Call of Duty needs a win coming out of last year's universally panned Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which earned a 56 on Metacritic . The task falls upon this year's Call of Duty Black Ops 6 from developers Treyarch and Raven Software and on paper, it certainly seems up to the task. Black Ops 6 has one of the longest developmental cycles of recent COD games going for it.
That allows the game to obviously explore some major upgrades to the tried-and-true experience. But at the same time, Black Ops 6 has decided to embrace the successes of the past in interesting ways that could really benefit the overall package. If the marriage of new and old sticks well, Black Ops 6 will easily go down as a return to form for the embattled series.
Graphics and Gameplay Nobody needs to spend much in the way of time here—COD never has problems sitting as the best on the market with visuals, given the budget, talent involved and any number of other factors. Black Ops 6 is simply a stunner when it comes to realistic character models, engrossing details on weapons and within environments and best-in-class lighting and shadow work. It should go without saying, but the sound design, from voice acting to ambient noise to the punchy-sounding guns, are all superb, too.
Where this entry in the series really impresses, though, is in the variety and memorability of its locales. The campaign takes players all over the place, be it the cold of Russia, the much hotter Middle East, and the U.S.
itself,.