Call of Duty: Black Ops III

 Xbox One
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 870 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 347 out of 870
  2. Mixed: 159 out of 870
  3. Negative: 364 out of 870
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  1. Caffe
    Sep 3, 2023
    7
    I have very good memories related to this game. multiplayer and soundtrack were good. The zombie mode was amazing. I don't remember the story mode.
  2. skippiskip
    Apr 19, 2021
    5
    The campaign is hot, burning, smelly, trash. This game makes no sense, unless you record the game, slow down the scrolling text, read it, buy comic books, and read them. The level design is stupid and unfair to the player at times. I can only recommend playing this game IF you play it with a friend. Trust me, it is not worth your time unless you like achievements or collectibles.

    The    The campaign is hot, burning, smelly, trash. This game makes no sense, unless you record the game, slow down the scrolling text, read it, buy comic books, and read them. The level design is stupid and unfair to the player at times. I can only recommend playing this game IF you play it with a friend. Trust me, it is not worth your time unless you like achievements or collectibles.

    The zombies is the best part of the game. Zombies is almost perfect. I like some of the gobble gums. The guns are cool. Customizing guns are cool. Though, half of the maps are good. The only good maps are the remakes, that...is...it!

    Multiplayer is stupid. Borning maps. Boring all over. Don't recommend it.    … Expand
  3. Nebraska619
    Mar 2, 2021
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is the embodiment of meh. The trailer i saw was overhyping the game way too much. Putting aside my salt from the fiasco with my BO3 copy for the 360, the campaign is confusing and hard to follow on. All i know is robot ripped off my arms and now im shooting people. The guns and customization are also ok but it's hard to unlock things. The multiplayer is by far the best part and is the only thing keeping this from getting a 3, it was really good with all the specialist kill rewards like gravity spikes and things such as that. The zombies is ok, zombies still doesn't sell me on games and so it's still boring to me. This game is just ok.… Expand
  4. Caldan
    Nov 14, 2020
    6
    ❎61%
    A pretty disappointing follow up to Black Ops 2 which is my fav COD game. This is just the same over again except the Zombies sucks.
  5. Mrman69
    Jul 27, 2020
    7
    ❎67%
    A pretty fun game, just too many bugs and I don’t really like its futuristic setting.
  6. LB_CO
    Apr 20, 2020
    5
    "COD: BLACK OPS III" Is a mediocre bag of good multiplayer and bad story telling.
  7. TheRealFlame
    Dec 19, 2019
    5
    The story was horrible, it had good concepts, but never delivered them in a good way. First off the story didn't make much sense the first run, and the ending of the story was revealed in fast moving text that you can't read without making a slow motion video, or looking one up on YouTube. The only thing that carries this game is the multiplayer, it is not as good as old titles, but it isThe story was horrible, it had good concepts, but never delivered them in a good way. First off the story didn't make much sense the first run, and the ending of the story was revealed in fast moving text that you can't read without making a slow motion video, or looking one up on YouTube. The only thing that carries this game is the multiplayer, it is not as good as old titles, but it is bad for a AAA game, They spent many years to make this game and it seems like they rushed it in only 6 months. Honestly unacceptable for a game with such a reputation. I can make more memories playing Call of Duty 2, the second game in the franchise, than I can in this game. They honestly use graphics as a selling point and not a compelling story.… Expand
  8. nn666
    Jan 15, 2019
    6
    This game got high reviews on review websites but for me the game isn't that great. The single player mode is ok, just not that exciting. Like when you play AW you're like ok this is fun, this one isn't so much. The zombie mode is ok but there's one free level and the rest you have to pay for. The multiplayer is ridiculous. People running across walls (i don't like all the parkour stuffThis game got high reviews on review websites but for me the game isn't that great. The single player mode is ok, just not that exciting. Like when you play AW you're like ok this is fun, this one isn't so much. The zombie mode is ok but there's one free level and the rest you have to pay for. The multiplayer is ridiculous. People running across walls (i don't like all the parkour stuff it's just ridiculous), maps that work well for campers etc. I have games where you just get hit by guys focusing down places where you have to run through it's just so annoying the way some maps are for that crap.… Expand
  9. BonkTrap
    Oct 16, 2018
    7
    The campain is trash, the only thing i remember about it is TRAIN GO BOOM, multiplayer is very fun and is way more balanced than AW (from what ive heard, i havent played AW) and the zombies is just objectively the best it has ever been
  10. JohnTheRetard
    Nov 10, 2017
    7
    It's a ok game. The graphics are pretty and the game was just alright. I think Call of Duty Black Ops 2 is better though. Still a solid game with solid everything.
  11. Batmandude46
    Aug 2, 2017
    7
    This is the only boost jump cod game I enjoyed, just the campaign is so god awful, it's incomprehensible. On the other hand, multiplayer is a lot of fun, especially with the specialists and zombies is a lot of fun
  12. TheGameAddict
    Apr 16, 2017
    6
    Call of Duty: Black Ops III is a mixed bag of great ideas with often terrible execution.

