Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

 Xbox Series X
User Score
4.4

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 756 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 270 out of 756
  2. Mixed: 71 out of 756
  3. Negative: 415 out of 756
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  1. Silver1154
    Nov 21, 2020
    1
    This game has taken a step back in Every way.the visuals are below modern warfare map design feels like a rehash of older black ops maps and it failed.campaighn is good but multiplayer sucks.do yourself a favor a don't buy.this game is even 10$ more to top it off what a slap in the face.it gets a 1 for campaign only
  2. UnintentionalMC
    Nov 22, 2020
    4
    I'm going to be honest, I set up an account on here, purely to review this game. I have now experienced the three components of the game in their entirety, completed the campaign on Veteran, completed the Die Maschine Easter Egg and have reached the the first prestige on multiplayer, so I would say that I have a fairly rounded experience across the game.

    Firstly, the campaign. I have    I'm going to be honest, I set up an account on here, purely to review this game. I have now experienced the three components of the game in their entirety, completed the campaign on Veteran, completed the Die Maschine Easter Egg and have reached the the first prestige on multiplayer, so I would say that I have a fairly rounded experience across the game.

    Firstly, the campaign. I have often found the Call of Duty games to be somewhat varied in the campaigns, even the more jaw-dropping ones such as MW2 and BO2 were still essentially A to B and occasionally point C whilst shooting enemies. The campaign of BOCW was quite fun for the most part, an interesting new character in the form of Russell Adler with a different take on letting the player take on the role of protagonist. The twists and turns felt quite typical for a Black Ops campaign with the different endings, optional side missions and hidden extras bringing in a welcome call back to Black Ops 2. The set pieces are quite fun and it was nice spending the campaign with the CIA as I quite liked the covert nature of a lot of the missions. The main downsides to this would be that even though it has a fair few missions, they felt quite short and that despite being in the advertising, Woods and Mason felt extremely absent from the game.

    The zombies mode is a welcome sight, especially since the last instalment in Black Ops 4 was essentially a failure to launch a new story mode and a few remakes of old maps which left the season pass owners (myself) feeling quite cheated. This on the other hand, is a remake done right. Nacht der Untoten was one of the first quality experiences in modern wave based survival and to have a remake done to this scale allows it to take on a new life. The story mission feels easy to a point but is still enjoyable to a casual player and it is nice that it can be accomplished solo rather than previous entries making it nearly impossible. The ammo boxes make it easier to restock, the crafting bench with equipment and killstreaks feels a lot easier than finding parts to items scattered around the map. The new wonder weapon feels like a welcome call back to BO and BO2 and the boss zombies don't feel unfair. Overall a much nicer step in the right direction than BO4 tried. That being said, bringing back the Chaos story line could be quite interesting on the now current generation consoles as they really had some interesting locations to explore.

    This brings us on to the multiplayer which I am sure many people have already vented their frustrations about the game and is certainly where the game falls in terms of quality, especially when compared to its previous generation predecessor. The balancing issues with the weapons essentially mean that in close quarters you need the MP5 and long distance you need either the M16 or AUG rifles. Score streaks feel like they take an age to unlock and when they do, most people are running Cold Blooded and Ghost which takes away their usefulness. The constant frame dropping and sometimes console crash make this multiplayer experience an absolute slog to find the one out of one-hundredth game that is actually enjoyable and feels fair. Playing other games on the Series X doesn't seem to bring about such issues, Gears 5 feels consistently smooth and has a fair matchmaking with constant frames. Granted it has been out a year longer but again, was running on last generation systems.

