Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review – Campaign and Multiplayer

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has big competition this year after the successes of Battlefield 6 and Arc Raiders,

Not to mention the stacked list of successful free to play games out there like Fortnite, Marvel Rivals, Overwatch 2, Apex Legends and a ton more.

But Call of Duty is Call of Duty, and it’s too big to fail, right? Well, I guess Activision are doing their best to find out – because Black Ops 7 is not Call of Duty at its best – and even if you don’t like the multiplayer… it’s on Game Pass, so it wouldn’t hurt to at least give the campaign mode a go, right?

Maybe the multiplayer is its saving grace? Well… about that. Let’s take a look.

WATCH NOW or keep reading below:

You Call That a Campaign?

So first things first, I must point out that the campaign mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is called a co-op campaign, not just a campaign. I was happy about this at first because we’ve never had enough Call of Duty co-op campaigns before.

Turns out that this really is only a co-op campaign mode, and so it begins with all the problems that got me to put it down in no time at all.

Hear are some of the major reasons that the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign really doesn’t want you to play it.

1. The game is about a squad of 4 soldiers. They’re right there in the cutscenes, they’re chatting to you as you all make your way through the missions, so obviously you’d expect them to be in the game with you right?Wrong. In previous COD campaigns you’re often fighting alongside other computer-controlled main characters from the game, but in Black Ops 7, If you’re not playing with friends or using squad fill to play with online randoms, it’s just you on your own, engaged in combat and conversation with no one.
2. The campaign mode functions as an online multiplayer session, which means it comes with all the wonderful perks of being in a multiplayer game while just trying to play a video game by yourself. You know, perks like the potential for network issues, the need to remain connected to the server (and by extension – the internet) for the entire duration that you play.This leads to even more issues, and these next two are the ones that really hacked my goat.
3. Because it’s a multiplayer session, you can’t pause. I have kids, I have a family, and if anyone needs me for a moment while I’m busy playing a video game campaign by myself, I can’t pause. Now, you might not think this is that bad, right… Well, it is when you discover what the next problem is.
4. Get this, there are no checkpoints over the mission. And just in the first mission, you’re looking at around 35 mins at my pace as well as Youtube playthroughs I compared my time to. I played 15 mins into the first mission and had to jump out for something, and when I returned later… I had to start the mission all over again, complete with an unskippable cutscene.So, I played the mission again, and around 25 mins in, I had completed a whole section, and even moved over to an entirely new location in the game – and I was in disbelief that this point in the game wouldn’t now be considered a point that I could continue from. I jumped out and jumped back in out of curiosity – just to test, and lo and behold – there I was, watching the same starting cutscene and starting the mission all over again.

   I had a good laugh, quitted out of the campaign and I was DONE.

I do have one good thing to say about the campaign, and it’s that I liked that you could play it in third person – because it actually felt good, in a Max Payne kinda way – especially with the omni-movement system.

What about the Multiplayer?

So maybe the multiplayer is good enough to save the day? Well, the truth is… the multiplayer gameplay isn’t all that bad – it is a Call of Duty afterall, – but that doesn’t mean that it’s enough to make it worthwhile, especially if you’re not just playing this on Game Pass (and even if you are with the higher prices coming in), because at full price, and with the campaign being what it is, the multiplayer (and to a degree, zombies) needs to prove that its worth full price, when there are free to play options out there.

What’s worse is that with the amount of pop-ups and promotions in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 trying to sell you battlepasses and who knows what else, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you were, in fact, playing a free to play game – because boy, do they wanna nickel and dime you from the moment you arrive. And did I mention that the game is full of AI generated artwork as well? Yeah, they only want you to pay for things – not the other way around.

The actual gameplay itself is a little faster than Black Ops 6, and it actually feels pretty good – although the maps feel small and cramped compared to what Black Ops 6 offered just a year ago, and when combined with no skill based matchmaking and the super sweats who were already prestiging on day, there’s a decent chance that you’re gonna have your day ruined by someone playing on a level that’s not enjoying the comforts of his couch quite as much as you are.

At the same time, that’s nothing too new when it comes to online shooters, and I’ve had a pretty decent time jumping into multiplayer sessions – but that’s not the kind of thing you usually say about Call of Duty.

I should also note that this is the part where Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 still looks relatively normal, and doesn’t represent how it’s going to look in a few months when pop stars are running around shooting at cartoon characters with bright colourful lights flying out of their guns.

Conclusion:

Verdict: AVOID: Call of Duty is supposed to be the gold standard, the one to beat, the cream of the crop. Instead with Black Ops 7, it’s just sort of… fine, and not that different or better to many of the other options already out there. When considered as a purchase though, and compared to something like Battlefield 6 right now though… there’s just no way I’d recommend that someone drops full price on this when the same money could get them all of that instead – including a campaign that, while not so great to play, at least lets you pause the game when you want to go make a drink.