    Campaign: The good thing about Black Ops III's campaign is undeniably the level of customisation on display here. You can customise your loadouts with just as much freedom and detail as in multiplayer, you can change your appearance, you can unlock and use new abilities and even level up your    Call of Duty: Black Ops III is a mixed bag of great ideas with often terrible execution.

    Campaign:
    The good thing about Black Ops III's campaign is undeniably the level of customisation on display here. You can customise your loadouts with just as much freedom and detail as in multiplayer, you can change your appearance, you can unlock and use new abilities and even level up your character. The problem is LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE! The story is boring (as are the characters), the gunfights are fun for the most part but the time in between those is filled with waiting for your ally to open a door or spout unskipable exposition which is incredibly tedious and slow on subsequent playthroughs and worst of all: this game isn't a sequel. The only thing that ties BO3 to BO2 is ONE off the cuff remark about Menendez, the antagonist of BO2. Pathetic. Its a shame because the amount of unlockables would make this game highly replayable if it was fun to play. Oh, and there's zombies because of course there is.

    Multiplayer:
    The multiplayer is the best part about Black Ops III. The new movement system is awesome and makes for some fun and frantic matches. The guns are great (mostly), the new specialists are great (mostly) and the maps and modes are also great (mostly). What drags it down into the abyss however is the Black Market, A.K.A. Microtransations! There are two things that make the Black Market terrible: the overpowered firearms that must be unlocked through this system, and the incredibly annoying duplicates that ensure you'll never unlock everything. If you can somehow ignore that however, the multiplayer is great.

    Zombies:
    The fan favourite zombies mode returns and is disappointing. Black Ops III comes with only one zombies map by default, Shadows of Evil. SoE is an easter egg/story-driven map that is NOT built for pure survival and is in fact very difficult to play like a traditional zombies map. Don't get me wrong however, SoE is a great map but its not enough. There exists a pre-order bonus map (which currently available on the Xbox Store for $10 AUD) called The Giant which plays like a traditional survival zombies map. If this map was bundled with the game or was a free download then this game's score would go up. BO3's zombies also features a progression system for the first time ever and its great. But it of course it also features microtransactions using a separate currency to the multiplayer, though they're not as bad here.

    Overall Call of Duty: Black Ops III is a good game held back by a poor campaign and horrendous business practices and despite having microtransactions, the DLC and expansions still cost money.    … Expand
  13. Barnes1987
    Mar 6, 2017
    7
    Zombies mode saves this game from being a disaster. The campaign is poor , the multiplayer is annoying BUT the Zombies mode is awesome. Not worth the price if your only buying for zombies as you need to spend another £35-£40 on a season pass to get the rest of the maps. They need to release a standalone Zombies game and stop stringing people for money.
  14. Lilmanike
    Nov 14, 2016
    5
    Call Of Duty Black Ops III is an absolutely disappointing game. The horribly bad single player campaign, stupid supply drops that give you less than 0.1% of a chance to get a new weapon, alright graphics, meh weapons and abysmal multiplayer.

    Pros:
    Graphics
    Weapons

    Cons:
    Multiplayer
    Season Pass
    Supply Drops
    Single Player Campaign
    Confusing Story
  15. aidanpscott
    Oct 20, 2016
    5
    I know I'm a bit late to review this game, but as I've learned from Advanced Warfare, even if I like the game at launch,the game will most likely get worse as more and more updates are made to the game, and Black Ops 3 is no exception.

    At launch, I enjoyed the game's Campaign (I am one of the very few, so don't expect to play the game and like it as I have), multiplayer, and zombies! It    I know I'm a bit late to review this game, but as I've learned from Advanced Warfare, even if I like the game at launch,the game will most likely get worse as more and more updates are made to the game, and Black Ops 3 is no exception.

    At launch, I enjoyed the game's Campaign (I am one of the very few, so don't expect to play the game and like it as I have), multiplayer, and zombies! It was the first Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare 2 where I universally liked every mode I was give, but as time will tell, the game got progressively worse! My initial score at launch would have been a solid 7/10, which, on my scale, means it's a good game. As of now... well, let's review the game first.

