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. Lilbutter
    Nov 9, 2015
    7
    I only bought this for zombies, and I'm not disappointed. However, I get really random frame-rate drops when playing by myself in zombies. Why does this exist? Sort it out Treyarch!!
  2. 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
  3. SQG_Slasher
    Nov 11, 2015
    7
    The game may not be completely original nor is it the revolutionary change it promised it would be, but there are enough new features to enjoy in all three modes that makes the game enjoyable and different to previous installments.
  4. abscherz
    Nov 9, 2015
    7
    Let me start by saying that I have been on the CoD train from the very beginning. CoD4 and WaW are the best out there in my opinion. I hated Ghosts and Advanced Warfare - I'm so sick of this futuristic mess. With that being said, BO3 is a small step back in the right direction. It's not great but it almost feels that way since Ghost and AW were so terrible. Those felt over the topLet me start by saying that I have been on the CoD train from the very beginning. CoD4 and WaW are the best out there in my opinion. I hated Ghosts and Advanced Warfare - I'm so sick of this futuristic mess. With that being said, BO3 is a small step back in the right direction. It's not great but it almost feels that way since Ghost and AW were so terrible. Those felt over the top arcadish and "cartoony". CoD needs to go back to the basics with another World War or Vietnam entry. Hell, I'll even be cool with a Civil War CoD. So bottom line to Black Ops 3: It's a decent game that hopefully will put an end to the futuristic **** for at least a few years. Gameplay is good, it's more violent (which is fun), and if you like Treyarch CoDs (which are the best IMO) then you'll have fun with this game. **Please make World at War II**… Expand
  5. 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
  6. leopoldo
    Dec 3, 2015
    7
    Call of Duty: Black Ops III was a game I was very excited before the release because everything in BO2 was great, but unfortunately was not what happened in that game. The story has no connection with the BO2, but at least it is Ok. The gameplay in the campaign is very simple, with nothing remarkable or different. At least the multiplayer is great fun, even remembering very AdvancedCall of Duty: Black Ops III was a game I was very excited before the release because everything in BO2 was great, but unfortunately was not what happened in that game. The story has no connection with the BO2, but at least it is Ok. The gameplay in the campaign is very simple, with nothing remarkable or different. At least the multiplayer is great fun, even remembering very Advanced Warfare, but has very leg.O zombies mode is better than ever. Call of Duty: Black Ops III could be one of the best CoD, but uninteresting campaign, and the leg of the game will not let that happen, at least the zombies mode is incredible. 7/10… Expand
  7. Molloy12
    Nov 9, 2015
    7
    Call of Duty: BO3 continues the yearly instalment of the popular game, with some potentially unwelcome changes to the Black Ops series and some issues that need fixing.

    The game puts on a futuristic theme, playing out about 50 years in our future, making use of abilities such as wall running, boost jumping, and "mental abilities". Fans of the series from the World at War or Modern    Call of Duty: BO3 continues the yearly instalment of the popular game, with some potentially unwelcome changes to the Black Ops series and some issues that need fixing.

    The game puts on a futuristic theme, playing out about 50 years in our future, making use of abilities such as wall running, boost jumping, and "mental abilities". Fans of the series from the World at War or Modern Warfare days will be disappointed, as this game puts a mixed feeling of part Halo, part titanfall, part Advanced Warfare in a mash up that makes this once simple and straightforward game at times confusing, over able, controller mashing mess. With multilayer enemies fling around, and using over powered abilities, it strays too far from what call of duty used to be. Some may like the new way the series is going, how ever us who enjoyed what it was in the past will be disappointed in what it has become.
    Zombies mode is back,however playing online has a few issues. First you may notice more than the max 4 players in a lobby at the time of the game starting. This will result in people getting kicked, leaving the game empty at times. Playing through the rounds you will often find the game shut down and kick you completely.
    Issues are apparent in the campaign too. Going back to play previous missions after completing them once leaves players lacking abilities that are needed to complete the game, and game crashing issues leaving players angry and confused/
    Some other features include free running mode, where players pass through an obstacle course of wall runs, jumps and slides. The emblem creator is back as well as a custom camo creator. Small additions to the game that most won't care much about.
    Overall, this game is better than Advanced Warfare, however, it needs some repairs, and is too different for what some players may like.

