Call of Duty’s next installment is a rendition of Black Ops this time around, though the game will be focusing on elements of the Cold War instead of heading into the future. With a launch slated for November 13, PlayStation 4 gamers are getting their first taste of multiplayer beta this weekend, and we’ve spent a few hours in the game to find out if it’ll really live up to the hype. So far? We’re impressed, but only time will tell if Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will reign supreme among the recent game launches. Interested to find out what we thought of the beta so far? Keep reading to learn what we thought in our Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer beta review.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer beta introduces VIP Escort
For the first “early access beta”, we’re only being given the ability to play online multiplayer, with no single-player campaign in sight. We likely won’t be able to enjoy the single-player campaign until the game fully launches on November 13, but until then, it’s nice to have some time in the multiplayer sphere. When the beta first opened yesterday, there were only four modes available: Team Deathmatch, Domination, Kill Confirmed, and a mode that’s similar to Modern Warfare’s “Ground War.” But, today, Treyarch introduced the VIP Escort game mode, and let me tell you, I’ve never liked Search and Destroy so much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o-kI11cAx4
The other game modes are as you’d expect, only with new maps and guns. But, VIP Escort is a completely unique take on an age-old mode, Search and Destroy. In normal Search and Destroy, there are two teams of six and each person only has one life per round. One team attacks, the other defends. In the end, you’re trying to either plant a bomb or keep the other team from planting a bomb. VIP Escort takes this premise and adds a few twists and turns. On the defending team, a random player each round is chosen to be the VIP. The VIP has a pistol, knife, two Semtex grenades, and two smoke bombs. You’re also given a spy plane and “field mic” that can show when people are near you. The VIP is racing to reach an “exfil” point before being eliminated or having the team eliminated. Players who are killed will be “downed” and can be revived, but if they’re shot again will be out for the round. Should you make it all the way to the exfil point alive, you’ll have to hold Square for a few seconds while your person hooks up to the chopper’s line. If you’re successful, then your team wins that round and goes on to fight again, with the goal being to win four total rounds.
Create a Class gets another overhaul
We’re used to Create a Class being overhauled every year at this point, and Cold War is no different. Your weapons still have attachments, though you’re given far more options when it comes to customization. Each weapon can have, at most, five attachments on it. This is similar to how Modern Warfare was built, though the interface, I will say, is a bit more clunky so far than what we saw in 2019’s Call of Duty. Overall, Create a Class gives you a primary and secondary weapon, lethal and tactical equipment, a field upgrade, three perks, and a wildcard. The field upgrades provided are all-new to Cold War, while the rest of your equipment will be fairly familiar.
The hype continues to build as we near the launch
Of course, Activision and Treyarch are doing these betas to help build hype before the launch in November. We’ll keep going hands-on with any builds we can as time progresses, and hopefully get deeper looks into the game before its final release in a few weeks. I will say this, playing the game on my PlayStation 4 Pro, it looks darn good. Really good. Actually, there were a few times I thought I was on PC. Yeah, that good. Obviously, frame rates aren’t going to be as good as what a desktop will bring, and there’s no raytracing on console…yet. But, it does have me very excited to see how well Black Ops Cold War plays on next-generation since I have an Xbox Series X on the way.
This is our Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War multiplayer beta review, but we want to hear your thoughts
We want to know what you think about the next Call of Duty. Did you spend any time in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War so far this week? Do you plan to dive in this weekend? Are you waiting for the Xbox/PC beta? Let us know in the comments below, or over on social media @9to5Toys or @pcamp96.
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