According to a report from Games Industry, a survey recently conducted by market data analytics company Nielsen to measure consumer interest in games ahead of the holiday season saw Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2 square off in a tight race. Ultimately, Black Ops 4 came out on top, just barely. Platform exclusives such as Marvel’s Spider-Man and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also sat at the top of their respective lists.
Nielsen’s survey focused on games that are coming or have come out close to the approaching holiday season, and was answered by roughly 6,000 people. There were about 82 games in total on the list, all released (or releasing) from September 1, 2018, to December 31. Based on metrics such as consumer rating, intent to purchase, and awareness, each game was assigned a rank.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 scored a whopping 99, with Red Dead Redemption 2 falling just short of it with a 97. Behind those two were Fallout 76 and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, with several sports titles falling just under the 90s.
Of course, the game that scored a perfect 100 was Marvel’s Spider-Man, which sat at the top of the platform-exclusive PlayStation rankings. Compared to the competition, Forza Horizon 4 scored an 84, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tied with Super Mario Party with a 99.
[Source: Games Industry]
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 info dump
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – EYNTK
Friday's the big one, folks, so let's jump into the archives and see what Black Ops 4 is hiding under the hood.
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What is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4?
It's the fourth numbered entry in Treyarch's celebrated series and the first Call of Duty game to ship without a traditional single-player campaign. The focus here is on multiplayer and the fan-favorite Zombies mode, but more on that later.
Here's the official word from Treyarch:
“Featuring gritty, grounded, fluid Multiplayer combat, the biggest Zombies offering ever with three full undead adventures at launch, and Blackout, where the universe of Black Ops comes to life in one massive battle royale experience.
“Black Ops Pass delivers the ultimate Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 experience. Whether you’re a Multiplayer fan or part of the Zombies community, the Black Ops Pass is packed with new, epic content for every game mode, enhancing your Call of Duty experience.”
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What’s the Story?
Alas, there isn't one. And for good reason, according to Treyarch studio head Dan Bunting:
“Development is a journey. We try a lot of different ideas and a lot of different things. The game that we are making has evolved over time, and that’s just a part of development. I can’t remember a single game that we’ve made that hasn’t had a dramatic change in the prototyping stage.”
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How Does it Play?
Like a buttery-smooth dream, if early impressions are any indication. The online beta test wasn’t without its faults, of course (more on that later), but overall, Black Ops 4 is every bit as polished and refined as its predecessors.
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A Multiplayer-Only Game From Day One
No, we're not kidding; Black Ops 4 really is tailored to the multiplayer crowd, with Dan Bunting, studio co-head at Treyarch, explaining:
“When we set out to make this game, we never started with the idea that we would make a traditional campaign. That was just not part of our plan. We started from a place that we were gonna make a game that across the board can be playable with friends. That’s been our mission from day one."
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Some Elements of Single Player
Those on the lookout for solo, narrative-driven experiences will be left wanting when it comes to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, but Treyarch has promised the return of online solo missions, which is, essentially, the game's way of telling a story without a campaign.
Expect new and returning Specialist characters to feature, too:
“These missions will be fun and fast-paced trials that give a hands-on introduction for these new and returning Specialists,” Dan Bunting, Treyarch's co-studio head, said.
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A Super-Sized Zombies Mode
Four heroes. Three maps (at launch). And more weapons that you can shake a Wunderwaffe at. Welcome to the Call of Duty Zombies Mode of 2018:
Scarlett Rhodes is out to solve her eccentric father’s mysterious disappearance. With the help of three loyal outcasts, she’ll fight waves of the undead and uncover a prized relic wielding an extraordinary power that threatens all of humanity.
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Initiate the Blackout
It's become one of the prevailing gaming trends of 2018, and sure enough, Call of Duty is opening up its doors to battle royale.
As a game mode, Blackout contains all of the elements one would associate with battle royale–from the massive arenas to the survival gameplay.
But this time, there's a Call of Duty twist:
"In Blackout, Black Ops comes to life in one massive battle royale experience, combining Black Ops signature combat and the biggest map in Call of Duty history. Play as fan-favorite characters and battle through iconic settings from the Black Ops universe. It’s a collision course bringing together the worlds of Black Ops in an all-out survival and elimination experience featuring weapons; equipment; land, sea, and air vehicles; RC-XDs; traps; and even Zombies in an experience that is uniquely Black Ops."
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Firing Squad, Nuketown and Asylum All Included
To make matters more interesting, Blackout touts a slew of fan-favorite arenas like Firing Squad, Nuketown and Asylum, all cobbled together under one umbrella.
It's a free-for-all, so let's get ready to rumble.
On a more general note, Black Ops 4 will feature a total of 14 maps at launch, with series staple Nuketown coming in November.
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Black Ops Pass
The Black Ops Pass has been hailed as a “new approach to post-launch content,” according to Treyarch devs, and is included within both the Enhanced Edition and the Digital Deluxe Edition.
Via Treyarch, the Black Ops pass signals “a new approach to post-launch content for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, including a robust live season for the community. Instead of having four separate content drops, Black Ops 4 fans will experience a more frequent cadence to keep things fresh and deliver new maps and content more regularly throughout the year.”
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Timed Exclusivity on PS4
Speaking of content, PlayStation 4 players will get to play new content first on PS4 by seven days. This means all the playable content coming to the Black Ops universe following launch will land seven days early on PS4, including new specialists and maps, as well as seasonal events. After seven days, all new playable content will come to other platforms.
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Digital File Size
Based on a listing over on the Microsoft Store, the digital version of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will clock in at approximately 42.64GB.