    Campaign: 6/10 Fix the bugs.
    Zombies: 7/10 Again, fix the issues.
    Multilayer :7/10 Works well, but just too odd
    Other Features: 7/10 Good, but forgetful.

    Overall: 27/40 (6.75/10)    … Expand
  8. VeeGuz
    Nov 11, 2015
    7
    Wow, everyone put away your pitchforks for a second. It's amazing to see people tearing this game to pieces with the same argument since MW2: "It's repetitive uhh reskinning uhh it looks terrible". Now first of all I am nowhere near a COD fanboy, I'm more of a Battlefield fanboy, but my point is that I can still see the playability and appeal in this game dispite what the Anti-COD NazisWow, everyone put away your pitchforks for a second. It's amazing to see people tearing this game to pieces with the same argument since MW2: "It's repetitive uhh reskinning uhh it looks terrible". Now first of all I am nowhere near a COD fanboy, I'm more of a Battlefield fanboy, but my point is that I can still see the playability and appeal in this game dispite what the Anti-COD Nazis think. It's actaully the best COD that I've seen in a while, It's fun and pretty good looking. Multiplayer is still Good-fun, and Zombies is...well...zombies. this game isn't innovative or mind-congealing like everyone else thought it would be, but to have that pre-concieved notion when talking about a COD game is **** stupid, seriously.

    I guess the entire point of a review (at least to me) is to be able to recommend it or not, I'd recommend waiting until it drops down to 49.99 or 39.99 before you buy, it's good though.

    NOTE - The XBONE version is buggier than a shoebox full of roaches in the NSA's security HQ, Buy PS4 or PC.    … Expand
  9. karma6
    Nov 6, 2015
    7
    People always gonna hate on Call of Duty so naturally it's gonna get a bad user score. Honest review, it's a good game, not great by any means but its COD and its fun. If you enjoy dumb FPS games this is great and has a lot of content especially if you are into zombies. If you want a more polished and competitive game get Halo 5 its pretty awesome.
  10. ratt19
    Nov 7, 2015
    7
    BEFORE YOU BELIEVE A PERSONS REVIEW WHETHER IT IS GOOD OR BAD!!
    I suggest that you look at the persons profile, and see what games they are into by comparing their other scores. I have seen a lot of people who give 0 are into RPG style games or have given every HALO game a 10and others who a 10 are (obviously) into COD.
    OK back on track now. This game also requires a 3GB day one patch    BEFORE YOU BELIEVE A PERSONS REVIEW WHETHER IT IS GOOD OR BAD!!
    I suggest that you look at the persons profile, and see what games they are into by comparing their other scores. I have seen a lot of people who give 0 are into RPG style games or have given every HALO game a 10and others who a 10 are (obviously) into COD.
    OK back on track now.

    This game also requires a 3GB day one patch to run which i think is disgusting, that's almost an additional 5% of file size to fix up problems after it went gold (finalised for sale)
    COD BLOPS III is set in the future with cybernetics (deus ex) as the innovation (gimmick) of choice this time around.
    What you can do with these upgrades is quite fun.
    Cybercores: (plasmids style Bioshock) add new ways to take out enemies but work best in a group environment (more on this later).
    Parkour style running (mirrors edge, Titanfall): Is smooth and when you get a kill using it quite satisfying.
    Character choice: (RPG) You can choose a male/female, a very restricted head list that looked all the same to me and uniforms that you unlock as you progress.
    As you can see it borrows heavily from a lot other games to and doesn't introduce anything most players wont have used at some previous point in time.
    The campaign:
    Starts out fantastically well and has a rather brutal scene that caught me by surprise. However it does fall down a little bit in the 2nd and 3rd acts and plays just like a standard COD campaign game. It was very short and felt a little lacking to me. Voice acting was so-so, publishers need to realise the difference between actors and voice actors.
    Multiplayer campaign was a lot of fun, but i found it better split-screen as opposed to online as we could cutomise our rigs to complement each other (i'm sure others with more friends online will find it better online).
    Multiplayer:
    The usual COD style of twitch, fast paced action and class customisation that is the hallmark of these games is pulled off very well and smoothly.
    Parkour is easy to pull off, however the maps don't feel like they were made for it and usually makes you a target when used. The power slide (syndicate) however is very useful and is a good option to use instead of the usual dive.
    Zombies:
    Thankfully is not DLC this time around (worst decision ever AW)
    Has some new twists on the one map you have access to and the voice actors add humor with their one liners. Otherwise its the usual fun of zombies. BIG HINT: you will die.

