Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 - All the details from the livestream event
Activision has lifted the lid on their upcoming shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 with their reveal event ahead of their October 12th release. Includes Zombies, Multiplayer and a brand new Battle Royale Mode. Also comes to Blizzard Battle.net for the first time instead of Steam.
The wait is finally over and we now have our first glimpse at the next entry in the Call of Duty series as Black Ops 4 has been revealed to the world last week. A traditional single player campaign is not going to be featured in Black Ops 4, instead narrative will be included in all modes of the game - including new "specialist missions" as well as the new Battle Royale Mode "Blackout". Like Destiny 2 the game will be available on Blizzard Battle.net and not Steam like previous entries in the series. As an Official Retailer for Activision, we'll have the pre-order for the game open soon. In the meantime you can take a look at what was revealed while you wait for October 12th!
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Livestream
Call of Duty adds a Battle Royale Mode with Blackout
One of the biggest pieces of news from the event was the reveal of Blackout - a Battle Royale Mode (look out PUBG and Fortnite) which will be over 1,500 times larger than Nuketown and includes things from other entries in the series such as characters, iconic locations and more into one mode. Activision described their attempt at Battle Royale as doing something that would fit within the Call of Duty universe and is a "survival game with the best, most refined mechanics in the world". It's also the largest map that Treyarch has ever created. Players will be able to fight on land, sea and air with various vehicles being available to the player. You can get a quick look at what's in store with the teaser trailer below - though sadly we're still yet to see some actual gameplay but hopefully we may see something on that next month at E3.
More Multiplayer fun coming to Black Ops 4
Treyarch is planning to make big changes to the Multiplayer modes for Black Ops 4 by overhauling a number of things for the series. One such change is the "boots on ground" approach that will take away boost jumps, wall running and other aerial movements to allow players to fight it out on the ground and not in the air. They are also bringing back some popular specialists from Call of Duty Black Ops 3, such as Ruin who now has a grappling hook to allow him to grapple onto an enemy and reel himself closer. Not only will we see returning specialists but also new faces will be joining the fight. Each one will have their own set of bonuses to offer boosts for team mates.
Tactical awareness will be key in Black Ops 4, and you'll need to work together with your team in order to survive as you use your abilities with other players to stay alive and push the enemies back.
Speaking of Fog of War: Shot sounds have a clear effect on the fog of war. If you fire shots, the fog will clear around you as you betray your position. Treyarch calls this feature "situational awareness". Team play is even more important in the new Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Because the gadgets of your team members should at best be coordinated with each other.
Zombies are back for brains
It wouldn't be a Call of Duty game without another Zombie mode, and this year we'll get a chance to try out some new modes as we travel through history in crazy situations to beat the hordes. There will be 3 available at launch and each has their own unique storyline. The first "IX" (or Nine if you prefer) will see heroes Charlotte, Bruno, Diego, and Shaw fighting in a gladiator arena with teams competing in brutal combat. Think of this a bit like the combat in FOR HONOR or Assassin's Creed Origins, but with a Call of Duty twist (plus Zombies).
The second zombie map (Voyage of Despair) will take you on board the ill-fated Titanic in an effort to avoid not only Zombies, but Icebergs on the seas. Will you make it out alive? There was also a tease of the 3rd level which is called "Blood of the Dead" and is a remastered version of the Black Ops 2 level "Mob of the Dead" with the original team. Plus you'll be able to tweak your own Zombies mode as Black Ops 4 will feature customisable tools to change gameplay options with over 100 various modifiers to mix things up. All of these levels will be available on October 12th. Get a look at the upcoming Zombies levels with our playlist below!
PC Technology and Weapons
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is looking to bring an impressive package to PC as Developers Beenox (who have previously worked on the PC version of COD: Modern Warfare Remastered) work with Treyarch to bring their vision to PC, with 4k and HDR support, higher framerates and mouse/keyboard support to name by a few. There's also Ultra-Wide monitor support as well as new graphics effects in addition to existing methods seen in previous entries in the series. All of this will make sure that the PC version will look the best that it can be, and hopefully will show off the graphic horsepower of high end cards.
Treyarch have also revealed a little about the weapons featured in the game, with an overhaul to the current system of the series. This time they have made a huge range of improvements to the weapons, even more than Black Ops 1-3 combined. Animations have been overhauled, 3D Tracers have been added and each weapon has been made to feel unique. Additionally they are breaking with tradition for the game by offering attachments for each weapon, rather than giving each weapon the same set of attachments which has been in previous Black Ops games. Speaking of attachments one new type is being added known as "Operator Mods", these will allow weapons to change their effects for various situations. One example given was a LMG Operate Mod that would create supressing fire to distort enemies caught in the path of fire. Lastly it was revealed that weapons will now follow a predictive recoil pattern - which gives players the opportunity to learn the weapons by aiming and firing in combat.
COD: Black Ops 4 - Specialists Trailer
While we've still got quite a few questions for the upcoming shooter Activision are taking some risks with their next entry in the series, but hopefully the pay off will be worth it as we get new modes including everyone's favourite Battle Royale with the history of the franchise to draw from and include in the game. We'll be sure to keep you up to date with the latest Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 details we get more from the publisher in the future - with maybe new details emerging at E3 in a matter of weeks.
Lastly, we'll be sure to have the pre-order for Black Ops 4 available at Gamesplanet as soon as possible. Note: Keys will be Blizzard Battle.net this time and not Steam as has been the case with previous entries in the series. Whichever platform Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 appears on we're interested to see how the Battle Royale mode will turn out.