    The maps look quite stunning on the Series X, when the skybox isn't flickering and the textures load in fully. What I will say for the maps is that they have certainly moved away from the three-lane formula that plagued Black Ops 4, was it in a good way though? That's hard to say as some maps such as Garrison and Checkmate provide a suitably varied setting, with plenty of cover should you need it. Others such as Moscow, Cartel and Armada have very little in the way of cover so if you're sighted first, you're pretty much dead. Lastly, the Skill Based Match Making in this game means that there is no sense of progression in the game, since my first game, I can't think of a single match that hasn't made me feel like a noob using the default classes. Again comparing it to the Gears franchise, a ranked and casual set up would remove this problem with a beginner category exclusive to those between levels one and twenty.

    Call of Duty had an amazing send off on last generation consoles with Modern Warfare and has sadly launched with what could have been another hit. The story was solid, zombies evolved in a natural and fun way but the thing that brings people back has been an undeniable disaster. The frame drops, graphical issues, system crashes, skill based match making and balancing issues have turned what could be a really solid introduction into next generation shooters into a challenging effort stuck in the shadow of its predecessor.    … Expand
  3. Pro_Ponder
    Nov 24, 2020
    4
    So to start things off somewhat positive, this game has potential... I hope it becomes the game it can be but so many things need fixing and adjusting first. Simply it's an fps game with aiming that just doesn't allow the fluid aim a COD usually offers, I can't tell if it's light or heavy but it feels awful. Once this is fixed the game would get maybe a 7 rating from me as all the otherSo to start things off somewhat positive, this game has potential... I hope it becomes the game it can be but so many things need fixing and adjusting first. Simply it's an fps game with aiming that just doesn't allow the fluid aim a COD usually offers, I can't tell if it's light or heavy but it feels awful. Once this is fixed the game would get maybe a 7 rating from me as all the other issues are reasonably small but just aren't up to scratch with MW so hopefully treyarch give this game the attention it needs and fix the issues and it may challenge the top 5 costs but until then there's no chance of it comin… Expand
  4. TCLogic
    Nov 24, 2020
    0
    The campaign is meh, thats the only good thing to say about these pile of crap.
  5. Zapata082
    Nov 24, 2020
    0
    El sbmm es lo principal, no es divertido y todas las partidas son aburridas, malas, los mapas son malos, la conexion por el sbmm destruye por completo la experiencia.

    Por otra parte los campers, no es divertido el juego ya que esta lleno de campers escondidos como ratitas al igual que el sbmm destrute la experiencia creando frustracion y aburrimiento, es el segundo peor multijugador que    El sbmm es lo principal, no es divertido y todas las partidas son aburridas, malas, los mapas son malos, la conexion por el sbmm destruye por completo la experiencia.

    Por otra parte los campers, no es divertido el juego ya que esta lleno de campers escondidos como ratitas al igual que el sbmm destrute la experiencia creando frustracion y aburrimiento, es el segundo peor multijugador que he jugado, y eso que he jugado desde black ops 1 Lo unico que rescata este juego son los zombies y la campaña pero el multijugador es pesimo.
    Otra cosa es que es juego esta incompleto, yo pague por un juego bien hecho y con contenido, hay fallas de texturas, bugs a montones, errores de juego, conexion malisima, servidores malisimos, te caes del mapa,no te aparece el arma, te aparece el menu en plena partida,etc, no lo recomiendo para nada    … Expand
  6. TarGeTa401
    Nov 24, 2020
    0
    I've never written a public review about a game before but the fact that I am here means that I am mad and disappointed. This game is a literal waste of money and a step back in every single aspect. Yes, what people are saying is true. The reason why this gets a 0 for me and not even a one, is because this game is a cash cow. Someone, please tell me what did I pay $65 for? 8 online maps?I've never written a public review about a game before but the fact that I am here means that I am mad and disappointed. This game is a literal waste of money and a step back in every single aspect. Yes, what people are saying is true. The reason why this gets a 0 for me and not even a one, is because this game is a cash cow. Someone, please tell me what did I pay $65 for? 8 online maps? the ONE map of zombies? dead ops arcade? THE HIT MARKERS?

