Call of Duty releases a game every year, but the last entry in the Black Ops subseries before 2024’s Black Ops 6 was Black Ops Cold War in 2020. A lot changes for games in four years, so how does the last prior Black Ops game hold up to the 2024 title?
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Call of Duty iterates in subtle ways between entries. Do the minute improvements over the years leave Black Ops Cold War in the dust, or does it still hold a candle to Black Ops 6? Some aspects will be up to personal taste, but only one can come out victorious in this competition.
9
Black Ops 6 Is Better: Gameplay Variety
The Missions Are Unpredictable
Black Ops 6’s campaign pulls out all the stops, offering something new to do at almost every level. Even so, there are a couple of traditional Call of Duty shooting galleries wedged in there to give fans something familiar and immediately identifiable.
Black Ops Cold War has a lot of great levels, but their design is typical of the genre. Players were not surprised by anything it offered in 2020, and the missions have not become more interesting in the years since when compared to its successor.
8
Black Ops Cold War Is Better: Narrative Choices Matter
Multiple Endings Means More Replay Value
Both games offer you agency in different areas of the campaign. There are decisions you make during and before missions, but they really only have an effect on the narrative in Black Ops Cold War. It even has two distinct final missions that change the ending.
In addition to the bigger, more important choices, you also get to customize the main character. Even though he rarely shows up on screen due to the first-person nature of the game, it’s still a nice touch.
7
Black Ops 6 Is Better: Safehouse Upgrades
Improve Your Performance
Black Ops 6, like its predecessor, has a hub area you periodically return to between missions. You can talk to the other members of the support team, explore the environment, and also purchase upgrades to help you in later missions. Many of these upgrades come in the form of stat bonuses or special abilities reminiscent of multiplayer perks.
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You buy these with money found on missions, which encourages you to explore the levels more thoroughly. A gameplay incentive to explore is a change in direction for the series. Collectible documents that had no impact on your performance were the only incentive you had to stray from the main path.
6
Black Ops Cold War Is Better: Story
A Compelling Cold War Thriller
The Black Ops games are known for their spy-thriller stories, and both titles fit the bill. Black Ops Cold War is a little closer to the traditions of the first two Black Ops games, taking place during the height of the Cold War and dealing with the tensions between the USA and the Soviet Union.
Even if it feels safer in this respect, it is more interesting than the early 1990s setting and narrative about an internal struggle within the CIA. There is just a lot more history to work with in the 1980s both thematically and aesthetically, making for a more entertaining plot.
5
Black Ops 6 Is Better: It’s Faster
Omnimovement Means Freedom
Can a game be too fast? If you think so, then you might actually like Black Ops Cold War more. However, Black Ops 6’s shooting, movement, and multiplayer matches feel faster than a racecar. This makes it more accessible to novice players since a faster game makes it harder for one particular player to dominate a match.
In general, slower, more methodical games are harder for newcomers, and Black Ops 6 is the exact opposite thanks to the omnimovement system. Black Ops Cold War is still fast, but Black Ops 6 beats it by a large margin.
4
Black Ops Cold War Is Better: Did The Hallucination Missions First
It Was Better The First Time
The penultimate mission in Black Ops 6 has the team inject the villain with a truth serum to get them to spill the beans on where the final attack is taking place (details purposefully vague to prevent spoilers). If you have been playing Call of Duty for a long time, this will give you a sense of Deja Vu.
Black Ops Cold War did the same exact thing. In the 2020 game, this resource was used on the protagonist to uncover a shocking revelation at the center of the game’s plot. Black Ops 6 does it well, but it’s never as cool the second time.
3
Black Ops 6 Is Better: Zombies
Some Subtle Differences Make Black Ops 6 More Compelling
Black Ops 6 brings back a more traditional Zombies mode after it toyed with an open-world design in 2023’s Modern Warfare 3. Black Ops Cold War similarly features round-based Zombies action, but some subtle differences push Black Ops 6 over the edge.
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Black Ops 6 is more challenging, and difficulty is integral to a satisfying Zombies experience. Though it only featured two maps at launch, they are vastly different experiences with varying combat strategies and easter eggs. Black Ops Cold War is still a good time, but Black Ops 6 handles the undead exceptionally.
2
Black Ops Cold War Is Better: Face-Off
Smaller Teams Makes It More Interesting
Face-off in Black Ops Cold War was a series of smaller maps borrowed from Gunfight or cut up from the regular multiplayer suite. Here, you play as smaller teams of three against each other. This proved a perfect combination for fast-paced action that didn’t feel too haphazard or chaotic.
Face-off in Black Ops 6 is overwhelming with how fast you die and get kills. Black Ops Cold War’s smaller team size is more manageable, and the maps were more claustrophobic. Shotguns also feel more useful in Cold War than in BO 6. Where speed might be an advantage in Black Ops 6’s other multiplayer mode, the Face-Off mode in the 2020 game found a comfortable middle ground.
1
Winner: Black Ops 6
Its Improved Gameplay Beats Cold War’s Better Story
Even though Black Ops Cold War has a more interesting story, the better minute-to-minute gameplay in Black Ops 6 ultimately beats it out as an experience overall. These are video games, after all, and the gameplay variety and faster action in Black Ops 6 make it more entertaining than its 2020 predecessor.
If only its Face-Off mode was more like Black Ops Cold War, then it might just be the perfect Call of Duty: Black Ops game. Even without it, 2024 stands as a good year for the series.
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