In keeping with the title, the now fifth Black Ops part sends you right into the heyday of the Cold War at the beginning of the 1980s. What the campaign will bring is still a secret.
But there was already a strong foretaste of the multiplayer mode. We’ll introduce you to the game modes, maps, weapons and perks, and tell you how hot it actually gets in the Cold War.
Classic game modes
In well-known game modes, Team Deathmach, Dominion and Kill are confirmed at the start. In the beta it was not possible to choose between the modes, instead a rotation was played.
In Team Deathmatch ten to twelve people fight in two teams to get the most kills. In the case of rule, three points are distributed over the card that need to be captured and defended. Kill confirmed earns you additional points when the tokens of fallen enemies and friends are collected. Of course, none of this is new, but has been part of the series for ages. That’s why you immediately feel at home when it comes to the process.
New game modes
The beta had two new modes in its luggage. VIP escort alternately turns one player from the two five to six-person teams into the target person. In the course of the round, an attempt is made to bring the woman or man to the marked pick-up point undamaged. The opponent must of course prevent this by eliminating the person concerned. If a team member goes down, they can be resuscitated by a comrade within a time window. If this does not work, you can only start again in the next round.
In principle, the VIP escort works just like the well-known Search & Destroy. Both teams drive or run to the extraction point and usually have short battles there. We hardly experienced any actual protection of the VIP: Most of the time, he rushed into the battle or was taken out by an enemy on his own. Accordingly, the laps were often over after a few minutes.
In Combined Arms: Domination, battles with 16 to 24 players on large maps await you. In the beta, Armada and Crossroads were available for this. The two teams compete for control of defined areas on the map. Various transport and attack vehicles such as tanks or snowmobiles are used.
The structure and the process are reminiscent of Battlefield: Cleverly positioned vehicles bring a great strategic advantage that the other team tries to destroy with explosives and targeted advances. Intermediate tank battles are just as much on the agenda as brisk shootouts inside small buildings. This mode seems ideal for well-rehearsed teams that communicate with each other, hold their positions and have good snipers with them. The extensive maps offer you many positions for this.
A third newcomer was not there yet, but should at least be mentioned: In Fireteam: Dirty Bomb, 40 players in ten teams compete against each other. At the beginning of the round, they jump off the map, similar to Warzone. After that, the four-man squads try to complete various tasks. The goal is to collect radioactive uranium, place it in a bomb and then blow it up. This mode will be playable for the first time in the second beta, which starts tonight.
Cards
A total of six cards were included in the beta. With the rotation of Team Deathmatch, Kill confirmed and rule could be agreed between two maps before the start of the round. Armada and Crossroads, on the other hand, were reserved for the linked weapons mode.
Armada
Instead of on land, you are on the high seas, more precisely in the North Atlantic. The battles take place on two large warships and a tanker, which you can reach by swimming or by armed boats. But you have to be careful not to be shot at by the guns that can be manned by players on the ships. Even in and even under water there is shooting and explosives being handled, so that it really burns in all corners and ends.
Crossroads
A snow-covered military facility in Uzbekistan is the focus of this large map. The scattered facilities, including a radar system, offer snipers good opportunities. In general, the card is very open, so you are well advised with a little cover and a prudent approach. Thanks to various paths and branches, there are a few options.
Miami
This is where fighting takes place in the streets and on the beaches of South Beach. A hot spot is the Hotel Blackwood, which can be entered from several sides. The outdoor pool also offers good opportunities to ambush opponents. Also in the adjoining night club there is no dancing or drinking, but rather shooting in a small space. The design of the map definitely brings back memories of the cult series Miami Vice from the 80s.
Moscow
In the center of the capital you fight on the streets and in different buildings. Among other things, it goes through a museum in which a large bust of Lenin observes the hustle and bustle closely. But the adjacent metro station is always fiercely contested because the shortest route from one end of the map to the other leads through it.
Satellite
The setting is a canyon in the desert of Angola. In addition to an open sandy area, which makes you an easy target for snipers, small caves and narrow paths between the rock walls await you. In the middle of the map is an airplane wreck with scattered debris. On the one hand, this offers many coverage options, but at the same time makes the overview difficult. Fire and smoke create additional confusion.
Cartel
This map was playable for the first time in the beta. The action rises at a cartel facility in the jungle of Nicaragua. It goes through spacious outdoor areas as well as various small houses that offer good opportunities for ambushes or snipers. The real party is around the large hangar, which is roughly in the center of the map. As a rule, you fight at Cartel at close and medium range, so patient snipers get their money’s worth less.
Weapons, Extras and points series
You can choose from a large selection of different shooting sticks from the 1970s and 1980s. Typically for CoD, these are divided into different classes. There are a few newcomers, but beloved classics such as AK-47, MP5 or RPD are also back. You can customize each weapon in eight categories, including the visor, lower barrel, magazine and stock.
An improved display lets you see at a glance whether an extra has a positive or negative effect on the weapon values. The perks are mostly made up of well-known representatives such as technicians, looters or Gung-Ho. Their effect has sometimes been adjusted a little, but the core functions remain the same. As usual, you fill each of the three places with the extra that best suits your style of play.
The cooldown times of series of points are unusual: drone reconnaissance, artillery or air patrols have to pause for 60 seconds after each mission. You even have to wait 90 seconds for the remote control charge. This is to prevent strong players from constantly working on their opponents with these attacks.
You can also counter some of them with other series of points and field upgrades: For example, you can use the ground-to-air gun to get hostile series of air points like the helicopter shooters from the sky. However, field upgrades also require cooling after each use, which sometimes takes several minutes.
A return celebrates the ability to keep the points scored after screen death. This particularly appeals to poorer players, because they finally have the chance again to achieve and use a series of points. You don’t necessarily need kills for this, because collecting the tokens in Kill confirms or securing the zones in rule earns points.