    If you want to know my frustration and disappointment, compare the amount of content in this sad excuse of a game with the content released in ANY OTHER black ops. You'll understand. This game was released with the wrong intentions. They basically said, "just buy the game full price even though the games not finished, and we'll think about adding stuff as we move on".

    Do you want to know how sad the amount of content is in this game? the store has ONE pack and nothing else. I paid $65 for an empty store. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of these stores because ever since they came out, game development has no longer been about gameplay and content; now it's all about money, skins, and looking cool...(2K)...

    I'm not a fan of where game development seems to be heading in the near future. Back in the good old days before 10 and 12-year-olds had smartphones and credit cards (360, PS3), a game was released with all its content. I didn't mind the map packs or small extra DLC's. At least the FULL GAME was released. Now they release 33% of a game, have you pay full price, and release items as time goes on so that they keep you in this loop of coming back to the game when they add something so you can always be entitled to make a purchase. We might as well just start buying half made cars. No brakes, just the gas pedal. Come back in a month for an update. That itself should show you how wrong this is. This is an ongoing issue with no regulations. Something has to be done about this, I just don't know what or how. If you read this before buying the game, I hope I saved you $65. If we were too late just like me... I feel your pain and I wish I could get a refund,    … Expand
  7. dungcomefrom
    Nov 25, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Why did activision create a game like this? The plot is mostly oriented towards the American people but smeared the image of Russia and Vietnam. I have a feeling Vietnamese are
    terrorism but american like hero    … Expand
  8. Betterthanign
    Nov 25, 2020
    0
    Mess of a game, sbmm destroyed the multiplayer, they jacked up the price for less content and they know the fans hate the sbmm but still they won’t give a ranked mode. You would be very silly to buy this game untill they give the fans what there asking for.
  9. AldaiirArevalo
    Nov 26, 2020
    1
    El juego tiene múltiples crasheos por temas de desconexion en el servidor u host. También caídas de fps y pantallas de carga muy prolongadas para iniciar partida multijugador y zombies.
  10. FollowYeshua
    Nov 27, 2020
    0
    It's garbage from a to z. Save your money and don't buy this pandemic made trash
  11. xZw0rdx
    Nov 27, 2020
    2
    This game is a complete disappointment. Multiplayer is the most stressful and raw in years, the game is unbalanced, bad gameplay choices, few weapons and few maps with questionable design. The campaign is very good. The zombies are very good too
  12. Hern73
    Nov 27, 2020
    2
    What exactly did we get? This game is whole downgrade x5 from MW. We paid full price expecting a great game but instead we got the beta. I felt as if I was playing counter strike on my pc. Maps get boring to easily and are also too small to be able to explore. I really hope they get it together and don't give us this trash. 2/10
  13. Toothpaste_man
    Nov 28, 2020
    2
    Black ops cold war is the next installment in the recently underwhelming call of duty franchise. In my personal experience the game's core feel is great and often quite enjoyable. The campaign is easily my favorite in the series and zombies is infinitely replayable and very fun, while multiplayer on the other hand is a buggy, sweaty mess. I rarely ever get frustrated with games but thisBlack ops cold war is the next installment in the recently underwhelming call of duty franchise. In my personal experience the game's core feel is great and often quite enjoyable. The campaign is easily my favorite in the series and zombies is infinitely replayable and very fun, while multiplayer on the other hand is a buggy, sweaty mess. I rarely ever get frustrated with games but this has pushed me to my limit. It feels like nothing I do matters going 38-4 then going 4-38. Your performance is almost entirely dictated by the game's #sbmm outside of each gunfight.rgis really sucks as a long time treyarch fan who usually does pretty well in term of multiplayer. Now outside of gameplay this game is about as stable as a house of cards. I play on the Xbox series x and usually the game runs fairly smoothly with few interruptions until..... The game turns the damn machine off. At its worst it was turned off 7 times..7 TIMES! In about a 60 minutes period. This game is poorly optimized at best. I can only hope this game is fixed and playable if ever.… Expand