    In short this BLOPS III steals a lot of ideas from other games. Packages them together to try and trick you into thinking it is something new, in some ways it works in others not so much. However there is no true "innovation" here.
    On console however it was smooth with only a little delayed texture fill now and then.
    Nowhere near the best but certainly nowhere near the worst it is a good standard COD FPS
    I enjoyed playing this and will probably keep playing it for awhile, especially the zombies.    … Expand
  11. WhitelightHBK
    Nov 11, 2015
    7
    I like it, don't love it, but it's okay. Great improvement over the disappointments we got in last couple of years (I'm looking at you, Ghosts and Advanced Warfare). Graphics look nice, gameplay is fast paced, and lets not forget about Co-op campaign which is great. One thing I would do is COMPLETELY disable auto-aim/Aim-assist because it ruins most of the multiplayer aspect, game is fastI like it, don't love it, but it's okay. Great improvement over the disappointments we got in last couple of years (I'm looking at you, Ghosts and Advanced Warfare). Graphics look nice, gameplay is fast paced, and lets not forget about Co-op campaign which is great. One thing I would do is COMPLETELY disable auto-aim/Aim-assist because it ruins most of the multiplayer aspect, game is fast already but Aim-Assist makes it really hard, you propably won't even notice if you got killed. Overall the game is good but needs improvements.… Expand
  12. EagleSpartan
    Nov 26, 2015
    7
    Personally I feel that Treyarch was trying to make the game different this time, but really there are not that many differences. The campaign tried to change from the past Call of Duty games, the other Call of Duty games have the same story pattern while this one is a little unique, this campaign added abilities like the hacking ability or using bees to kill an enemy, but in the end youPersonally I feel that Treyarch was trying to make the game different this time, but really there are not that many differences. The campaign tried to change from the past Call of Duty games, the other Call of Duty games have the same story pattern while this one is a little unique, this campaign added abilities like the hacking ability or using bees to kill an enemy, but in the end you find them completely useless and just shoot your way out of the level. The multiplayer in the Call of Duty games is always fun and entertaining, for ten minutes just like this game. There are no improvements or adjustments to this one other than the mash up from the Black Ops III campaign ( the abilities, weapons, etc. ), if you want to pay $59.99 for the multiplayer you can just pay less for Black Ops II.
    At this point the game deserves 6/10, but if it wasn't for Zombie mode this game wouldn't be worth buying. Black Ops III zombies is definitely better than the past Black Ops games, rather than running around shooting zombies you can do that and more, unfortunately there is only one map during release or without the season pass, but it's still fun, the are many things to do and secrets to find, it's surprisingly addicting.
    Overall the game is only worth buying for zombies or if you don't own Call of Duty Black Ops II, the slight improvements in zombies and different play style are positives. However like any other game out there, it has negatives too, besides what we talked about earlier, there is also the HORRIBLE connection with the servers. At first, I thought I had bad connection, but my friends had the same problem, disconnected? good luck logging back in. So overall the game deserves a 7/10.    … Expand
  13. El_Toro
    Dec 12, 2015
    7
    Black Ops III is a fun and complex-ish title. The better "thruster" movement is great as an early theory to the late 21st century. Campaign is a confusing change, and that's a good thing. Multiplayer was good enough, mainly because it had some balancing issues, especially with SMGs (especially the vesper and razorback), as it seems to out-class Assault Rifles almost completely. It also hasBlack Ops III is a fun and complex-ish title. The better "thruster" movement is great as an early theory to the late 21st century. Campaign is a confusing change, and that's a good thing. Multiplayer was good enough, mainly because it had some balancing issues, especially with SMGs (especially the vesper and razorback), as it seems to out-class Assault Rifles almost completely. It also has a lot of connection issues, making it unenjoyable most of the time. Co-Op has the same lag issues making it difficult to find a game that actually lasts about 30 rounds. Overall, a rough, but fun experience.… Expand
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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
  19. Mrman69
    Jul 27, 2020
    7
    ❎67%
    A pretty fun game, just too many bugs and I don’t really like its futuristic setting.
  20. 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.
  21. 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
  22. PanthersFanStev
    Dec 16, 2015
    6
    If you are dying to have a new COD title, BO3 will probably suffice. Is it a great game? No Are the graphics and sound up to par for next gen? No Anything revolutionary here? No.
    The visuals are bland with poor color saturation. Gunplay is meh, so many games do it better. Loadouts are not well presented or introduced. The abilities are meh, Advanced Warfare did it much better.
    This    If you are dying to have a new COD title, BO3 will probably suffice. Is it a great game? No Are the graphics and sound up to par for next gen? No Anything revolutionary here? No.
    The visuals are bland with poor color saturation. Gunplay is meh, so many games do it better. Loadouts are not well presented or introduced. The abilities are meh, Advanced Warfare did it much better.
    This is really just a sequel of many sequels released during the holiday season.    … Expand
  23. aleecutor999
    Nov 23, 2015
    6
    First of all, this game is fun, just like any other Call of Duty. That's the problem , this game is just like any other of the Call of Duty. I won't like, I've had a lot of fun playing the campaign and the multiplayer even if it just frustrating! That's the COD rules, there will be plenty of ridiculous kills and deaths which make this game awesome yet frustrating. This COD is not bad, butFirst of all, this game is fun, just like any other Call of Duty. That's the problem , this game is just like any other of the Call of Duty. I won't like, I've had a lot of fun playing the campaign and the multiplayer even if it just frustrating! That's the COD rules, there will be plenty of ridiculous kills and deaths which make this game awesome yet frustrating. This COD is not bad, but it is not the best.

