Call of Duty: Black Ops III

 PC
User Score
3.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 1426 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 324 out of 1426
  2. Mixed: 256 out of 1426
  3. Negative: 846 out of 1426
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  1. Newfr
    Nov 7, 2015
    2
    This game should be called Generic Shooter: Bad Performance.
    I didn't thought it's possible to create something more awful then Ghosts. I was wrong. Plot is disappointing and predictable. The very beginning feels like some kind of weird AW deja vu.
    And performance is truly abysmal. Outdated graphics (thanks to outdated engine), but at the same time this is literally no PC that can handle    This game should be called Generic Shooter: Bad Performance.
    I didn't thought it's possible to create something more awful then Ghosts. I was wrong. Plot is disappointing and predictable. The very beginning feels like some kind of weird AW deja vu.
    And performance is truly abysmal. Outdated graphics (thanks to outdated engine), but at the same time this is literally no PC that can handle this game with decent settings. Prepare to low frame rate, constant frame drops, lots of technical issues, crashes and constant hang ups. Well, if you were "fortunate" enough to play Arkham Knight on release you probably know what's waiting for you. And that if you even get it started (lots of people on Steam said that they even can't launch it).
    I hope you get it: don't buy this game or ask for a refund. And f*ck all that critics giving this pile of sh*t high scores. Why you mislead your customers?    … Expand
  2. Rundusol
    Nov 6, 2015
    1
    Here we go again is all i can say. I feel like i am playing arkham knight when it released all over again.

    What a buggy disaster. I have a high end pc and this should not be happening. Loading into the game is fine and i am fortunately not experiencing any of the load issues like others are, however when i load the campaign aftee about 5 minutes everythinf screeches to a halft and    Here we go again is all i can say. I feel like i am playing arkham knight when it released all over again.

    What a buggy disaster. I have a high end pc and this should not be happening.

    Loading into the game is fine and i am fortunately not experiencing any of the load issues like others are, however when i load the campaign aftee about 5 minutes everythinf screeches to a halft and the frame rate drops unbelievably low and i cannot play. Restart and repeat the process to have it grind to a halt in another 5 or so minutes.

    Completely unplayable and i am left yet again asking the developer - did you fking play your own game on pc before releasing it?

    I have a ps4, x1 and pc... really startinv to think my investment into the pc ecosystem was a miskate because it seems like a lot of high end developers enjoy playing jokes on us by releasing substandard and broken games every other month.

    Avoid at the current time.

    Windforce GTX980 4gb
    i5 4690K at 4ghz
    16gb DDR3 Ram
    7,200rpm 2tb HDD
    Windows 10
    Gaming ONLY PC - nothing else is run on this    … Expand
  3. williehk
    Nov 7, 2015
    0
    This frigging launch is worse than notorious EA game launches. The product itself not just crashes like EA games do but is COMPLETELY NON-FUNCTIONAL!

    It starts in weird framed windowed mode offsetted to the top left of my screen. After the logo fade out it just get stuck in main menu without ever being able to connect online, a few seconds later it crashes. I checked system    This frigging launch is worse than notorious EA game launches. The product itself not just crashes like EA games do but is COMPLETELY NON-FUNCTIONAL!

    It starts in weird framed windowed mode offsetted to the top left of my screen. After the logo fade out it just get stuck in main menu without ever being able to connect online, a few seconds later it crashes. I checked system requirements, local files integrity, display driver and so on, none of it helps, worse still the when I try to connect online services it throws a weird non-human readable error code as if there IS no fail back scenario provisioned.