  14. Nyceef
    Nov 28, 2020
    1
    Disappointing, glitchy, and in terms of zombies entirely too hard considering the garbage perks it takes too long to access. I am disappointed on every level and after more than 15 years of support and pre-orders I will never again pre-order one of their games. They have access to too many resources and too much money to have produced such mediocrity.
  15. Martyrdom616
    Nov 28, 2020
    0
    Literally cannot play this game for 30 MINUTES. 30 MINUTES!!! Without the game locking up and completely crashing my Series X. Whether its Campaign, Multi-player, or Zombies. I CANNOT PLAY THIS BROKEN EXCUSE OF A GAME. This is the only game that crashes my Series X. Fix your broken game Treyarch, Raven Software, and Activision.
  16. Skiro86
    Nov 28, 2020
    3
    Game is straight trash. I started it up the first time and it turned my console off. Then when I went to play it the next day it shut it off randomly again. After a restart of the xbox and the game, I got through some interactions with the team in the safe house and started to review evidence when, boom, shuts off again. The other crappy thing is, during the cut scenes, they are jitteryGame is straight trash. I started it up the first time and it turned my console off. Then when I went to play it the next day it shut it off randomly again. After a restart of the xbox and the game, I got through some interactions with the team in the safe house and started to review evidence when, boom, shuts off again. The other crappy thing is, during the cut scenes, they are jittery and laggy. They look like they could be good to look at, but haven't been able to tell. For a AAA game, this is trash.… Expand
  17. bullmouth
    Nov 28, 2020
    0
    I made an account just to rate this game. Get the new Spiderman or play Destiny but don’t let this pile of rushed 90’s code get your money. It’s nothing but a cash grab preying on the fans of their previous titles with what amounts to a multiplayer experience only acceptable during the advent of the internet back when dial-up was a thing. Server errors and lag are outrageously bad. Add toI made an account just to rate this game. Get the new Spiderman or play Destiny but don’t let this pile of rushed 90’s code get your money. It’s nothing but a cash grab preying on the fans of their previous titles with what amounts to a multiplayer experience only acceptable during the advent of the internet back when dial-up was a thing. Server errors and lag are outrageously bad. Add to their recipe for what is now dubbed the fruitcake of games the terribly small maps that are poorly laid out and consist of nothing but the aggravation and contempt of the players. Enemies are always camping from across the tiny map taking head shots the moment you spawn. Die and spawn back in seconds on an infinite loop of stupidity that shouldn’t exist in the modern FPS. Speaking of maps, the lack of quantity is shocking and it would seem revolve around the same three. Character customization is an after thought with such little work put into it that nearly every player just uses the default model making the loading screens showing your team feel even more ridiculous. Get a tank and get blown up in seconds (they’re apparently as weak as driving a Honda Accord into war), get a boat and get blown up in seconds, just show up and...well, you get the point. This game should have never been released in this state and I don’t think they can even fix it. There’s just nothing good to say here but they certainly sold a bajillion copies and will think they have a great hit over at corporate I’m sure. I feel bad for all the people who worked on this and were most certainly told to rush it out.… Expand
  18. Coleman208
    Nov 28, 2020
    0
    Hands down the worst COD I've ever played. Its the most buggy one I've played, guns are incredibly unbalanced, and the worst thing is the skill based match making. you win 2 games then you're tossed into a lobby of master prestige for the next 5 games. cant turn it off. the aim assist is broken. id save your money and not waste your time playing this COD.
  19. Leon44124412
    Nov 29, 2020
    0
    Super trash game. **** sbmm in quick play, **** net code, **** animations, **** sound design, tons of bugs, tons of glitches, weapons like AUG are broken as fck. Don’t waste your money and time This game feels like 5$ or free to play shooter.
  20. Kbow8467
    Nov 29, 2020
    0