    I have been playing call of duty since the very first one, at the time it was brand new and amazing! Then modern warfare came, which was simply just amazing, a step into the modern day warfare. Since then they have not stopped growing, all the way to the future, with all this new tech and new weapons and new movement systems.

    That's the problem , they implemented all these new features which just do not live up to their expectations or potentials. The multiplayer has been evolving ever since the best call of duty, modern warfare 1, however the main problem i find is that the maps are getting smaller and smaller but the movement is getting faster and faster, meaning you end up traversing the whole map in under a minute. Any guns other than the ones with good handling and damage, a.k.a sub machine guns, are useless. Who is going to use a sniper in those maps, sure quick scoping is fun but useless now. With the addition of the new classes your usual cod tactic does not work as you have to adapt. This would be a great features if it was more fun than annoying! The respawns are ridiculous, for example if you play in domination and go capture the enemy base, they will respawn at the base while you are capturing it and simply exterminate you. The spawn are messed up. The gun as great and new as they are, are simply a reskin of the old ones. The new movement system feels stiff and recycled. Titanfall got the running on the wall done so well, cod tried to do the same but made it so unfriendly. Overall the multiplayer is just another call of duty , nothing new, only a different skin on the weapons and map, the only new thing being the movement system, as fun as it is , removes the tactical approach that players could take before.

    The new zombie mode," shadows of evil" is not great, it takes the whole fun out of zombies. Spawning and unlocking the map and then surviving for as long as your could based on pure skill and some luck in the matchmaking. With the new mode, if you do not have a headset and good partners you are doomed, there is simply to much to do by yourself. You are constantly stressing about what you have to do and leaving one zombie alive so you can achieve your goal rather than just worry about survival due to zombies. If they want zombies to be great, just keep it as it was , adding some new features, not changing the whole game mechanics.

    The story is definitely one of the more engaging ones, it is not a fresh idea and is pretty cliche, but with a call of duty element which makes it fun. For the first time probably, the campaign is probably my favorite aspect of this game. You can relate to the characters, the is some development and even if it lacks some elements to the characters, the story is definitely engaging.

    Finally, this is definitely a fun call of duty but there is nothing revolutionary in this game. You will find many elements from many other games. If this franchise wishes to survive they need to come up with some unique once again to make the series unique. If you wanna play with friends and have a fun time then definitely pick up this games. If you are hoping for something amazing though i would recommend halo or star wars. This game is not a waste of money, but it is not enough to justify the expense of purchasing a brand new game.

