The beta testing phase of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War ended a few days ago , the latest iteration of the iconic Activision franchise. With the collaboration of Treyarch, this year it’s up to Raven Software to coordinate the work on the new first-person shooter , a title halfway between reboot and sequel to the original episode released in 2010, which proposed one of the best experiences ‘boots on the ground’ of the series. Cold War thus presents itself as a visceral and adrenaline-pumping shooter, the perfect evolution of the renewed formula proposed a year ago by Modern Warfare.

So let’s find out what awaits us next

13 November starting from this first analysis dedicated exclusively to Multiplayer, waiting to be able to enjoy the promising cinematic campaign and the inevitable Zombies mode.

Fast-paced, down-to-earth action

We had the chance to try the new Call of Duty on two different platforms: first on PlayStation 4 , thanks to the Beta in Early Access, and later on PC , through the most recent Open Beta. In both cases, Black Ops Cold War hit us with a cutting-edge technical sector, more than enjoyable on PS4 and simply excellent on Windows, where the game enjoys full support for the latest Nvidia technologies – such as ray tracing, DLSS and Reflex.

By postponing the technical analysis to the final test, let’s focus on the multiplayer experience promoted by Cold War. The expression ‘boots on the ground’ translates, in this case, into a game formula focused on the realism of the action transposed on the screen: the soldiers of this FPS will not make use of futuristic gadgets, nor will they perform superhuman maneuvers while they are involved in firefights. We thus move away from the sci-fi nuances of the last episodes of Black Ops to return to the humbler origins of the Treyarch series, taking up arms and collaborating with our teammates to achieve victory. All this finds expression in a dynamic and engaging gameplay , less simulated than Modern Warfare, but paradoxically more realistic.

Cold War inherits most of the mechanics seen in the latest Infinity Ward soft reboot, but renounces its sometimes overused cover system and puts a slight brake on the pace of the game through some essential changes , for example by limiting the speed of the shots; do not worry, you will find the always versatile slips, as well as the possibility to climb over environmental obstacles. First impressions not only go towards greater realism of movement, but also involve a more balanced and accessible gameplay, suitable for both Call of Duty veterans and novices of the shooter genre.

Among the obvious points of contact with the previous iteration we find the management of the arsenal. By leveling up with the first available weapons, you will access additional guns and related accessories: each attachment will provide certain advantages during the fight, however counterbalanced by any disadvantages; bonuses and penalties materialize in greater stability in the aiming phase, with the use of a front kick, or in an expansion of the reload times, by opting for a larger magazine. A similar argument applies to the perks and, therefore, to the passive abilities that we will assign to our alter ego and which pass through a system almost identical to that of Modern Warfare – except for the characteristics of some perks.

Change radically, however, the killstreak formula: in the case of Black Ops Cold War we no longer speak of a series of killings, but of a series of points . By scoring eliminations and conquering objectives, we will accumulate points to access three different items, represented by gadgets or special weapons – the emblematic RC-XD radio controlled and the classic aerial bombing stand out. On the one hand this solution could appear as a mere (and perhaps excessive) simplification, on the other it seems to us a completely sensible choice, which will allow less ‘expert’ users to take advantage of all the weapons made available by the game.

The first certainties … and some perplexities

The beta testing phase allowed us to take a closer look at the scenarios and game modes of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. It is precisely by observing the battlefield that we have identified one of the main strengths of the production curated by Raven Software .

The game offers us a pool of maps rather varied and decidedly inspired as regards the level design and the artistic sector. It starts from the claustrophobic clashes of Miami and Moscow to get to the big arenas by Crossroads and Armada , passing through a couple of authentic goodies: with their smaller dimensions, the two urban maps can guarantee an instant dose of fun while maintaining a rather fast pace, but it will be the more spacious scenarios that offer greater freedom of choice in terms of loadout and environmental interaction – we will not only find the vehicles, but also various ziplines and shortcuts to move quickly around the map.

Speaking of the ‘goodies’, Satellite is a desert expanse that hosts natural elements (large stone walls and dunes) and artificial elements (the debris of a satellite now precipitated o), a mix that will satisfy both lovers of close combat and aspiring snipers. Equally versatile is Cartel , perhaps one of the best-designed maps , consisting of a cocaine plantation that houses several buildings, including a large hangar. The most anonymous, at least from our point of view, were Alpine and Ruka , probably due to their too dispersive structure and which is badly suited to a shooter of this type; after all we are talking about a Call of Duty, not a Battlefield.

In this regard, we must also say a few words about the game modes contained in this Beta. We are talking about a handful of more or less traditional modes, such as the omnipresent Team Deathmatch and Dominion, in which there are also some curious new entries.

In particular, we had the opportunity to appreciate the Combined Assaults mode, where two teams of well 12 players compete for the control of five zones while they will give a lot of reason within the largest maps of the game; with its huge armored ships, Armada is the perfect location for this game mode. Less convincing, but certainly more original, it has proved Dirty Bomb, practically a ‘small’ version of Warzone’s battle royale , with 40 players involved in a real uranium hunt . Here the immediacy of classic modes is partly sacrificed in favor of strategy, but the first few matches, at least for us, were somewhat confusing. Much clearer and more fun is the VIP Escort mode, also based on collaborating with your teammates.

At the end of our test we were overall satisfied with the experience packaged by Raven Software and