War is hell, but Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 makes it a carnival game

digitaltrends.com:

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who play Call of Duty and those who don’t. For three glorious hours, I was finally part of the former. Then it all came crashing down in a hail of gunfire.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is out now and it’s being hailed as a return to greatness for the struggling series. Critics have praised features like its game-changing Omnimovement and welcomed the return of round-based Zombies mode. The star attraction, though, is this installment’s campaign. After years of experimental failures, Black Ops 6 delivers a straightforward political thriller full of eclectic missions. It’s a great premise, one that allows developer Raven to goof around with a “gone rogue” story featuring characters like Russel Adler.

All of that makes for a thrilling first few missions that are easy to love for the popcorn blockbuster they are. But the story quickly takes a thoughtless turning point when the gang ships off to Iraq and it creates another uncomfortable moment for a series full of them.

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Stay trashy

For its first few missions, Black Ops 6 is a thrill. It opens in the middle of a generic military shootout, but that’s just a loud introduction to its more playful setup. After getting too close to a shadowy group dubbed Pantheon, a small group of agents is cast out of the CIA and forced to go rogue. It’s a confidently cheesy setup that allows characters like Frank Woods and Troy Marshall to set out on a globe-trotting adventure that hops from set piece to set piece.

Black Ops 6 is at its best when it’s at its dumbest — and I mean that as a compliment. Its best mission, Most Wanted, sends the player, disguised as a photographer, to a gala for then Sen. Bill Clinton. The goal is to gather intel on a secret black site