Home Gaming Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 reviews round up – all of the reviews in one place

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 reviews round up – all of the reviews in one place

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is out today, and so are its reviews. Gavin played through it and, like the deluded Call of Duty fan that he is, thought it was really quite good. As a value proposition, it’s definitely a winner, packing just about 4 games in to a single package. With a lengthy co-operative campaign, the multiplayer, a zombies packager, a reworked zombies campaign and a handful of other modes, there’s definitely something in it for everybody. But what do other critics think?

Polygon – 7/10

CODBLOPS 3 (18)

At its heart, Black Ops 3‘s multiplayer is still very much Treyarch’s take on Call of Duty. This means it’s fun — Call of Duty and Black Ops found a basis for solid, competitive multiplayer that worked almost a decade ago, and it still resonates here and there. But I’m surprised by how familiar, how recognizable it all feels, which is even more disappointingly the case with its campaign. Black Ops 3‘s biggest point of recommendation may be the breadth of content there, and that’s a valid point of view. But Treyarch doesn’t meaningfully move the series forward here.

Game Informer – 9/10

CODBLOPS 3 (17)

Despite a campaign that struggles with occasional mundane shootouts that bring the out-of-this-world story down to earth, the overall Call of Duty: Black Ops III package is incredibly strong, with something for everyone. Whether you’re into traditional multiplayer mayhem or zombie survival, you’ve got lots of choices that are fun solo and even better with friends.

Gamespot – 7/10

CODBLOPS 3 (16)

Black Ops III’s narrative doesn’t support the campaign in any meaningful way, either. It tells an incomprehensible story about AI ascendancy and the moral grays of a hyper-connected future, raising intriguing questions but never bothering to answer them. At the end of it all, after hours of soulless shooting and unremarkable storytelling, Black Ops III delivered its nebulous twist, and I didn’t dwell on it. In its undead modes, and the first 10 hours of multiplayer, it excels. But in its campaign, it merely crawls forward. Black Ops III doesn’t offer anything remarkable to the series, but does just enough to maintain the Call of Duty status quo. The franchise, however slowly, continues its inexorable march.

SixthAxis – 8/10

CODBLOPS 3 (14)

From the big marquee features to the small touches and hidden modes, Black Ops 3 features an awful lot of content, and every aspect of it is designed with cooperative play in mind. It can feel a bit disjointed in places, but it’s a broad and expansive game with plenty to enjoy, especially so when playing with friends.

Attack of the Fanboy – 4.5/5

CODBLOPS 3 (12)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is absolutely stuffed to the brim with content on all fronts, and nearly none of it feels like filler.  Changes to single player and the addition of new cooperative modes make the campaign feel like less of an afterthought than it has in recent years, and gives players plenty of reasons to come back and play it again.  Treyarch stays at the head of the class with Black Ops 3 competitive multiplayer and zombies modes as well.  While three years has given us some time to possibly forget how masterfully crafted Black Ops 2 was, Black Ops 3 is both the biggest and best Call of Duty game we’ve seen since then.

EGM – 9.5/10

CODBLOPS 3 (11)

Black Ops III is the deepest Call of Duty experience to date. With not one, but two campaigns, new multiplayer modes and more robust customization, and a Zombies mode that will suck in even the most casual of players, Treyarch has once again found a way to raise the bar.

PlayStation Lifestyle – 9/10

CODBLOPS 3 (10)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is an insanely full featured game. If code was a physical thing, this game disc would be bursting at the seams with how much Treyarch has packed onto one Blu-ray. There’s a little something for everyone here. Players looking for a dark, rich narrative have the campaign. Competitive players have a whole new way to play in multiplayer. Fans of roguelikes and horde modes have Shadows of Evil. Switching between all of these modes is extremely easy too, and it never felt like I was stuck playing one thing or another. Player freedom, customization, and choice are central to every element. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 isn’t just a great Black Ops game. It isn’t just a great Call of Duty game. It’s a damn good game overall.

Destructoid – 8.5/10

CODBLOPS 3 (1)

At this point, at least two of the Call of Duty developers (Treyarch and Sledgehammer), have it figured out. They now have a three-year development cycle, which means that technically, each individual game is not a rushed “annual” iteration. While the campaign could certainly be a lot stronger, Black Ops III is living proof of that concept.

Lazygamer – 9/10

CODBLOPS 3 (2)

In the end it is still Call of Duty and if you aren’t a fan of the run and gun mechanic then you are probably not going to be a big fan. However if you’ve ever enjoyed any Call of Duty game since World at War you are going to love this. Easily the best multiplayer I’ve experienced in years along with a strikingly unique single player campaign plus a bucket load of extras and a massive community to enjoy it with. You can’t go wrong picking it up this year.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 currently has 81 on Metacritic (5 reviews at time of writing) and is sitting on 83 on Opencritic (23 reviews at time of writing).

