Summary
The recent Direct presentation forCall of Duty: Black Ops 6was a successful debut for the FPS giant’s new partnership with Microsoft, with fans getting some excellent insight into what the upcoming game is all about. While more information will be revealed during theCall of DutyNEXT event on August 28, the Direct gave a great overview of the campaign, core multiplayer, and Zombies experiences of the anticipated project.
A lot of time in particular was given to the campaign ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6during the Direct, confirming its 90s setting and its focus on uncovering the gritty truths behind the major conflicts of the time. It is no secret that the campaign ofModern Warfare 3, the predecessor ofBlack Ops 6, was one of the most criticized inCall of Dutyhistory, and the Direct proved thatBlack Ops 6is aiming to rectify the lack of explosive set piece moments that were absent fromModern Warfare 3.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Campaign Has the Explosiveness That MW3 Lacked
The Direct presentation forCall of Duty: Black Ops 6featured a lot of exciting snippets from the game’s campaign, with players taking control of brand-new protagonist Troy Marshall to uncover the dark truths that have been hidden from the world.Working alongside iconicBlack Opscharacter Frank Woods, the player will be a key figure in a rogue task force working away from the prying eyes of government agencies, leading to a lot of tense and high-octane action.
Throughout the campaign segment of the Direct presentation, fans were able to see several explosive set piece moments fromBlack Ops 6’s campaign, ranging from daring motorcycle jumps to heart-thumping helicopter crashes. Alongside this footage, Treyarch stated how it was aiming to recapture the stakes of the mosticonic moments fromCall of Duty’s singleplayer history, which often come from the same kind of set piece action.
Treyarch made a point of stressing just how important this ethos has been to the development ofBlack Ops 6’s story, and it seems like no coincidence that this comes in the wake ofModern Warfare 3’s lackluster singleplayer experience. While the campaign of 2023’sCoDrelease did well to further the rebooted story of Task Force 141, the rapid development schedule of the game led to an infamously short story that lacked the pomp and excitement of past entries.
Black Ops 6’s Campaign Has a Great Blend of Player Choice and Set Piece Moments
Many ofModern Warfare 3’s campaign levels were Open Combat missions, for example, taking place in much larger maps with a range of objectives. Open Combat missions were one of the most controversial elements ofModern Warfare 3, doing away with the traditional linearity ofCall of Dutymissions and the set pieces that more intimate missions often feature. With almost half ofMW3’s campaign missions being Open Combat, a clear desire is present for a return to a more linear approach, andBlack Ops 6seems to confidently be conforming to this (even if one of its campaign missions was described as massive).
The campaign ofBlack Ops 6will not be entirely linear, featuring things like dialogue options and multiple methods of combat approaches, but it seems that these missions will all be anchored by big explosive moments. With how muchModern Warfare 3struggled to feature set piece experiencesthat contend with the best of the franchise’s history, it is a welcome change to seeBlack Ops 6showcasing its own set pieces from the get go.
