Black Ops 4 Was Underappreciated
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Highlights
- On its fifth anniversary, it is worth looking at all the things that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 did right, as doing so shows how underrated the game was.
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 faced controversy for not including a singleplayer campaign, but its battle royale replacement, Blackout, was excellent. Multiplayer’s return to boots on the ground and high TTK allowed Specialists to feel more natural than ever. With newer Zombies modes lacking, looking back to BO4 shows how good its maps were and how its issues like poor HUD design were overblown.
- The game addressed and fixed many flaws after launch, such as patches for Zombies’ launch day bugs and a Reserves system that allowed players to unlock post-launch weapons fairly easily. A completely free battle pass was also a big positive.
As many fans of the franchise will undoubtedly remember, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was controversial before and after its release. The announcement that Black Ops 4 would not offer a singleplayer campaign led to outrage, as fans had grown accustomed to one being included in each release – even if data showed that only a portion of the community bothered with Call of Duty’s story modes at the time. While Black Ops 4’s ambitious campaign was scrapped, its woes did not stop there, as a rushed release to better compete with Battlefield meant that its Zombies mode was terribly buggy. Specialists remained a controversial topic in multiplayer, too, ensuring there was something to criticize about every facet of the game when it debuted on October 12, 2018.
However, even if these flaws need to be acknowledged, so to do the many things that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 did right. When looking at the game objectively, and with the power of hindsight following the last few years of Call of Duty games being a mixed bag, it becomes clear just how good players had it with Black Ops 4. Every pain point in Black Ops 4 was either addressed after launch or compensated for via something else; Zombies’ crashes and glitches were patched, multiplayer going back to boots on the ground meant that Specialists were hardly problematic, and the campaign was replaced by an excellent Blackout mode that proved more popular than a singleplayer mode ever would have. All of this makes for a solid game, and one that deserves a second look on its fifth anniversary.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Felt Modern While Avoiding The Pitfalls of Post-Warzone CoD
One of the most common criticisms about Call of Duty games that have released since the debut of Warzone is that the premium games themselves feel like an afterthought, with only Warzone truly mattering. Zombies feels like it receives less resources, with map counts smaller and the maps themselves reusing more resources from other modes. Additionally, multiplayer leans more into map remasters than ever before. Warzone’s maps are repurposed as Ground War locations, events feel as if they cater more toward Warzone, and all content needing to carry over to the battle royale means that every game feels similar. While there are upsides to a seasonal model like free map drops, the idea that multiplayer and Zombies play second fiddle to Warzone is hard to deny.
Despite offering a battle royale with Blackout, it certainly did not feel like Treyarch was neglecting the other modes in Black Ops 4. Multiplayer received plenty of maps and free content, and though the final releases of the Aether storyline were rushed, Zombies offered a stunning launch lineup of four full maps. Blackout being tied to one game meant that all content added to Black Ops 4 could smoothly transition into the battle royale experience, with balancing for all the modes also being an easier task. And though maps were paid, a seasonal format still existed that kept the game fresh long after it launched with some fun themes and new additions.
As the transition period between Call of Duty’s loot box era and a seasonal format, Black Ops 4 offered the best of both worlds. After Black Ops 3 and the early days of Black Ops 4 were dubbed pay-to-win games, Treyarch finally found the sweet spot near the end of Black Ops 4’s life cycle with Reserves, which let players choose new weapons and skins to unlock just by playing and building up cases. One of the few fair loot box systems, players can hop onto Black Ops 4 today and obtain the post-launch weapons with relative ease. This came in addition to a completely free Battle Pass, which is essentially unheard of in modern gaming. Without an in-game store full of bundles, all the game’s cosmetic content was earnable, even if it came with a grind attached.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies’ Flaws Do Not Outweigh Its Strengths
While Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will not find itself on the top of many fans’ best Call of Duty game tier lists, all of its modes were solid and arguably underappreciated. Zombies fits the underappreciated term most of all, as so much of the mode was terrific, and the issues were given far too much attention. Criticisms about the HUD design were valid, but extremely overblown. The performance issues and bugs at launch were obviously an issue, but Treyarch fixed them relatively quickly. The cancelation of Factions was disappointing, but players hardly even knew what the feature would be in the first place. And though the Aether story’s cheaply made final cutscenes and rushed ending will forever be a stain on Zombies, the Chaos story content was absolutely phenomenal.