Last Updated: November 6, 2015

20 Comments

  1. Grand Admiral Chief SpaceNinja

    November 6, 2015 at 07:20

    TWO CoD campaigns in ONE game?
    [insert mandatory ‘what year is it’ meme]

    Reply

    • Grand Admiral Chief SpaceNinja

      November 6, 2015 at 07:20

      That being said, I’m glad they are making a proper one

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      November 6, 2015 at 07:55

      World at war?

      Reply

    • HvR

      November 6, 2015 at 09:13

      Refreshing from the normal half a campaign in 2 games.

      Reply

  2. WitWolfy

    November 6, 2015 at 07:27

    Still not getting it becuase Bobby Kottick!

    Reply

  3. Nikola

    November 6, 2015 at 07:55

    Happy we getting a Call of DUty that is actually decent with a lot of content but will wait until price drops a bit:)

    Reply

    • CypherGate

      November 6, 2015 at 08:56

      Yeah R899 for a game nowadays is a bit too rich for my blood lol

      Reply

      • Nikola

        November 6, 2015 at 08:58

        So true dude, now days I going to stop buying games as they come out unless it’s something I REALLY want like Division but besides that I will wait a bit rather…

        Reply

        • CypherGate

          November 6, 2015 at 09:11

          Yeah exactly. I never bought a console yet cause im waiting to get the wedding out of the way this month. Next year ill be getting me one, but over the past weekend I had a look at the prices and was freaked out by it cause you cant even buy two games anymore at once cause that R899 price point is killer. for example: as much as I know ill enjoy the new Need for speed, I just cant see myself paying R899 for that game. Id wait it out. Even if you buy games digitally they still priced the same as the hard copies which doesnt make sense considering that they not using any physical media to sell the game or any retail outlets. Buying online is a little worse for us cause we pay R899 for a game (game dependent ofcourse) and then you still need a REALLY good ADSL connection AND you still need to wait a day or two to play a game you just bought. Worse case scenario: pay R899 for a digital copy, download your game over your speedy 2mb connection and it takes you 3 days to finish the download and you launch the game only to find out 30mins later that the game was shit to begin with lol

          Reply

          • Nikola

            November 6, 2015 at 09:18

            Ah dude you are lucky waiting on getting a console I got mine on the release day so I have been buying all new games on launch so I must have spend like good R20 000 now just on PS4 games believe it or not…WIth you now you can just get them all at bargains and pre owned. BUt you are 100% right I am not buying new new games anymore I’ve spent too much already so I’ll wait for specials unless I have really nothing to play lol right now I got a bit of a backlog so can wait out for CoD and Fallout 4 to get a bit cheaper, Black Friday is coming so is Christmas saving for those 2 dates:)

          • CypherGate

            November 6, 2015 at 09:35

            Wow lol thats quite a bit of cash lol Yeah ill save in the long run, but I worry that by the time I really do get to buy a console they will announce the PS5 and X2 lol

          • Nikola

            November 6, 2015 at 09:37

            Hahaha nah I think those will be release in like 4 or 5 years from now at least in my opinion!

          • CypherGate

            November 6, 2015 at 09:46

            Lol thats also true though, but if you look at the consoles its been out about 2 years now? 2months time they will be out 3 years again. Time REALLY flew by so quickly lol

  4. Mabenito

    November 6, 2015 at 08:11

    Is it me, or there’s something always strange with Polygon reviewing games popular on PS4 platform? Anyway, I’m going for this one.

    Reply

    • Jonah Cash

      November 6, 2015 at 08:15

      I would say on any platform really. I swear they get a review copy and then sit around a table and decide by means of straw pulling who should review the game. I still say that don’t let people review a genre that they don’t like. Their review is for the people who like the genre…

      Reply

    • Nikola

      November 6, 2015 at 08:59

      They just all hate games…

      Reply

  5. Francois Knoetze

    November 6, 2015 at 08:39

    wait…this is actually…good??

    Reply

  6. Spidy Duz It

    November 6, 2015 at 08:43

    hope there is enough people online tonight so we can actually play

    Reply

  7. Dutch Matrix

    November 6, 2015 at 10:08

    How come they never used Arnie for a COD game????

    Reply

  8. b1nd3r

    November 6, 2015 at 14:27

    And now we see the truth, I hope your free hats are worth it, #sellouts 😛

    Reply

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