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Beta Impressions
Our own Chandler Wood took Black Ops 4 out for a test drive last month, and walked away overly impressed, writing:
"The Call of Duty brand is where Blackout’s real strength lies. It looks like Call of Duty. It plays like Call of Duty. But it’s a massive battle royale mode that jumps on gaming’s latest trend, doing it better because it has a longtime Treyarch history to support it. This is what it looks like when a AAA developer makes a battle royale game that is part of a larger paid package, rather than relying on the free-to-play model to generate income."
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Treyarch Responds
Treyarch has been pretty proactive during the development of Black Ops 4, and even responded to some of the concerns raised during last month's online beta test.
- Item Pickups: We’ve seen several comments suggesting that the item pickup time is slower than expected. We’ll be updating the game to make pickup speeds as fast as possible without interfering with reloading, and make it easier to pick up items without looking directly at them. PC players will also be able to map keys to instantly pick up items when the Blackout Beta goes live on PC later this week.
- Quick Equip Menu: Some players have had trouble performing certain actions while the Quick Equip menu is open. We have two fixes set to go live around 10AM PT tomorrow that will help with this: Quick Equip will auto-close if you don’t do anything in it for 5 seconds, and auto-close and prevent from opening when using the Recon Car. For future reference, the Quick Equip menu can be closed by pressing down on the d-pad.
- Armor: Much like the early days of the MP Beta, we’ve seen some online discussion about the utility of Armor in Blackout. We’re keeping a close eye on Armor’s performance during the Beta.
- Friendly Fire: We’re aware that friendly fire allows your teammates to take you out – by mistake, or in some unfortunate circumstances, on purpose. While we always recommend choosing your Duo and Quad partners wisely, we’ll keep an eye on teamkilling throughout the Beta and consider other options. We’re also collecting stats on players who damage their teammates with friendly fire and have a security team monitoring those players for offenses that are outside the bounds of the occasional accident. Play nice out there.
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Mystery Box Edition
Otherwise known (unofficially) as the premium, ultimate, in-your-face edition, the official Mystery Box version of Black Ops 4 comes packing the following:
- COLLECTIBLE ZOMBIES MYSTERY BOX – Inspired by the in-game Zombies Mystery Box, this collectible box features an eerie skeleton exterior along with frightening sounds and lighting.
- ZOMBIES HEROES FiGPiNS™ – Get the exclusive set of our new Zombies Heroes FiGPiNs featuring Scarlett Rhodes, Bruno Delacroix, Diego Necalli, and Stanton Shaw from Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
- 10th ANNIVERSARY ZOMBIES PUZZLE – This 1,000-piece puzzle features unique art celebrating 10 years of Treyarch Zombies history.
- DARK HORSE ZOMBIES COMIC ISSUE #1 – This first issue of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies Dark Horse Comic comes with an exclusive cover only for the Mystery Box Edition. The comic series will unveil details about our Zombies Heroes’ backstories.
- ZOMBIES LITHOGRAPHS – These three collectible lithographs commemorate Voyage of Despair, IX, and Blood of the Dead, three Zombies Experiences in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
- POPSOCKET™ – With its intimidating skull logo, this limited-edition Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 PopSocket is the perfect way to show off your Black Ops
- COLLECTIBLE STEELBOOK™– Limited edition SteelBook game case featuring unique art.
- LIMITED EDITION SPECIALIST ICON PATCHES – Call of Duty: Black Ops 4reintroduces the fan-favorite Multiplayer Specialists, each with their own unique weapon, equipment, and icons. This set of collectible patches is inspired by each of the 10 Specialists’ in-game icons.
- BLACK OPS PASS*– The Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Black Ops Pass includes Classified, a bonus Zombies experience, available at Launch, 4 additional all-new Zombies experiences, 12 Multiplayer maps, and 4 exclusive Blackout characters.
- ADDITIONAL BONUS CONTENT
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Pro Edition + Digital Deluxe Enhanced
If you're looking for a little more bang for your buck, the Black Ops 4 Pro Edition bundles together...
- Additional Digital Edition Bonus Items
- Additional Digital Deluxe Bonus Items
- Black Ops Pass: "Classified" Zombies experience, 4 additional Zombies experiences, 12 multiplayer maps, 4 exclusive Blackout characters
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Steelbook
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Pop Socket
- 10 Specialist Patches
- 3 Zombies-Inspired Collectible Art Cards
- 1,100 Call of Duty Points
And now, the Digital Deluxe Enhanced Edition, for those curious...
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
8,500 Call of Duty Points - Digital Edition Bonus Items
- Digital Deluxe Bonus Items
- Black Ops Pass, including:
- “Classified” – a Zombies experience available at launch
- 4 additional all-new Zombies experiences
- 12 multiplayer maps
- 4 exclusive Blackout characters
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A GameStop Exclusive
You don't have to search too far to find a high-street retailer promoting its own exclusive bonus content for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, but this GameStop perk is still pretty cool–so long as you preorder before October 12.
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Day One Patch
No, you read that right; the day one patch for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is a hefty one, weighing in at around 50GB on PlayStation 4.
Per Treyarch:
"Before playing for the first time, players will need to download and install a day one update for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. This update must be installed completely in order to access Multiplayer, Zombies, and Specialist Headquarters. Blackout is fully playable once installation is about 30% complete (approximately 16-20 GB).
"For an optimized download experience, players should have 112 GB of free hard drive space—note that this is not the size of the download, it is the amount of space required to complete the installation process. The final installation footprint will be approximately 55 GB. In order to play Blackout before the full installation is complete, select “Update to Latest Version” when the prompt appears.
"The day one update package is roughly 50 GB. Download speeds may vary based on region, platform, connection type, and the speed of your internet connection."
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Our Final Verdict
Chandler Wood will be handling the PSLS review of Black Ops 4, so keep your peepers peeled. And remember, stay frosty.
