Black Ops 7 review in progress: my live impressions of the campaign, multiplayer, and zombies in the latest Call of Duty

And that's a wrap from me!

It's nearing the end of the day again here, and I'm eager to head off for even more Black Ops 7 time.

My main priority is going to be getting some time in the Endgame, and then starting my full review write up.

I'm sure I'll see you all again soon.

Campaign and Endgame impressions

You've probably already seen a lot of talk about the campaign on social media, here's what I think.

Campaign

I managed to get right up to the end of the campaign in my early access period and, while I have yet to see the credits roll, I'm afraid it's not great so far.

Right from the get-go, it feels like some kind of weird Warzone extension with mechanics like body armour and weapon rarity on full show.

The story is juvenile and very bizarrely written, with plenty of cringe-worthy dialogue and moments that are just plain odd. The pacing is also poor, rushing through major beats like the writers were desperately trying to tick off a checklist.

There are some cool visuals in the more scripted missions at least, but they're interspersed with open segments in Avalon.

These are, sadly incredibly cheap feeling, with obviously re-used environments from Black Ops 6, and repetitive waves of enemies to defeat. I honestly think the whole thing would be so much better if they simply weren't there at all.

The campaign's only saving grace is its co-op. With a friend, or a group of friends, on hand, it's much easier to stomach as you all laugh at its ridiculousness - especially when you get to one of the many silly boss fights.

It's because of this that I would say the experience here is at least better than Modern Warfare 3 - which could have really benefitted from that added levity.

There are no AI companions either for some reason, so solo play is definitely to be avoided.

Endgame

The Endgame is the one part of Black Ops 7 that I feel like I need much more time in. It's definitely an interesting concept, so I'm eager to see whether the developers have been able to pull it all off.

Will it make up for the lows of the co-op campaign? You'll have to wait for my full review next week to see...

Multiplayer and Zombies impressions

Before I move on to my thoughts on the campaign, I thought it would be useful to recap my impressions so far for those who have been following along or are just joining me.

Multiplayer

The core multiplayer in Black Ops 7 is very good, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The guns feel great to use and the enhanced movement options introduce new possibilities on the battlefield.

It's a strong evolution of the formula that I absolutely loved in Black Ops 6 and nicely builds on that game's key innovations such as omnimovement. It definitely helps that the map selection here is great, with plenty of well-designed environments with good spawn locations and that classic three lane structure.

Although I was unsure about it at first, even the 20v20 Skirmish has grown on me and I'm going to be playing it a lot over the weekend.

Zombies

If you like Black Ops 6 Zombies, then you're going to like this. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but when you've nailed the formula like this that's not such a bad thing.

The first map is strong and lays a solid foundation for its follow-up come season one.

Dead Ops Arcade 4 is also a great little extra. It's not particularly deep, especially compared to the main Zombies modes, but the arcade controls and combat make for a good time. I'm eager to try it with friends soon.

Round 10 complete. Now the action has moved to the festive version of Nuketown, again from Black Ops 6.

As enjoyable as I'm finding this, I'm going to exit my match shortly so we can move over to some campaign action.

Back to (relative) normality now, though I have just picked up a power-up that's turned me into an indestructible tank.

The next stop is, of course, some kind of weird racing mini-game.

I'm doing laps around this course in a little green buggy, wracking up extra points by hitting the odd zombie as it wanders onto the track.

My first round in this new area was a challenge one, with special armoured zombies to defeat.

There are plenty of power-ups dropping from slain foes, including upgraded weapons.

There's no reloading in this mode, or even an overall ammo count, but you can use powerful weapons for a minute or two before they vanish.

Just about to enter the next area, but not after a trip to the bonus room!

I've been given a choice of where to go next. I've chosen Babylon - a map from Black Ops 6 which seems to have been reused here.

After a brief animated intro we're in to Dead Ops Arcade 4!

Yep, that's definitely a top-down Zombies. The controls are very arcade-like and the guns are super powerful, which is pretty fun.

I've started off on this little beach next to a talking crab, but a new area is going to be unlocked after just a couple of rounds it seems.

You get a few options going into a Dead Ops Arcade 4 match, including the ability to play solo or online. I've gone with Solo again here, for that sweet pausing.

There are two difficulty levels right now, Normal and Casual. Normal has some rewards associated with it like camos, while Causal seems more geared towards learning the ropes.

You can also choose to play either in top-down perspective or first-person. I'm not really sure why you would pick first-person here, as top-down was the whole point of Dead Ops Arcade as far as I'm concerned, but I suppose it's nice that the choice is there.

