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Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign review: a military shooter that comes disguised as other, better gamesAgent 47?

Agent 47?

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision

Marshall gives the player orders in a helicopter.

As a yearly blockbuster, Call of Duty, through sheer expense and effort, would like you to think it is the Die Hard of video games. Or, depending on the setting, the Saving Private Ryan of video games. But it is barely Black Hawk Down. This latest campaign inCall Of Duty: Black Ops 6reminds me more of the forgettable Netflix shootfests that thumbnail their way across your TV screen as you try to find some gritty nothing to aid you in zoning out of life. Still, there is an anecdotal contingent of casual sofa sitters for whom Call Of Duty isthegame. A balls-to-the-wall shooter to return to every winter and rinse through in a weekend. Ed has already gestured at its multiplayer, announcing:“yup, it’s COD”, like a deeply tired Captain Birdseye inspecting the day’s catch, wondering when his life will change. But never mind that. How does the single player story mode hold up? Some are calling it the best campaign in years. And I guess that’s true, in the sense that it is the least worst.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision

Adler and Sims brief each other in a helicopter.

It falls in and out of a classic corridor shooter rhythm, with most missions feeling more like a heist than a military operation. This is down to a noticeable increase in the undercover levels that have become a mainstay of the series. Here you’ll be shmoozing at political fundraiser parties (look, Bill Clinton!) or chatting to bad guys as they patrol a snowy compound. One of these levels is a baroque casino, lavishly decorated and full of the ambient noise of gambling. Chips and dice clink off one another, waiters wipe down bars, and poker hands are dealt with James Bond panache. It’s all proof as ever that the 3D artists, animators, and sound folk put to work on these games are incredibly skilled. The instafail stealth sequence that occurs later in this level somewhat cheapens the day out. How, in 2024, is instafail stealth still happening?

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision

Adler ramps over police cars on a motorcycle.

The player equips a camera to examine distant enemies in the Iraqi desert.

The player approaches a palace in Iraq during an assault.

The soldiers of Black Ops 6 look out a helicopter at a statue of Saddam Hussein exploding.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision

A card dealer at a casino waits for the player to reveal their hand.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun / Activision

Felix calls himself a “necessary evil” as he cooks a stew.