Call of Duty: Black Ops 3

I know what you’re thinking “oh another Call of Duty? Oh joy!” Indeed, Call of duty has been through a rough time in recent years but don’t despair. Activision’s prodigy developer Treyarch is at the helm for their epic conclusion of the Black Ops trilogy.

Thirty years have passed since the events of Black Ops 2 where humanity and warfare has advanced further after a major disaster. A large percentage of war is carried out by humanoid robots and the human soldiers are “upgraded” with biometric implants for a tactical advantage. With terror groups such as the 52 Immortals making things difficult in a flooded Shanghai, you understand that the CIA will do anything to stop the enemy, even fitting soldiers with hardware that allows them to hack any mechanised device to disturb, interface or destroy it. Along with a host of deadly perks, they essentially become a more organic super soldier. This also works heavily into the mechanics and game play features at hand and even the context of the narrative very well.

They present a harrowing reflection of today’s world, exploring PTSD and what the sheer horror of war can do on the human mind. It goes to some strange places and I have to admit, I needed to play it twice to get a better understanding as the story goes to some bizarre extremes, that’s its actually refreshing for a COD game. Black Ops 3 breaks away from the previous two games with little mention of previous instalments. It’s strange not to carry on the original narrative considering the name, but nice to see a new story within the same world and how this could be played as a standalone story for new comers.

Treyarch are legendary at capturing the raw and unpleasant nature of war, examining in such graphic detail issues of genocide, political warfare and aftermath of traumatic events. But their craftsmanship on creating such stunning and immersive war torn world goes beyond anything I've seen in recent COD games. The ambient lighting, detail for weaponry and even the impact felt during the carnage of war is wondrous to observe.

Call of Duty black Ops 3 brings a whole new level of customisation, allowing players to choose what advantages they bring onto the battlefield. Selecting your own weapon load-outs and refining each and every one with a vast amount of attachments and enhancements at your disposal. But to also activate biometric abilities to hack enemy drones to aid you in a difficult fight or to traverse the world in more agile manner, avoiding enemy fire. Black Ops 3 gives a great deal of variation for overcoming the situation at hand. Smart players will do well to study the mission briefing and understand what they’re going against. In the easier difficulties, this concept is lost as you can pretty much run and gun without thought, but on Veteran or higher it’s a vital component to gameplay.
The major highlight and series’ first is the implementation of four player co-op. This helps for that tactical edge and allows for effective team work to prevail on tougher encounters. Plus it more fun with other people, each with their own weapons and perks causing a massive amount of destruction. But more is given for players to have their own identity with a character creation option (not on the same level as Fallout), allowing players to choose a gender and race for their soldier.

I will admit this COD takes fewer risks than Black Ops two, taking away the multiple choices, dynamic events and RTS elements in favour of something safer. Yet what I will say is that Black Ops 3 takes you on a highly aggressive narrative and one that’s mind bending to observe. You get an intense and surreal Collision of rampaging battles between man and machine and a look at when they both come together in an unholy manner. Treyarch even manages to bring players back to the Second World War and a segment of Nazi Zombies is thrown in rather beautifully. An epic campaign all round and one with a treat for afterwards called Nightmare. The main campaign but featuring zombies and horror for a darkly sinister remix.
ZOMBIES
The Zombies mode is back and this time without the silly Exo suits. We get a twisted and dark tale of murder, corruption and the supernatural set in the 1940s. It’s like if HP Lovecraft wrote a Noire novel filled with Cthulhu’s off spring. I love it, it goes back to a simpler formula, removing the vast traversing system and unbearably difficult enemies for an experience that’s easier to engage with and too engrossing to leave. The set-up is Morg City, a placed filled with undesirables and masked in neon lights and home to our four protagonists. Zombies and forsaken monsters have risen from another hell dimension and it’s up to the four strangers to confront the demons of their past and defeat the ultimate evil behind the carnage.

The sinisterly titled “Shadows of Evil” offers a multitude of weapons, special abilities and power ups (including the legendary pack a punch machine) and a vast amount of secrets to keep you coming back for more. As this is aimed as a story driven experience, players can’t skip to a certain wave like before but things aren't as slow as they once were. You’ll quickly move through the first few rounds and start/earn enough points to start stocking up on some fierce firearms early on. Sadly there is only one map to play as others have been held back for the season pass or as added DLC. But Shadows of Evil is a pure joy and the main attraction of this game. We also have the talented and epic Ron Pearlman makes and Jeff Goldblum providing their voices.

The core of Black Op’s multi-player has been given a new twist by introducing “Specialists”. This is a broad range of classes to pick from, ranging from long range, heavy and assault variations of soldiers. Depending on what play style you feel like, choosing from the Specialists’ selection with each character having their own skills and weapon sets, allows for a greater variation of match outcomes and diverse action in each game.

There are a number of maps which are fantastically designed, giving you a sense of exploration, elevation and allows for a number of tactics for players to act out. Yet some maps miss the mark and don’t benefit a majority of the classes and feel rather dumbed down or shallow. We still get a great amount of game modes to participate in and enough to get you through to that high rank you want. Otherwise this Call of Duty doesn't bring any new innovations but makes an effort to add some dynamic elements to the existing formula by creating a solid line up for the Specialist selection and the greater interactions between the players and the environments they fight in.

Black Ops 3 is a toughened beast that reclaims the crown of first person shooters, besting a long run of low end COD games before it. Treyarch have done an amazing job at bringing a meaningful and gripping campaign, with a multitude of content and new multi-player dynamics. Even if the main core of the multi-player and single player may not beg innovation, We're given a highly refined shooter with a great deal of customisation, freedom and substance. By far, this is one of the best Call of Duty games and a glorious return to the series. I can't wait for what Treyarch bring us next.

An Xbox One copy of Call of Duty Black Ops 3 was provided by Activision for the purpose of this review