Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Review

So, in preparation for Call of Duty Black Ops 7, I went back to play Call of Duty Black Ops 6. To give a disclaimer, it’s best for newcomers to play all of the Black Ops games before diving into the recent releases; except for Black Ops 3, I have yet to find a connection made between that game and the others besides a mention of Raul Menendez from Black Ops 2.

The campaign of Black Ops 6 takes place during the Gulf War in the year 1991. With the opening scene introducing new characters and returning characters, we jump into the action and find out why our CIA operatives have just been suspended.

We are quickly thrown into the action and one failed rescue mission later, we are now in a safehouse in Bulgaria. A lot of new terminology and groups are thrown around, but it quickly becomes apparent that we are not exactly playing for the “good guys” and everything we are doing is strictly “off the books”.

More new characters are picked up and returning characters make their play as we discover a bioweapon is now in play.

I forgot to mention our protagonist, Case, who is also who we are controlling most of the time. Case plays a special role in the sense that he is also playing the same role as Bell from Call of Duty Cold War. Through a mission in a secret laboratory, Case is actually short for “Case One” in the same way he was the first and only test subject for the bioweapon that we are trying to stop from getting out.

More missions later, and we find out that the promo of “The Truth Lies” comes into play as one of the characters who was working on helping us is actually one of the bad guys.

Using an interesting interrogation technique, we find out that this character lost their parents to the hands of the CIA and wanted to exact revenge ever since they were a child.

Case and the other characters fight the bad guys, cut to the end and the team that was suspended from the CIA is now back, but now known as a “rogue black ops” team that is allowed to do things without record of their activities.

Now, I already know that Call of Duty is a fantastical game for those who love to run and shoot enemies and feel powerful. But the Black Ops games not only make you feel that way, but they also make you think about the story, the campaign, and what these characters mean to you. After all, ever since Call of Duty Cold War, you can interact with the characters outside of the mission within the safe house. These interactions include multiple choice answers, different reactions, and finding more lore about each character. Some characters are vague in their answers, like a true spy, and others wear their emotions on their sleeves and are not afraid to show you how the feel about another character, a situation, or a mission coming up or has already passed.

The question I know the reader has is, “Well, is it worth the play or not?” I would definitely say “Yes”, with the caveat that if you have never played a Call of Duty game before, start with the first Black Ops game. This is the groundwork for the storyline that follows these characters and their lives living on the edge of society and in the secrets of the government.

Be prepared for surprises, head-tilting questions, and eye opening discoveries as this story continues in Black Ops 7, coming sometime in 2025.