I love Call Of Duty. There, I admitted it and while I criticize it, blast it, rage at it, abuse it, I shamelessly buy it again each year (sometimes even twice a year). Call of Duty might be the game people love to hate and hate to love but it has a formula that works and it builds cherished memories. I can think of countless times through even decades now, in my own gaming history of laughing, tearing up, and exploding at Call of Duty moments.

That, my friends, is the secret behind the power of this franchise and its longevity. In saying that, all things Black Ops have always been the top of my list and I couldn’t wait for this retro, hopeful banger to be released. Let’s jump straight into ‘Call Of Duty Black Ops Cold War’ and its campaign.

Are Soviet spies living among us? That’s the real question. Good work Treyarch and Raven, never thought about that one. Being a direct sequel to Black Ops 1, these developers throw you straight into the Cold War era of the 1980s to stop a terrorist attack on a global scale. Everything is the direct gritty cheese of the 80s from the music to the hazy grained CRT T.V. screens to even the flared pants and rancid, colored turtle necks.

You play as the titular character code-named “Bell” as he teams up with old friends; Mason and Woods, and the newest renegade addition to the ragtag team, Adler. They are on a mission to track down a typical war game baddie code-named ‘Perseus’ who is threatening the free world with none other; Nuclear missiles. It’s all very generic Call of Duty plot lines but they just have an uncanny ability to make the characters so likable and I particularly loved the Vietnam flashback mission and the way they linked collecting evidence from the past to the current target.

Also in a typical Black Ops fashion, your main gameplay is going from mission to mission running and gunning with a vast array of weaponry, through some sort of enemy. Ironically, in a NOT so typical Black Ops fashion, it was refreshing to see this iteration peppered with stealth, chopper, tank, and just so many other options than simply running and gunning through. Completing missions will build a case of evidence against Perseus but examining the evidence and piecing the clues together will open up new and related side missions. I liked this new investigative approach immensely, it gave such purpose to collectibles in missions.

Another welcomed addition to the franchise is the inclusion of dialogue trees. This somewhat attempts to flesh out the characters instead of the typical ‘sir, yes sir” characters of the past. Most of these interactive conversations will take place in the Safehouse, and in-between hub, to debrief and analyze evidence, and is a nice little breather from the action. Also, new is the fact there are multiple endings so make replay value is definitely there and with about 6 hrs of run time, it isn’t something unachievable to get to most of them.

It’s not hard to say that the beauty of the game is not also a driving force to keep going from mission to mission either. The cutscenes are immaculate visually as is the stylized sound and atmosphere. The bullet time and slow-mo are a true testament to the high production quality of this title. As I said before every character is so likable but that comes down to every minute detail the graphical design team has painstakingly add and the top-notch voice acting that goes hand in hand.

Wrapped in perfect 80’s mixtape backing tracks, Black Ops Cold War certainly had my head bobbing along, even if I was at risk of 2 DMCA copyright strikes on Twitch, in the first 5 minutes of this campaign. Stuff Twitch though, this music was the epitome of the era and developed the tone so well from the first introducing bar scene to the very end credits.

Overall, the campaign for Call Of Duty Black Ops Cold War is such a great time, I really couldn’t fault it. The twisting and turning storylines, the dynamic pacing and gameplay, and the all-around style, look, and appeal of the Cold War era just hit such a high note from this fan of the franchise. The 1980s have never looked so good.

Stick around for our comprehensive review of the Multiplayer, Zombies Mode, and any other features in Call Of Duty Black Ops Cold War coming to you soon at MKAU Gaming.

Written by: Stacey