    The game is a mess, it keeps crashing if you get headshot in multiplayer or when you try and do the last campaign mission on the series x, absolute joke of a game, don’t understand how they butchered it this badly
  21. StonerJedi17
    Nov 29, 2020
    3
    Please for the love of God do not buy this! I know people exadurate but literal-its the most broken buggiest game in the series. This game makes the bugs in assassins creed unity look like nothing. In a week I've had 2 full console hard resets, party is full errors, my first game of zombies I had to quit cuz I got stuck staring at the ground and couldnt move, sound tearing into static, uiPlease for the love of God do not buy this! I know people exadurate but literal-its the most broken buggiest game in the series. This game makes the bugs in assassins creed unity look like nothing. In a week I've had 2 full console hard resets, party is full errors, my first game of zombies I had to quit cuz I got stuck staring at the ground and couldnt move, sound tearing into static, ui error bugs that crash the game (on xbox), random disconnections from the serve when I verified my internet is fine. Seriously the bugs are soooooooo bad. Please please dont make the same mistake as me. Now zombies is good. Imo one of the best zombies since kino bo1. And positives-the game is still cod. It feels like cod. When it works....zombies tho is why this is a 3 and not a 0. Bugged out worse than any cod game EVER. Avoid like the plague (the black plague-not the Corona one...we see how well people avoiding that one has gone)… Expand
  22. Nintenka
    Nov 29, 2020
    0
    Bug war. Very bad experiences. and never update to fix these bugs. shiiiit game.
  23. abdullahsabbir
    Nov 30, 2020
    3
    I am not a veteran CoD player. My first CoD where I actively played MP was MW2019. While it was not perfect, the SBMM in that game wasn't as strong as it is in BOCW. I'm a very casual player, I played about 125 Hours of MP in MW2019 and my K/D ratio is 1.01. Here in BOCW, I have to sweat in every single game and my K/D ratio rarely touches 1. Some people will probably tell me to just getI am not a veteran CoD player. My first CoD where I actively played MP was MW2019. While it was not perfect, the SBMM in that game wasn't as strong as it is in BOCW. I'm a very casual player, I played about 125 Hours of MP in MW2019 and my K/D ratio is 1.01. Here in BOCW, I have to sweat in every single game and my K/D ratio rarely touches 1. Some people will probably tell me to just get good, but you know what? I don't want to. I play games to relax at the end of the day and this game is not relaxing or fun. I'm giving this a 3 just because the campaign and the zombie mode are okay.… Expand
  24. Seattleboos7743
    Nov 30, 2020
    1
    This is trash. If it had double the launch maps for multiplayer it would be just alright. I cant play now because it causes my xbox to shut off. F this trash. Theres so many problems that shouldnt be there with an AAA title at all. The campaign is fun but I miss some of the dialogue because the game doesn't load properly. It lags like youtube and pauses than struggles to catch up and I'mThis is trash. If it had double the launch maps for multiplayer it would be just alright. I cant play now because it causes my xbox to shut off. F this trash. Theres so many problems that shouldnt be there with an AAA title at all. The campaign is fun but I miss some of the dialogue because the game doesn't load properly. It lags like youtube and pauses than struggles to catch up and I'm just playimg the campaign. Just trash. Please dont waste your money… Expand
  25. nroberts5603
    Nov 30, 2020
    2
    Quite frankly, this is the worst Call of Duty I’ve purchased in some time. I haven’t gotten to try the campaign yet for fear of crashing my Series X. As for the multiplayer...yikes. There’s a severely limited map selection and regardless of which map you’re on, you spend the majority of your time getting obliterated as soon as you spawn. I don’t know how their matchmaking algorithm works,Quite frankly, this is the worst Call of Duty I’ve purchased in some time. I haven’t gotten to try the campaign yet for fear of crashing my Series X. As for the multiplayer...yikes. There’s a severely limited map selection and regardless of which map you’re on, you spend the majority of your time getting obliterated as soon as you spawn. I don’t know how their matchmaking algorithm works, but it continuously creates blowouts. I wish I could say it had gorgeous, next-gen graphics, but I have to turn off ray tracing to have ANY chance of it not crashing my system. Overall, this game feels like a beta (did I mention it’ll crash your system?) and is a horribly disappointing product. There have been bad launches in the past that turned out ok, so I hope that’s what happens. Until then, this game is nothing but a regretful purchase.… Expand