    The campaign is one of the most hated campaigns in Call of Duty history, and as I said, I'm one of the few who actually liked it. I completely understand why people don't like the campaign though, the voice acting is cheesy as hell, the level design is very linear, the story is cliche, the AI is dumb, you name it. However, I felt the campaign did something the past call of duty games (after Modern Warfare 2) weren't doing. It innovated! We got new enemy types (which were challenging): drones, walkers, etc. We got to customize our loadouts which we took into our missions, the collectibles were fun to collect, and the story actually messed with my mind quite a bit. As unrealistic as the game is, and as disrespectful it may be to the Call of Duty Military Shooter of old, I couldn't hate the campaign. Perhaps this was because I had such low expectations after Advanced Warfare. I wish the game had continued the story of the Mason Family's story, I wish the voice acting was better, and I wish the game wasn't set so far in the future, but for what we got, I actually enjoyed the game's campaign. 7/10! It's good.

    At launch, I enjoyed the multiplayer greatly! I, for one, enjoyed Advanced Warfare's multiplayer, but after a while it got extremely bland and annoying. The exo suits turned call of duty into a bunny-hopping simulator, which ruined the game for most. The new movement system is more balanced, but does little to improve or innovate on the current call of duty formula. The maps we got at launch are pretty descent, for the most part, but the DLC maps left a lot to be desired. The graphics didn't help either. The game includes glossy textures, which make guns look plastic and less realistic and gritty as the Call of Duty franchise had once been. The sound effects are pretty good, even though the weapons are very unbalanced. As the game got older, the servers got so much worse, and eventually became unplayable. The lag, as of now, is completely game breaking! It is the worst lag I've seen since Battlefield 4 at launch, and I'm not exaggerating! The hit marker detection is awful, and has been awful even at launch, the lag got worse and worse, the skill-gap compression is a huge issue, input/output delays happen constantly, and what's worse is that the Black Market Supply Drops have made the game a Pay-to-Win system. At launch, the Black Market didn't require money and was a method to get cosmetic items, which I actually liked! It's not as bad as the Advanced Warfare Supply Drop system, but it's pretty bad! This multiplayer has been completely ruined by these upadtes. At launch, I would have given the multiplayer an 8/10, which is really good, but now it's a 3/10! It's bad!

    At launch, Zombies was actually my least favorite part of the game. I purchased the Hardened Edition, which gave me the Der Riese remake called the Giant, which was a pretty good map, but Shadows of Evil was a Mob of the Dead rehash, which isn't a bad thing, but didn't quite work for the map itself which is set in the 1950s. The map has been improved with updates to the game however, and has since then, become a somewhat descent map. One improvement was having two Margwa heads open at once. While I loved the third map, Der Eisendrache, I really didn't like the fourth map Zetsobou No Shima, which was glitchier and buggier than any Zombies map I'd ever played. I didn't expect the next two maps, Gorod Krovi and Revelations to be as good as they were, but Treyarch managed to release some of the best maps in Zombies history. Now, Black Ops 3 zombies, while a huge improvement over Black Ops 2's mediocre Zombies and Advanced Warfare's Exo Zombies, doesn't quite live up to the reputation of it's predecessors in Black Ops 1 and World at War, but overall, it's pretty good. It also helps that they added a customization feature to allow players to customize their weapons with the sights and attachments they want to use! This is a great addition to the game mode, and the best innovation since the Pack-A-Punch Machine in World at War. My biggest issue with the Zombies mode is the servers suck! I played a solo game and I got the "Connection Interrupted" message and had to restart! WTF! This mode ended up being a 7/10! It's good, but the lag keeps it from getting an 8!    … Expand
  16. KingAndCountry
    Sep 12, 2016
    5
    Most reviews here aren't judging this game on its merits or flaws, but rather because of the series it's in.

    Which is unfortunate, because Black Ops III deserves criticism, but not just because it's another Call of Duty game. I'll admit it's a factor, but that doesn't earn the game an immediate 0. Let's start with the negatives, that have been ignored in favor of the aforementioned or    Most reviews here aren't judging this game on its merits or flaws, but rather because of the series it's in.

    Which is unfortunate, because Black Ops III deserves criticism, but not just because it's another Call of Duty game. I'll admit it's a factor, but that doesn't earn the game an immediate 0. Let's start with the negatives, that have been ignored in favor of the aforementioned or otherwise blindly glossed over.

