Preview Call of Duty Black Ops 6: We played it… It moves like no other episode!

Preview Call of Duty Black Ops 6: We played it… It moves like no other episode!

The movement is now

Let’s get to the heart of the matter with what appears to be THE biggest innovation of this episode, “omnimovement”. Underneath this somewhat barbaric neologism lies in reality a major overhaul of the movement system and especially the animation system. See it as a boost in realism, on many levels. From death animations to movement, including the ease you will have in moving vertically on the maps: the system takes care of everything on all levels. Now, the weapons are held much more realistically than before and even lean to naturally follow your run, but also the curves of your trajectories. It doesn’t seem like anything like that, but you just need to see a few gameplay clips to realize the added immersion this provides, right in the heart of the action.

To dynamite conventions, Treyarch dares to make sprinting multidirectional… Yes, it’s strange, but it will now be possible to sprint sideways and even backwards. Couple that with the slides and dives, shake a little, and you have the most dynamic episode of the franchise in terms of moves. On screen, the action almost looks like a fast FPS as the exchanges take place quickly, with increased mobility. During our presentation, we noted more than a dozen concrete additions in terms of animation, from ragdolls now impacted by 9 axes of damage instead of 4 axes, to hands placed on walls in order to “slow down” the character. Once again, it is the accumulation of these multiple details which forms a real gap and not each element taken separately…

All for action and action for all

Don’t panic, however, if hammering your controller to move isn’t your strong point. The game includes a new system aimed at automating “logical movement actions”. Sliding, climbing, everything is taken into account. So if you advance facing a low wall, your character will naturally pass it if the option is activated. The same goes when facing an air vent that requires a slide to get inside. This is a natural impetus towards a Call of Duty that is both more lively, more realistic, but also more accessible to novices or people limited in their movements. Small positive note also for owners of wide screens type 21/9th or 31/9th, the franchise will now offer you to reorganize the HUD yourself. By defining where to display elements, you can, for example, centralize crucial information in the middle of the screen, in order to avoid scanning your ultra-wide monitor from left to right. An excellent idea and a real gain in comfort on PC.

Moreover, since we are talking platform, know that the title will indeed be released on old generation and new generation. The teams probably cannot do without the windfall that the PS4 still represents for the license. Despite this choice, logical, but not always very happy, we were clearly reassured about the technique of the title through the images broadcast and our gaming session on PC. Even if this was the alpha, we notice a certain work on the photogrammetry of the textures, from the weapons to the player’s hands, which allow us to admire nails soiled by grime. There is no doubt that the “old-gen” versions will be very limited graphically, in order to guarantee a stable framerate, but we can only attest to the care taken in the new generation PC and console versions. From the smoke to the explosions, the action and especially the staging once again play a significant part in the story, and the campaign takes full advantage of this, which is not to displease us…

Saddam’s executioner

If the single player of Modern Warfare 3 had massively disappointed, both for the vacuity of its narration and for the laziness of its staging, things seem to have changed. For this new opus, Treyarch has teamed up with Raven, and the two are producing a campaign that feels true to its heritage. Conspiracy, historical figures and renegade teams will be there, in the purest tradition of Black Ops. The adventure will massively orbit around the fall of Saddam Hussein, leader of Iraq at the heart of the 1991 Gulf War. His pillaged palaces will be part of it, as will the oil wells of Kuwait, lit in retaliation by his troops. The action has a few surprises in store for us, such as a casino robbery, or the election night of a young governor named Bill Clinton… We asked if the historical characters seen in the teaser will be there in one way or another. in the game, or even if we will be able to play Saddam Hussein in a St Patrick’s Day skin in multiplayer, but the studio’s pundits have calmed our enthusiasm. No, that obviously won’t be possible. As for their real presence in certain gameplay sequences, outside the cutscene: motus and sewn mouths for the moment.

There remains a lot to see of this Black Ops 6, glimpses of the single player suggested to us that there would be certain rather psychedelic missions, which resemble nightmares or paranoid delirium, which is linked to the know-how in terms of implementation. scene is damn tempting. The studio staff also presented us with different types of missions, some more open than others with scripted objectives to complete in the four corners of the map in the order you want. The famous Clinton election rally mission, for example, will give us carte blanche during the first half of the operation. Our approach can be violent, discreet, or that of an infiltrator posing as a journalist and using numerous gadgets. Speaking of the latter, they are accessible via a radial menu which slows down time and will therefore give you more attitude as to the strategy to adopt in the middle of the action.

Zombie nation

Finally, let’s finish this quick overview of the very, very numerous information distilled at the studio to approach Zombie mode, the third part of the experience available Day One. The latter celebrated the great return of the round system which, upon the announcement, prompted some applause in the room. Two huge maps will therefore be expected, one sunny and very open, taking place in a small town in the Appalachians in West Virginia. And the other, its opposite, will take place at night on a very creepy prison island. The adventure will mark the great return of the iconic Cold Wars Zombie characters. The same goes for the solo, which will bring back some familiar faces, forming an alliance between good and evil to fight a strange conspiracy.

If all this makes you dizzy, that’s normal: the content seems to be there on all levels, with a multiplayer with 16 maps, tons of new weapons and other homemade gadgets. Let us note in passing that Warzone will probably have its own dedicated event, a little later in the year. The battleroyale, the 4th part of the Call of Duty experience, is treated by Activision as a game in its own right, even if it adapts to the content of the annual opus, which explains why it was not addressed during our preview event.

Our impressions

After an hour and a half of detailed presentation, we are reassured as to the angle that this Black Ops 6 wishes to adopt. The return of a staging that beats up, crowned with a multitude of references from the 90s and humor ” American style “. The campaign in the middle of the Gulf War should therefore be enjoyable to navigate, offering variety and a solid plot, whether we are on a mission or in the heart of the chalet which will serve as our hub. On the multiplayer side, it is the Omnimovement system which is currently proving to be the key asset of this opus, greatly boosting the realism of movements and ragdolls, while remaining accessible and practical. Many quality of life elements have been added, forming a homogeneous, cutting-edge and practical whole. Our gaming session only confirmed what was presented to us, and without being able to go into details for the moment, we assure you. Black Ops is indeed back, and we can’t wait to try it again.

Editorial opinion

Exciting