    The Activison support site does not works as well, I looked into the console there is kinda CORS issues that prevent it from loading in Chrome, this company is ****    … Expand
  4. Uxz
    Nov 6, 2015
    3
    First Call of Duty I didn't like. Just didn't "feel it" (Note, this is based on multiplayer, never touched COD singel player). Awful optimization issues did not help, 5930K/970 SLI and frame drops to 10-20 fps ever 30sec from 100. Seems to have bad memory leak issues.
  5. GERULA666
    Nov 7, 2015
    1
    LOL at this game. This game hasn't been done in a studio, but in a public toilet by constipated people!!
    And LOL at this +10 reviews from metacritic: "The best Call of Duty that I ever played...even if i was born blind"

    If you want to know how how a **** is made, this game is the perfect documentary about it!
  6. Avadon
    Nov 6, 2015
    0
    Performance is subpar on 4790k, 16g ram, 780 Ti on 1080p high settings (not even Extra). Spent most of my 2 hours messing with the settings, then refunded. Not gonna drop this to medium/low because the devs don't care to make a proper game. My PC can run all other games very well (even Arkham Knight), there is no excuse for dodgy performance in this game that looks very "meh". Mouse isPerformance is subpar on 4790k, 16g ram, 780 Ti on 1080p high settings (not even Extra). Spent most of my 2 hours messing with the settings, then refunded. Not gonna drop this to medium/low because the devs don't care to make a proper game. My PC can run all other games very well (even Arkham Knight), there is no excuse for dodgy performance in this game that looks very "meh". Mouse is also laggy, which is completely unacceptable. A message on Steam mentions some .ini tweaks to improve performance. I can't be bothered really, I have many other games to play, not gonna mess with .ini files when I paid 100 euros for this game and I have a common PC config, not some weird Xeon build or whatever. 100 euros = make it work on its own or I'm getting my money back.… Expand
  7. Stev0198
    Nov 6, 2015
    0
    Badly optimized for PC...stuttering completely wrecks the experience.
    I would not recommend getting this game...and look at the "verified" reviewers reviews.

    At the time of writing this had 2 80+ reviews and 1 90+ review.
    Obviously paid for, but don't fall for it...DO NOT GET THIS GAME.
  8. TriX3433
    Nov 6, 2015
    2
    Once again, we are getting a "game" recycled over and over and over and over AGAIN. I'm sorry COD fanboys just face the truth and go play a real game that isn't all about shooting everything. If you like recycled sh*t, not a great story, one new gameplay feature then go play Call of Duty Black Ops III.
  9. mirimar
    Nov 6, 2015
    0
    Get your refund from STEAM before you play for two hours. Or save the two hours , wait a few days and try again if you really want this one. I;m going to save the money for Fallout 4 instead.
  10. xNuke
    Nov 6, 2015
    1
    Horrible optimization, most of the palyers are unable to run the game at even 30fps steady when they were able to run the game fine during beta. Another console port done wrong.
    Additionally game doesn't bring anything new (in fact it takes away few things). Simplified non-skill based run'n'gun style shooter. Great for relaxing (unless you're matched with whiny little kids), but not a    Horrible optimization, most of the palyers are unable to run the game at even 30fps steady when they were able to run the game fine during beta. Another console port done wrong.
    Additionally game doesn't bring anything new (in fact it takes away few things). Simplified non-skill based run'n'gun style shooter. Great for relaxing (unless you're matched with whiny little kids), but not a serious competitive game.    … Expand
  11. eelegendo
    Nov 6, 2015
    1
    Why is on Metacritic the first few reviews are always positive and they always have 1/2 reviews and ratings? Is this a tradition or those are "payed" reviews? With frases like "buy it". A real reviewer would never write that: they have no interest in you paying for the game.
    Obviously anyone who played CODBO3 won't give a 10 rating. I have a 560 gtx, the minimum is 460 and it won't run    Why is on Metacritic the first few reviews are always positive and they always have 1/2 reviews and ratings? Is this a tradition or those are "payed" reviews? With frases like "buy it". A real reviewer would never write that: they have no interest in you paying for the game.
    Obviously anyone who played CODBO3 won't give a 10 rating. I have a 560 gtx, the minimum is 460 and it won't run above 10 fps. It is the same old COD for console fanboys, as it is for a decade now.    … Expand
  12. Viporpa
    Nov 7, 2015
    0
    What a terrible game from top to bottom. Treyarch and activision team up once again to release a horrible product. First of all the graphics. What is with the cartoonish graphics ? i feel like im playing in a bugs bunny cartoon. The music is terrible , sound effects generic , and gameplay so arcadish it makes ya want to puke. This game was designed soley for the consoles then direct portedWhat a terrible game from top to bottom. Treyarch and activision team up once again to release a horrible product. First of all the graphics. What is with the cartoonish graphics ? i feel like im playing in a bugs bunny cartoon. The music is terrible , sound effects generic , and gameplay so arcadish it makes ya want to puke. This game was designed soley for the consoles then direct ported to the PC , not hard to tell. Comeon . . did any of the first several call of duty games for PC have gamepad support . . . .NOOO. Dont waste your money on this garabage if your a serious FPS player. Now if your a 6-12 year old ,, your probably gonna love it.

