What You Need to Know Before Purchasing Black Ops 4
No Campaign
In a lot of ways, Black Ops 4 is breaking new ground for the Call of Duty franchise. While some of that new ground is welcomed with open arms (looking at you, Blackout), some changes are much to the dismay of the fan base. One of the drastic changes coming to Black Ops 4 is the lack of a campaign.
That’s right. In no way, shape, or form will there be a traditional single-player campaign. You might shriek in terror or disgust, but a quick look at some numbers will explain why dropping the campaign makes sense. Simply put, most people don’t play the campaign. Even fewer finish it.
Still, though, you might be one of those people that buys Call of Duty each year to play the campaign. If that’s a dealbreaker for you, then steer away from purchasing this game. We do, however, think the multiplayer in the game (as well as Blackout and Zombies) is accomplished enough that it does warrant a $60 price tag.
What You Need to Know Before Purchasing Black Ops 4
Massive Day-One Patch
There’s nothing more exciting than popping a game into your system on day one. There’s nothing more heartbreaking than a massive day-one patch that ruins any plans you had to play the game immediately.
Sometimes, these patches are small and quick to download and install (which depends on your internet service). Other times, though, the patch is as big as the game. Unfortunately, Call of Duty Black Ops 4 falls into the latter camp. With a 50 GB day-one patch, if you’re buying the game as a physical disc, you might want to rearrange your plans on launch night around this giant download.
If you buy the game digitally, you can pre-load it now so that when the game goes live, you’re free to play.
What You Need to Know Before Purchasing Black Ops 4
The Season Pass Doesn’t Come Cheap
As is usual for the series, Call of Duty Black Ops 4 has a season pass, and it is pricey. To be exact, it’s $50.
$50 is the price if you buy it alone, though. You can purchase special editions of the game that come with the season pass for a price that would amount to the pass being cheaper than $50. For $100, you can pick up the Deluxe Edition. This version gets you the base game, which is $60 when sold separately, and the season pass. Some simple math tells us that in this edition, the season pass is only $40.
Disappointingly though, the only way to get Black Ops 4 DLC is through the season pass. In the past, players have been able to purchase individual DLC packs as they release, but Black Ops 4 seems to be ditching this trend.
What You Need to Know Before Purchasing Black Ops 4
There Is a Season Pass-Exclusive Zombies Map
If you’re purchasing Black Ops 4 because of the zombies, you might want to know that there’s a fourth zombie map locked away behind the season pass. Titled “Classified” (which could totally just be a placeholder for the actual name), this zombies map is exclusive to those who have purchased the season pass.
Still though, assuming you can get past the fact that there is a map you will be missing out on should you forego the campaign, there are three other maps for you to get your zombie fix. One takes place on Alcatraz, another on the Titanic and the third one takes place in the Roman Coliseum.
What You Need to Know Before Purchasing Black Ops 4
Healing
Black Ops 4 is bringing a lot of changes to the Call of Duty franchise. Some big, like outright dropping the campaign, and some small, like healing. For the first time ever in a Call of Duty game, there is a major emphasis on healing in multiplayer.
In previous games, a kill in Call of Duty boiled down usually to a game of who shot first. In Black Ops 4 though, with the introduction of healing mechanics and increased times-to-kill, shooting second doesn’t mean immediate death.
Now, you can navigate your way out of gunfire for a quick heal, or head into a firefight with increased health. It takes more bullets for you to die, which means you have more time to determine how to come out on top in each individual enemy encounter. The ability to heal totally changes the way players approach Black Ops 4 gunfights, but for someone unaware, it can be pretty jarring. With some time though, healing will feel right at home.
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