Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Review
341: Market Overview, Fall Gaming Overview
What up you absolute savages. I am here to spread a little Monday cheer with a review of the highly anticipated Call of Duty Black Ops 6. First a quick run down of market and global news as the week starts:
Global inflows into US stock ETFs reached about $145 billion year-to-date, the most on record (Kobeissi Letter)
Emory University reported $15.8m worth of BTC holdings, the first endowment to report a bitcoin ETF position (Eric Balchunas)
Nearly 50 TGI Fridays locations are set to abruptly close within the past week, an ominous sign as the restaurant chain could soon file for bankruptcy (CNN/Insider Paper)
Mitch McConnell is set to step down as the Senate Republican leader in November after a record long run in the position (AP)
Fertility rates in England and Wales have fallen to the lowest level since records began (Spectator Index)
Volkswagen is planning to close at least three different manufacturing plants in Germany and lay off tens of thousands of their workers (Reuters)
Treasury yields are ripping, with average 30 year mortgage over 7%
Trump held a massive rally at MSG in NY this weekend with speakers ranging from Elon Musk to Tucker Carlson. The media is not liking it. For my take and updates on the Presidential Race check out Episode 9 of the Risk On Podcast on Spotify and Youtube
Israel’s recent strike on Iran, occurring on October 26, 2024, targeted military sites in retaliation for a large missile attack from Iran on October 1. Israel focused on key military and air defense installations, aiming to weaken Iran’s capabilities while avoiding direct escalation. This was reportedly influenced by U.S. diplomacy, which encouraged limiting the strike's scope to avert a broader conflict in the region.
While Israel’s action was substantial, the strategic restraint left Iran vulnerable but potentially open to de-escalation in the immediate future.
In the video below posted by Cointelegraph on X, Janet Yellen is asked about her concerns over the US dollar’s current world reserve status. As she is about to give an answer the Treasury logo on her podium falls off — sign of things to come lmao?
Crypto is popping a bit on Monday morning with Bitcoin back over $69,000 momentarily and Ethereum trading over $2,500. Our beloved $ZYN is recovering a bit as well after last week’s sell off.
If you want some best practices and tips from a legendary crypto vet — tune in tomorrow for my conversation with TraderMayne on Risk On.
Call of Duty Review
Black Ops 6 dropped from Treyarch on Friday and I have spent the last 72 hours ripping it so that I can provide an early review so you can make the decision to either cop it or spend your life doing something more productive. Many of us are busy with jobs, businesses, and other things so this should serve as a succinct single point of reference if you are on the fence about diving in.
The arguments that video games are a massive waste of time are not lost on me — as I get older I have much less time to play, but it is still something I enjoy in down time and COD has a special place in my heart as I have been a loyal player since I was in my teenage years.
Call of Duty is one of the only games I have have religiously played since the first one launched in October of 2003. Since then 23 games have been dropped from a variety of developers, each receiving different reception or popularity based on how fans and players liked them.
Many of us, even if we weren’t lifelong COD fans remember how good of a time it was running Warzone: Verdansk during Covid with our absolute boys. Just pure good fun. Important note — Warzone for this COD is expected to drop on November 14, 2024, which is a bit different from previous release patterns, today I am reviewing the campaign, multiplayer, and zombies.
Will Call of Duty Black Ops 6 be able to replicate that when Warzone launches? We will wait and see. For now I can give you a good review on three other major parts of the game.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, released in October 2024, is set in 1991 against the backdrop of the Gulf War. The campaign follows CIA operatives Troy Marshall and William "Case" Calderon on a mission to extract Iraq’s Defense Minister, Saeed Alawi, near the Iraq-Kuwait border. The mission takes a dark turn when they uncover a rogue paramilitary organization called "Pantheon," which is engaged in global conspiracies, including arms deals with Saddam Hussein.
The operatives pursue Pantheon through intense, high-stakes missions across locations such as Iraqi palaces and European casinos, uncovering a powerful psychochemical weapon known as the "Cradle."
