Nov 15, 2025
3 min read
With a deafening onslaught of massive shooters in exotic locations, an evolving campaign mode and excellent multiplayer offerings, this maximalist installment of mad carnage is a blast.
Now it seems that in this age of "always playing" live services, the annual release of a new Call of Duty title is still considered a major event.But here's Black Ops 7, a year after its direct predecessor, and another bombardment of breathless military shooters.This time it's set in the dystopian 2035, where a global weapons manufacturer called the Guild claims to be the only answer to a new apocalyptic terrorist threat - but are things really that clear?What do they look like?
The answer, of course, is to shout out loud, “No!”Black Ops is the paranoid, conspiracy-obsessed cousin of the Modern Warfare line of Call of Duty games, a series inspired by '70s thrillers like The Parallax View and The China Syndrome and infused with 'Southern era concerns' about rogue CIA agents and bizarre psychological operations.The campaign mode, which is only a quarter of this year's offering, is hallucinogenic mayhem through socio-political talking points like psychopathic corporations, hybrid warfare, robotics, and technological oligarchy.The result is an epic shootout in an exotic location, and the four protagonists (powerful special forces soldiers) are exposed to psychotropic drugs that cause them to relive their worst nightmares.Fortunately, they do so with high-tech weaponry, cool gadgets, and enough jokes to destabilize a medium-sized rogue state.It's chaotic, brutal, and ridiculously enjoyable, especially when played in co-op with three equally irresponsible friends.
In an interesting move, the campaign closes out with a new mode, Endgame.It's a co-op PVE (player versus player environment) offering inspired by the endgame content of MMO (massive multiplayer online) games like World of Warcraft, where it's typically designed to keep people going even after leveling up to max.all in a large open environment.Along the way, you'll upgrade your characters and weapons, and publisher Activision says new missions and objectives will be added, likely including public events where different teams can combine forces to take on mega-bosses.Time will tell, but for now it's a great way to expand the campaign and prepare for online play.
Because make no mistake, the heart of the game is traditional multiplayer, which brings the best modes, weapons and gadgets to the standard Call of Duty experience: 12 players in a small space pulverize each other in an operetta of mechanized carnage.The new maps, set in a business district inspired by Tokyo and the Deep Sea, are effectively made death chambers, with alleys, tall windows and open squares to guide players towards each other with sinister style and intent.My favorite is the Alaska print base map, where the moving platform makes the objective points in Domination and Hardpoint modes extremely dirty and confusing.A new ability to wall jump opens up vertical sides, allowing players to find new routes around complex architecture.If you've never been to the wild Twitchcore Turbo of Call of Duty Online experience, it won't change your mind, but there's plenty here for the perennial recruit of carnage.
Then you have Zombies mode, another online cooperation offering, which takes place on the night of ministers in cities that are not removed and dirty locations.Here, players begin waking up wave after wave of wild animals as they upgrade their weapons and skills to power.It's a return to the previous weapons-based structure, with many new weapons, including the ability to traverse worship centers while destroying the hood.It looks like part of the alternative Trized Park, once again, a real joke with a lot of fried idioms.
In addition, there is die eds arcade 4, a top-down-down-deled biphonal shooter for up to four players.This addition was called a side project by members of the original black ops team, and was hidden in the main game.Hour it back and is the explosion and is a virtue in itself, remember the users of multidirection technology like smash TV and geometry;Platforms have models available as top down racers and horizontal scroll 'em-ups' - very fun to play!
Add in the regular update of Warzone's Battle Royale mode and you have the complete package for Call of Duty fans.Whatever you think of the series and its problematic role in the functioning of the mainstream gaming industry, how it feels, and the kind of community it creates, this is polished and engaging entertainment.Nowhere else will you be blowing up giant robots in a corporate science lab one minute and playing a modern Atari Super Sprint game the next.Appreciate things now, and in that, as in almost everything else, Call of Duty doesn't hold back.himself.It's a maximalist rehearsal for the ultimate and disturbing truth of video games - shooting something on a television screen is a lot of fun.
Call of Duty: Black Ops is now available from £69.99