    This game has the worst multiplayer servers in the series, to the point that it's nearly unplayable. It's not unusual to be disconnected five times in a row. Host migrations almost always fail. Lobbies full of players but never start a match. Random and frequent lag spikes to 400 ping regardless of your connection speed. I once played ten minutes in game for what should have amounted to an hour. -2 for playability.

    The single-player campaign is also easily the worst in the series. It's obvious that they just included it because they had to. Nonsensical plot, meaningless enemies, nonexistant effort put into this at all. If you've ever tried to get into it, I pity you. -2 for including this half-ass throwaway of a campaign.

    Now for the positives. This is the best Zombies experience there is, on par with and built over the original experience in World at War. Diverse maps, great gameplay, complex mechanics that actually require some forethought, and an interesting wrap up to the background storyline to boot. +2 for impressing me on this part of the game, and -1 for deliberately putting the best parts of BO3 in $60 DLC.

    The multiplayer gameplay itself is surprisingly good too, but the unreliability of the servers effectively cancel this out. The specialists and movement system keep things varied enough, and the new game modes like Safeguard are more than welcome. Relatively balanced gunplay. All in all it's still fun with a friend, and that's also the only reason I play it, if only to pass the time waiting to find a real match.

    And yes, -2 for being another COD game. Starting at an 8/10 is more than fair. We all know the series has been milked, but compared to the immediate previous games in this series, BO3 is definitely a standout title. I'd even say that I'd rather play this than MW3 or BO2, and I'd rank BO3 above either of them.    … Expand
  17. DarkReaperV3
    Jun 29, 2016
    5
    Graficos muy buenos...... historia una gran porqueria, el multijugador desde que salió el juego siempre hay lag, increible que un juego tan caro tenga unos servidores de mierda, me molesta que ya han convertido a los personajes en linea en lesvianas machorras y soldados homosexuales con sus uniformes con colores pastel, cuando se han visto soldados asi de maricas!!!!
  18. fijiboy
    Jun 28, 2016
    5
    this is definitely not my favorite call of duty game, but its still a good time when your playing multiplayer. it functions quite well and I like the use of classes or whatever they are called, but much like the last few games in the franchise it does very little to make itself stand out and does nothing to surprise anyone, you already know what this game is and there are plenty of firstthis is definitely not my favorite call of duty game, but its still a good time when your playing multiplayer. it functions quite well and I like the use of classes or whatever they are called, but much like the last few games in the franchise it does very little to make itself stand out and does nothing to surprise anyone, you already know what this game is and there are plenty of first person shooters just like it out right now. some people don't even worry about the campaign in these games but since there have been some actually really good campaigns in the past like in the first two modern warfares and the first black ops I think we should get a good campaign and that we deserve one, but we don't get it once again. the one thing black ops 3 does try to put effort into is its zombie mode, its had a lot of changes to it and is overall deeper than previous zombie modes, but unfortunately I don't feel its better. I definitely prefer the older zombie modes but I do appreciate black ops trying to do something different. very generic game, but still ends up being just as addictive and fun as previous titles, but honestly I could have just as much fun or more fun playing any of the other games in the series.… Expand
  19. goldenelk
    May 16, 2016
    7
    The game is pretty good, much better than MW3, but there are several annoying issues I have had with the game. I would say this game is pretty average
  20. SchroederRock
    May 2, 2016
    6