This weapon, originally developed in a CIA lab, becomes central to Pantheon’s plan to destabilize the United States through a large-scale false-flag attack on the Capitol. The operatives face moral and tactical choices, with player decisions shaping the storyline’s outcome as they race to prevent Pantheon’s insidious plan from unfolding.
Campaign
While I haven’t finished it yet — one of the best parts of this game, at least for hardcore COD fans is the campaign. Treyarch did an excellent job of straying from the boring linear campaign structure that other games have followed. In Black Ops 6, they introduce features akin to Far Cry or Fallout — more exploration options, workbenches, headquarters upgrades, and the ability to explore more open levels and geographies.
I am currently playing through the initial invasion of Iraq — which has a pretty cool 1990’s feel to it and some great optionality for how to complete missions or goals.
The campaign — for those unfamiliar with the setting of BLOPS 6 — is set post Cold War in the 1990’s. Wouldn’t be my first choice but props to Treyarch for keeping it fresh and trying something new. Bill Clinton’s campaign has a cameo and the campaign has a very clandestine feel to it. You will spend as much time shooting as you will surveilling, spying, and sneaking around.
For true gear/history nerds — the Gulf War missions are awesome, complete with SAS caravans, SCUD launchers, desert night camo, and a DMZ like feel to them (DMZ was a new gamemode in COD MW III that many came to love).
Another thing to note — the AI or bots you play during the campaign are smarter now. They will move to different positions, push up on you, and put up last stands on the ground or as they are crawling away — makes for a less repetitive experience.
The weapons are time era specific — and to be honest at first I wasn’t the biggest fan, but as I have played more they are growing on me.
COD campaigns are generally memorable and fun — this one is no different with some solid variety compared to past campaigns. I generally try to beat the campaign first and then move into multiplayer.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer is a great time put simply. One of the most anticipated and critiqued features added to this game is the “omni movement” which allows players to move in new directions as well as dive and sit on their ass while they shoot. It’s a cool feature — initially I was worried it would be stupid, but it isn’t overdone and adds some variation to engagements.
There’s also the peak corner feature that will engage if you press up on a wall or corner which can help in taking slick shots so you don’t have to put your full body at risk.
Bottom line is with Modern COD multiplayer — I’d argue the average person has gotten better at it, and if you’re a 30+ year old like me sometimes you just stand there in shock at how “glitchy” or “spammy” players have gotten.
Personally, I am a COD purist, I am not a fan of all of the custom skins, gun camos, and pay to play features they are adding — it’s business I get it, but I like it when the uniforms are accurate, gun camos are realistic, and it’s easy to tell who is on what team. Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, and Michael Meyers were unwelcome additions to the aesthetic in my opinion.
There are still sweats in this game — online is competitive, but if you get it early like I did you can level up and try to gain an edge on the noobs who will inevitably be logging on for the first time as we get into the holiday season.
This FEELS like they have leveled the playing field a bit more, but every once in awhile you will run across an absolute schizo autist sweat who is clearly playing on a PC and has an unreal reaction time. Is what it is.
Multiplayer levels are fun (the West Virginia Train-yard and SCUD level is my personal favorite) — I suspect they will add more with time. The biggest thing I noticed is they feel less structured, with the ability to go underground and higher on maps, adding a new dynamic of unpredictability to the maps.
If you are a seasoned COD player you can still predict where spawns will be roughly and proceed accordingly, but when I first started playing I was getting murked from different angles and places I didn’t expect the enemy to be.
As I said — weapons are mixed, bit surprised there aren’t more of them — but I’m sure they will drop new ones as the seasons progress. As of now if you want a quick hack to gain an edge in multi here are the classes that seem to be somewhat superior to others:
XM4 - optic, forward grip, laser, extended mag, and silencer
KSV - haven’t leveled this sub machine gun up yet but it is clearly fire
C9 - clearly a play on the MP5 — really good once leveled up
LW3A1 - this sniper is solid on the longer range maps, one shot kill above waist
XMG - this machine gun looks like a play off a Stoner (for my Vietnam buffs) but it absolutely shreds on some of these maps, I am running it with a silencer, long barrel, optic, grip, and forward grip as well
I have come to like the operators that COD has been injecting into Zombies and online play, I am a bit disappointed at the limited amount they have, but again, I bet they add more in due time.