If you're not familiar with Dead Ops Arcade, it's a tongue-in-cheek top-down version of Zombies that originally appeared as a hidden mini game in Black Ops.

I've just played a few more rounds of Survival Zombies, and it's a lot of fun!

It feels very similar to the Black Ops 6 Zombies experience so far, but that's not a bad thing in my book. I really enjoyed my time with the mode in that game and this seems like a worthy follow-up.

Of course, these levels will all feature extensive Easter Eggs, or main quests, with rewards for those willing to take the time to decipher them.

If that's not you, then you can look forward to a more guided Directed Mode to drop in Season 1 alongside the addition of some more maps.

Now I'm going to try out some Dead Ops Arcade 4 to see what that's all about...

Don't miss some free bonus items

Yesterday I talked about the Black Ops 7 pre-order bonuses, but there's actually a free extra that I didn't mention. Best of all, it's still available to get right now!

If you play any of Black Ops 7 ahead of the launch of Season One you'll automatically obtain ten hours worth of double XP tokens for your player level and weapons.

That's five hours a pop and should massively speed up your progression as you're getting started.

You can check out the official announcement below.

If you're curious about how the Operator system works in Zombies, here's a quick run-down.

There are eight Zombies operators, four returning from Black Ops 6 and four fan-favorite heroes from previous incarnations of the game mode.

You can also play as an Operator you have unlocked in Black Ops 7, though you do miss out by picking one as playing as one of the Zombies Operators unlocks exclusive story content and additional extras.

In some good news returning Zombies die-hards, the Operator skins you unlocked by completing Easter Eggs are also available here - for example, Maya's Trophy Collector appearance.

The Black Ops 6 crew has a fresh look by default too, with a creepy new 'Consumed' appearance. If you preferred how they looked in Black Ops 6, there is the option to switch back in the skin menu.

The bear got the best of me, I'm afraid.

Exfil definitely seems much more challenging than in Black Ops 6, so make sure that you're prepared before you hit the exist button.

Okay bad news, initiating the exfil spawned a giant zombie bear. Uh oh.

Just reached round 12 and things are starting to get dicey... I'm going to go for the exfil.

Round ten now - time for some more Ravagers.

I've just learned the hard way that they can run a little faster than the player. Ouch.

Just used the mystery box for the first time, netting me an MPC-25 with some decent attachments. Still, not quite a ray-gun sadly...

Round five have me facing off against my first special enemy type: Ravagers. As far as I know these are new enemies for Black Ops 7 and are basically super fast zombies that run around on all fours.

They have a fair chunk of health, but aren't that hard to deal with - at least for now.

That's round one down!

As in previous games, Zombies has its own progression system which different Daily Challenges to other modes and loads of unique camos to unlock.

One of my daily challenges is to survive a total of 25 rounds, so that's what I'm aiming to do now.

I've started off with a Survival match now, playing Solo so I can occasionally pause and write posts like this!

The first map available to me was Vandorn Farm, so that's what I've picked.

Now I'm quickly running through the tutorial.

It's pretty basic stuff if you've played recent Call of Duty Zombies experiences, but it does a good job explaining how to progress and detailing how to enhance your gear in your average game.

I'm back!

Just getting Black Ops 7 booted back up for some Zombies action...

And with that I'm going to head off to grab some food for a quick lunch break!

Don't go anywhere though, as once I'm back I'm going to be diving into the world of Black Ops 7 zombies with my thoughts the campaign coming after.

The maps all seem good so far!

The maps that I've tried so far have all been quite strong, which is great to see. They all have very clear structures, often with three lanes, and the spawn points seem fair.

Skirmish aside, the small scale of these maps definitely helps. As much as I loved Black Ops 6, some of the larger environments there felt a little empty at times.

Obviously it's still a little early to say that there are definitely no stinkers in here, but it's looking promising!

I just jumped into a standard core match on Hijacked, a classic Black Ops 2 map that's been remastered in this new entry. It plays just as well as you remember it, and the updated look is fab.

I'm clearly not the only one that thinks this too, as it's been the most voted for map in all my lobbies so far.

The M8A1 is absolutely nuts

The Black Ops 2 classic M8A1 is back in Black Ops 7 as a marksman rifle, and it might be my favorite weapon in the game right now.

It deals incredible damage and is very easy to handle, one tapping most foes if you manage to land a headshot. The magazine is a good size and it's pretty quick to reload to boot.

Sure, it only fires in three round bursts - but holding down the button automatically keeps shots going like an automatic rifle.

Here's a little PSA:

You can actually change the look of the UI in the settings menu. This includes turning off certain elements that you don't like, tweaking where they are, and even swapping the entire look for this cool, purple Zombies inspired design.

