With the Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Beta open this past weekend I was pulled into giving it a go. Before I knew it, I was several hours in and had almost met the beta level cap! A new fluid movement system, fast-paced action within small maps and loads of customization stood out to me in my run through the trial period. I am left feeling optimistic and excited to play more along with friends. Here are a few notable features and some impressions after spending significant time with a select section of the full game.
The Usual FPS Gameplay with a Much Needed Addition
All the hallmarks of the standard military shooter are here – from diving out of bullet paths and tossing back grenades, to swinging knives and calling in UAVs. These admittedly haven’t changed much and for good reason. As the saying goes, If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Yet, the true star of the gameflow show is the “omni-movement” system. A brand new movement system built for all player levels. This feature felt like a literal game changer, allowing you to sprint, dive or slide in a 360 degree radius while ducking gunfire or breaching a room through the nearest window. The matches reflected its overuse as I could barely take a corner or run down a hallway without seeing teammates dive to cover or launch headfirst into wall holes. Not a negative overuse as you may assume but one that was a positive improvement over jet-packs and gravity jumps of a decade ago! Nothing about omni-movement ever felt hitched or stagnant, making transitions from sliding to standing and immediately taking another direction feel incredibly clean.
In my experience I could immediately feel the omni-movement difference in my first match and felt it worked perfectly no matter the loadout or style I wanted to play. Eventually, defaulted to my usual SMG and shotgun pairing using the omni-movement to take back hardpoints, swinging around like a mad man covering all directions. It felt fluid and fun. This drastically changed the normal “fps feel” and is the spice the Call of Duty series needs to keep the gunplay fresh.
Variety in Maps & Game Modes
Treyarch offered up the trial of 9 multiplayer maps during the beta period, including:
- Babylon
- Derelict
- Protocol (Training Map Only)
- Rewind
- Scud
- Skyline
- Gala
- Pit
- Stakeout
Paired with the new omni-movement system, the traversal across the Black Ops 6 maps felt phenomenal. Places to climb, vault and maneuver your way into a flank were positioned realistically as possible while still telling a story of what may have happened there and keeping things fun. For example, the map Scud forced me to consider carrying a loadout with an assault rifle and shotgun secondary because I was so often hopping into trenches just to climb through holes in the floor leading to higher ground of the damaged satellite leaning over the battleground.
I look forward to seeing what the other launch day maps have to offer in verticality and expansiveness. Many of the beta maps felt quite small and confined compared to previous Call of Duty games, even in matches of game modes dedicated to curating maps of smaller scale. Sometimes this led me to feel that sniping was less viable unless you planned on quick-scoping or carrying an additional primary. I would hope with the full release, this is remedied by the introduction of a mix of slightly larger maps or the implementation of sniper lanes or long range spans within others! Nonetheless, the beta did seem like the focus was geared toward small-medium maps for that “always in your face action”.
Plenty of Loadout Customization & Player Freedom
Although I am less familiar with more recent COD titles, I’ve always felt that the games have had a great grasp on customization whether that be via weapon loadouts, operator skins or calling cards. Black Ops 6 seems to be no exception, even within the content limited beta. Of course you have your standard pre-order bonus skins and purchased customization but the base unlockables were not shabby either. I was able to unlock plenty of variety within a short period of time playing.
In terms of gun variety and attachments, everything felt very unique. Offering lots to play with. I could add several new attachments from a base weapon and be sprinting into the next match with an entirely different one, sporting all new stats ranging from fire power to handling. Allowing me to build out several loadouts for different situations even within the limitations of the play period has me optimistic of this customization and variety being amplified upon full release! The only concern I had is in regards to sniper rifles as I was not able to spend much time with them. The options were quite limited and the map rotations seemed to neglect many options for these rifles.
A Promising Future for Veterans and Tempting for Fans Looking to Return
Although I haven’t been deeply engrossed in a Call of Duty title since Black Ops 2 or Ghosts (specifically multiplayer), playing the open beta for Black Ops 6 multiplayer has me optimistic for the future of the series. I am left wanting to play more intense matches with friends, testing out new loadouts. Standing my ground, I haven’t been a fan of the over-saturation of map packs and over the top, paid customization of the previous decade, I do enjoy seeing the direction in which the series is headed. The buttery smooth speed of omni-movement is more enticing to me than wall running or double jumping. And the weapon and attachment varieties returning to more realism and less sci-fi has me interested again.
This may very well be the Call of Duty title that pulls previous fans back into the mix, while also exciting its usual player base and super fans! Time will tell as release is right around the corner.
