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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
File:Black Ops Cold War.jpeg
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Activision
Director(s)Dan Vondrak
Artist(s)Bruce Hall
Writer(s)
Composer(s)Jack Wall[3]
SeriesCall of Duty
EngineIW[4]
Platform(s)
ReleaseNovember 13, 2020
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and Raven Software and published by Activision. It is the sixth installment of the Black Ops series, and the seventeenth installment in the overall Call of Duty series. Serving as the direct sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010), the game is planned for release on November 13, 2020.

Black Ops Cold War is set during the early 1980s of the Cold War. Its campaign follows CIA officer Russell Adler as he pursues an alleged Soviet spy, Perseus, whose stated goal is to subvert the United States and tilt the balance of power toward the Soviet Union. Multiplayer will have new game modes, more extensive customization, and new map dynamics and elements.[5]

Gameplay

Campaign

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is set during the Cold War in the early 1980s. The story is inspired by actual events and the campaign features locations such as East Berlin, Vietnam, Turkey, and the Soviet KGB headquarters.[6] Players can create a custom character for the campaign, codenamed Bell, with options for different skin tones, ethnic backgrounds and genders, as well as different personality traits that provide in-game perks.[7] The campaign will have multiple endings, dependent on player choice throughout the campaign.[8]

Multiplayer

Multiplayer features new and returning game modes, as well as maps that accommodate both the traditional 6v6 format, as well as larger 12v12 combat. The game also introduced a new game mode named "Fireteam", which can support up to 40 players.[9]The Create-a-Class system from Modern Warfare returns, with two major differences: field upgrades are implemented as part of class loadouts, and each class has a wildcard choice out of four possible ones: Gunfighter (allows up to 8 primary weapon attachments), Perk Greed (allows 2 perks from each perk type for a total of 6 usable perks), Danger Close (double grenade equipment), or Lawbreaker (allows mixing and matching any weapon/perk type in any slot).[5] It will also support cross-platform play.[5] In addition, the progression system for multiplayer will be integrated with Call of Duty: Warzone, meaning that gears and weapons unlocked in Cold War can be used in Warzone and vice versa.[10]

Zombies

Black Ops Cold War Zombies features a new storyline titled "Dark Aether" which expands on the original Aether story, concluded in Black Ops 4, while also tying to the main narrative of the campaign. Instead of playing as predefined characters, players can take on the role of Operator characters from Multiplayer, as part of a CIA response team codenamed "Requiem". Progression and loadouts from Multiplayer are shared with Zombies, as players are able to use any weapon to start a Zombies match, alongside Gunsmith, scorestreaks and field upgrades, in addition to returning mechanics such as wallbuys, the Mystery Box, Pack-a-Punch and past Fan Favorite Perks. For the first time in Zombies, players can opt to "exfil" the map, which will put them in a difficult wave with increased enemy spawn that they must survive before they can escape. Collectible intels are also scattered around the playable maps, allowing players to keep track of and unfold the main story as they progress.[11] A new game mode, Zombies Onslaught, is introduced exclusively to PlayStation players until November 1, 2021. In this mode, which are played within Multiplayer maps, up to 2 players defend areas grounded off by the Dark Aether orb, which must be powered by zombie kills. Sufficient kills will move the orb to new positions, forcing the players to move or die outside of the orb's protection zone.[12]

Synopsis

Campaign

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan learns of Perseus (Navid Negahban), a Soviet spy based on an alleged conspiracy, and authorizes a black operation, led by CIA officer Russell Adler (Bruce Thomas) and his SAD/SOG team, to counter Perseus.[13] CIA veterans Alex Mason (Chris Payne Gilbert),[14] Frank Woods (Damon Victor Allen) and Jason Hudson (Piotr Michael) also take part in the operation.

Zombies

Following the events of "Tag der Toten", the sacrifice of the two groups Primis and Ultimis have resulted in the end of the Aether multiverse, while a new singular world is created in its place. However, elements from the Dark Aether dimension begin to leak into the new world.

In 1983, CIA operative Grigori Weaver (Gene Farber) is contacted by Samantha Maxis (Julie Nathanson), a German BND operative who provides him with secret KGB intelligence. He learns from Sam that the Omega Group, a Russian research team, is investigating a German bunker where the Nazis previously discovered a zombie outbreak. Weaver assembles a response team, codenamed Requiem, consisting of various global elite operators, and sends them to the facility to follow up on Sam's intel.

