Call of Duty has long been a staple in the gaming world, but let's face it—it's struggled with feeling repetitive and stale over the years. Even so, it's still one of those games many of us revisit, hoping to recapture the excitement we felt during the glory days of Black Ops 3 or the original Modern Warfare. My experience with Modern Warfare 3 was rough; it felt needlessly grindy, the multiplayer lacked enjoyment, the Zombies mode felt tacked on and was dropped after one season, and the gunsmith left much to be desired. Honestly, after MW3, my hopes for Black Ops 6 couldn’t have been lower. But did that make a difference in how it landed?

To my pleasant surprise, Black Ops 6 is a major improvement. I’ll admit that I’ve always leaned toward Treyarch’s Call of Duty games, but even they’ve had their missteps in recent years. Black Ops 6, however, feels like a return to form. For one, Round-Based Zombies is back (finally!), and it’s every bit as engaging as we remember. Multiplayer is enjoyable again, the class creation isn’t bogged down with the grind that plagued MW3, and they’ve revived the beloved classic prestige system. Of course, a step up doesn’t mean the game is flawless. There are still some highs and lows. Multiplayer spawns, for example, are as frustrating as ever, the Zombies mode is easier than it used to be, and the campaign has a tendency to go off-track. But when the spawns are on point, multiplayer feels genuinely fresh, and the new Quality of Life features in Zombies, like the ability to save and quit, make a big difference. The lower difficulty in Zombies doesn’t detract from its appeal either; it's a fun, relaxed mode for jumping in and enjoying a few rounds.

So while Black Ops 6 isn’t perfect, I have to say I’m having a great time with it. We’ll be rolling out three focused mini-reviews soon covering the Campaign, Zombies, and Multiplayer in more depth, so stay tuned for those!