So, this weekend, like millions of others, I put a few hours into the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Beta. With the series being over fifteen years old at this point and Fortnite currently cannibalising the multiplayer market, it’s fair to say that Treyarch and Activision are going to have to do something special with Black Ops 4 if the game is going to make any sort of impact this year.
Seeing as Treyarch have been saying that they have tried to make a more entertaining multiplayer experience (that was literally the developer’s excuse for not including a campaign in the game), I was somewhat interested to find out what Black Ops 4 is actually going to offer players when it is eventually released in October.
Thus, what follows is my initial impressions of the beta. Now, before I get started I do just want to issue the following disclaimer. Although I have played many of the previous Call of Duty games released in recent years, I’ve always been a bigger fan of the Zombies co-op mode, and thus I do not consider myself in any way to be an authority in the series’ multiplayer component. I spent a few hours playing the beta this past weekend and this is just how I feel after my experience.
A Strong Focus on Team-Based Gaming…
Upon starting up the beta, the very first game mode I jumped into was “Heist” – a new game mode which felt reminiscent of a game mode one would find in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege and Counter-Strike 1.6. Basically, players need to retrieve a bag of cash and drop it off in the pickup zone before the other team does it. If you are killed at any point during the round, you will only be able to spawn back in the next round (as in Search and Destroy.)
Unlike Search and Destroy though, players are able to build their loadout before the beginning of each game but are given a limited amount of cash to do so. As rounds pass and you contribute effectively to the matchup, you earn more money to spend on your loadout for later rounds.
I’ll say that I quite enjoyed this new game mode as there is a greater shift to team-based gaming as opposed to the strong focus on individual competition Call of Duty generally tends to inspire with most of its game modes. A common observation with the series is that even though players work in a team in many COD multiplayer game modes such as team deathmatch, the common elements often seen in other team-based games (such as tactical communication) aren’t always as present.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Beta (Source: Forbes)
In Heist mode, it was very apparent even after a few rounds that this is a game mode that is best played with a few friends and your mic on. I played with a few people in a rather average team and won a few rounds and lost others but did have fun along the way. That said, I can’t really say that this will be the unique game mode that sells the game (we all know which game mode Activision is hoping that will be.)
But, the Still the Same Old Song and Dance?
After a few rounds of Heist, I moved on to more familiar territory in the form of a few Hardpoint and Domination matches, which (as the heading may imply) sort of resulted in mixed feelings. There are new fundamental gameplay features that have been added to Black Ops 4 that make the multiplayer experience feel somewhat different from that of other games in the series. However, that said the game’s mechanics and overall delivery are in tune with what the game has come to be known for providing.
I have seen many people in gaming media who had early access to the game compare it to Rainbow Six Siege and the reasons for this is very clear. As is in previous COD games, players are able to choose specialists in Black Ops 4, but this time around (as in Siege) once a player has selected a specialist it is unavailable for others to use.
Then, the game also requires players to heal themselves in-game, which is vastly different from the auto-healing system each previous COD game made use of in its base modes. The healing mechanic also has a cooldown which means players can’t heal themselves directly after each firefight.
These difference aside though, Hardpoint (which is probably my favourite multiplayer game mode in COD other than Gun Game) still felt like Hardpoint and Domination still felt like Domination. I had fun in these game modes but I can’t really say that any need to play these games wouldn’t be sufficiently satiated by loading up Black Ops 3 (the only wall running instalment I enjoyed.)
Final Verdict: Should You Buy Black Ops 4?
It’s very difficult to answer this question at this point, particularly as the beta for Blackout (the game’s featured battle royale mode) is still coming and is sure to be the game’s intended selling point.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. (Source: Activision)
With every Call of Duty game, many players are apprehensive about buying the game because they feel the series has been lacking in innovation over the last few years. Based on what I’ve experienced, it does seem as if Treyarch is trying to introduce new fun features in Black Ops 4 and try to make the best multiplayer game they can. As previously stated, there are some game modes that will provide players with very familiar experiences but it will be very difficult for the series to reinvent these modes when many fans expect them to remain the same.
Remember that even though Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was considered a flop by COD standards, it was still the highest selling game of 2016, meaning that there were still loads of players who wanted to play the same game modes even if there were others who felt the game was just a carbon copy of Black Ops 3 and Advanced Warfare before it. That said, I can understand players not wanting to buy into the game for this reason.
As previously stated, I’m a huge Zombies fan (particularly, Treyarch Zombies.) So, my decision to buy this game actually has very little to do with the multiplayer modes and more to do with the need to find out more about Richtofen’s next crazy adventure with the undead. However, if I was basing my decision to buy the game entirely on multiplayer, I would say my experiences with the game suggest that it may be more of a “sale” title but it’s still too early to tell.
What did you think of the Black Ops 4 beta? Are you going to buy the game? Please share in the comments down below.
