While Call of Duty has only had one full remaster, as Call of Duty 4 received modern makeovers for both its campaign and multiplayer, the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 received a partial upgrade. Though many were understandably let down that its unbalanced but incredibly fun multiplayer was not rebuilt from the ground up, its campaign was one of the best in the series, and it was great to see a 2009 game remodeled for a 2020 audience. Call of Duty: Black Ops deserves this same treatment.
In particular, the first two Black Ops games offered singleplayer modes with engaging stories and standout set pieces. Both games focused on memorable characters and the use of experimental technology, staying true to their titles. They also featured standout casts of characters, twist-filled plots, and a fair amount of replaybility. With the games unavailable on some newer consoles and starting to show their age, it is getting harder to do access them, and remasters for the campaigns would preserve a key part of Black Ops 1 and 2's legacy.
The Replayability of Black Ops and The Depth of Black Ops 2
Though the original Black Ops campaign may be in the traditional style, its six-hour runtime is full of sections that players will enjoy playing again and again. Whether they are finding the secret Thundergun Easter egg, fighting with Woods using a Dragon’s Breath shotgun, or escaping the Vorkuta prison alongside Reznov, there are many moments that are worth reliving again and again.
The second Black Ops game not only has some standout missions, but the addition of some extra gameplay mechanics makes it an experience players can spend more time with on their initial playthrough. Before worrying about full replays, gamers can grind out the challenges for each mission, complete the side quests that appear at certain points in the story, and make different choices to see how certain levels play out. With alternate endings available too, there is an impressive amount of content available in the 2012 release's singleplayer mode.
The Black Ops storyline is Call of Duty at its best, and the campaigns of these first two entries are the main reason why. Both are filled with stellar characters like Woods, Mason, and Menendez, and the way their stories are brought together in the second game is impressive. The first Black Ops game also has one of the most iconic twists in the gaming industry thanks to Reznov, and the clever details that hint at it show just how much care went into the moment. Ultimately, these two campaigns deserve to be experienced by all FPS fans, as they offer strong writing that many may not expect from Call of Duty.
Campaign Remasters Make More Sense Than Full Remasters For BO1 and BO2
Not only would campaign remasters come with the usual benefits like bringing the stories to a new audience, but they would require less development time and lower costs than full-on remasters that include multiplayer and Zombies. This would make them viable options for 2023, Call of Duty’s supposed off-year, with players able to enjoy two classic Treyarch campaigns as they wait for the studio’s next project.
Remastering multiplayer and Zombies content would not make much sense, either. This is because Black Ops 3’s Zombies Chronicles expansion rebuilt every single Black Ops 1 map except for Five, while Five went on to get a reimagining in Black Ops 4. Black Ops 2’s Origins was included in Chronicles, and Mob of the Dead was also reimagined for Black Ops 4. Similar logic applies to classic multiplayer maps, as Black Ops 2-4 were full of BO1 map remakes while Black Ops Cold War doubled down on Black Ops 2 maps. Over the years, fans have seen plenty of multiplayer and Zombies content from the first two Black Ops games, but the campaigns remain trapped on older hardware. As such, Call of Duty campaign remasters like MW2 seem like the perfect solution.