Call of Duty has become something that you can’t escape from every year, regardless of whether or not you buy into Activision’s multi-million selling shooter franchise. It’s a bit like the X Factor winner’s single; an annual juggernaut that is backed by a massive advertising campaign that thrusts itself upon the public consciousness, irritates more than few people, and then fades away for another year only to repeat the process all over again. The latest entry, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, sees developer Treyarch expand upon its futuristic warfare setting that began with Black Ops 2 in 2012, offering more outlandish weapons and technology to get to grips with, not to mention the usual packed-to-the-rafters multiplayer suite.
This latest entry in the bombastic series takes place in the year 2065, 40 years after the events of its critically acclaimed predecessor. Warfare is now waged by covert operatives behind enemy lines, thanks to air assault rendered virtually useless due to state-of-the-art defences in place around the world. Robotics have become a staple in battle, with humans have been augmented to the point where the are considered more machine than flesh and blood. With paranoia on an impending robotic takeover reaching fever pitch, players follow an elite black ops unit as they take part heated combat situations across the globe against increasingly sophisticated and deadly adversaries.
Zombies also makes a return alongside an all-star cast including Ron Perlman, Heather Graham, and Jeff Goldblum, complete with its own campaign, which will have links back to previous Zombie game modes. So, another year, another Call of Duty. But how does it measure up against the wealth of other first-person shooters? And does it bring anything new to the venerable military shooter franchise? Find out what the critics had to say below.
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GamingTrend – 100/100
EGM – 9.5/10
Meristation – 9/10
HardcoreGamer – 4.5/5
GodisaGeek – 9/10
GameInformer – 9/10
Destructoid – 8.5/10
The Telegraph – 4/5
TheSixthAxis – 8/10
GameSpot – 7/10
GiantBomb – 3/5