Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Review

The annual Activision behemoth is back for yet another round, but is it worth any of your time this year?

There are three things that we can rely on in this crazy thing we call life: death, taxes, and a new Call of Duty every year. Even in a year as tumultuous as 2020 given the strain that COVID-19 has put on the gaming industry, a new Call of Duty is here once more. I have to admit that I, too, have long been exhausted by this annual song and dance, not really putting much time into any of the series’ entrants since the heydays of the franchise back on the Xbox 360.

That being said, something about Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War seemed to catch my eye in the weeks before release, making me cautiously optimistic that this would finally be a worthy entrant to the franchise. Well, it actually wasn’t anything about the game (at first) that caught my eye if I’m being honest. My hype only materialized once 100 Thieves announced that they’d be entering the Call of Duty League, the franchised esports league heading into its second season. I love Call of Duty esports and I love 100 Thieves, so I just knew that I needed to dive in deep with this game to be ready for the upcoming season.