    Buy Star Wars Battlefront in a week when it comes out. Designed on PC for PC. Graphics are amazing , gameplay from the beta was excellent. This game is for the serious FPS player.    … Expand
  13. bouncyambulance
    Nov 6, 2015
    0
    Cod fanboys history:

    MW3 release: "Oh guys stop hating it saying like it looks like mw2 but you are all just haters!" BO2 release: "Ok guys we really got **** over on MW3 with all the lag and **** weaponry, but this year cod is gonna rock!" Ghosts release: "Ok so black ops 2 was a **** campfest and really bad experiance but this year... ITS GONNA BE AWSOME IM SO HYPED" AW    Cod fanboys history:

    MW3 release: "Oh guys stop hating it saying like it looks like mw2 but you are all just haters!"

    BO2 release: "Ok guys we really got **** over on MW3 with all the lag and **** weaponry, but this year cod is gonna rock!"

    Ghosts release: "Ok so black ops 2 was a **** campfest and really bad experiance but this year... ITS GONNA BE AWSOME IM SO HYPED"

    AW Release: "OMG GUYS i know cod ghosts was the worst game ever. I cant believe they released that garbage but THIS YEAR advanded warfare looks so COOL. HYPE FOR NEW COD"

    BO3 release (present): "hey last cod was **** that just gave us headaches... BUT LOOK AT THIS NEW BLACK OPS 3. wow the trailer and ads are so amazing!!!!!"

    To be continued...    … Expand
  14. SofaTrooper
    Nov 8, 2015
    0
    Yet again another poorly optimized port that is becoming a far too common issue with PC games. The game is a mess, with slow rendering textures, stutters and massive FPS drops. My rig destroys PS4 and Xbox one, but this game on PC is quite clearly a rushed job. This is the same issue that Batman Arkham Knight had, not sure if the company outsourced the game to others, or they just didn'tYet again another poorly optimized port that is becoming a far too common issue with PC games. The game is a mess, with slow rendering textures, stutters and massive FPS drops. My rig destroys PS4 and Xbox one, but this game on PC is quite clearly a rushed job. This is the same issue that Batman Arkham Knight had, not sure if the company outsourced the game to others, or they just didn't put the time into the PC version as they did the consoles. Either way it's a disgrace and should be taken down until they fix it, if that’s even possible.

