{"id":1367,"date":"2026-04-11T02:16:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/5f68f897e4b082e810c67d73"},"modified":"2026-04-11T02:16:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:16:25","slug":"call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-multiplayer-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-multiplayer-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, getting back to the basics just feels\u2026 basic. Black Ops Cold War\u2019s<\/a> multiplayer aims to recapture what made the original Black Ops great by stripping back a lot of the mechanics that\u2019ve been layered on in the past several games. It is fun, largely due to the gunplay feeling solid and familiar and the heavy burst of nostalgia with each pull of the trigger, but it doesn\u2019t do too much to excite at launch, largely down to most of the new modes not quite hitting the mark and a general lack of content. I wonder if there is too much looking back going on in Cold War and not enough emphasis being placed on meaningful iteration, if not revolution. With longer time-to-kill, a visual step down when compared to last year\u2019s gorgeous Modern Warfare, and a return to simpler map designs, this year’s Call of Duty multiplayer is somewhat of a backwards step for the series.Having put well over 200 hours into Warzone and Modern Warfare\u2019s multiplayer over the last year, jumping into Cold War felt instantly different. The great-feeling gunplay is there, as you\u2019d expect from Call of Duty, and it\u2019s smooth and responsive as well. Each weapon sounds great when fired, too. Animations have been tweaked and improved upon since the Beta stage and each weapon has its own custom inspect animation. It\u2019s these sorts of details that set Call of Duty apart from other shooters and is much appreciated. The addition of a field of view slider to the console versions is also a very welcome inclusion.<\/output>Not all of Cold War\u2019s design decisions strike me as improvements, though. It\u2019s clear that efforts have been made to return to more basic map design (especially when compared to Modern Warfare) but at this point I feel like Treyarch may have gone a bit too far in that direction.There are also more subjective factors in play like time-to-kill, which is longer in Black Ops than in recent games and not to my personal taste. Thankfully, there are hardcore playlists (which play more realistically with fewer bullets needed to confirm a kill) \u2013 which is how I tend to play Call of Duty multiplayer anyway \u2013 so this sweetens the pill quite a bit for me and offers the option for everyone, regardless of TTK preference.<\/p>\n

Only a handful of weapons seem a viable competitive option at launch.<\/p>\n
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That\u2019s not to say that when playing core modes there aren\u2019t quick kills to be had, with sniper rifles posing a significant threat. One well-placed shot to the head or upper torso is enough to secure a kill in Cold War, and while snipers aren\u2019t as prevalent as they were in the pre-release phases, they can still feel too dominant at times. These weapons, alongside the M16 and its satisfying burst fire, have been my choices at range, and I don\u2019t appear to be alone in that regard as only a handful of weapons seem a viable competitive option at launch.<\/p>\n

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Every IGN Call of Duty Review<\/p>\n