    Updated review: within 3 1/2 months of the game launching, I stopped playing it entirely. The first map pack came out, which actually wasn't terrible (for a change) and offered some decent new places to play but it was all for nothing as this game continues to die off quickly. Black Ops 3 was a lofty goal for Treyarch that extended from the events of Black Ops 2, the only problem beingUpdated review: within 3 1/2 months of the game launching, I stopped playing it entirely. The first map pack came out, which actually wasn't terrible (for a change) and offered some decent new places to play but it was all for nothing as this game continues to die off quickly. Black Ops 3 was a lofty goal for Treyarch that extended from the events of Black Ops 2, the only problem being that, unlike the origins of the Black Ops series, the third installment lacked some originality. There is a somewhat interesting story to go through but it's early-goings are way too bland to be enjoyable. It takes several missions for things to heat up and the campaign to become interesting. By the time things wrapped up, I had to give Treyarch a little credit for not making hot garbage out of the campaign. Still, there's little that can be considered original as it all seems like it was ripped out of a Christopher Nolan movie with less of a thrill. The multiplayer is certainly the weak point of this game. Lots of wall jumping and double jumping, and that's fine, but it all gets shoved into a system that is flawed from the start (no true dedicated servers, only hybrid servers that all-too-often experience problems). Matchmaking couldn't be more frustrating at times, giving The Master Chief Collection a little bit of competition. If you paid $60 for this game, you got cheated. If you paid $20-$30 for this game, it's not a loss. Call of Duty is running on fumes these days - it will take a miracle for one of these games to be good again.… Expand
  21. Lukecali97
    Apr 18, 2016
    7
    this review was made in 19/04/16
    campaign the mode was fresh in comparison to the last 2 games in this series ghost just fell flat on its face and advance warfare was only just good because of Kevin spacey performance as the villain in black ops 3 while I never cared about the characters that where in the game it was still fun to play though it with my friends with the coop feature added    this review was made in 19/04/16
    campaign the mode was fresh in comparison to the last 2 games in this series ghost just fell flat on its face and advance warfare was only just good because of Kevin spacey performance as the villain in black ops 3 while I never cared about the characters that where in the game it was still fun to play though it with my friends with the coop feature added to the campaign and t you could use what ever guns u wanted to use and having mutable skill trees in the campaign to use different abilities was a welcome change and the levels was well-done in my opinion I just wish I cared about the character's and the story more but I could,ent
    zombies overall they did a fantastic job with the zombies mode that they made all 3 maps available of time of this review (including the 2 zombies maps in the $70 aus season pass) are all good maps in their own way but black ops 2 zombies where better because we got 4 zombie maps at launch without having to by a season pass this game I felt short changed with the amount of zombies maps that we got with black ops 3 do more than 1 zombie map at launch next time and don't lock the 2nd zombie map under a preorder bonus your better than this tray arc
    multiplayer
    now at launch this multiplayer was the futuristic call of duty that some of the fans where looking for a good improvement from advanced warfare yes the abilities where inspired (or otherwise copied from destiny)but they are fun to use and a welcome change to the game to mix it up a bit but my experience with the multiplayer varies however example
    one game can be really fun close match with an even amount of score streak's used on both sides
    the next game just gets spoiled because i had a few games where i get the raps killstreak and as soon as i deploy them everyone on the enemy them rage quits out desperately trying Harding to protect their kds the community of this game seam to be really poor sports and i don't know if i should blame the education system or cod for this type of behavior and what activison did with the supply drops is disgraceful to say the least    … Expand
  22. aforbes458
    Apr 14, 2016
    6
    Overall, I think that Black Ops 3 is an okay game. It is by no means the best Call of Duty games, but it is not a complete pile of garbage like most people are making it out to be.