Which Operator is your favorite so far?

A new Call of Duty game means a new wave of Operators to play as, and I'm liking some of this year's inclusions.

Right now I'm running Wei Lin on the JSOC team and Kagan for The Guild. Kagan looks super cool, and I love the futuristic outfit - she's only unlocked when you reach level 40 for the first time too, which is a great reward.

I just completed my first daily challenges of Black Ops 7. That big Skirmish map was a life saver when it came to securing long shot kills.

If you've got that objective too, I'd recommend that you beeling straight for the Skirmish mode to do it.

Hang on, I just got my hands on a grapple hook that's helping me get around even quicker.

It feels just like the grappling gun in Blackout from Black Ops 4 which is awesome. It's a shame that you only get a few goes with it before it runs out of charges, though.

Okay, things are getting even more Battlefield as it turns out this mode has vehicles too!

I've just managed to get behind the wheel of a helicopter (do they even have wheels?) and I'm seeing plenty of players in buggies and cars too.

Your objective is to claim control points on different sides of the massive map, so it makes sense that there's a quick way to get around.

With every player wing suiting into a large map, this mode definitely feels very Warzone-esque. It even has armour mechanics like the battle royale.

It's not what I expected from Black Ops, but that aside it's playing well so far. It almost feels like a Battlefield 6 match, and it could prove to be a fun diversion from the much smaller maps elsewhere in the game.

Time to test the new Skrimish mode

The 20v20 Skrimish mode is something that I've been eager to try since it was revealed, as it seems pretty unusual for a Black Ops game.

In my mind, I always associate this kind of big battles with the Modern Warfare series - so I'm eager to see what it's like.

I'm queuing for a match right now and will report back shortly...

Speaking of Toshin, I just want to take a moment to say this map is absolutely gorgeous to look at.

I'm a sucker for neon pink lighting, and this environment has it in spades. The vibes are immaculate too, feeling familiar yet futuristic.

I'm also loving some of the details on the signs around the map, including an ad for a blue and orange sweater - a cute nod to the color scheme of the game's logo.

New traversal options are a big deal on some maps

Black Ops 7 has some neat new traversal options, the most significant of which is a rapid wall jump that allows you to gain height by bouncing off surfaces.

It may seem like a gimmick at first, but some maps have some interesting parkour routes that require it. On Toshin, for example, the roof of the downed monorail and a tactically placed billboard ad let you jump from one side of the map to the other via the karaoke bar and cat cafe.

Mastery of these routes will likely give skilled players a significant advantage, so I'm keen to see how it affects matches online.

First things first, here's something cool I saw earlier on social media.

Black Ops 7 actually features a 'Green Screen' map that you can access in private lobbies and it's exactly what the name would suggest: a big green void.

Rather than being your usual PvP map, it's designed for those eager to capture screenshots of weapons or characters. This is going to be a lifesaver for those crafting YouTube thumbnails, or anyone that wants to mess around with Black Ops 7 assets in Photoshop.

I can't wait to see what people do with it!

Good morning everyone!

I'm still sipping my morning coffee here in the UK, with Black Ops 7 booting up on my PC as we speak.

The game is now available worldwide, so join me for some early impressions. Although it just released, this isn't actually my first time playing the game as I've had some early access opportunities from Activision.

This little head start should hopefully mean that I can give you some pro tips throughout the day.

We're nearing the end of the working day here in the UK, and that means I'm going to be heading off soon.

Don't go anywhere, though, as I'll be back first thing tomorrow to pick up with some live Black Ops 7 impressions as I dive in to the game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 | Story So Far Trailer - YouTube

Watch On

If you haven't played Black Ops 2 or Black Ops 6, or just fancy a quick recap of some of the events from those games, then it's definitely worth checking out the official Story So Far Trailer above.

It details the most relevant events from those two games and should hopefully avoid you being too confused by everything when you jump into Black Ops 7.

Black Ops 7 features new campaign progression

Black Ops 7 shakes up the usual Call of Duty progression systems in some interesting ways.

The most significant of these is the fact that progression is now shared across every mode - including the campaign.

This means that you can actually increase your player level and earn unlocks just from playing through the story.

If you're usually the kind of player who blazes straight past the campaign in order to start levelling up their multiplayer gear in online matches right out of the gate, this might prove a tempting enough reason to check it out this year.

Okay, but what actually is the Endgame?

I was just talking about how the Endgame fits into the overall campaign, but what actually is it?

It's basically a replayable mode that appears right at the end of the campaign, with up to four players dropping into a large open-world map as a team.

