Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 review – A game of three halves

The latest Call of Duty is a big game. It had a huge development budget, with marketing to match, and will undoubtedly sell by the truckload, to both dedicated fans and occasional gamers, regardless of what critics write in reviews like this one. It’s big in terms of content too, with three hefty modes (on PS4, PC and Xbox One, at least – it’s multiplayer only on the PS3 and Xbox 360), plus numerous extras to boot. Bigger isn’t always better, but there’s certainly value for money here, and something for pretty much anyone who enjoys looking down the sights of a virtual assault rifle.

The campaign has been lengthened and now supports 4-player co-op throughout. Zombies has two settings, each with its own sets of characters. Then of course there’s multiplayer, which now has its own roster of characters, each with their own unique abilities, as well as a new movement system for more fluid action.

It’s a more cohesive game than ever before; the various modes feel similar in terms of how you move, the feedback from weapons and even AI behaviour. This is probably a result of better software engineering over the more generous 3-year development cycle. A good example is that you can switch out your enemies in the campaign for zombies. Plus you get split-screen play in every single mode, whether you’re playing online or offline. It all shows just how flexible and capable Treyarch’s technology is.

Campaign

The campaign is more substantial than ever, at around 12 hours in length. However, the longer running length exposes the narrative as a bit of a mess. It’s clear that far more effort has gone into it, but as a single-player experience it simply doesn’t mesh together. It struggles to explain and mesh its setting, characters and plotting into something greater than its parts.

As a series, Call of Duty has undeniably had its moments. Its high points gained a sense of place and pathos from real-world events and conflicts, such as the Russian conscript assault in the original game or Modern Warfare’s sniper mission in post-Chernobyl Pripyat. Here though we’re once again in a near future dominated by constant low-level conflict, or at least I think we are.

The best science fiction worlds are defined by a single idea, which clearly defines the kind of story being told and the characters involved – in the way Rapture defines Bioshock. Black Ops 3 is set in some vague new cold war, but then hops around various locations without ever really explaining why everywhere you go, or why everyone is always shooting each other.

Unlike some previous outings, the game doesn’t jump between different characters. Instead it takes on a more RPG-like design, with you selecting your character’s appearance and gender as well as being able to upgrade and customise your loadouts – in exactly the same way you have in the multiplayer modes for years. This all makes sense in the co-op mode, as each player has their own unique avatar, but it means your character lacks, well, character in terms of the campaign plot. The supporting cast aren’t bad, but don’t do enough to carry it without your character’s input.

OK, you didn’t come for the story, and it’s not all bad, but the game is running a little too close to the Destiny way of doing things, and we’ve seen how that turned out.

One the plus side, the whole thing ticks along nicely, with imaginative locations, frantic action sequences and huge firefights – whether you’re alone or playing with others. The latter is great fun and has plenty of replay value too, thanks to variety of gear options and difficulty levels.

The near-future setting allows for plenty of high-tech warmongery. The guns remain resolutely bullet-based, but your opponents include both man and machine. While human opponents largely stick to cover, robotic soldiers advance on you and take more firepower to down, while a variety of drones and larger ED-209 styled enemies also make the odd appearance.

Thankfully you can now carry a specialised heavy weapon like a micro missile launcher as well as the usual pair of regular guns. You also get to choose from three skill trees of cybernetic abilities, letting you freeze robots in their tracks, immolate human foes with nanobot swarms, or simply punch people very hard indeed. They’re all good fun, but only become essential at higher difficulties.

The campaign may lack stand out moments and characters you’ll care about, but it’s good fun, and bonkers enough towards the end to keep your attention until the credits. Being able to cherry pick your favourite moments, and you will have some, and replay them with friends on higher difficulties is rather brilliant. If it had to stand on its own it would be hard to recommend, but it really is only a third of a much bigger package.

Zombies

Having shot innumerable Singaporean cyber terrorists, gone insurgent in Egypt and defeated the big bad in Zurich (not FIFA), it’s time to take all the skills you’ve learnt and apply them popping the heads of the undead.

And you’ll need those skills too, as Zombies is certainly playing to its established audience, being tough from the get go. Initially you’re dropped into a Lovecraftian nightmare, where you play as one of four doomed souls, fighting in what appears to be a 1940s city gone wrong. As well as the usual weapon upgrades, barriers to repair and perks to unlock, there’s also the ability to transform into a horrible beast and smash the zombies to pieces. Once you’ve mastered this map there’s a second map to take on too – it’s a treat for series fans that we won’t spoil here.

All of this takes place over the usual sprawling map that must be unlocked as you go. If you’re a big fan of Zombies then there’s plenty to enjoy here, especially the split-screen support and online play so you can pair up with another pair elsewhere. However, if you’ve tired of the formula, there’s little to bring you back into the level-by-level grind.

Multiplayer

By now you should really have got your eye in with this shooting people thing, though your next targets are a tad more mobile than those zombies. Black Ops 3 is all about movement: wall-running is in, along with double jumps, powered slides and the ability to slickly mantle over waist height objects while still laying down fire. You can’t hop over buildings at will, but chained together you can move around the map quickly and attack foes from unexpected directions.

Black Ops 3’s multiplayer looks to have been designed for eSports from the ground up. Taking inspiration from MOBAs like Heroes of the Storm, it introduces a roster of named characters, each with its own selection of unique special abilities.

It’s an odd move, as the campaign encourages you to think of your avatar as being ‘you’ but the multiplayer has moved the other way, with these larger than life characters, each with their own look and feel. I think I preferred the older (more military-feeling) system, but it admittedly adds something to the game. You can now pick a character based on your preferred role in your team, and can make an educated guess of an opponent’s abilities based on their appearance.

From an eSports perspective it’s a great move. It makes it easy for players to identify with their favourite streamers, who will inevitably prefer certain characters. It provides a metagame in serious play of choosing characters that can neutralise your opponents’ choices. It generates debate amongst the community about the most powerful characters and the potential for nerfs and buffs in future patches. Plus, of course, you can expect additional characters to appear as part of DLC.

Beyond that you know the drill: lots of maps, lots of modes and lots of kit to unlock. It’s certainly not beginner-friendly, based on my laughable kill/death ratio to date, and you’ll need to learn the maps and new movement system quickly in order to compete. With Star Wars: Battlefront likely to hoover up the more casual players this year, that will just make Black Ops 3 an even more intimidating place to play. If that sounds like an exciting challenge though, then it’s the game for you.

Conclusion

So should you buy Call of Duty this year? There’s certainly lots and lots of shooting packed into that disc (or download). The campaign is longer, but only really comes to life when you play with friends, and Zombies has always been a co-op experience best enjoyed with mates rather than strangers online. Then there’s multiplayer, which ironically is probably the mode best suited for those who won’t be playing with others, apart from largely anonymous opponents of course.

If you like shooting stuff and you’ve got someone to chat to while you do it, I’d recommend Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. There’s just so much here for two (or more) trigger-happy folk to enjoy together, whether you share a sofa or meet up online.