  26. Peppersoldier
    Dec 1, 2020
    6
    I still can’t decide if this game was just overhyped along with having high expectations or just a bad game. The campaign is the best feature in this game but zombies in multiplayer is the downfall. Zombies just gets old and repetitive and doesn’t feel the same. Yet again, SBM (skill-based matchmaking) is a thing and the graphics and movement of the player have downgraded tremendously fromI still can’t decide if this game was just overhyped along with having high expectations or just a bad game. The campaign is the best feature in this game but zombies in multiplayer is the downfall. Zombies just gets old and repetitive and doesn’t feel the same. Yet again, SBM (skill-based matchmaking) is a thing and the graphics and movement of the player have downgraded tremendously from MW 2019.… Expand
  27. otislive356
    Dec 1, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Fix your game! I shouldn't have to worry about my console shutting or possibly worse. This was a known problem in Modern Warfare when it released and should've been avoided in this one!… Expand
  28. HunterVisible
    Dec 1, 2020
    0
    Just crashes the consol complete waste of money. Will not play it until they fix it
  29. Birdman35867
    Dec 1, 2020
    0
    This entire game is an abortion. They should be ashamed of themselves. Activision should feel disgusted to have to share Warzone with any part of this disfigured game.
  30. OverSized
    Dec 2, 2020
    4
    The campaign needed more refining before it came out It feels sloppy in some places overall the best mission that the game added was the KGB mission in my opinion at least The zombies is one of the only saving graces but it does have its problems indeed from recycled content and the worst part of the game is the multiplayer as it's recycled content The graphics in some rare cases are goodThe campaign needed more refining before it came out It feels sloppy in some places overall the best mission that the game added was the KGB mission in my opinion at least The zombies is one of the only saving graces but it does have its problems indeed from recycled content and the worst part of the game is the multiplayer as it's recycled content The graphics in some rare cases are good but other times in all the maps seems like it's the lacking modern warfare was much more refined in design campaign audio graphics It could have been good but it missed the mark by mile What I paid the full 60 no I would wait for a deal so you don't waste your money as well And it's current stance I don't think there's anything that they can do to quiet overhaul the game enough to get it recuperating I give it maybe seven or eight months before I will probably collapse on itself if it doesn't try to change but there's so much inconsistencies there constantly going on that it's hard to say It doesn't help the activation pressure them giving them half of the time that they were allotted to make the game in the first place… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

13
#13 Best Xbox Series X Game of 2020
2
#2 Most Discussed Xbox Series X Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. WellPlayed
    Feb 11, 2021
    70
    The beating heart of the Call of Duty experience in terms of multiplayer feels like a solid return to the classic formula, but abundant technical issues make this a worrying stumble into a new generation.
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  2. Game Over Online
    Dec 1, 2020
    70
    Overall, despite some performance issues, I rather enjoyed the mercenaries, spies and private eyes campaign that is Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. I’d like to see the development team get a chance to really flesh out a longer campaign in this style, but you know…the call of duty.
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  3. M3
    Nov 30, 2020
    60
    With an entertaining campaign, great online opportunities and panic-stricken zombie slaughter, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is an impressive package. Still, we can not help but feel disappointed. The best parts of the campaign could have been developed much more and the online modes feel well stripped down. Cold War still impresses, but with more development time, it could have been so much more than "this year's Call of Duty game".
    Read full review
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