button press and a cool-down period, adding a more tactical element to the game. The ‘Gear’ class plays into this as you can decide that you want to use Stim Packs to heal yourself quickly and regularly, or Body Armor to reduce bullet damage until the armor breaks.
There’ll also be less focus on Kill/Death ratio’s and more on a points system, so feel free to play as a supporting Medic and not be penalized for not getting lots of kills.
The mini-map will now have a Fog of War were players will only be able to see the immediate area around them, their team mates and themselves. Though you will still see were enemy players have fired non-silenced weapons.
What’s in the Box?
So what are players getting for their money with the loss of a campaign? Well, if we take a glass half full approach to this news, with the resources that would have been pumped into the campaign are now focused on the multiplayer game elements. It does appear that Treyarch has packed Black Ops 4 with plenty of bang for your buck.
In another first for Call of Duty, and in following the current trend for a Battle Royale mode in everything, Treyarch are giving players what they are are calling Blackout. Or in their own words “This is doing Battle Royale the Black Ops Way!”. This mode includes elements from maps players will be familiar with from over the years and favorite characters from the series all packaged into the fast paced game-play synonymous with Call of Duty. Gamer’s will be able to traverse the biggest Call of Duty map to date by land, sea and air.
Next up we have the return of Call of Duty’s popular Zombies four player co-op mode which will play across three maps.
IX; set in a gladiatorial arena
Blood of the Dead; set in a prison
Voyage of Despair; set on the Titanic cruise ship.
Finally, we have the multiplayer fans are sure to pack hundreds of hours into. The familiar Pick 10 system is making a return. No automatic health regeneration. And there will be a focus on rewarding team play. Specialists will also return so you’ll be able to build the best team with your friends. They are fully customizable to a players game style and of course Scorestreaks will be returning.
It would be fair to expect a lot more of Black Ops 4 at Activisions E3 showcase.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be available from October 12th. and pre-orders will grant you access to the Black Ops 4 Private beta when it becomes available.