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Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII

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    Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII

    Might as well start off a thread for the full game but right now this is related to the current beta that's running for the Blackout mode, Call of Duty's contribution to the growing list of PUBG cash ins.


    Blackout

    Treyarch should probably both be praised and slyly nudged for what they've done with this. The mode uses a single map which reuses elements from past maps and new areas to give you an open landscape to survive and combat other players until the lone survivor prevails. The reused elements are... mostly redundant. I've recognised one or two places so far but mostly the map is pretty dull looking. Now, why is it so dull looking? Well, because they've ripped of PUBG's original map to a massive extent, at a glance they look mostly the same.

    But here in lies the genius. Black Ops IIII is one of the major releases that will properly first in at incorporating a BR mode and at the moment PUBG is one of its key rivals, especially as the game doesn't feature a Fortnite style variation to its gameplay. By hosting a very similar map it means the game offers a very similar experience which would usually mean there's no reason to pay attention to CoD's addition however there is one difference and it's a big one...

    Execution - The game runs damned smooth. Not flawlessly so like the MP mode but leagues ahead of PUBG and controls the same as the rest of the game. With the exception of PUBG having a third person view available you effectively instantly have the same experience but in a much, much better made form which means PUBG is now actually pretty redundant as an experience, especially if more Blackout maps emerge.

    Though the design of Blackout is indistinguishable from PUBG's matches it does have one difference as a result of the execution - exposure. One of the appealing aspects of PUBG is that it's an Early Access originated growing title so you're also buying into the likely misplaced sense of hope for what the potential of the final product may become. Blackout recreates the experience with CoD controls but the ambition ends there meaning it soon exposes how shallow a mode BR actually is. After a couple of matches it starts to get a little dull and repetitive as a large part of the experience is standard MP gameplay but with players spaced farther apart. It now has a 'it is what it is' air about it and only future games are likely to advance the design further beyond more maps being added.

    The key here though is that Blackout forms only one part of the Black Ops IIII package and it is admittedly a very successful recreation of the PUBG on every level, other than maps I can't see many reasons to play PUBG if this grows. I can fully imagine it'd be all to easy for PUBG to transition away from that games technical shortfalls to this more polished and very similar experience also so it's an easy win for the devs. On it's own it would fall short but it's a distinct enough mode addition to keep an eye on once Treyarch announce more on whether Blackout will evolve significantly or not. More hopeful from it than I was from the BF5 beta.

    #2
    Is there group survival as I pefer that over solo in my BR games and how was the healing aspect as from watching giant bomb video of it seemed way to quick us to the point peoe would rather run and heal instead of fighting.

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      #3
      There are two other sub-modes, one is focused around matches where players are paired off and another for groups of 4.

      They've done a great job of streamlining the item system too

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        #4
        Originally posted by Tobal View Post
        Is there group survival as I pefer that over solo in my BR games and how was the healing aspect as from watching giant bomb video of it seemed way to quick us to the point peoe would rather run and heal instead of fighting.
        I thought this when watching people play but when you play it works well as it suits the fast gun play. The time to kill is in a real good place as well which brings skill into place.

        My only gripe with it is level 3 armour which for normal multiplayer I felt was in a good place it seems over powered for BR. But that feeling is only during the initial hot drop, it’s easy to deal with once geared up. I think they should just lower the availability of it, but I fully expect it to get nurfed.

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          #5
          Had a game or two last night to wrap up on the beta and it was still running pretty much flawlessly. My main concern is that one map is going to get old and paywalling anything further behind the season pass when the initial offering is so limited is a poor way to go. That said, TDM will always be the go to anyway, but overall this seems like the best PUBG experience currently out there.

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            #6
            I gave leeway for Blackout because of the nature of the mode but playing TDM today, this is one of the ugliest current gen entries. Low res textures and really smeared muddy look, and that's running of a Pro. It runs solidly but so far there is absolutely nothing new here.

            Edit - Flip side, Blackout top spot on the second attempt. Nice.
            Last edited by Neon Ignition; 12-10-2018, 23:15.

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              #7
              Got this on PC. Won a game of Blackout earlier with a 4 man team. I died close to the end, last 10 or so people and decided to spectate the last guy alive on our team. Dude was using mad hax. His aim was snapping onto heads and staying locked on, he was also watching people through walls it was really obvious. Day 1 cheaters in a last man standing mode. I really hope this doesn't spread and ruin the mode. There will always be cheaters, but you can still do stuff like TDM with them in the game, and get kills on the other players. In Battle Royale, you will just stand no chance of winning from the very beginning. There is a report player option under Recent Players if anyone needs to use it.

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                #8
                Been giving this a good rattle on the PS4 pro and it’s pretty good! Multiplayplay is the usual fair, but if you don’t mind dying a lot to level up / learn the maps (of which there are loads of oldies), you can find yourself slowly getting better. There is some serious skill involved in getting into the top 3. (The kids are rather amazing at this). There seems to be a garish colour palette used, with a slight cartoon look which is abit weird to start with. I’d much prefer it sharper as its Vaseline soft.

                Couldn’t get into blackout at all, but I see the appeal. Zombies looks nice, but there is a serious amount of babble coming from the characters, which is about as funny as a hole in the head. Shame it wasn’t a bit more serious.

