Call of Duty Black Ops 4 Multiplayer Makes Small But Crucial Changes [Exclusive Gameplay and Preview]
VGR got a chance to check out the Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer private beta ahead of its official launch tomorrow for fans on PS4. We’ve already spent hours blasting away opponents in new maps and modes, checking out the various Specialists (new and old), and playing around with the revamped Pick 10 system for Create a Class.
As of right now, it’s hard to say how the lack of a singleplayer campaign has benefited Call of Duty Black Ops 4 that much since the changes we saw were pretty small. In a lot of ways, there aren’t enough differences to really make it feel radically different than Black Ops 3. However, we are happy to report that most of the changes are for the better and integrate some crucial improvements and additions.
At a glance, Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer is just like Black Ops 3, featuring largely similar graphics, the return of the Specialists class system, Pick 10 Create a Class, and so on. Well, except for one major feature. The multiplayer lacks the thruster pack movement system in favor of a single jump and the fast-paced moving you know and love.
Personally, this felt like a step back as I loved the thrusters in Black Ops 3. This made the maps automatically feel limited and not as fun to traverse. It made sense (and worked) for WW2 to remove it last year but I would have liked to see it make a return with improvements.
Thankfully, that’s my only major gripe about the changes in Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer during the private beta. The return of the Specialists system is very welcome as I think it brings a lot of style to the game. Each specialist has been changed up a bit with players now having the chance to choose between 10. There are 6 returning characters and four new ones.
Each Specialist has a unique main ability that recharges pretty often like tripwire or a stun drone. In addition, there is a special ability that each one has from an epic weapon like the flamethrower to summoning a K-9 partner. It’s simplistic in concept but strategic when all put together. For the most part, each Specialist has room to complement one another nicely with the right strategy.
I will take a second to say that the K-9 partner that the Nomad Specialist has is currently really overpowered in the Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer beta. As you can see above in our exclusive gameplay, the K-9 went crazy killing enemies in like one hit over and over. That wouldn’t be so bad if the other Specialist ultimate abilities were equally OP but they aren’t.
The Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer beta gave access to several of the new maps and many of the modes that will be in the main game. Most of the maps felt like copy and paste of older ones but there were a couple of standouts. Basically, any map with underwater elements is a plus in my book as they allow for a wide variety of strategies.
There is only one new mode that you can test out in the Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer beta and that is Control. Technically, Chaos Team Deathmatch is also sort of new since it is an improved playlist with normal TDM and Kill Confirmed. The difference is you can have two of the same Specialists on the same team in this playlist.
Normally, you can only have one of each on a single team. This allows for some real chaos as the name suggests. Control, though, feels like a much longer version of Domination. There are two capture points on the map at once and teams take turns defending and attacking the points. If you’re the defender, defend your two points and if you’re attacking, attempt to take control of them.
That sounds nice and all at first but the real wrinkle is that each team only has 30 lives each round. You can win a round by successfully defending or controlling, or making your enemy run out of lives first. I found, though, that most matches I played in the Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer beta just turned into mostly TDM. While it makes sense to have the lives as a balance, I do think it took away from the objective.
Regardless, the Pick 10 Create a Class is back and better than ever. It is streamlined and simple to grasp enough even for newcomers. The number of options to pick from feel varied enough, though, I do hope it expands in the future. Overall, though, the Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer beta made me feel slightly disappointed in the smaller changes. However, those changes are important and they do have me excited to see the new Zombies and Blackout Battle Royale mode soon.