    Campaign 4/10: The story line is straight up terrible. No character development at all whatsoever. The characters are simply not memorable and the story is a confusing mess of nonsense. Cybernetic Core    Overall, I think that Black Ops 3 is an okay game. It is by no means the best Call of Duty games, but it is not a complete pile of garbage like most people are making it out to be.

    Campaign 4/10: The story line is straight up terrible. No character development at all whatsoever. The characters are simply not memorable and the story is a confusing mess of nonsense. Cybernetic Core abilities are a complete rip from Bioshock. However, load-out customization is fun and adds a new element to the game.

    Multiplayer 8/10: I have enjoyed the multiplayer a lot. Many different game types, some new and some old. Camo unlocks are fun to complete. Spawn systems are broken sometimes and many players tend to use the same top-tier guns (kuda).

    Zombies 7/10: Shadows of evil is very similar to Mob of the Dead from black ops 3. Pack-a-punch takes a large process to open, so it takes a while to set up to actually start completing waves. Gun customization and leveling allows the player to improve wall gun purchases giving them an advantage. New perk, widows wine, is very effective and fun to use. Boss waves and different enemies mix up the gameplay and keep the player engaged and aware. DLC maps not included in this review.

    THE BLACK MARKET: The Black Market is one of the biggest scams I have ever seen in microtransaction history. With dlc weapons added to the black market, activision has gross millions of dollars by selling players virtually nothing. I made the mistake of spending $20 on cod points for the BM. DO NOT SPEND MONEY ON COD POINTS! The chances of you actually getting one of the rare weapons is very slim. I also have an extremely hard time believing that the odds of getting rare stuff is the same whether you spend COD points or Cryptokeys. Most of the time you get useless stuff, such as the dust camo, mustache decal, or a legendary attachment. Armor makes the game feel childish with rainbow helmets and pink armor... Taunts are funny at first, but get annoying seeing the same ones over and over again.    … Expand
  23. EmilyV
    Apr 12, 2016
    5
    The user rating for this is pretty spot on. Not worth full price. A really glitchy campaign along with a really "weird" multiplayer. The movements seem completely wrong and don't flow nicely at all. It's like they tried to capture titanfall movements and missed the mark by miles. If you're expecting a multiplayer that you will keep coming back to then you're going to be very disappointed.The user rating for this is pretty spot on. Not worth full price. A really glitchy campaign along with a really "weird" multiplayer. The movements seem completely wrong and don't flow nicely at all. It's like they tried to capture titanfall movements and missed the mark by miles. If you're expecting a multiplayer that you will keep coming back to then you're going to be very disappointed. I never made it past 1st prestige, it felt like a chore every time I played it. Never got through the campaign because my save would either glitch or the achievements weren't popping for the difficulty I was playing on. Huge waste of time.… Expand
  24. matdevine21
    Feb 23, 2016
    5
    After finishing playing the campaign, I couldn't help but think "wow, is that it!".

    It undeniable that Treyarch put a lot of previous game references into BO3 but overall it all felt like an add on to Advanced Warfare rather than a stand alone title. When I started playing the missions, I thought I would be in for epic boss battles that I needed to use my high tech abilities to get    After finishing playing the campaign, I couldn't help but think "wow, is that it!".

    It undeniable that Treyarch put a lot of previous game references into BO3 but overall it all felt like an add on to Advanced Warfare rather than a stand alone title.

    When I started playing the missions, I thought I would be in for epic boss battles that I needed to use my high tech abilities to get through but really I went through most of the game barely using any of them and basically run and gunned my way through all the game like I have done in every other COD game of late.

    I know a lot of people have complained about this game being boring (which it is at times) but for me, this should have been called "COD BO3 lets go nuts with grenades!" as every level I was having grenade after grenade thrown at me by the "AI" which left them open to shot and made each level repetitive as f*ck.

    The zombies mode is nothing more than an advert to sell micro transactions and shill the upcoming DLC which is a real shame as this mode had me interested more than the rest of the games offerings.

    Multiplayer is still the same but feeling so tired and unimaginative, Activision are going to ride COD into the dirt at this rate unless they are prepared to start pushing the limits and create a multi player offering that's new and fresh!

    Such a let down on what should have been COD's return to form especially since you had Ben Browder as the players voice actor! seriously how can you screw up have him and still have a lame story.    … Expand
  25. AsheZx
    Jan 30, 2016
    5
    I think we all hoped Black Ops III would hail a new era for the Call of Duty franchise. Unfortunately, a mixture of dodgy and slightly clunky feeling movement mechanics, age-old issues and drag and drop ideas from other franchises has left this Call of Duty feeling cobbled together and inconsistent, although the graphics really do help this game achieve the 5 I gave it. The campaign triesI think we all hoped Black Ops III would hail a new era for the Call of Duty franchise. Unfortunately, a mixture of dodgy and slightly clunky feeling movement mechanics, age-old issues and drag and drop ideas from other franchises has left this Call of Duty feeling cobbled together and inconsistent, although the graphics really do help this game achieve the 5 I gave it. The campaign tries to do something special with it's story, allowing for 4 player co-op, a new special ability upgrade system and even character customization but ultimately it all falls apart. The story is downright confusing, and is clearly designed for Black Ops IV leaving an unsatisfying conclusion, the 4 player co-op is nice - but why bother when you've got the far superior zombie mode? The various upgrades and custom classes in the campaign is nice, but really it's just an extension of what was achieved in Black Ops 2. In fact, i'd go so far to say that this is a step BACKWARDS for the franchise. Black Ops II had branching storylines, tactical strike force missions and the whole thing felt epic and well thought out with an, admittedly, over the top story - all of that is gone in Black Ops III, with a linear, confusing story replacing it. What a shame. And you can play it all again with zombies! (I'd highly recommend Nightmares mode though, it makes more sense than the normal campaign)

