The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 The multiplayer beta weekend is over, but I’m still a little shell-shocked. The sixth installment in the long-running Activision sub-franchise is faster-paced than ever and packed with players who have already perfected the brand new Omnimovement system, meaning every game goes one of two ways: entertaining or frustrating. Thankfully, I spent most of my time Black operations 6 This weekend was fun, although I worry that as more and more people get the chance to try out the shooter before its October 25 release, the worst parts of Call of Duty Multiplayer mode will prevail.
Pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops 6: Amazon | Best buy | GameStop
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Impressions from the multiplayer beta
Before the BlackOps 6 Beta everyone was excited about Omnimovement, a brand new system created by developer Treyarch that allows players to move a full 360 degrees at any time – gliding and diving in any direction, or turning completely around while jumping off a ledge to get a few shots off an enemy hot on their tail (yes, How Max Payne). All of this happens without any complicated or elaborate animations, and trust me, you’ll notice how fast and seamless it is – after working through a short tutorial on the movement system, I was sliding and diving with ease in my first match, as if I had been doing it for years. The fact that Omnimovement already feels completely natural is a testament to Treyarch’s tremendous work – it’s hard to imagine a future Call of Duty Play without it.
Unfortunately, omnimovement also means that the most annoying types of Call of Duty Gamers are on the rise. From the moment I booted up the beta (a day late, as I was visiting family), I was being jerked off by people who had already spent 24 hours on it, moving with jerky, twitchy movements that are almost impossible to predict. Almost every close-quarters firefight is a diving, sliding firefight with players falling all over the map lying on their stomachs or backs—it’s absolute chaos. If you just go with the flow, you’ll have a blast, but if you’re actively trying to get good at this game, prepare for frustration: almost every match is full of some psyched-up teenage streamer fidgeting and jerking all over the map.
Although the BlackOps 6 Although the beta only included four maps, they paint a pretty clear picture of what to expect from the game when it launches in about a month. Two of them got boring pretty quickly: Derelict, an abandoned three-lane rail yard that’s way too small; and Scud, a larger map set on a recently bombed military outpost that’s laid out really oddly, making it hard to find enemies. The other two maps, Skyline and Rewind, were a joy to play though – I could play these two endlessly without getting sick of them. Skyline is set on the roof of a resort, so there are plenty of breakable glass windows and nooks and crannies to explore, while Rewind is a shopping mall straight out of Long Island, complete with multiple storefronts to run through, the largest of which is an abandoned video store.
The four maps available during the limited beta presentation Call of DutyStrengths and Weaknesses: Three-lane maps can quickly become boring if they’re too small, but kitschier, more innovative layouts and themes are fun.
The last thing I noticed while playing the beta this weekend was the dangerous combination of features BlackOps 6 features: proximity chat and a new way to pick up downed players and use them as human shields. Five minutes into my first match, my operator’s body is picked up by an opposing player and repeatedly slammed into a wall. Thankfully proximity chat wasn’t on, so I didn’t have to listen to the sweet nothings they were no doubt yelling into their headsets, but I still got what I meant. Activision warns you that they record voice chat before every match, which hopefully deters bad actors, but every woman who has ever played an online multiplayer game knows that you can’t stop assholes from being assholes.
Between the prox chat, the human shields, and the lightning-fast movements that can easily be abused by high-level players and young kids pumped up on Baja Blasts, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 runs the risk of highlighting the worst aspects of the franchise. While I enjoyed my time with it this weekend, I’m skeptical about what the experience will be like when it launches in October – it could be too fast, too frenetic, too jumpy and toxic, or just an absolute blast. We’ll see.
BlackOps 6 will be released on October 25th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. An open beta will take place from September 6th to 9th.
Pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops 6: Amazon | Best buy | GameStop
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