Development

On May 18, 2019, Kotaku reported that the game was in upheaval as developers Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software had increasing tensions between the studios. Two sources described the game as a "mess".[15] In response, Activision assigned Treyarch to lead development alongside Raven. This led to a shorter development period compared to previous entries as well as the two studios having different responsibilities, with Raven Software leading the development of the single-player campaign.[16]

On August 4, 2020, Activision in their Q2 earnings call confirmed that a new Call of Duty title was planned to be released in 2020 and that Treyarch and Raven were developing the game.[17] It will be the first Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare 3 to be co-developed by two studios, as well as the first time Raven Software being the main developer, as in previous games they assisted on the multiplayer and extra features.[17] Activision president Rob Kostich confirmed during the Q2 earnings call that Black Ops Cold War will be "tightly connected" to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) and Call of Duty: Warzone.[18]

Raven Software's Dan Vondrak said on the idea of multiple endings, "when we started creating the story, we had multiple endings in mind right away. And that really helped ... But we knew right away that we wanted to do that. I absolutely loved the idea that we could [have a] little bit of homage to Black Ops 2 by having these [multiple endings]."[19]

Marketing

Announcements and marketing relating to a Call of Duty game have traditionally been around April or May prior to the game's fall release.[20][21] However, Activision began teasing the game with an alternate reality game (ARG) in August 2020. Various YouTubers prevalent to the Call of Duty community on YouTube were shipped crates. Once authorized to open on August 10, 2020, they were greeted by a slide projector, 10 different slides per crate, and a manifest.[22] Starting on August 14, 2020, the game was marketed, after initial ciphers solved, by enticing fans to solve ciphers and puzzles on pawntakespawn.com.[23] The website allowed fans to watch VHS tapes containing news segments and footage that pertained to the corresponding year(s) throughout the Cold War.[24] Throughout the VHS tapes, at random intervals, two-digit nixie tube combinations appeared, required to solve ciphers, in addition to one set of coordinates per VHS tape that led to a location in Warzone.[25]

On August 19, 2020, once all ciphers were solved, the teaser trailer was revealed.[26] The teaser trailer contains segments of a 1984 interview with former Soviet PGU KGB informant and defector Yuri Bezmenov discussing active measures, taken from a 1984 interview with conspiracy theorist G. Edward Griffin.[27] The worldwide reveal was on August 26, 2020.[28][29]

Starting on September 22, 2020, another alternate reality game (ARG) on pawntakespawn.com, teasing the Zombies mode, began when various Call of Duty YouTubers such as NoahJ456 and MrDalekJD were sent crates with 1980s technology and ciphers to solve.[30][31] The official reveal for Zombies was on September 30.[32]

Controversies

See also: Overseas censorship of Chinese issues and Blitzchung controversy

CBR.com reported that the teaser trailer had been banned in China due to a one-second depiction of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.[33][34] An edited teaser was released worldwide instead.[35][36] PC Gamer's Andy Chalk wrote: "There's also no mistaking the irony of active censorship in a promo trailer for a game whose tagline is, literally, "Know your history"."[37]

Ian Walker of Kotaku criticized the inclusion of the Bezmenov interview in the game trailer, and noted that Activision removed the context of the footage, where Bezmenov alleged that the Soviet Union was using non-military measures to engage in subversion in the United States through the promotion of social justice movements, in a 1984 interview with noted conspiracy theorist G. Edward Griffin of the John Birch Society. Walker accused Activision of unknowingly promoting the Cultural Marxism conspiracy theory, and noted Bezmenov's own hostility towards the feminist and anti-war movements, as well as his message and inclusion in the trailer being picked up by alt-right activists.[38]

Release

Special editions

Pre-orders of all Black Ops Cold War editions grant early access to the open-access beta,[b] a weapons pack, and a Frank Woods operator pack in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone. The Ultimate Edition grants access to three additional cosmetic skin packs, plus access to the Season 1 Battle Pass for Black Ops Cold War. The Cross-gen Bundle and Ultimate Edition grant console players two versions of the game for use on the current console generation (PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) and the next generation (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X) upon availability.[39]

Post-launch content

All downloadable content (DLC) for the game, both for multiplayer and Zombies, will be completely free. As with Modern Warfare, the game will feature post-launch monetization via the battle pass system and cosmetic bundles available via the in-game store.[40]

Notes

  1. ^ Additional work by High Moon Studios, Beenox, Activision Shanghai, and Sledgehammer Games[1]
  2. ^ Beta access starts on October 8–12 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 first and October 15–19 for Xbox, PC and PlayStation for the second week.