    On to multiplayer, and this year Treyarch attempts to spice things up by introducing Specialists. Playable characters that have their own backstories and each have an ability or weapon that you can choose from. However, I found these more annoying than beneficial. Finally getting your death machine (sorry, Scythe) and losing it after dying was ragequit inducing rather than fun. In the end, I just rocked with the Commando Lunge knife called the "Ripper" because it was the one you earned fastest. There's very little tactical counterplay between specialists, it's just pick one and annihilate. Also some of them specialists are just plain bad ideas that, in Call of Duty fashion, somehow make it into the final game - for example, there is one specialist, Nomad, who has a 6-round unavoidable trip-mine grenade launcher and a "Final Stand" specialist ability. Why? No idea - but the team at Treyarch thought (incorrectly) that it would be a good idea. Other than that, it's largely Black Ops II with thruster packs. Seriously. Pick 10 is back. Scorestreaks are back. Did they reinvent Scorestreaks and add some exciting new ones to fit in with the 2065 setting? Nope. They are literally copy and paste from Black Ops II. There's maybe 5 new Scorestreaks? Unacceptable for a 3 year development game. While I appreciate the Pick 10 system, I still do not understand why a smoke grenade is the same value as a Light Machine Gun - it makes certain things completely void because nobody will use them. Customization in this game is limited, with each specialist character having their own outfits... with two variations of outfit... each with around 6 different colour schemes. Yeah, it's that basic. However, I do appreciate the Paintshop and Gunsmith options - they're pretty cool ideas and worked out well - though I wish my named gun was shown during a match. Something I don't appreciate however is Unlock Tokens, these essentially block you from unlocking everything FORCING you to prestige if you want to experience the whole game. What an awful idea.

    Finally on to zombies, and - well, for 3 years... it isn't great. They've added a new "Gobblegum" system that gives you temporary perks which is a cool idea but, for the powerful ones, you have to spend Liquid Divinium's to spin a Vat which gives you a random one, which is used up if you eat it in game. Unfortunately, this was a ploy to sell you Liquid Divinium's because you can now buy them with real life cash. The zombie map, Shadows of Evil, is okay. It has a surprisingly steep learning curve and it has the amazing ability of making not want to play zombies because of it. To Pack a Punch, you need to do 4 "Survive in a certain area" type challenges, kill 3, 3-headed monsters that can one hit you and gather some worms. It's too difficult for the casual audience and makes the game unnecessarily difficult, which puts you off playing the game.

    To conclude, Black Ops III is a mediocre game that has a lot of content, but not much quality. If you can get it cheap, and I mean cheap, it's worth picking up - otherwise don't bother.    … Expand
  26. AllieVadner
    Jan 13, 2016
    5
    So, after finishing the campaign, I can't give it a higher score. I'm a mayor fan of the Black Ops series and I even bought the Xbox One to be able to play the campaign and...
    First of all; was it really that hard to get the campaign on old-gen consoles? At least the local one. I personally don't think it innovated anything, yes, the graphics were amazing but, that aside I didn't find it    So, after finishing the campaign, I can't give it a higher score. I'm a mayor fan of the Black Ops series and I even bought the Xbox One to be able to play the campaign and...
    First of all; was it really that hard to get the campaign on old-gen consoles? At least the local one. I personally don't think it innovated anything, yes, the graphics were amazing but, that aside I didn't find it special, the fact I could choose the face of my character I thought was pretty awesome but then, not even a frigging name?! Seriously?! Anyway, I'm fully disappointed with the campaign generally, heck, I liked Advanced Warfare better.
    As for multiplayer, it's exactly the same thing as Black Ops 2 which could be both ways; good or bad. I liked it because it FEELS like Black Ops but also I am quite disappointed that we anxiously waited for it and it's exactly the same thing with just a tiny bit of adjustments.
    Zombies is the only thing I personally believe is salvageable from the game, even if it's the same concept as the previous Black Ops, it does give us a new chapter on the story following this whole chaos so I think the effort of something worth playing was made on zombies... And I'm not even that much of a fan for zombie maps.
    So, in conclusion, I'm highly disappointed, maybe my expectations were extremely high, maybe I expected too much of this game but in the end, I feel like turning my 360 on and play the first two Black Ops.    … Expand
  27. CorgiBot
    Jan 7, 2016
    5
    Pros:

    * Zombies is back! The main reason many purchase this game when treyarch makes it is for the zombies, and it does what it's supposed to, progresses the story and adds new and exciting features. * Multiplayer has stayed about the same, and I can't say I personally like it, but if you enjoy COD multiplayer then you'll certainly enjoy this one just as much. More of the same, take    Pros:

    * Zombies is back! The main reason many purchase this game when treyarch makes it is for the zombies, and it does what it's supposed to, progresses the story and adds new and exciting features.

    * Multiplayer has stayed about the same, and I can't say I personally like it, but if you enjoy COD multiplayer then you'll certainly enjoy this one just as much. More of the same, take that as you will.

