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"Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is the first title for next-gen hardware in the critically acclaimed Black Ops series," it reads Activision cracking its bejewelled knuckles in the background. The info was offered up in official form on the Call of Duty website. Zombie mode is returning for Activision's just-anounced Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 . Call of Duty: Vanguard’s campaign starts off on the right track – literally.In the words of Insane Clown Posse, it's an oldie but a goodie. An explosive train sequence through a burning Hamburg, Germany thrills as you jump between carriages, fending off dozens of angry Nazis on your way to a submarine base. It’s a cinematic opening to a game that wears its film influences proudly whether that be the tense behind-enemy-lines aspects of D-Day in The Longest Day or the vivid depictions of the Pacific in Terence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. No shadow hangs heavier over this latest Call of Duty World War II story, however, than Inglourious Basterds. Its tale of a small group of expert soldiers on a secret mission to stop the Third Reich may sound familiar to anyone who has seen the 2009 movie, but Vanguard plays it with a much straighter face than Tarantino ever could.
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Even so, Vanguard’s campaign is over quickly, and its small series of battles are all too rarely memorable high points.Īny story is only as good as its villains, and with these Nazis you really can’t go wrong in that department. Two high-ranking German officers serve as a one-two punch in this regard and have a lovely time chewing the scenery whilst dancing the (Christoph) Waltz. Dan Donohue’s Chief Gestapo Interrogator Freisinger provides a chilling presence and commands every cutscene he stars in. On the other side of the coin is Lost and Lord of the Rings’ Dominic Monaghan, who plays the quieter but cunning Jannick Richter. His snake-like demeanor manages to spark fear despite looking quite a bit like a fascist Elton John. To introduce each member and give us an insight into their personalities, we’re taken on missions from their past that helped shape them as fighters.
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It’s a neat structure to the campaign because it lets us visit numerous locations on different fronts of the war while still maintaining a coherent plotline. Sure, most of these missions don’t tell us much about the backgrounds of the protagonists apart from “they’re quite good at shooting”, but Petrova’s leans much more heavily into the emotions of war. Taking place during the horrific and lengthy Battle of Stalingrad, we get a glimpse of her Russian family life before the German invasion. Although a small-scale scene in comparison, it's this calm before the storm that adds a huge amount of emotional weight to her arc and makes her feel like a fully fleshed-out character. The credit here can be shared between the poignant writing and Bailey’s masterful performance – understated when it needs to be, but explosive when the occasion calls for it.
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It’s just a shame that the same attention isn’t paid to the other members of the team in this regard.Ĭall of Duty’s moment-to-moment gameplay is still primarily a well-dressed shooting gallery, but Black Ops Cold War succeeds in making its quiet time a defining part of its experience rather than just a deep breath between the loud and explode-y sequences. Its story is less successful at leaving a Black Ops 1-level mark, but the importance placed on finding and deciphering evidence as well as the multiple endings give good reason to stick with it beyond its typical six-ish-hour runtime.
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Read the full Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War Single-Player Campaign ReviewĮach of the four heroes possesses their own perks, such as Jackson being able to highlight enemies through smoke and foliage and slowing down time to execute them Red Dead-style. #CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS 4 BACKGROUND FULL# But none feels quite as fun or fluid as Petrova’s added movement capabilities. It kind of just made me wish that I was playing as her the whole time, rather than switching back to her less interesting comrades. #CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS 4 BACKGROUND SERIES#Įspecially when all the best missions are hers.Īll in all, though, there’s just not the variety in mission design that we’ve come to expect from a Call of Duty campaign, especially when compared to the heights that both the Modern Warfare and Black Ops series have reached.
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