References

  1. ^ Bhat, Keshav (August 26, 2020). "Black Ops Cold War development team includes multiple Activision studios". CharlieIntel. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  2. ^ Makuch, Eddie (August 27, 2020). "Black Ops Cold War Brings Back Batman Writer; Story Isn't Trying To Be Political". GameSpot. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  3. ^ Chesler, John (October 21, 2020). "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Debuts New Main Theme by Composer Jack Wall". Spin.com. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  4. ^ https://charlieintel.com/black-ops-cold-war-engine-gets-revamp-to-give-modern-take-on-1980s/62111/
  5. ^ a b c "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War - Tons of New Details for Maps, Gameplay, Next-Gen, and More -". IGN. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  6. ^ "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Officially Revealed, Out in November - IGN". Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  7. ^ "Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Campaign Has Gender Neutral Pronouns And Character Creation". GameSpot. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  8. ^ "Why Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Will Have Multiple Endings". GameSpot. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Goslin, Austen (September 9, 2020). "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will have a 40-player Fireteam mode". Polygon. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  10. ^ Hurley, Leon (September 9, 2020). "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is bringing the 80s to Warzone with new weapons, vehicles, and locations". GamesRadar. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  11. ^ "Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War Zombies – A New Beginning". Activision. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "A closer look at Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies Onslaught mode". PlayStation. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  13. ^ "CoD: Black Ops Cold War Stars New And Familiar Characters, And Ronald Reagan". GameSpot. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  14. ^ "fans you have a new Alex Mason voiced by my talented husband @cpaynegilbert Congratulations baby!". twitter.com. September 5, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
  15. ^ Schreier, Jason (May 18, 2019). "Sources: Call of Duty 2020 in upheaval". Kotaku. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  16. ^ Frushtick, Russ (August 26, 2020). "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a direct sequel to the first Black Ops". Polygon. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Chalk, Andy (August 4, 2020). "Activision confirms that Treyarch and Raven are making the new Call of Duty". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  18. ^ S. Good, Owen (August 4, 2020). "Call of Duty Warzone will live on in future sequels, Infinity Ward says". Polygon. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  19. ^ "Activision Explains Why Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Has Multiple Endings". GameSpot. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  20. ^ "Call of Duty 2020 Reveal Will Be 'Very Different,' Says Activision". PlayStation LifeStyle. August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  21. ^ "'Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War' accidentally announced by bag of chips". INQUIRER.net. July 28, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  22. ^ Gillian, Ryan (August 9, 2020). "Call of Duty: Warzone players find giant missile thanks to Black Ops Cold War ARG". Polygon. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  23. ^ "CoD 2020: Mystery Boxes Drop Hints Ahead Of Game Reveal". GameSpot. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  24. ^ "Activision teases Call of Duty: 2020 in a basement in Warzone". VentureBeat. August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
  25. ^ August 2020, Connor Sheridan 14. "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War teaser code opens a Warzone room full of secrets". gamesradar. Retrieved August 20, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "Stay Vigilant". pawntakespawn.com. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  27. ^ Onder, Cade (August 19, 2020). "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War officially revealed". GameZone. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  28. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (August 20, 2020). "Warzone puzzle ends with teaser for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War". Eurogamer. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  29. ^ Call of Duty trailer recklessly promotes far right conspiracy theory Ian Walker, Kotaku
  30. ^ September 2020, Connor Sheridan 23. "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War could be teasing Zombies news, or it just likes computers". gamesradar. Retrieved September 23, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  31. ^ Duwe, Scott (September 23, 2020). "Another Call of Duty ARG seems to be teasing Black Ops Cold War's Zombies mode". Dot Esports. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  32. ^ "How To Watch The CoD: Black Ops Cold War Zombies Reveal". GameSpot. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  33. ^ "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Trailer Banned in China Due to Tiananmen Square Footage". CBR. August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  34. ^ Park, Gene (August 26, 2020). "Analysis | 'Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War' campaign drips with intrigue as it dances around a political hornets nest". Washington Post. Retrieved August 26, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. ^ "China Bans 'Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War' Trailer Because of 1989 Tiananmen Square Footage". Vice. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  36. ^ Kent, Emma. "Activision removes Tiananmen Square footage in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War trailer". Eurogamer. Gamer Network Limited. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  37. ^ "Activision removes Tiananmen Square video from Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War trailer". PC Gamer. August 25, 2020.
  38. ^ Call of Duty trailer recklessly promotes far right conspiracy theory Ian Walker, Kotaku
  39. ^ Dwlar, Rob (September 9, 2020). "Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War pre-order guide - get the best prices and edition for you". GamesRadar. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  40. ^ Arogya 08/26/20, Vincent (August 26, 2020). "Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Will Get Free Post-Launch DLC". Player.One. Retrieved August 28, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

External links

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