Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (REVIEW)

Publisher:  Activision
Developer: Treyarch and Raven Software
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PS5, Series X/S and PC
Prices: $59.99 
Review Copy Provided: Yes 
Platform Reviewed: PC
Warning: There likely will be spoilers of this game, so please scroll to look away or
if you don't care then go ahead and read..
You are warned.

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After searching around, some Call of Duty games, it mostly came around to me as my time playing the series was originally the entire Modern Warfare and the first two Black Ops titles in the series.
Black Ops had a huge part upon me with its story, and characters like Woods, Hudson, and Mason even asked me what the numbers Mason was thinking? Throughout the time, Call of Duty felt not the same until Modern Warfare came out in 2019. When it just made me hope Call of Duty heads back to the roots of the Original Series. Although it felt like it never will after Black Ops II was the last best game we've gotten in my opinion upon multiplayer and stuff, etc.
Don't get me wrong, it was pretty awesome to play the old zombies in Black Ops IV!
Through my time, I really hope Call of Duty goes back to the series it should be, even though it's being milked over too much.
Suddenly, a new title comes into place, in the mists and taking a different take of an arch to the Original series of Black Ops, and it came out of shadows as "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War."
Before we begin the review, I want to take a look at the game development before we begin, shall we?

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The development nor history of Black Ops Cold War.

In May 2019, the site named "Kotaku" reported that a new title would be in upheaval as developers Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software would be increasing the concerns or tensions upon the studios with some sources claiming it was a "mess." In response, Activision had assigned Treyarch to become the lead developer alongside Raven Software, which has led to shorter development time. Compared to the previous entries, the two had different responsibilities, and on the one hand, Raven Software was the lead developer of the game's single-player campaign.
Then on August, 4th 2020, Activision, in their Q2 call they confirmed a new Call of Duty title is planned for release in 2020 and Raven Software plus Treyarch are working on it, and it being the first Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare III to be co-developed by two studios. Raven Software became the main developer for the first time. They've mostly assisted in Multiplayer and extra features in previous titles even with it being connected with Modern Warfare (2019) and Warzone.
Raven Software's senior creative director Dan Vondrak had an idea to have multiple endings for the game, stating, "When we started creating the story, we had multiple endings in mind right away, which really helped... But we knew right away that we wanted to do that. I absolutely loved the idea that we could have a little bit of homage to Black Ops 2 by having these multiple endings".

Now with the history, let's get into Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War!

The Story or the Introduction so far
​(SPOILERS)

 SPOILERS: This is spoilers of the introduction on Cold War.
Please scroll away if you don't want to see this, but if not then...
​You are warned!

The story starts out in January 1981 with Adler, Mason, and Woods, who are sent to find a target named Qasim Javadi and Arash Kadivar for their roles in an Iran Hostage crisis. With the intelligence gained by interrogating Qasim, the team tracked into Turkey to find Arash. Although Arash boasts that Perseus was the one responsible for organizing the hostage crisis before being killed. US President Ronald Reagan authorized a black operation team to neutralize Perseus after being briefed by Hudson and Adler's threat.
Adler's team consisted of CIA's operative Lawrence Sims, American born Mossad operative named Eleazar, and intelligence officer Helen Park with Mason and Woods being tactical support, but with the final member of the team being an agent only called under the codename given "Bell" who supposedly served with Adler and Sims in MACV-SOG during Vietnam.
The first thing you do would be deciding what Bell's name and last name is.
For me, I thought of Taco Bell cause it was funny, so I was like, "The names bell.. Taco Bell.." which was funny but worked really well.
In the first mission, the team tried to prompt Bell to remember Operation Fracture Jaw in 1968, where they believe in Perseus's encounter. Afterward, they proceed to East Berlin to apprehend or just kill a Russian Mafia boss named "Anton Volkov."
I honestly thought it was quite interesting in the story of you deciding on certain consequences and actions you do in the game as Mason in the beginning there. Still, I was a bit different from what I've seen in the game, but it was quite interesting to see the introduction by even making your character and chatting with them as Bell also...
I really liked the story and was something at the ending which I won't mention but man... That was a twist.

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Multiplayer and Zombies (Plus Controls, etc)

Personally, I want to talk about zombies and multiplayer most here due to it having no so much stuff in it, and I mean, seriously, it didn't have much during the time I reviewed.
Zombies was entertaining and addicting with the story taking place in 1983 with a CIA officer contacting Samantha Maxis, a German ex-BND operative that provided a secret KGB intelligence which gives you a story upon the Die Maschine (German for the Great Machine) to start it off in the snowy land.
Dead Ops Arcade 3 is very fun also. Still, what bums me out, though, is that Cold War only having one Zombie map can be quite boring after too long, but what keeps you hooked is the abilities and skills you can unlock and get in the game, so you could earn an ability to revive your ally, freeze enemies, evaporate with an electrifying grenade.

​Multiplayer had some story too weirdly enough,
in 1983, a Perseus cell infiltrated the Cheyenne Mountain Complex and successfully hijacking a nuclear ICBM during a military exercise, Able Archer 83, which caused operators from NATO and Warsaw Pact countries to engage in combat through various global black operations.
So far, Multiplayer is fun with friends and can be quite challenging. Just what sucks is that it goes off performance and not skill-based matchmaking, and it just goes that way for a reason, but it isn't a big problem, though it can work for some.
The controls are toll-able with the controller; the aim-assist seems funny. I mean really funny, as the aim assist should help the player aim and follow too while aiming, but what's funny is that it just stands there and only aiming target, which makes the player have to move left or right to follow, and I really hope that get's fixed at some point.
Maps in it weren't much when there was only 8 during the time I played, but from the time this was finished, there is no 18 in total so meaning they added 10 more, which is nice to see and to give it more life on the game, and don't get me wrong the game has some nice lighting, details, and stuff with Ray-Tracing. The PS4 and Xbox One Version, from what I hear, is 60 FPS in Campaign mode, and the next-gen systems being 120FPS with Ray-Tracing, except Xbox One X is 60 FPS (sorta) and hitching around there on PS4 Pro with it having sometimes 48-60 in certain areas.

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Verdict

I really liked Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and although we had some bumpy roads in the end from the Series... This got me hooked to come back for more fun and crazy combat, and I totally recommend the game on a PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or PC!
8.5/10
Quote: "A game we needed with a summer blockbuster-style mix placed in one package."

Until then.. GAME ON!
- Timothy Stambaugh (Timthegamer12)

UPDATE: Thanks to some lovely people, we have codes for some COD Points so you guys can use them in the game, and it's a new season... Stay tuned on my twitch for a chance on how to win one when I go live!
(All codes have been given to the readers and watchers on my stream..)