6 reasons why the Black Ops revivals are so much better than Modern Warfare 4

Call of Duty has been in a rut. Despite some arguably very solid multiplayer games released in the last few years, particularly the recent Black Ops 7 that gets much fewer plaudits than it may deserve, the franchise has hit a wall.

Maybe it was the move to Game Pass, costing Xbox hundreds of millions and serving as a catalyst for the current layoff purge. Maybe it was fatigue, and the series needs a break. Maybe it was actually game quality. Either way, Call of Duty needed something big to recover.

Up steps the golden age games of Black Ops 1 and 2.

Having been around on Xbox for a while, the age-old games recently received PlayStation 5 ports and immediately knocked Grand Theft Auto off the top-selling lists.

But why are these games so good, to the point where the community has been spun into a frenzy that a Modern Warfare 4 announcement could only dream of?

The best map collections in CoD history

Starting things off, there is a reason Black Ops 1 and 2 are considered to be the best games in the franchise, alongside Modern Warfare 2, and that largely comes down to the map pool.

Activision

Unsurprisingly, maps like Raid, Express, Slums, Summit, Jungle, and countless more hit so much harder than their multiple remastered versions that we've seen in recent times.

Having become staple figures in Black Ops 7, these war-torn landscapes epitomise what Call of Duty maps should be, evenly balanced for all game modes and retaining their quirks.

A refreshing lack of marketing

Pointed out on social media, the lack of marketing on these old games is very refreshing. To play Black Ops 1 and 2, you load up, press start, select a game mode, and shoot. Simple. Easy. How it should be.

With modern Call of Duty games, you're met with a headache of pop-ups before you even get to a lobby. Offers such as 'Buy the Blackcell battle pass' are given to players every time they play, and glowing options in the menus serve as constant reminders that they want more money from you. Having just released all of the DLCs for a massive discount, Black Ops 1 and 2 simply ignore the aggressive microtransaction tactics.

True aiming and skill gaps

We may not have realised as adolescent teens, but these old games were not easy. The shooting mechanics have been tightened so much in the decade and a half since, and aim assist has been inched up year after year to the point where it almost does all of the work for you. Loading back into these older aim-assist-free games is very difficult.

Yet it's a good thing that we can't rip someone's head off with an SMG from 40 yards away. You should have to aim properly, plan routes to close down the gaps, or consciously think about your arsenal, instead of just clicking and being rewarded. These older games did it right, and opening a skill gap is fun. Whether you're collecting swarms or struggling for UAVs, you have to appreciate the work it takes to get better.

Golden age Zombies

Zombies weren't reborn with these age-old games; in fact, they came a generation earlier with CoD 4. But, the older maps are simply perfection. Modern Zombies has been a good experience, and Black Ops 7 did a great job with very varied maps, but they're just not Kino Der Toten.

Activision

It's the simplicity of Zombies in these two games that raises the bar. There is a lot of variation with Moon's anti-gravity system, Five's smelly crawlers, and Tranzit's deep Easter egg quests, but ultimately, it's run, shoot, and survive, an ethos that was lost in modern games - oh, and DMZ will be the third game mode in Modern Warfare 4, which doesn't excite like unloading lead into hundreds of reanimated flesh-eaters.

The ultimate 'play your own way' experience

Arguably, one of the most aggravating parts of modern Call of Duty games is 'overpowered' weapons that, coincidentally (or not), are often highlighted as bundles in the store. The 'meta' choices are unavoidable for players, and will often be the only method of success.

Yet, in Black Ops 1 and 2, there are so many ways of finding your own playstyle without being forced to conform to the meta. Yes, some guns are better than others, but with at least three rifles, a range of SMGs, three viable snipers, and so many more options, you can play your own way.

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The only thing missing

When playing modern Call of Duty games, you're often left thinking, 'this is good, but I wish it had something else.' With Black Ops 1 and 2, you do get that feeling too, but the answer is either 'League Play' (the competitive playlist) or 'Theatre Mode'.

Both of these were omitted by the developers on purpose, likely due to an uncertain level of interest and the capability to support extra servers.

But it's almost reassuring that you know the only features that can make Black Ops 1 and 2 better are developer decisions, not sheer oversight.

Who's to say Modern Warfare 4 can't snowball the nostalgia and momentum gained with the PlayStation ports? Well, no one, but for now, these are the best two Call of Duty games released in the last few years, and they are a joy.