Black Ops 6 players are loving the new campaign but for older fans this is the return to form we’ve been waiting for.
After the snore-fest that was the Modern Warfare 3 (2023) campaign, Call of Duty really needed to nail it for Black Ops 6, and luckily, that’s exactly what they did. The Black Ops 6 campaign is a masterclass in turning a tense story about spies and espionage into a frantic first-person shooter.
Just like the original Black Ops and Black Ops: Cold War did before it, the BO6 story reminded me of a time when single-player campaigns in FPS games were celebrated. Games like GoldenEye 007, Doom, Halo, and even the early COD games helped define the genre, but this seems to have been forgotten.
Call of Duty campaigns are still worth it
I’m always a bit shocked and disheartened when having conversations about single-player elements in FPS games today, as there’s often an odd contempt for them and nothing encapsulates this more than discussions about campaigns in Call of Duty games.
For some players, “I haven’t played a COD campaign since Advanced Warfare,” “Nobody plays COD campaigns anymore,” and “Wait, you actually play the single-player?” are all examples of comments I’ve heard – and it’s a massive shame.
To be fair, there’s some truth to what these players say: Call of Duty campaigns aren’t what they used to be, either culturally or in terms of quality. Still, even the excellent ones are often written off without examination. In many ways, it’s just a symptom of how the industry has evolved.
Indeed, multiplayer games are much more commonplace today, but the death of the single-player game, including the first-person shooter, has been greatly exaggerated. Games like Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein, Halo Infinite, and the Far Cry series all have multiplayer elements, but the main draw for many of these games is the single-player experience.
COD redefined the first-person shooter
Of course, none of these franchises is the juggernaut that Call of Duty is in 2024, but I’d argue that for a time, nobody did single-player campaigns as well as COD. I’m aware there’s an element of “Okay, Boomer” to this (although apparently I’m a Millennial), but bear with me. You see, some of us grew up playing first-person shooters before the advent of multiplayer, so yes, we have bias, but that’s only because we had such a great time playing them.
It’s also worth pointing out that we love Warzone and competitive online shooters as much as anyone else; we just also appreciate a high-octane FPS campaign and a good story. A real turning point for Call of Duty was with the original Modern Warfare in 2007. Like many of the games I mentioned above, this entry revolutionized the FPS genre, and the rest is history.
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However, MW1 (2007) wasn’t just a success because of its stellar multiplayer. It was also beloved for introducing us to a cast of characters that COD still capitalizes on today. You know who I mean: Captain Price, Soap, Ghost, Gaz. I’m talking about the Taskforce 141 crew and why they became iconic.
The original Modern Warfare series made these characters household names and players were invested in their stories. The detonation of the nuke on the Allied troops in COD: MW4, the death of Soap, and the “No Russian” mission in MW2 (2009) all had a profound effect on me – and many other players. So much so, that it made us look forward to Modern Warfare 3 (2011) so we could see the series’ villain, Makarov, finally get what was coming to him.
The fact is, if you’ve not played through the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare games, you’re missing out. My love for Call of Duty, and the whole reason why I’m sitting here writing this article on a Monday afternoon, was forged by these stories. And just as much as it was by the incredible multiplayer experience that COD has consistently delivered over the years.
Keep campaigns coming
So, when other players forget, belittle, or don’t understand the value of these experiences, it can be quite frustrating. I’d also include Activision itself in this. When the publisher made the decision to not include a story campaign in Black Ops 4, that alienated me as a player. I look forward to my annual blast through a COD campaign. Even if I’m too busy with other games and life commitments to fully embrace the multiplayer these days, I always make time for the campaign.
I do this because Call of Duty has produced some of the best single-player FPS experiences I’ve ever played, and I’d hate to live in a world without them. However, I know I’m a dying breed and only represent a small minority of COD players. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when players fell out of love with single-player COD. I’d estimate it was sometime between Ghosts and Infinite Warfare, but it was more of a process than an instant drop-off.
To some players, seeing the Black Ops 6 campaign get the flowers it deserves may be enough to remind them of how great a COD campaign can be. To younger players, it may encourage them to give it a try, but I suspect the contempt is too deeply ingrained in many players. The truth is, while some COD campaigns have been wholly forgettable – looking at you, MW3 remake, most are actually pretty good.
To me, it’s encouraging to see a Call of Duty story campaign become so celebrated in 2024. It shows me that I’m not alone and that there are players out there who value them as much as I do. Taking nothing away from multiplayer, single-player campaigns are an important part of first-person shooters and always have been. It’s exciting to see Activision still acknowledge this, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they cook up in 2025.