Call of Duty may be the only annualized series that hails from a different developer each year, which, in theory, means every entry should feel noticeably different from the last. With the games moving between the past, present-day, and future settings, it’s finally time for us to take a trip back to the ‘90s in Black Ops 6, courtesy of Treyarch. As a millennial, it’s slightly concerning that the ‘90s are now viewed as a noteworthy time to revisit, but I digress. I’ve been playing the Black Ops 6 beta for several days now, and while it may not feel dissimilar to previous entries, there’s enough here to tell me I’m going to spend another year responding to the call (of duty).
Since we’re only going from the modern day back to the ‘90s, which is essentially nothing when you think about it, there isn’t much of a difference between the weaponry in Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops 6. While there’s new equipment, weapons, and perks on offer to create unique loadouts, the major combat-altering addition this time is the Omnimovement system. You can now sprint, dive, and slide in any direction, rather than being forced to face forward whenever you want to perform these actions.
This might sound uneventful, but it’s something that needs to be seen to be believed. Not only does this speed up the overall pace of combat, but when used skillfully, you can easily evade gunfire from far away and execute previously unimaginable maneuvers. For example, if your minimap has revealed an enemy hiding behind a door, you now have the option to dive through it while running backwards, keeping your aiming reticle locked on their position. In addition to looking dope as hell, it’s also shockingly effective, as it’s difficult to track players leaping through the air at breakneck speed.
Understandably, playing like Rambo isn’t for everyone, so it’s nice to see that Treyarch has switched from Killstreaks to Scorestreaks, incentivizing you to go for the objective rather than focus entirely on racking up kills. Along with some new perks that make it easier to earn non-lethal Scorestreaks, more UAVs and Counter UAVs are going live than ever before, and it’s much harder to gun them down with an assault rifle. If you’re one of the rare people who equips a launcher as their secondary weapon, I want to personally thank you for your service.
I welcome this change of pace in Black Ops 6 as it gives snipers less of an advantage, encouraging you to take risks and play more aggressively. Combined with the Combat Specialty bonus that rewards you for going down the enforcer, recon, or strategist path, this opens up three distinct playstyles to experiment with. There are certain maps in Modern Warfare 3 (2023) that always regressed into a drawn-out sniper battle, but the changes to the gameplay in Black Ops 6 should make that less likely.
That’s not to say sniping is useless this time around; there are many areas to take advantage of players running down corridors, though you will have to watch your back now. If you thought getting caught out by someone performing a finishing move on you was embarrassing, Black Ops 6 takes this to another level. Rather than executing someone with a finisher, you can use an unsuspecting enemy as a human shield. As if that wasn’t bad enough, you can speak to your hostage with proximity voice chat, giving you the perfect opportunity to remind your enemies how fat their moms are.
The beta also includes a new game mode known as Kill Order, giving each team an HVT (High Value Target) to protect as they attempt to reach the score limit. The HVT comes equipped with armor plates, but they’re also visible through walls to the enemy team, so it’s not as advantageous as it sounds. Teams earn points by killing the rival HVT while also protecting their own, and though that may seem simple to understand, this is the same community that refuses to pick up dog tags in Kill Confirmed. This mode is definitely worth a go if you’re playing with a group of friends, but too many people don’t seem to understand how to play the objective, so you may want to give Kill Order a skip as a solo player.
While I appreciate Treyarch’s tweaks to the multiplayer formula as someone who plays these games for hundreds of hours every year, Black Ops 6 is far from the most exciting entry in recent years. We’ve gone from shooting AK-47s in Modern Warfare 3 to shooting AK-74s in Black Ops 6; it’s not like we’re wall-running on Jupiter in the year 3000. Black Ops 6 feels more like an expansion pack than a full-blown release, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Like with most annualized games, the core gameplay this year remains largely the same, so if you want more Call of Duty, you’ve certainly got it.
Don’t forget, the open beta is running from September 6 – 9, giving you a chance to try the game ahead of the Black Ops 6 release date on October 25.