    I made this review hoping to help people get a clear opinion of the game and i am not biased at all, i have been playing this franchise since the beginning and have always supported it.    … Expand
  24. SDS_IV
    Nov 7, 2015
    6
    Halo fanboy writing a review of CoD?! Shut the front door!! No seriously this is a good game. Massive improvement over what I expected it to be. Also a massive improvement over Advanced Warfare but that game is a holy mess, I could jam a dog turd into my disc drive and have more fun with that than I did AW. Even though I'm from the Halo camp my favorite multiplayer game of ALL TIME isHalo fanboy writing a review of CoD?! Shut the front door!! No seriously this is a good game. Massive improvement over what I expected it to be. Also a massive improvement over Advanced Warfare but that game is a holy mess, I could jam a dog turd into my disc drive and have more fun with that than I did AW. Even though I'm from the Halo camp my favorite multiplayer game of ALL TIME is World at War, I was desperately awaiting the announcement of WaW2 and then they announced this. I decided to still give it a shot and I'm glad I did. After beta testing it I knew I'd enjoy the multiplayer at least. The other modes, well..... The campaign is okay. The zombies mode is..... Really weird? (Though I didn't shell out the dubs for Der Riese GIANT and I wish I would have)

    If you like CoD you will have a fun time with this game but I just feel like I've done this before..... A lot. It's going to get really old really quick. Wait for it..... Wait for it..... IMO if you want the most bang for your buck this Christmas get Halo 5. It's so good it hurts. I'm highly addicted to Halo 5's scaled back multiplayer. They stopped trying to be like CoD and finally embraced the old style of halo again. Call me back to duty when WaW2 is released, then and only then will I dive back into a CoD game.    … Expand
  25. lVlunk
    Nov 22, 2015
    6
    Black Ops does what many Call of Duty games do: make crappy campaigns that you could not care about. But, the wishful Call of Duty consumer today does not buy the game for its campaign, but rather for its multiplayer modes. So, this rating is purely based off of my multiplayer experience so far in the game.

    Black Ops 3 is the first decent Call of Duty in a long time. The game plays and    Black Ops does what many Call of Duty games do: make crappy campaigns that you could not care about. But, the wishful Call of Duty consumer today does not buy the game for its campaign, but rather for its multiplayer modes. So, this rating is purely based off of my multiplayer experience so far in the game.

    Black Ops 3 is the first decent Call of Duty in a long time. The game plays and feels like a Call of Duty game. There is plenty of gun variety, however, the solid gunplay is bogged down by the lack of dedicated servers and the awful lag compensation system. In this era where more and more games have dedicated servers, Call of Duty fails to bring that to the table, lagging behind all of its competitors. This makes engagements be decided by connection far more often than they should. This game would feel and play A LOT better with dedicated servers, and therefore would warrant a higher score. BO3 also miserably fails to upgrade its engine/graphics. The graphics are laughably old and out of style compared to current gen competitors. Graphics do not make a game, but they sure help.

    I have not played zombies yet, but I have heard good things about it.

    BO3 is not a bad game, but it is not a great game either

    TLDR: Black Ops 3 = meh
    2.09 K/D with 5 hours played    … Expand
  26. Remembrancer
    Nov 10, 2015
    6
    The singleplayer is pretty awful, but that has been common to the Call of Duty series for the last few titles.
    Multiplayer is mostly more of the same, if you liked it before you'll like it now. I haven't encountered a bug as of yet so no complaints there. All in all it's just a CoD game. If you want more of the same purchase it, if you want more leave it alone.
  27. Review_For_You
    Nov 27, 2015
    6
    Ok first of all let me say everyone who gives this game a 0-4 is just insane since there is no way this game could get lower than a 5. The story is pretty good and the multiplayer while it's hard it's not nearly as hard as black ops 2 multiplayer (speaking from experience!) black ops 3 is a great game and it might not be completely new it is still way better than a lot of the other moreOk first of all let me say everyone who gives this game a 0-4 is just insane since there is no way this game could get lower than a 5. The story is pretty good and the multiplayer while it's hard it's not nearly as hard as black ops 2 multiplayer (speaking from experience!) black ops 3 is a great game and it might not be completely new it is still way better than a lot of the other more recent call of duty games. the one area where this game lacks is in zombies even thought zombies is fun and new it does lack some of the fun of other zombies such as black ops 2. Im not saying zombies is terrible i'm just saying it lacks there is currently one map (for free) and it's pretty plain and you find yourself trapped in mobs of zombies a lot but it get really interesting and fun when you start digging deeper into the story which is what treyarch intended. Overall Call Of Duty Black ops 3 is one of the best games out so far and will keep you entertained for a very long time. But NEVER BUY CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS 3 ON XBOX 360… Expand
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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
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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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