                Oh and if you don’t have a fast internet connection, you are totally fooked.

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                  #9
                  The HDR implementation on this is shocking. Set to darkest brightness setting but everything is still too bright.

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                    #10
                    I'm no CoD veteran, far from it, but I try these games occasionally ... and loaded this one up last night.

                    I thought I'd go for the user-friendly Zoms mode first but the lobby wasn't getting any action. So I tried multi-player, where it was. 'Control' was the default and I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing ... apart from poor. So feeling guilty about letting other players down I switched to an 'every player for them self mode' and did a bit better (came 6th out of 8 one game, woohoo ).

                    It always seems very few people flirt with these games. They're played pretty fanatically ... and I take my hat off to those who have gotten so good. I slightly wish there was a bit more Halo style match-making as that always seemed to level the playing field a bit. But then again, if I want to get good I'm going to have to push through the pain barrier and suck it up like everyone else must have done.

                    One thing letting me down last night was having what felt like the equivalent of a Klobb. Many times I clocked an enemy player first, started shooting and they turned and one-shot me. So I need to experiment with different guns.

                    Any other basic tips?

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                      #11
                      Control is a base attack & defend mode. Three points that need to be captured and then defended. Teams have 25 lives and once those are spent there's no respawn. I quite like it as a mode.

                      Zombies is just annoying. There are three separate maps but the game (as a whole) does a pretty poor job of telling you how to change options and settings for games. There doesn't appear to be any explanation attached to any selectable option at the front screen.

                      I played some SP zombies last night with 3 AI and it's just consistent babbling from the AI characters which is the games way of fleshing out the story. Nolan North is putting on a terrible Spanish accent and there doesn't seem to be anything by the way of celeb vocal cast like in previous games.

                      Blackout mode is what it is. For all the noise Treyarch made around the map containing some CoD landmarks you get very little time to explore them due to the decreasing map size as the game goes on. You can only get in certain vehicles which is annoying.

                      There is a sort of SP mode which boils down to a CG cutscene followed by a brief Specialist tutorial and then a mock MP match where you get to utilise their special skills.

                      I'm playing a mix of Control and TDM in MP but that's only because nobody has taken me up on my offer to sell it.

                      I see CEX are giving £40 trade so I might take it there and get some random stuff.

                      It'd be nice if I had some people I know who are playing it on PS4 to organise a game with where we could actually communicate and use some tactics. All the fandoms I've played against are either non-mic wearing or, if I'm really unlucky, mic wearing racist / homophobics.
                      Last edited by teddymeow; 14-10-2018, 09:27.

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                        #12
                        Cheers for that teddy

                        I just managed to get a game of zoms in with three other players and it was pretty decent. Just got to get used to ammo management and what all the quick-button buffs do.

                        For the multi-player aspect I'll try and sharpen up as a lone-wolf initially so I'm not letting anyone down in a team too much. Then I might be up for some mic'd up action (which is mega-rare for me). Hit me up on my PSN id if you plan on keeping the game for a bit I did clock yours in the sale but I had some store credit burning a hole.

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                          #13
                          Sounds like it's worth a buy? The BR mode sounds promising. Are there vehicles?

                          I saw that people have been using the emotes to go in third person for peeping around corners

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                            #14
                            Originally posted by teddymeow View Post
                            Control is a base attack & defend mode. Three points that need to be captured and then defended. Teams have 25 lives and once those are spent there's no respawn. I quite like it as a mode.

                            Zombies is just annoying. There are three separate maps but the game (as a whole) does a pretty poor job of telling you how to change options and settings for games. There doesn't appear to be any explanation attached to any selectable option at the front screen.

                            I played some SP zombies last night with 3 AI and it's just consistent babbling from the AI characters which is the games way of fleshing out the story. Nolan North is putting on a terrible Spanish accent and there doesn't seem to be anything by the way of celeb vocal cast like in previous games.

                            Blackout mode is what it is. For all the noise Treyarch made around the map containing some CoD landmarks you get very little time to explore them due to the decreasing map size as the game goes on. You can only get in certain vehicles which is annoying.

                            There is a sort of SP mode which boils down to a CG cutscene followed by a brief Specialist tutorial and then a mock MP match where you get to utilise their special skills.

                            I'm playing a mix of Control and TDM in MP but that's only because nobody has taken me up on my offer to sell it.

                            I see CEX are giving £40 trade so I might take it there and get some random stuff.

                            It'd be nice if I had some people I know who are playing it on PS4 to organise a game with where we could actually communicate and use some tactics. All the fandoms I've played against are either non-mic wearing or, if I'm really unlucky, mic wearing racist / homophobics.
                            Teddy, if you want to add me (dvdx2) i'd be up for some gameplay.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Map rotation in MP seems to work just like the others (i.e 3-4 maps never come up). Now I'm settling in again I'm getting more accustomed to the flow of the gamplay. I still feel like most of the praise this is getting elsewhere must be coming from people who haven't given CoD a serious chance in years. Though I'm warming to it, I'm still unsure that I want to put in the long term commitment of a season pass and I also still feel like there's absolutely nothing new here. I still play MWR remastered one and off and the differences in quality are very minor, hell, I'd still give MWR the edge overall. I have to be in the mood for Blackout, I do enjoy it but one map makes for a very repetitive experience

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