From a gameplay standpoint, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a solid experience. The game features some welcome additions like the armor system, perk and skill upgrades, character customization, and more. However, while this is all great, Treyarch’s latest iteration of Zombies is far from perfect. Players have been quick to point out the lack of Survival maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, but the mode has another issue. Fortunately, Call of Duty: Vanguard provides an opportunity to fix it.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies’ biggest problem is tied to its Operators, which are all-but-confirmed to feature inside Call of Duty: Vanguard as well. However, that does not mean that they need to carry over to Zombies. With Treyarch supposedly assisting Sledgehammer Games with the Zombies mode, and some sources even reporting that Treyarch is making the entirety of it, the studio could surely make good use of the feedback it received for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Assuming it does, making the playable characters in Zombies separate from the Call of Duty: Vanguard Operators would be terrific.
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It is easy to understand why Treyarch moved toward Operators in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies. For years, players had been asking for deeper customization for the playable characters, as the furthest it ever went was face paint in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Operators instantly provide that, with players able to use every skin they buy from the marketplace or unlock via the battle pass. As such, they have a reason to pursue the battle pass rewards or purchase COD points, as they can show off those skins in the Survival mode.
However, while it was an understandable decision, it is absolutely a double-edged sword. The feature stripped Call of Duty Zombies of a lot of personality, as one of the very best features in the past versions of the mode was character conversations. A huge reason fans fell in love with the likes of Richtofen and Dempsey is because of their dynamic, as the two bounced off each other incredibly well. These conversations added so much to each map, as they allowed the characters to comment on their surroundings and show how much development they have had between each installment of Zombies.
In Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, this is not possible. Players do not get serious, thoughtful dialogue between the cast, as Operators have no conversations with one another. While they still deliver the basic quotes when killing Zombies or spinning the Mystery Box, their dialogue never goes any deeper. This is even more troublesome in the end cutscene for each map, as Requiem remains uncomfortably silent while other characters talk around them. The player characters have no real personalities in Zombies, which is a major detriment. While some brief voice lines work perfectly in multiplayer, a co-op, narrative-heavy mode is a completely different story.
This shows once again with characters like Maxis and Weaver. While Treyarch was smart to make them playable, as they are some of the most interesting characters in the Dark Aether narrative, it is hard to take any big story moments seriously when they are being used. Weaver giving orders to a playable version of Weaver is off-putting, as is Samantha rescuing herself in Firebase Z. Unfortunately, there is no workaround for this based on how the Operator system currently works, meaning that Treyarch would need to abandon it entirely or stop making fan favorite characters playable.
There is still a quality story being told in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, but like the early days in Call of Duty: World at War, it is done through Zombies’ intel items. For those unwilling to collect hundreds of documents and audio files, though, the story is limited to the radio dialogue and the main quests. This is a huge detriment to the mode, as players can only hear the great character development Sam is getting by listening to some hidden intel. With Treyarch showing that it can absolutely write likable and original characters through Klaus in Mauer Der Toten, the issue is clearly tied to the limitations of the Operator system.
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While the Operator system is important for Call of Duty: Warzone and the multiplayer portions of the yearly releases, it would be for the best if it was excluded from Zombies. While it is nice to be able to use Call of Duty's battle pass cosmetics and marketplace items in the mode, it is not worth the negative impact on the story. While customization may be more limited as a result, bringing back some fully voiced characters would absolutely be worth it.
With original characters, Treyarch could focus closely on a group of four zombie slayers again, building a relationship between them that fans actually take interest in. As it stands, nobody really cares what happens to the Requiem agents, with far more sympathy being shown for the group’s pilot Raptor One. Likewise, characters like Carver and Dr. Grey boast some personalities and interesting stories, ensuring that supporting cast members have more importance than the characters being controlled by the player.
The jump from something like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is startling. While that game’s take on the mode was controversial too, as it featured a flawed HUD, too many remakes, and a divisive perk system, its character work was top notch. For example, the defining feature for Alpha Omega was that it included hundreds of dialogue lines, as it was the only map where players got to control both Primis and Ultimis. Despite so many character combinations being possible, Treyarch did an excellent job of writing dialogue for each of them.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies has done some interesting things, with experiments like Outbreak and easier main quest easter eggs clearly paying off. However, despite all the good things that the mode does, it is important to acknowledge where it falls flat. While the low map count has been covered to death, Operators have been equally detrimental to the experience. With over twenty Operators available in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, it is impossible to record a full script of dialogue for each of them every time a new map releases. As such, Call of Duty: Vanguard should leave the Operator system out of its Zombies mode, focusing on four fully voiced characters instead.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is in development.
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