Prestige is back as well which seasoned players will likely enjoy. The customization is fairly extensive and the class system is pretty standard. The impacts of rounds is enjoyable in multiplayer and they’ve added the ability to customize your HUD as well depending on how you like to play. Graphics seem great, though I am an old head playing on an older Xbox system.
With a PC or next gen console the graphics seem to be really good.
Zombies
Zombies has always been one of the best features from Call of Duty games — when the original came from World at War. Call of Duty Modern Warfare III had a pretty cool structure to it’s zombie games, and fans of that will be happy to know that many of the same features have made a return. Namely the creatures like Mimics and Manglers.
I played one of the levels Terminus with my brother and his friends and it was just sheer chaos. 5 Minutes in people were yelling into their mics that there was a Kraken (yes a squid like creature), that we could grab boats to go to islands, and that flying enemies were attacking. Good ole chaotic fun on a week night.
The Zombies mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 brings back classic, round-based gameplay, allowing players to fend off waves of undead across two new launch maps: Terminus and Liberty Falls.
This mode features a roster of playable characters, including series favorites like Grigori Weaver and newcomers such as Mackenzie “Mac” Carver, each tied to the storyline. Treyarch has introduced a range of mechanics, including Omni-movement that I touched on earlier, which allows players to sprint, slide, and dive in any direction for more agile combat.
You can see me running the West Virginia map solo below — good showcase of some of the Omni-Movement they added.
The Zombies mode offers both a Standard mode with challenging Easter egg hunts and quests, and a Guided mode for players who prefer step-by-step instructions on completing main quests. Additionally, the mode includes powerful items like GobbleGums—single-use power-ups with varying effects and rarities—returning to aid players with abilities like instant ammo reloads and teleportation.
Customization is a highlight in this Zombies experience, allowing players to modify perks, ammo, and field upgrades through Augments. Augments come in "Major" and "Minor" types, each enhancing different aspects of perks like Jugger-Nog and PHD Flopper, which are crucial for deeper gameplay.
The Save and Quit feature, new for solo players, ensures that any progress can be preserved mid-game, adding convenience for longer play sessions. Maps are interactive with various toggles, gates, and platforms that you can move or engage with.
All in all I think Zombies will be a hit — enough customization to keep fans happy and a great place to blow off some steam with friends.
The bottom line:
If you are a long time COD lover this is a must buy
If you are looking for a fun game to play through the Fall/Winter and an excuse to link up with the boys, Zombies and eventually Warzone will be a good time
If you are new to Call of Duty or a very casual gamer I might avoid it, as it is still a bit sweaty and there’s a steep learning curve. That being said, the game has quite a bit in it and I think it’s done a good job of adding all of the best features from past titles so if you are new and have some free time to learn, chances are you will have a good time once you get the hang of it.
My official rating out of ten after 4 days or so of playing is 8.8/10.
Hope that helped provide some color if you are on the fence about copping the new title. For those of you who don’t care, worry not, we will be back Wednesday morning with another post for premium subscribers on the election and some of the stocks/crypto assets that are giving us an early indication of what might be coming before the end of the year.
A few of our paid posts that have done very well in terms of reads recently are listed below. If you want to check them out just click or view our archive of 340+ posts:
I am dropping Risk On Episode 10 tomorrow in which we sat down with Trader Mayne, a legend in the crypto space, to talk crypto markets, security, the prop trading firm he founded, his experience losing millions in the FTX blow up, and more.
Have a great Monday.
Andy
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Disclaimer - I am a former trader, enterprise sales rep, and current entrepreneur with a monkey brain. Nothing I say should be considered formal financial advice or life advice, these are my opinions - always do your own research and diligence before investing and ensure you have a good understanding of your personal risk tolerance.
XM4 - optic, forward grip, laser, extended mag, and silencer
Great option in real life in a modern chassis
Can't wait for Kamala to 360 No Scope my portfolio next week