Call of Duty is a franchise that has been around for 17 years. Every year it comes out with a new game and keeps improving on itself. This year’s is set in the 80’s and is more of a noir style.

The game revolves around finding the whereabouts of Perseus, who was a spy in the Manhattan Project and then fled. He later popped up in Vietnam and eventually ends up in the Cold War in the 80’s. The main character is Alex Mason from the original Black Ops, and the player creates his own personality traits. Old characters return from the original Black Ops, including Hudson, Mason, and Frank Woods. There are also new faces like Adlar, Park, and Lazar, all of which are great additions. 

There are multiple endings to the Campaign, and the evidence and information the player collects can offer new side missions to progress the story. Most of the missions are stealth based and can have multiple paths, unlike previous games. The player also travels to many locations, such as KGB bases, East and West Berlin, and Vietnam. 

The game makes many references to other Call of Duties,  such as when Mason sees the number from the original Black ops when he does certain actions. Also, Steiner is referenced and Kravchenko appears. Of course, with just about every Call of Duty, multiplayer returns, as does the gunsmith feature.

The Zombies mode makes its return as well from previous Black Op games. It is fairly different from previous Zombies incarnations. For example, one of the new features is that now a player can escape from the horde after Round 10 and every five rounds after that. The Zombie story is new and not as confusing as the previous one. 

A drawback is that players now cannot mount on walls. The starting weapons do the job, but not very effectively. Loading times also are not the greatest now because of how cross play is involved now.

Despite a few minor kinks, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is one of the greatest Call of Duties made yet.