Highlights

  • It looks as if Treyarch is aiming to rectify the lack of explosive set piece moments from Modern Warfare 3 in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign.
  • Black Ops 6 features a campaign with a great blend of player choice and set piece moments, offering multiple combat approaches in what looks to be a linear structure.
  • Fans can once again expect big explosive moments in Black Ops 6's campaign, recapturing the flashiness of iconic Call of Duty singleplayer experiences.

The recent Direct presentation for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was a successful debut for the FPS giant's new partnership with Microsoft, with fans getting some excellent insight into what the upcoming game is all about. While more information will be revealed during the Call of Duty NEXT event on August 28, the Direct gave a great overview of the campaign, core multiplayer, and Zombies experiences of the anticipated project.

A lot of time in particular was given to the campaign of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 during the Direct, confirming its 90s setting and its focus on uncovering the gritty truths behind the major conflicts of the time. It is no secret that the campaign of Modern Warfare 3, the predecessor of Black Ops 6, was one of the most criticized in Call of Duty history, and the Direct proved that Black Ops 6 is aiming to rectify the lack of explosive set piece moments that were absent from Modern Warfare 3.

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Call of Duty Black Ops 6
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - Official Gameplay Reveal Trailer

Developed by Treyarch and Raven Software come Call of Duty 6 Black Ops 6. Forced to go rogue, and hunted within. All new campaign set in the Gulf War

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's Campaign Has the Explosiveness That MW3 Lacked

The Direct presentation for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 featured a lot of exciting snippets from the game's campaign, with players taking control of brand-new protagonist Troy Marshall to uncover the dark truths that have been hidden from the world. Working alongside iconic Black Ops character Frank Woods, the player will be a key figure in a rogue task force working away from the prying eyes of government agencies, leading to a lot of tense and high-octane action.

Throughout the campaign segment of the Direct presentation, fans were able to see several explosive set piece moments from Black Ops 6's campaign, ranging from daring motorcycle jumps to heart-thumping helicopter crashes. Alongside this footage, Treyarch stated how it was aiming to recapture the stakes of the most iconic moments from Call of Duty's singleplayer history, which often come from the same kind of set piece action.

Treyarch made a point of stressing just how important this ethos has been to the development of Black Ops 6's story, and it seems like no coincidence that this comes in the wake of Modern Warfare 3's lackluster singleplayer experience. While the campaign of 2023's CoD release did well to further the rebooted story of Task Force 141, the rapid development schedule of the game led to an infamously short story that lacked the pomp and excitement of past entries.

Black Ops 6's Campaign Has a Great Blend of Player Choice and Set Piece Moments

Many of Modern Warfare 3's campaign levels were Open Combat missions, for example, taking place in much larger maps with a range of objectives. Open Combat missions were one of the most controversial elements of Modern Warfare 3, doing away with the traditional linearity of Call of Duty missions and the set pieces that more intimate missions often feature. With almost half of MW3's campaign missions being Open Combat, a clear desire is present for a return to a more linear approach, and Black Ops 6 seems to confidently be conforming to this (even if one of its campaign missions was described as massive).

The campaign of Black Ops 6 will not be entirely linear, featuring things like dialogue options and multiple methods of combat approaches, but it seems that these missions will all be anchored by big explosive moments. With how much Modern Warfare 3 struggled to feature set piece experiences that contend with the best of the franchise's history, it is a welcome change to see Black Ops 6 showcasing its own set pieces from the get go.