    * Solid gameplay mechanics and sound/music, nothing wrong in that department.

    Cons:

    * Horrible campaign, not only does it stop following the previous black ops storyline but it's a bland military shooter at best. Bland main character, bad voice acting, messy storytelling.

    * Nightmare mode. Sure they didn't have to add this in in the first place, but everyone sure would rather they had put that effort into the campaign before creating this steaming pile of **** What is nightmare mode? After you beat the main story you will unlock this mode, it's the campaign mission again, but the human enemies are replaced with zombies and there's a new storyline, only it's just audio written over the old cutscenes. Lazy and unnecessary.

    * Microtransactions. It was bound to happen eventually, but they added microtransactions to the game called "cod points" also known as CP. These can be used to buy the new liquid divinium in zombies or items in multiplayer, which both effect gameplay!

    Final Verdict: Buy this game on sale for the zombies or multiplayer if you're into them, if you're just getting it for the campaign, don't buy this.    … Expand
  28. skippyhippy
    Jan 5, 2016
    6
    It is an alright game. The shooting is fine, but I would like to list the things bad about it.
    Invisible walls everywhere making the wall running and double jumping mechanics useless.
    the wall running and double jumping mechanics were stolen from Titanfall. The campaign is awful. The courses where you wall run and double jump are stupid because you can't even use them in the game. (If    It is an alright game. The shooting is fine, but I would like to list the things bad about it.
    Invisible walls everywhere making the wall running and double jumping mechanics useless.
    the wall running and double jumping mechanics were stolen from Titanfall.
    The campaign is awful.
    The courses where you wall run and double jump are stupid because you can't even use them in the game. (If you don't believe this see the first issue I had at the top.)
    This one is mainly aimed at Activision, STOP LAUNCHING CALL OF DUTY GAMES IN 1 YEAR! If you take at least 3 years to make it then maybe you can make a better game!    … Expand
  29. zlindstrom
    Dec 27, 2015
    6
    camp. like the matrix didn't fit in with bo1 and 2. multi shaky, argus is the death of my experience. Nailed zombies, best one yet only thing hyped about for the new DLC coming out. But back on multiplayer, its terrible no skill needed. Everyones apparently banged your mom, etc, just make zombies a separate disc
  30. jsands7
    Dec 24, 2015
    7
    Blops 3 is about a 7/10. I am a serious FPS player and not a fanboy of any particular franchise.

    I played through the whole campaign and enjoyed it less than all CoD campaigns that I can remember. Part of it may be my own fault; I didn't personally find a lot of the special skills to be that useful, and I ended up playing most of the game just running and gunning rather than relying on    Blops 3 is about a 7/10. I am a serious FPS player and not a fanboy of any particular franchise.

    I played through the whole campaign and enjoyed it less than all CoD campaigns that I can remember. Part of it may be my own fault; I didn't personally find a lot of the special skills to be that useful, and I ended up playing most of the game just running and gunning rather than relying on the myriad of skills available. Perhaps if the campaign had forced you to learn them/use them as you progressed I would've been more comfortable using them and enjoyed them more.

    I put a serious amount of hours into the multiplayer and prestiged. It is a solid multiplayer offering for the series if you don't mind the new style of CoD where everybody is flying through the air like monkeys because of the jetpacks. There is plenty of variety of game modes etc to keep people busy and coming back for more.

    I didn't really touch the zombies mode so I can't comment on that.

    Singleplayer- 5 or 6/10, Multiplayer 8 or 9/10 -- Total 7 or 8/10    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Best Xbox One Game of 2015
7
#7 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2015
7
#7 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. ICXM
    Jan 8, 2016
    80
    A great game despite its flaws. The campaign could be more but still manages to be a great experience if you look past the first few missions. Multiplayer is a blast and makes up for the inadequacies found in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. If you're a fan of Call of Duty, this will appeal to you. While the formula doesn't take risks, it still works.
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  2. TrueAchievements
    Dec 16, 2015
    70
    If you play CoD for the campaign, Black Ops III is a low point featuring a confusing and uninteresting story, poor pacing, cheesy dialogue and over-the-top voice acting that results in a story that resembles what the outcome would be if you dropped the cast of Team America: World Police on the set of Inception or Source Code.
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  3. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Dec 8, 2015
    80
    Treyarch may not always hit its targets, but this remains a genuinely fresh take on an old sub-series in an even older franchise. A game as well-oiled as its cyborgian characters. [Christmas 2015, p.60]
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