Call of Duty is far from perfect, and it deserves to be called out when it gets things wrong. But it's also true that — as with many super popular things in life — it's an easy target, and the 'thing' to do to rip on it.
Black Ops 6 was, at least for the first half of the year or so, a lot of fun. But it got tiring, and the new content didn't really do anything to drag me back. And the less said about Warzone, the better.
But having spent an apparent 26 hours playing the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 beta recently, I'm feeling a lot more positive about this year's game. A second successive Black Ops initially left me feeling a little unenthused, but the beta changed all of that. Here's why.
1. Better maps and multiplayer experience
There are three components to this, but I've wrapped them all together because ultimately it should make for an overall better multiplayer experience. Multiplayer is the backbone of Call of Duty every year, and while Black Ops 6 was good at times, it fell flat more often.
For one, the maps, or at least the maps we've seen so far, are just better. The beta only included a sample, but I found every one of them more enjoyable to play on than any of the maps in Black Ops 6. They feel far more like a traditional three-lane Call of Duty map, and strike a good balance of exposed areas and more close-fought internal ones.
Blackheart, especially, is an absolute riot to play on. All of my favorite matches from the beta were on this map. Two exposed lanes, one through a building, and some crazy gunfights. Absolutely top-notch.
The other aspects to feeling better about multplayer in Black Ops 7 are the commitment to having the reduced Skill Based Matchmaking (SBMM) playlists as default, and the apparent, significant improvement in the anticheat.
The Ricochet anticheat has been a constant source of frustration, but it seems to be working better in time for Black Ops 7. I saw a blatant cheater (a PC player, of course) on the first day, and nothing after that. We're told 99% of games were cheater free by the end of the beta, and that feels like a win.
The reduced SBMM playlist was something I had to learn to appreciate. At first, I hated it, because it felt like my comfort blanket was gone, and suddenly I was playing against pros every game. But, the more I played, the more comfortable I got, and the better the games were.
The knock on effect, also, seemed to be lower server latency and faster matchmaking. Assuming these both transfer to the full release, I'm fully on board.
2. Movement perfected
Omnimovement was introduced with Black Ops 6, but while subtle, it does feel more refined in Black Ops 7. But the real change is adding in wall jumping.
It's not the full on, run along the walls, that we had in the jetpack era, and I'll admit, I was skeptical. But the fact I've gone back to Black Ops 6 and started trying to wall jump out of muscle memory, and obviously failed, is all the proof I need that it's a positive addition.
Added with Omnimovement it just works so well. I'm far from one of the movement demons you'll see streaming on Twitch, but I love the pace and fluidity. Sprint, slide, bounce off walls, fire off some clean shots, it just feels so good.
3. Campaign endgame and Mastery Camos to grind
I'm saying this with my fingers and toes crossed, but I'm hopeful it doesn't turn into a let-down. I always say that I want more PvE type content in Call of Duty, beyond having a one and done campaign and the Zombies mode.
We've had it in the past, such as Special Ops. I was hyped for that in Modern Warfare (2019) but it never felt like it was executed as well as it could be.
Black Ops 7 is promising a campaign endgame, as well as, this year, a Mastery Camo grind for the campaign, too. That means another four Mastery Camos to get on top of the ones that will be in multiplayer, Warzone, and Zombies.
I'm holding final judgment until we see what it's all about, but the fact there's another mode to play, hopefully for the whole year, that doesn't involve sweating in a competitive mode, is something I'm very much here for.
There is still much we're yet to discover about Black Ops 7, but the time I have spent with it so far makes me feel like it's in a really good place.
Whether it's because of pressure from Battlefield 6 or a genuine intention to deliver for the players, Treyarch has already shown it's listening. Removing the heavy SBMM reliance is a big step, and as the beta proved, ultimately led to a better experience.
Roll on November 14.
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