Not two months ago, I went to the reveal event for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 at the Jet Center in Los Angeles. I remember that I had a lot of fun. The presentation was appropriately bombastic, and the minute-to-minute gameplay was fast and exciting. Coming off the heels of Call of Duty: WWII just last fall, I had finally learned what made the series' multiplayer so great for so many people. Sure, I disliked all other aspects of the game, but I contracted the sweet, sweet sickness for the game's tight, fast-paced multiplayer environment.
So, sitting down the past two weekends to take advantage of the Black Ops 4 beta, I expected a little more of the awesomeness that I got at the Jet Center in May.
Surprisingly, I'm not feeling it that much. Let's get this out of the way first: Activision went all out with their presentation at the Jet Center. Rigs and advanced versions of the game that made everything run so darn smooth, and not to mention the tacos and the grilled cheese (they were so good). Compare that to my 26-inch TV and the gamer chair (the type that has no legs so you're constantly balancing yourself and as a result hurt your back and your legs) that I have to use because my big chair broke. Needless to say, my setup is kind of average.
But the thing I'm trying to get at here is that this beta is baring its teeth in the most unflattering way possible. Notably in the design of its weapons and maps, Black Ops 4 has my gameplay feeling stale. The way I've deduced the differences in weapons? Some shoot faster, some shoot heavier, some kill with one shot, while others you have to just lie in wait. I recall dissecting the map design in the hands-on session as being forked, allowing for plenty of flanking and maneuvering. Well, that's true for all the ones here as well, except what makes me kind of mad, besides the repetition, is that there is no room for real strategy. Too often, objective-based modes have players caught in a chaotic crossfire that, while exhilarating at times, gets frustrating after a while. And what's worse is that every map I've played so far is like this. It's fun and tense to be on your toes, but feels terrible to see your teammates keep getting knocked down in one specific area again and again. Of course, the maps provide for ways of getting around this: just flank and neutralize, but with the amount of routes available to everyone, they're just as likely to get neutralized on the way over there. It feels cheap and easy.
Besides the marksman weapons, I don't see any room for skill development for the playset currently available. That doesn't mean it's not fun, but it sure does feel the same across the board. A thing I have a big problem with? The Hellion Salvo, in my experience, does not have splash damage. Then again, I could be a cruddy shot with it. But it's an explosive weapon, it should have splash damage.
Replacing grenades with gadgets is fine, but honestly, I'm not sure how well they hold up unless players know exactly where, when, and how to utilize them. That puts players who do use grenade-type weapons at an advantage that, while shaking up the gameplay a little, feels a bit asymmetrical. That's certainly not a bad thing, but why give players something so obtuse that they have nothing to defend against more traditional weapons with.
The UI feels a little clunky at times, especially with navigating the menus. But I'm sure that will be cleaned up when the game releases. Here's a thing I really dislike with the visuals, though. In my experience with the multiplayer, it always looks like the opposing players have little red lights attached to their body armor. Why is that a thing? I haven't played any of the previous Black Ops titles, but that the lighting on the maps is so poor (Payload and Frequency are drab, gray missile launch sites) that the designers needed to highlight enemy players to help everyone out is quite frustrating. Playing on Battlefield 1 with no HUD (I was bored and didn't want to waste all that beautiful scenery), while challenging at first, provided for so much clearer definition than the visual design on these maps. And I'm aware the visual aesthetic is purposely different, but the devs for this title need to find a way to have the player see for themselves what the enemy looks like.
I will leave this article with one positive though. And that is the fists. Playing something like Heist, where players gradually get more money to spend so that they can acquire more gear, they may just have fists as secondary weapons. After seeing how macho and over the top the original reveal trailer was for this game, I love the ridiculous idea of just a bunch of burly special forces bros and brodettes just pummeling each other to death. Devs, if you're reading this, I want a new mode called "Fisticuffs" (there's another verb involving fists but I think this is a family-friendly site?). I've only been able to eliminate one player with my fists, but the killcam (I think I was killed too) that captured his reaction as I rushed him with nothing but my hands had me laughing my head off.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 releases October 12th.
And it needs more fist-based game modes.