    In future if a company can’t be bothered to properly develop a game for PC, then just don’t bother. We don’t want your crappy ports and shoddy practises. People pay hard earned money for these products and you have the audacity to sell this game in its current state? It's borderline criminal and unacceptable. Don’t buy this game or get a refund on Steam quick. Also make sure to leave your review regarding your experience to as many review sites as possible, the PC community should not stand for this any more.    … Expand
  15. Kuarinofu
    Nov 7, 2015
    0
    I've already played beta on steam some time ago, so I didn't expect anything new from the game.
    I'll keep it short: even though I was barely able to play this game at all (due to performance issues), I've still played for around 40 mins of the campaign and had to turn it off.
    Campaign is dull, boring and repetative.
    Multiplayer brings nothing new.
    This is a waste of time and cash.
  16. fallouts
    Nov 6, 2015
    0
    Absolute abomination of a game. There is no innovation, and most ideas are ripped straight out of previous games. The campaign is laughably bad !! The multi-player maps are uninspired. On top of that, there are tons of glitches. Quit buying this and play some better games. Click on my name to see the games that are actually worth playing. Quit giving these incompetent lazy devs your money.
  17. mjsh
    Nov 6, 2015
    10
    I can say this is the best call of duty game ever made. don't doubt on buying this. great story missed with awesome and fun zombies and multiplayer. and new modes such as nightmare and free run and with the modding tools coming next year it will be even better.
  18. miamibreak
    Nov 9, 2015
    4
    Sci-fi is cool, CoD (more or less) cool but mixing together wasn't a particularly good idea...again. Story is a huge whatever (again), gameplay too. Stuttering on 870 GTX is very frustrating, has lots of typical big studio optimalization bugs. FFS, in 2015, it's not enough. Maybe the game itself it's good for 13 y olds but maybe not. Whatevs, I'm selling this crap - if I can.
  19. Thatoneotaku
    Feb 3, 2016
    0
    Same **** every year, they need to stop making these crappy, unfinished, glitchy, boring games.
    I am TIRED of cod. What is this? They just slapped black ops 3 on advanced warfare 2 so people would buy it. they are money-hungry whores. There is NO innovation, juts nothing whatsoever.
  20. an24774
    Jan 17, 2016
    1
    This game is the worst ever Call of Duty game. Single player is bad like hell, story is sucks - this modern "super soldiers" - story is very annoying and tiring. Last year the Advanced warfighter, this time this futuristic super soldiers - crysis 3 and killzone combination without any depth. Voice acting crap, graphics outdated, It is bad like hell. I spent 5 hours with it, tried toThis game is the worst ever Call of Duty game. Single player is bad like hell, story is sucks - this modern "super soldiers" - story is very annoying and tiring. Last year the Advanced warfighter, this time this futuristic super soldiers - crysis 3 and killzone combination without any depth. Voice acting crap, graphics outdated, It is bad like hell. I spent 5 hours with it, tried to convince myself that it was going to be better, dont give it up - but could not take more. Unistalled from my PC and will never play again. Nevber!
    I knew it was going to be crap! Luckily did not spend full price (of Eur 60)but only Eur 28 with G2A discounts - but I already regret that I still spent that much money on it. It is not worth more than Eur 5.
    Avoid it!    … Expand
  21. gipsylon
    Feb 22, 2016
    2
    The lag compensation is always against me, seems impossible to kill anyone most of the time unless catching them off guard. I had major lag compensation problems since MW3 and it was never fixed, just little less noticable in BO2 and AW. Usually after playing few games in a row it was becoming decent, but in case of BO3 it's always bad and worst of all COD games.

    All maps feel bland and    The lag compensation is always against me, seems impossible to kill anyone most of the time unless catching them off guard. I had major lag compensation problems since MW3 and it was never fixed, just little less noticable in BO2 and AW. Usually after playing few games in a row it was becoming decent, but in case of BO3 it's always bad and worst of all COD games.

    All maps feel bland and very small (no use for LMG or sniper rifles). Graphics aren't that great, yet I had to disable or lower many settings to run game smooth.