In the map you need to work together in order to complete objectives and fight NPC enemies. There are no enemy players in this mode; it's PvE only.

Before you drop in, you're given the opportunity to customize your loadout and choose from a selection of available skills and a number of powerful abilities. These are a major part of Endgame, and include things like Active Camo or the War Machine grenade launcher.

How long is the Black Ops 7 campaign?

There's no official word on the length of the Black Ops 7 campaign just yet, but the developers have confirmed that it is made up of 11 missions.

This is then followed by the new Endgame mode, which seems more like a separate thing.

Based on the length of previous Call of Duty campaigns, I would expect the 11 missions to last for around eight to ten hours in total - potentially even longer if you intend to seek of collectibles or chase achievements

Of course, we'll be able to know the length for sure once the game is out.

When is Black Ops 7 set?

Black Ops 7 is set in 2035, ten years after the events of the futuristic narrative in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

The story picks up where Black Ops 2 left off, exploring the events after the death of antagonist Raul Menendez.

A new power, a mysterious tech company called The Guild, is threatening global peace, sending returning protagonist David Mason on a series of covert missions in the fictionalized city of Avalon.

In addition to the many Black Ops 2 connections, characters like Troy Marshall return from Black Ops 6.

What's in the Vault Edition?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 | Vault Edition Trailer - YouTube

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With pre-order bonuses out of the way, the next logical question is whether the pricey Vault Edition version of the game is worth it.

Ultimately, that's going to come down to how much you value certain items and how much you intend to play Black Ops 7.

The Vault Edition includes an Operator Collection, with the following multiplayer skins:

• Karma - Tech Guardian
• Harper - Warranty Breaker
• T.E.D.D. - Aether Assembly and Service Supreme
• Reaper EWR-3 - Mind and Metal

You also get a Mastercraft Weapon Collection with the following included:

• Blank Certainty Blueprint – Peacemaker MK1 (Assault Rifle)
• Authorized Destroyed Blueprint – Dravec 45 (SMG)
• Dire Experiment Blueprint – M10 Breacher (Shotgun)
• Ballistic Scyth3 Blueprint – VS RECON (Sniper Rifle)
• Shock Blade Blueprint – Flatline Mk.II (Melee)

These are cool extras, but the big draw here is the included BlackCell Battle Pass. This nets you 1,100 COD Points, 20 Battle Pass Tier Skips, Exclusive BlackCell skins, and full access to the regular battle pass.

Zombies players will also appreciate the Ultra GobbleGum pack, which unique Gobblegums to try.

Vault Edition owners also get access to a Permanent Unlock Token on day one, to help speed up progression.

Is there a Black Ops 7 pre-order bonus?

With time running out until the launch of Black Ops 7, those who have yet to purchase a copy might be wondering whether there are any good incentives for doing so ahead of launch.

Here's what you need to know about the Black Ops 7 pre-order bonuses:

Pre-ordering Black Ops 7 gives you access to the Reznov Challenge Pack skin bundle. This can be used in Black Ops 6 and Warzone and instantly unlocks the Reznov SOG Operator skin. You can then unlock two additional skins through in-game challenges.

Pre-ordering the game also grants you the Guild Override Weapon Camo in Black Ops 6 and Warzone.

Those who pre-order will also get a Reznov Operator skin in Call of Duty: Mobile on launch day. To claim it, you need to log in to Call of Duty: Mobile with your Activision account before November 21.

Pre-ordering also granted you open beta access, though the beta has now ended.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers will also receive these bonuses automatically.

Will Nuketown be available at launch?

Nuketown won't be available in Black Ops 7 at launch, but don't need to wait very long in order to play it.

Nuketown will arrive as Nuketown 2025 as part of the launch of the Black Ops 7 preseason on November 20.

This futuristic version of Nuketown is a remaster of the map as it appeared in Black Ops 2, which is very fitting.

Black Ops 7 multiplayer maps

Black Ops 7 is going to be one of the biggest Call of Duty games to date and launches with a total of 18 multiplayer maps. This includes 16 6v6 maps and two larger 20v20 maps for the Skirmish mode.

Here's a quick rundown of what they are, so you're fully prepared for launch day:

• Scar
• Homestead
• Blackheart
• Den
• Colossus
• Toshin
• Flagship
• Mission: Tide
• Retreival
• Paranoia
• The Forge
• Exposure
• Mission: Edge
• Cortex
• Imprint
• Raid
• Express
• Hijacked

Hello everyone!

Welcome to the very start of my Black Ops 7 launch day coverage. I'll be leading you through the lead up to the game's release throughout the rest of the day and then pick things up tomorrow for some first impressions.