Beta testing of Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War took place on PS4 from October 8 to October 12. If you didn't have time to play this weekend, or if you don't have a Sony console, it's okay - from October 17 to October 19, an open beta will be launched on all three platforms (PC, PS4 and Xbox One), which everyone can play. In the meantime, we'll tell you what awaits them in this beta. And in the game itself too - there is something to talk about.
Creating classes
If you got to know Call of Duty in 2019 by playing the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) or Warzone relaunch, then in Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War multiplayer, the first thing you will notice is the change when creating classes. - although in fact in all previous Black Ops everything was approximately the same. Approximately - but not exactly like that.
- 2019 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Review
Perhaps the most notable innovation is the abandonment of the Pick 10 system, which was in previous parts of the BO (and not only) and meant that within one class you can only select ten elements. Anything - from weapons to their upgrades, perks and grenades. Before, you could, say, take one gun instead of two, and spend a free slot on the fourth perk or an additional upgrade. They could have completely abandoned all grenades and the second cannon, but gain up to six perks.
Now the Pick 10 system is gone. There is a Gunsmith tab (like in last year's Modern Warfare), which allows you to install up to eight attachments on a weapon, but there will always be two guns themselves. Well, instead of a second cannon, there might be a knife, for example, but the essence is the same.
But the classic Black Ops "jokers" are in place. These are cards that give the class one special skill: one allows you to equip three additional perks (and get six in total), the other adds one additional grenade (lethal and tactical) to the display, and the third opens three more attachment slots on the main weapon. Etc.
In addition, shotguns are now - for the first time in many years - back in secondary weapons, allowing for the no-compromise creation of a sniper rifle and shotgun class. Or simply balance the layout for cards, where open spaces are often replaced by tight spaces.
Another interesting thing: the M-16 was classified as a tactical rifle, not an assault rifle, as it was before. Yes, on the one hand, this is logical - the cutoff of bursts of three rounds assumes that you will shoot with the M-16 in the same measured manner as with other tactical rifles. On the other hand, this is still an automatic weapon, not a self-loading one - it looks strange. Apparently, Treyarch decided this time that the M4 and M-16 are closely in the same category, although there were no problems with this before.
Otherwise, everything is about the same as in Modern Warfare 2019, except that the perks were again scattered in different ways. It makes no sense to analyze how much the balance was achieved at the same time, since last year Infinity Ward changed the composition of perks after the release due to complaints from players. It is possible that this time it will be the same, so why think about it.
Cards
Compared to the alpha in the Black Ops - Cold War beta, there is one more new map: this is Cartel in Central America, and visually it has absorbed all the worst that can be in such a setting. Again the yellow-green filter, tall bushes and ruined huts: anyone who remembers the original Jungle from the first Black Ops or the Village from Modern Warfare 3 is sure to have Vietnamese flashbacks already.
The main thing here is to force yourself to play more on it - believe me, it will soon become clear that this is one of the best cards in terms of design, not only in Cold War now, but in several recent Call of Duty in general. Really - it is simply cool to play on it. The main skirmishes most often take place in the center, near the hangar, but there are also narrow roundabouts on the map, along which you can bypass opponents. You quickly get used to what is happening, which at first seems like a mess, and soon you begin to clearly plan your route and actively use natural shelters.
Moscow still looks cool. In beta, it was finally possible to finally get used to it, to memorize all the paths, and therefore the battles on it take place exactly as the designers intended. The same goes for Miami, although it still has the problem of a lot of dead spots around the edges that no one uses. Well, for now - perhaps with the release or in other modes, this problem will be solved by itself.
The "winter" Crossroads, recalling the Derail from Modern Warfare 2, looks good only in VIP Escort mode - because of the open spaces where it is really hard to guard the target.
The "deserted" Satellite also looks controversial, which is divided into two parts - open, for snipers, and a "cramped" crash site, for close range shootings. At first glance, such an inaccurate combination of two dissimilar types of gameplay within one location may ultimately turn out to be successful, but so far it seems that players simply do not know what to do on the Satellite.
The most unsuccessful map, in my opinion, is Armada for "large" modes with vehicles. It is too huge: two aircraft carriers, several dilapidated ships, boats and floating platforms. Even though the modes for this map support up to 24 players, the distances are still too long for normal firefights. And most often battles are concentrated in those places that are emphasized in one mode or another, and all other spaces are simply not used. Why was it necessary to fence them at all, the question.
Modes
In addition to the classic "team combat", Domination (with the capture and hold of three points) and Kill Confirmed in the Black Ops - Cold War beta, there are three new modes for the series.
The first is Combined Arms: Domination. And this is, in fact, the usual Domination, with only six points instead of three. Interestingly, both the regular and Combined Arms versions can be played on the same maps. So, on the same Cartel, depending on the mode, you can fight both for three points and for six. As part of the beta, it seems strange - let's see how it will be after the release.
The second new mode is Combined Arms: Assault, also dedicated to the seizure of territories, but with the passing of side missions that greatly distract from the main thing.
The most exciting new mode is VIP Escort, where you need to escort an important person to one of two points and wait for the evacuation. At the same time, the "VIP" has only a pistol, and in the mode itself there is no respawn - in this it is similar to a "bomb". And in general it is similar to it in its essence: one of the teams should also revolve around the given points and not let enemies near them. That is, it seems to be a new regime, but there are no fundamental differences from the same "bomb" in it.
In the beta, of course, it will not work to draw final conclusions about the Call of Duty: Black Ops - Cold War multiplayer. So far, we can say for sure that the new game itself is not able to "cancel" last year's MW and replace it - at least for me. They are too different, and the shooter of 2019 still attracts me more at the moment.
But that's about multiplayer. It's much more interesting to look at the plot of Cold War - maybe even this year with a single player campaign in the new part of the series everything will be in order.
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