Apart from its day one problems, much of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies’ negative reception comes down to players being unwilling to give the Chaos Story a chance. Truly great maps like Ancient Evil, IX, and Dead of the Night offer stellar Zombies gameplay and tell a story that would have had serious potential if it continued. Unfortunately, it never had a chance since players had decided they were uninterested in the new story before it even began. Further, like the HUD complaints, the hate for the perk system was overblown, as it aimed to fix a longrunning problem. While Juggernog and Double Tap may be iconic perks, they are crutches that have to be bought every game, limiting player freedom and gameplay variety. The BO4 perk system addressed this, but instead of assessing it fairly, most could not get over classic perks not being featured. Instead of focusing on fun mechanics like Specialist weapons, improvements like the Max Ammo change and multiplayer pausing, or the dazzling amount of secrets and day one maps, players harped on perks.
Ultimately, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies is underserving of being labeled a black sheep, as the maps offered in the Chaos story are as deep and unique as they come. Had it not featured lackluster Aether content or suffered from severe crashes that ruined the initial Easter egg hunts – two things that soured many of CoD Zombies’ extremely influential content creators on the game – it would be so much more appreciated. Going back to a map like Ancient Evil to wield the Hammer of Valhalla or the God Hand Wonder Weapons could feel like a wakeup call to players, as they will likely have a lot of fun. Additionally, Black Ops 4 Zombies’ four launch maps meant that players had as much round-based content on day one as they had in Black Ops Cold War’s entire life cycle, which is a truly impressive feat. With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Zombies taking a divisive open-world approach, and Easter eggs becoming simpler and less prevalent, the depth and personality of Black Ops 4 Zombies is sorely missed.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout and Multiplayer Complimented Each Other Perfectly
While those who dislike long Time-To-Kills in Call of Duty could be put off by Black Ops 4, those who do not enjoy fast TTKs of games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019 will likely adore it. Ultimately, this personal preference will determine how players feel about Black Ops 4 multiplayer, as its combat is defined by a long feature due to its healing system, weapon balancing, and more. Black Ops 4’s specialists worked perfectly with longer TTK, as their weapons and abilities felt less overbearing. It allowed fun new objective modes like Heist and the now-expected experience Control to shine as well. And regardless of whether players enjoy the lengthy gunfights, it is hard to argue that it feels natural to switch between them and Blackout, as players see a consistent TTK across the two experiences.
Though it was a divisive choice, swapping out a campaign for a battle royale mode was ultimately a good call, as Blackout dropped at the height of the battle royale boom. Ultimately, it proved to be a terrific mode, and one that many feel plays better than the free-to-play hit Warzone. While being locked behind a paywall hurt Blackout’s chances to be supported in the long run, there is so much to love about the mode. Character mission unlocks, two great maps (the second of which, Alcatraz, was reskinned as Rebirth Island), a fun armor system, interesting abilities, and a colorful map full of locations that celebrate Black Ops’ history all come together to create a replayable battle royale mode oozing with personality.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is the least conventional Call of Duty game ever, but it is not close to the worst entry in the franchise. Blackout is a near-perfect experience, while multiplayer is a solid compromise between what was seen in Black Ops 3 and classic Call of Duty. Zombies is the most head-scratching aspect of all, as players chose to focus on minor flaws like an ugly HUD instead of the entertaining maps full of secrets or the neat story Treyarch was beginning to tell with Chaos. To be clear, this five-year-old game has problems, from lackluster visuals to a nonexistent campaign, and things like the Zombies perk system and multiplayer TTK will forever be controversial. Still, with the biggest issues like bugs and pay-to-win content addressed after launch, it now stands as a good entry in a great franchise. On its anniversary, it deserves to be appreciated for all it did right instead of being bashed for what it did wrong.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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