    Also don't like the fact all weapons are imitations/hybrids of real ones with stupid names. I guess Activision don't want to pay royalties to weapon manufacturers anymore.    … Expand
  22. hanibrl
    Dec 2, 2015
    3
    to be honest , call of duty should stop producing any further games . why they are stuck on future wars ? beside the bad optimization i don't see a story , if like a war games i like it to be realistic set in the US or maybe Russia etc with an ak-47 with some nice graphics that's it ****
  23. Culveys
    Dec 30, 2015
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This will be a bit of a rant about the multiplayer component of BO3. It is not a review as such but is still all from experience, which I feel will you will encounter should you purchase this game. The multiplayer is probably the worst I have experienced. It's as if they blended Advanced Warfare and Destiny and tried to sell it as COD. The specialist classes are interesting at first, until you realize that everyone plays as the two most powerful ones. Kill-streaks require more kills to acquire and can be shot down almost instantly by rockets. Some specialist skins require kills with their specialty weapon; this wouldn't be so difficult if the multiplayer wasn't abysmally unbalanced. 5 minutes of play-testing would have made it obvious to the developers that the first-unlocked weapons should swap places with the higher-rank weapons. There are about 5-7 of the most powerful weapons that are used by everyone. The addition of wall-running removes the sense of map control entirely, you get shot from every side except the front by some grasshopper with an SMG. Maps are so similar to BO2 I confuse the layout. I question the mental capability of those who defend this game. Do not purchase.… Expand
  24. screff
    Feb 26, 2016
    0
    Another year, another crappy Call of Duty console port. It's pretty sad how far this game has strayed from it's origin on the PC platform. At the very least it's really begging for a new graphics engine at this point but they won't invest any of the billions they've made into making an enjoyable game. They're really milking the franchise completely dry by rehashing the same drivel eachAnother year, another crappy Call of Duty console port. It's pretty sad how far this game has strayed from it's origin on the PC platform. At the very least it's really begging for a new graphics engine at this point but they won't invest any of the billions they've made into making an enjoyable game. They're really milking the franchise completely dry by rehashing the same drivel each year. Their formula to deprive hordes of prepubescent boys of their allowance money is still somehow working. Sadly it continues dragging on ad nauseum. I really hope Activision puts it out of it's own misery soon.… Expand
  25. empleat
    Feb 28, 2016
    0
    This game is mirror picture of advanced warfare, there is nothing new, perhaps swimming :D
    People don't play any other modes, than tdm, or free for all, so you get bored fast.
    Also there is very big input lag and game is terrible optimized.
    Save your money, don't give free money developers, which are spamming same **** over and over.
  26. Garibaldi
    Feb 26, 2016
    1
    Played the game for 30 minutes and then another 30 minutes really tried but i couldn't play it anymore, looks like old game, bad port, i really have nothing more to say that a majority of people here have already told, not a hater was a fan of series long time ago but now ....... whatever.
  27. SotD
    Feb 9, 2016
    0
    этот кусок говна игрой назвать очень сложно.7.3 балла?за что?мультиплеер на работает вернее он работает он онлагает так что играть вообще невозможно.юольше я это дерьмо покупать не буду и никому не советую.колда сдохла туда ей и дорога)))этот кусок говна игрой назвать очень сложно.7.3 балла?за что?мультиплеер на работает вернее он работает он онлагает так что играть вообще невозможно.юольше я это дерьмо покупать не буду и никому не советую.колда сдохла туда ей и дорога)))
  28. fr600
    Feb 10, 2016
    0
    This is one of the worst call of duty ever. I don't understand how the critics rate it 8/10? The franchise is going backward, gone are the days when $1b sales were expected. Now the company probably doesn't even make $100m, thus sales figures are not public anymore. It's sad how the game is going down the drain.
  29. Gohax
    Oct 19, 2017
    5
    At first i bought this game out of the fun that i had with the zombies mod on the ps4 but at the end thats it thats the only thing that is enjoyable about this game if you want to buy this game its for the zombies and nothing else because nobody cares about multiplayer or campaign (plus it does not continue the story from one and two) and on top of all that this game is really bad on PCAt first i bought this game out of the fun that i had with the zombies mod on the ps4 but at the end thats it thats the only thing that is enjoyable about this game if you want to buy this game its for the zombies and nothing else because nobody cares about multiplayer or campaign (plus it does not continue the story from one and two) and on top of all that this game is really bad on PC its always crashing and its not worth the price due to the fact that you only buy this game for the zombies mod

    i give this game a 5/10    … Expand
  30. TitaniumDragon
    Jan 3, 2018
    4
    Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is a game that really wants you to know that it is pretty. The game’s splash screen is nice looking, the menus look nice, and the characters all are quite high-fidelity and mostly look quite good, though the odd NPC has a case of plastic face. The explosions are pretty, the guns are pretty, the robots are pretty…

    But while all of this is nice, the eternal    Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is a game that really wants you to know that it is pretty. The game’s splash screen is nice looking, the menus look nice, and the characters all are quite high-fidelity and mostly look quite good, though the odd NPC has a case of plastic face. The explosions are pretty, the guns are pretty, the robots are pretty…

    But while all of this is nice, the eternal question facing me when I’m playing a game is “am I having fun?” And when I was playing this game, for much of its length, my response to that would be “Kind of?” at best.

