Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Developer(s) Treyarch[lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Activision
Series Call of Duty
Platform(s)
Release October 12, 2018
Genre(s) First-person shooter, battle royale
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (stylized as Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII) is a multiplayer first-person shooter developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It was released worldwide on October 12, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is a sequel to the 2015 game Call of Duty: Black Ops III and is the fifth entry in the Black Ops subseries as well as the 15th main installment in the Call of Duty series overall.

Black Ops 4 is the first Call of Duty title without a traditional single-player campaign mode. Instead, it features the Solo Missions mode, which focuses on the backstories of the game's multiplayer characters, known as "Specialists". The missions take place between Black Ops II and III chronologically. Some of the Specialists also carried over from Black Ops III. The multiplayer mode is the first in the series to not feature automatic health regeneration and introduces both predictive recoil and a new ballistics system. The game includes three Zombies map on release day, four if a special edition of the game, or the Black Ops Pass, is purchased. The locations of the maps include the RMS Titanic, an arena in Ancient Rome, and Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. The game also introduces a battle royale mode called Blackout, which features up to 100 players in each match. Many characters from this and other Black Ops titles can be used as the player's character model in this mode.

Development for the game started shortly after the release of Black Ops III. Treyarch chose not to create a campaign mode for the game at the beginning of development, instead putting all of their focus on the multiplayer aspect. They cited an increased interest for multiplayer and lack of time spent by the playerbase on the campaign mode as reasons why they shifted their focus. Black Ops 4 utilizes Blizzard's Battle.net platform for the Windows version instead of Steam, the first game in the series to do so. Teasing of the game began in March 2018, with a full reveal taking place later in May. Two betas were held for the game; one for the multiplayer in August and one for Blackout in September. The release date was moved up to October instead of the series' usual November in an attempt to avoid coinciding with the release of other high-profile games.

Pre-release reception of the game was mixed. Fans of the series expressed disappointment at the game's lack of a campaign mode. The Black Ops Pass, a season pass that distributes downloadable content (DLC), also received heavy backlash due to the map packs only being made available through the pass and not separately, which had been an option with the DLCs of previous titles.

Upon release, Black Ops 4 received positive reviews, with particular praise towards its Blackout mode.

Gameplay

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game. Unlike previous titles in the Call of Duty series, Black Ops 4 is the first entry to not feature a traditional single-player campaign, and contains only Multiplayer, Zombies and a new battle royale mode called Blackout.[1][2][3]

Multiplayer

Black Ops 4's multiplayer features the return of Specialists, unique soldier characters with special abilities and traits. The game features a total of ten Specialists, six of which (Ruin, Prophet, Battery, Seraph, Nomad, Firebreak) are returning characters from Black Ops III, while the other four (Recon, Ajax, Torque, Crash) are new additions. It will also feature remakes of five fan-favorite maps, Jungle, Slums, Summit, Firing Range and Nuketown.[4] Treyarch stated that the maps will be available to all players at launch except Nuketown which will arrive in November.

Multiplayer has also been reworked with various changes for more tactical and teamwork gameplay. Automatic health regeneration is removed in favor of a manual healing system (with each player having a health bar), weapons are now given predictive recoil patterns, and a mixed ballistics system, using both hitscan and projectile damage, is employed as opposed to just hitscan. Weapon customization is also emphasized, allowing for deeper personalization of players' arsenals; attachments are also given tiers, with tier-2 upgrades providing even bigger improvements to the weapons. Certain weapons also offer Operator Mods, which significantly change how a weapon works, while costing a significant portion of the 10 customization slots per class.

In addition, the game includes Specialist Headquarters, a solo mode featuring skill-based tutorials that contain backstories on various Specialists in the game. The missions are set within the same narrative world of the Black Ops campaigns, between the events of Black Ops II and Black Ops III.[5]

Zombies

Zombies returns as the cooperative multiplayer mode for Black Ops 4. The game mode features a wider range of customization, allowing for more personalized play styles. Mechanics of the game can be customized via "Custom Mutations", which include over 100 variables, such as overall difficulty, zombie speed, health, damage, and more. Time-limited events known as "Callings" are also promised to be included in the game for long-term engagement. Similar to the Nazi Zombies mode in Call of Duty: WWII, custom loadouts are included to allow players to select different starting weapons, equipment and special upgradable weapons, as well as perk selection to be available in each match. A new game type, Rush, is introduced into Zombies, where the players build up points and multipliers and compete against one another for the highest point possible until death.

Black Ops 4 is also the first game to feature two distinctive, separate storylines for Zombies. At launch, the game features three on-disc maps: "Voyage of Despair", which takes place on the RMS Titanic;[6] "IX", which takes place in an Ancient Rome arena;[7] and "Blood of the Dead", a soft-remake of the Black Ops II map "Mob of the Dead", taking place once more in Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary.[8] The former two maps form the new "Chaos" storyline, and star a new cast of characters: Scarlett, Stanton, Diego and Bruno; while "Blood of the Dead" returns to the original "Aether" storyline established in the previous Black Ops games, and stars the four original characters (Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, Richtofen; also known collectively as Primis).[9] A fourth map, titled "Classified", is included in the special editions of the game and the "Black Ops Pass" at launch, and is a remake of the Black Ops map "Five", featuring the original incarnation of Primis (known as Ultimis) as the playable characters.

Blackout

Black Ops 4 features a battle royale game mode called Blackout which will serve as a stand-in for the campaign mode. While utilizing the traditional Black Ops combat style, the mode includes the largest map featured in a Call of Duty title. Players compete against each other through locations appeared in previous Black Ops games. This mode will also feature land, sea, and air vehicles for players to use. The game mode features various playable characters from the entire Black Ops series, such as Alex Mason from the original game, Raul Menendez from Black Ops II, and the Primis crew from Zombies.[10]

In Blackout, up to 100 players, who can choose to play as Solo, Duos, or Quads (squads of 4), drop into the map via helicopters, and must scavenge for loot to survive as the last person(s) standing, while a circle collapses and narrows the map's playable area. In addition to regular weapons, players can equip health kits, armors, ammo types, attachments, as well as perk consumables. AI-controlled zombie enemies also spawn at Zombies-themed locations, such as Asylum or Lighthouse, and upon being killed drop Zombies loot items, such as the Ray Gun or Cymbal Monkey. Several vehicles, such as the ATV and helicopter, are also available for traversal around the map.[11]

Similar to battle royale game Fortnite and the main multiplayer, Blackout features special modes that change the presence or mechanics of physical items in the Blackout world. Modes such as 'Close Quarters' emphasise a faster and more aggressive playstyle through the exclusion of long-range weapons, while others like 'Fast Collapse' feature a faster narrowing of the circle.

Plot

Multiplayer

In the year. During a mission involving a mercenary group, Jessica Mason-Green, a US Army Specialist is presumably killed while her two squad mates, Donnie "Ruin" Walsh (Christian Rummel) and Erin "Battery" Baker (Morla Gorrondona) escape with critical injuries. Two years later, Savannah Mason (Evangeline Lilly), a trillionaire and Jessica's sister, recruits ten of the world's most elite soldiers, including Ruin and Battery, for a top-secret project against an unknown threat. Savannah uses a Combat Immersion program, with an AI taking the form of Sgt. Frank Woods (James C. Burns) to train the Specialists in a prototype simulation.

In between training, Ruin discusses with Battery about their survival two years prior, and that he received a voice message from a mysterious individual. At some point, the individual contacts Ruin at his home, warning him of an ambush by mercenaries. Ruin survives the ordeal, and arrives at a warehouse where he confronts the individual, revealed to be Jessica who remained alive and went undercover. It is implied that Savannah intends to eliminate all the Specialists she hired, and that she was somehow responsible for the botched mission in 2043.

Blackout

The lore of Blackout can be pieced together using intel files unlocked from completing Specialist tutorial missions. The story seems to take place within a simulated world, loosely based off the Black Ops saga's narrative. Savannah Mason is revealed to be running Project Blackout with a partner, Raul Menendez (Kamar de los Reyes), where they perform tests on human subjects. An epidemic involving the Nova-6 chemical gas is also implied. In this world, Frank Woods also keeps a check on his friend, Alex Mason (Sam Worthington), who is labeled by Menendez as an "archetype".

Zombies

Chaos Story

Adventurer Scarlett Rhodes (Courtenay Taylor) goes on a hunt for her estranged father, Alistair, after hearing his involvement with the High Priest of Chaos, an ancient order hell-bent on the destruction of the world. To do so, she enlists the help of three of Alistair's associates: former French Legionnaire soldier Bruno Delacroix (Andrew Morgado), Mexican spy Diego Necalli (Christian Lanz), and British chemist Stanton Shaw (Nick Boraine). The four board the RMS Titanic in search of the Sentinel Artifact, which is kept locked up. They successfully acquire it, but then encounter a member of the High Priest who activate the artifact, transforming the ship crew into zombies. Just as the ship crashes with an iceberg, the four band together in order to recover the Sentinel Artifact and restore it.

Some times later, Scarlett and the gang are led to an ancient cave, where after inhaling a mysterious vapor, they are taken back in time to an ancient arena in Rome, where the High Priest of Chaos uses another Sentinel Artifact to turn slaves into zombies and pit them against gladiators for entertainment. The crew is forced to fight for survival, as they complete the challenges of the four Gods: Danu, Ra, Zeus and Odin.

Aether Story

During their mission to secure their own souls, the Primis crew: Edward Richtofen (Nolan North), Tank Dempsey (Steven Blum), Takeo Masaki (Tom Kane) and Nikolai Belinski (Fred Tatasciore) takes a detour to Alcatraz Island, where Richtofen plans to acquire blood vials, necessary items for his "insurance policy". Upon encountering a past version of himself, Richtofen is given the Kronorium book, and learns that the contents of the book have changed, and that their own blood are now demanded by an unknown force. The four soldiers are forced to fend off against hordes of zombies, led by the prison's own Warden.

Back in the original timeline, following their adventures at Shangri-La, the Ultimis crew (original incarnation of Primis) attempts to travel to the Moon immediately, but a mishap causes them to be taken across time to 1963, and end up in The Pentagon. At the same time, at the Ascension Facility in Russia, the scientist Yuri Zavoyski tricks his partner Gersh into activating a black hole device, sucking him in it, per the orders of a corrupted Samantha Maxis (Julie Nathanson). Yuri uses the device to travel to the Pentagon and unleash the zombie horde experimented on by the US Government against Ultimis.

Development

When discussing why the game won't have a campaign mode, Treyarch studio co-head Dan Bunting revealed that a campaign mode was never planned for Black Ops 4 and that they wanted to try something different and make a game that would be more playable with friends across the board, contradicting reports that the campaign mode was scrapped in the middle of development because there was not enough time to complete it.[12] Treyarch also observed that the majority of Black Ops III players played the game's multiplayer without completing the single-player campaign.[13] An Activision representative later said after the reveal that the decision to drop campaign mode will not be a permanent shift for the series, and that the campaign mode may return in the next Call of Duty game in 2019.[14]

Release

The insignia for Black Ops 4, which unconventionally features Roman numerals in a basic decimal pattern.

On February 6, 2018 Eurogamer indicated that Treyarch's 2018 Call of Duty title would be a new entry in the Black Ops sub-series, following 2015's Call of Duty: Black Ops III.[15] On March 5, Call of Duty news site Charlie Intel received images of gaming retailer GameStop's internal database that showed listings for items that were meant to market Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.[16]

On March 7, 2018, NBA player James Harden was seen prior to playing a basketball game wearing a hat bearing an orange logo. People pointed out the similarities between this logo and previous ones for Black Ops titles, which both featured Roman numerals colored orange.[17] Harden later confirmed that this was indeed advertising for Black Ops 4.[18] On March 8, the game was formally announced by Activision and a teaser trailer released for it; a reveal event was on May 17, 2018.[19][20]

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is scheduled to be released on October 12, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.[21][22] It will be the first Call of Duty title to be released in October since Call of Duty 2; titles since then have all been released in November.[23] The release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 a month earlier was thought to be due to Rockstar Games's much anticipated release of Red Dead Redemption 2 on October 26.[24] Like previous titles, a private beta for the multiplayer mode is offered to players who pre-order the game. On July 11, 2018, Activision and Treyarch announced the dates for the multiplayer beta: PlayStation 4 players have an exclusive first beta weekend from August 3 to August 6, while a second weekend from August 10 to August 13 is offered to all platforms. The Windows platform receives an open beta for all players from August 11 to August 13, while players who preorder the game get to play from August 10. Activision also announced a beta for the Blackout mode, which will take place starting September 10 for PlayStation 4, September 14 for Xbox One and Windows, and ending September 17 for all platforms. Like the Multiplayer beta, the Windows platforms also has an open beta for Blackout which starts September 15.[25]

The Windows version of the game is developed by Treyarch in collaboration with Beenox. It will exclusively use Blizzard Entertainment's Battle.net platform, and will not use or be available on Steam.[26]

A promotion for the game lasting from September 17 to December 31, 2018 includes 4 Pringles Mega Stack products awarding buyers "Double XP".[27]

Special editions and downloadable contents

On June 11, 2018, Activision and Treyarch announced three special editions available for Black Ops 4: the Digital Deluxe, the Digital Deluxe Enhanced, and the Pro Edition. All three editions contain the Black Ops Pass, a special season pass that grants access to "Classified", a bonus Zombies map available at launch, in addition to four more maps to be released in 2019, as well as twelve multiplayer maps, and four exclusive characters for use in Blackout mode. Rather than distributing new maps via map packs like previous Call of Duty titles, the Black Ops Pass will deliver new content on a more frequent basis throughout the year.[28] Players who pre-order any digital editions of the game on PlayStation 4 also receive the "Back in Black" map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops III. The pack contains four remastered multiplayer maps: Jungle, Summit, Slums, and Firing Range (all of which are included in Black Ops 4 at launch).[29] A collector's edition titled "Mystery Box Edition" was also announced, which contains various Zombies-themed physical items, such as a collectible Mystery Box based on the mechanic of the same name in-game, lithographs based on the three on-disc Zombies maps, and figure pins based on the four main characters of the Zombies Chaos story.[30]

On September 20, 2018, Activision and Sony revealed their partnership for Black Ops 4, which allows the PlayStation 4 version of the game to receive all content updates, including free and paid content, seven days before other platforms, as opposed to the 30-day gap that was present in previous Call of Duty titles.[31]

Comics tie-in

On June 20, 2018, Dark Horse Comics revealed that they would be publishing the second season of the Call of Duty: Zombies comic book series, which was first launched in October 2016. The second season, which is a prequel focusing on the four new characters introduced in "IX" and "Voyage of Despair", will release its first issue on September 5, 2018. Treyarch's Co-Studio Head Jason Blundell and Lead Writer Craig Houston are once again behind the story of the series, and Justin Jordan and Dan Jackson return as writer and colorist, respectively, while Andres Ponce and Mauro Vargas join the series as penciller and inker, respectively. The cover art for each issue is drawn by E. M. Gist.[32]

On September 26, 2018, Activision announced a new 10-issue comic series featuring the Multiplayer Specialist characters, released for free on the official Call of Duty website. The series serves as a prequel to the game, with each issue introducing a Specialist and their background prior to the events of the game.[33]

Reception

Pre-release

Removal of single-player

Upon rumors emerging that Black Ops 4 would not have a single-player campaign mode, reactions from the Call of Duty community were mixed.[34] The official confirmation by Treyarch of the absence of a campaign led to many fans expressing their disappointment. In response to the criticism, Dan Bunting, studio co-head at Treyarch, stated in an interview with Eurogamer that "We are delivering so much more of what players spend most of their time doing in our games in the series", implying that fewer fans took their time to play the single-player than the multiplayer.[35] In an interview with Polygon in May 2018, Bunting later revealed that a traditional campaign for the game had never been intended, and appeared to refute earlier reports that Treyarch had scrapped work on it due to time constraints.[36]

Season pass

On June 14, 2018, following the reveal of the game's season pass, Activision received heavy backlash from the community for the downloadable content program as it was confirmed that map packs cannot be bought separately from the pass. Players and critics compared the release model unfavorably to other companies' approach toward free content, such as Electronic Arts with Battlefield V, criticizing Activision for focusing on the monetization of downloadable content and microtransactions, and splitting the game's community.[37][38]

Critical response

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic(PC) 83/100[39]
(PS4) 87/100[40]
Review score
PublicationScore
Game Informer9.5/10[41]

In its 9.5/10 review, Game Informer wrote: "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 makes a sacrifice that's sure to be off-putting to some with the lack of a campaign, but the surrender of tradition comes with sweeping and significant benefits. Blackout is the best battle-royale experience available today, zombies offers crazy customizable co-op, and multiplayer keeps things grounded for those looking for the classic core."[41]

Notes

  1. Beenox provides support for Treyarch's PC team.

References

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