Squid Game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, American Dad, Beavis and Butthead, and that god awful Seth Rogen weed event. The collaborations in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 that pushed most of us over the edge.
The first collaboration of Black Ops 7 is here now, and, at least in my opinion, it’s clear of last year’s shenanigans by some margin. One, because it’s Fallout, a much loved and highly respected game/TV show franchise (and one of my own favorite shows, I might add).
Fallout is a different type of futuristic to Black Ops 7, but I think it works
So, why is this event any different to last year’s? Fallout’s post-apocalyptic setting doesn’t exactly match up with Black Ops 7’s near-future, does it?
I don’t think it feels jarring. Nuketown, obviously, is absolutely made for its Vault-Tec makeover. It’s already, in its traditional form, every bit as retro as Fallout. It all works.
But outside of this, The Ghoul, Maximus, and (when the bundle drops in the Store) Lucy are no more out of place than some of the operator skins already in the game. They’re certainly an improvement on some of those in the Store.
The same can be said of the weapon blueprints. I love the animated Vault-Tec weapon Camo, and the special blueprints on the premium track are a significant step forward from last year’s pooping Unicorn. They’re a different type of futuristic to everything else, but they’re so well done they don’t feel out of place.
The detail is exceptional. The special weapons and finishing move you can get even have the Fallout green numbers death effect. Deathclaws look terrifying.
Plenty of actual Fallout-themed content to play
The Fallout crossover isn’t just a cash grab, and I get it if there are folks out there that might think it is. Yes, there’s an event pass, and yes, it has a paid tier. If you want it, you can buy it and get the extra goodies.
But each of the four modes in this year’s Call of Duty — Endgame, Multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone — have dedicated LTMs (limited time modes) with a Fallout twist to them.
Zombies fans, especially, are eating well. The playlist has rewards on both big maps, including a Calling Card for defeating the Deathclaw after going on a Vault-Boy Bobblehead hunt. Other rewards trigger for reaching Round 10 and Round 50.
Both maps have been tweaked to fit the Fallout theme, too, with some alterations to the gameplay mechanics over the regular modes.
Endgame has a new World Event, wherein a Nuke drops on the map, creates an irradiated zone, and spawns a bunch of nasty Deathclaws you have to deal with. Completing it can also give you the final Endgame Dark Ops Calling Card, as well the Brotherhood of Steel’s Power Armor to use as a Scorestreak.
The arrival of a third World Event to Endgame has also, finally, unlocked access to the final Dark Ops Challenge. If you already did the first two to completion, doing the Atomic Impact event will net you the Titan Hunter Dark Ops.
Multiplayer has a few things going on. Nuketown has been rebranded as Vault Town, there’s a mode similar to the recent Holiday Havoc, but Fallout, and Infected has returned with Ghouls and constant Rads damage.
Warzone gets Power Armor Royale, which mixes PvP and PvE on a reduced version of the Verdansk map. It’s like a more casual battle royale, but with Power Armor. Everything is better with Power Armor.
Will everyone enjoy these modes? No, of course not. Zombies and Endgame’s aren’t necessarily that replayable once you’ve got what you wanted from them. But the point is that there’s a sizable chunk of actual content to play. Content is king.
Black Ops 7 Season 01 has been better than the whole of Black Ops 6
The problem last year with Black Ops 6 was a lack of meaningful content. Sure we had new maps in Multiplayer, Warzone got Verdansk back, Zombies had its fair share and there were events.
But after a strong start, it tailed off pretty quickly. Speaking personally, I played Black Ops 6 hard for the first half of its life, but then pretty much gave up. Repetitive, is how I can best sum it up.
Black Ops 7 has already started with a bang, regardless of what the Internet may have you believing, if you’re not a player. There’s a ridiculous spread of stuff to do across all four modes, especially if, like myself, you like the challenge of, well, challenges.
Season 01 already feels like it’s delivered more in just over a month than we had all of last year. The Fallout event is excellent, the content over the holidays has been pretty solid, and I’ve been having a blast.
Hell, I’ve just finished the Warzone Mastery Camo and 100% Calling Card challenge. I don’t even know why, since I don’t particularly enjoy Warzone. But here we are.
Fallout has now set a standard, though. It means nothing in the wider picture if future events and collaborations don’t stack up like this one. Here’s hoping.
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