    This is a game I put down for a year between playing the first three missions and completing the game. That isn’t to say I didn’t try to play it again; I remember picking it up about four months after putting it down, deciding to replay the second (tutorial) mission because I’d forgotten the controls, then doing so again several months later, because both times, while I had beaten the tutorial mission again, I just sort of didn’t feel terribly compelled to play the rest of the game.

    Indeed, I think it is safe to say that the only reason why I actually bothered beating this game is because it was eating up over 90 gigs of hard drive space, and thus, if I ever was going to beat it, I’d better do it now, because there was no way I was going to redownload it.

    And this is kind of telling, I think. I had to make myself play through the game, and while it was never actually bad, it was never really compelling, either. There were lots of pretty battles in exploding and falling apart places - in fact, every single level after the first two missions features at least some part of the level falling apart around you, and some of the later levels, the whole level is falling apart around you. This trick gets a bit old after a while, doubly so as these are never actually threatening – I never once had the level fall apart under me and actually kill me, despite the game trying to seem threatening about it.

    And this sort of faux spectacle held through much of the game – there were a lot of theoretically spectacular battles, but almost the entire game consisted of fighting just some dudes with guns or robots with guns, dressed up to try and look pretty. But I wanted the gameplay to be pretty too, and despite the fact that you can double jump and run on the walls, this was almost never useful in actual combat.

    This is, I think, a big part of what made the game feel dull – you are a cybernetic supersoldier, but throughout the game, just a few bullets will kill you, forcing you to retreat to cover and gradually shoot out from it. This is not a game with click-to-cover mechanics – you have to organically take cover behind environment objects by moving/ducking/going prone behind them and then shifting around to take potshots before retreating – but in the end, it doesn’t matter much. Most of the game is spent hiding in cover, trying to avoid getting shot while your health regenerates, and almost every battle is fought in this exact same way.

    This is a big problem, because it means that, for all the set dressing, the core of the game is pretty samey. There’s only a few battles where a boss (of which there are a couple) will actually either destroy the environment around you or move around to force you to react, and a small number of setpiece battles where enemies move to flank you or appear from various directions, forcing you to react.

    Most of the time, you can just sit behind cover, shoot people, then go back to the cover while you regain your health, making it feel like a pretty standard FPS. Your cool cybernetic movement enhancements are only occaisionally useful in battle, and then, it is mostly just jumping up to a higher level, rather than making your way around the environment in an agile manner and raining down death on your foes while running along walls.

    This lack of dynamicism carries over to the powers as well – in theory, the cybernetic powers are supposed to make you feel different from a standard soldier. Some were reminiscent of the plasmids from the Bioshock series.

    But ultimately, these largely weren’t that interesting in actual gameplay. The problem was that a lot of them ultimately trivialized encounters. Fireflies, for instance, would fly out and set enemies on fire and distract them from firing – a very powerful ability, that only took a few seconds to recharge after it had run. I used this power through much of the campaign. But the problem was it was never really fun to use; I’d use the power, duck behind cover, then move out and shoot people (who mostly died anyway due to the fireflies, no further involvement necessary from me).

    All in all, this is a game that I never felt like I needed to play. It was not terrible, but it was never great, and when I walked away from it, I never felt like I was missing anything.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

21
#21 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
35
#35 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Dec 3, 2015
    60
    A bit better than the Ghosts, but worse than Advanced Warfare – new Call of Duty is awkwardly trying to make some changes in single player, but adding a bunch of technical problems in the same time. Multiplayer it is flawless as usual. [Issue#258]
  2. Riot Pixels
    Nov 30, 2015
    60
    Treyarch should have created one awesome sci-fi campaign instead of three mediocre ones.
    Read full review
  3. Ragequit.gr
    Nov 14, 2015
    81
    Treyarch gives us a Call of Duty game that is brimming with content and is sure to provide hundreds of hours of entertainment to its buyers. It’s just a shame that the focus on the quantity of content ended up causing a lack of polish in some areas.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »