I have always enjoyed playing games that have unique and complex storylines. I love to get lost in the imagination of them, and feel as though I am inside the game and not just playing it. Having played some of the other Call of Duty campaigns I felt like this one would of course be similar, but I was wrong. Not only is this game graphically spectacular but I have found myself becoming so immersed in the action that all aspects of the world around me disappear for a time. The reason for this is because the gameplay is so intense at times, and concentration is paramount to succeeding.
There are times where the characters are running for their lives, and other times where they aren’t sure what is real and what is not. The futuristic characteristics of this campaign haven’t been used to this sort of depth in any of the other Call of Duty games, and I was blown away by the complexity and the seriousness to which the game needed to be completed.

The developer Treyarch returns to this video game to show what three years of hard work can achieve, and I believe they have done a fantastic job with this one. Set in the future, where life is both dark and difficult, you find your chosen character immersed in a world filled with futuristic technology and robotics. Aspects that will play a huge role in the entirety of this game.

Cinematic cut scenes bring the story to life with cutting edge graphics that make you feel like it’s more reality than video game. As you’re taken through the campaign you discover the reasons why robotics are essential in the world that you currently reside and why warfare has taken a dark twist on Earth.

As for the levels and missions, they are your usual, make your way through the objectives, find the items and complete to the best of your ability as a gamer parts. But this campaign felt different. Not only were the levels full of complicated and futuristic features, but the characters went through scenarios, sometimes severe and often grim, only to continue on fighting for survival against low odds. What I also enjoyed was the fact that I could choose to be a female operative at the start of the game, this meant it felt more personal due to the fact I am a woman.

There is very little humour in this Call of Duty game, and parts of it actually made me squirm, either through visual situations that the characters found themselves in or through the circumstances that arose through choices you made during the game. I have to stress that this campaign and game as a whole is in no way suitable for children. Some aspects are both hard hitting and gruesome to watch. The adult themes which don’t just include violence and guns include death, causing peoples death through the characters own choice and experimenting on humans. During parts of this game I honestly felt like I was staring in my own horror movie. I must add that this isn’t a bad thing, it gave depth to a game which you thought was going to be a futuristic ‘find and kill the bad guys’ sort of gameplay. The depth to which the storyline has been written is incredible, and all involved should be very proud of creating a distinctive chapter in the Call of Duty franchise.

As someone who enjoys fantasy and science fiction, I thoroughly appreciated all of the attention to detail and the experiences that this game gives its players. It was vastly different from other Call of Duty missions and it was entertaining to complete. The gameplay itself was excellent; it was both easy to play technically and controllably. The game was difficult at times, but I do enjoy a challenge and often play on a medium mode not an easy one.

Throughout the game I couldn’t fault the onscreen view, everything was clear and concise, maps and objectives were all easy to understand and follow. The graphics were clear and routes were easy to determine. Even in scenes of chaos the game allowed you to know where to go, often combining your movements with those of other characters and objectives.

I only have one criticism of this game, and that would be the futuristic aspects including the three cybercores, (chaos, martial and control). This is because I was unaware that I needed to keep using the level points I was collecting from experience to unlock the extra abilities available to my character. This might have made the gameplay much easier in later levels if I had known there were sections that needed to be unlocked. During the initial missions you are trained to use the parts of your suit and body, but I didn’t realise that I needed to keep adjusting these on the menu to get unlocks for additional uses and skills. It’s important to tailor these for each mission, considering I always attempt the campaign on a difficult setting these are very important. There haven’t been such futuristic technologies included in call of duty before, and these can be rather useful. Providing you figure out how to use them and when best to use them, I can recommend using the training facility computer to try out which core upgrades suit your style of gaming the best.

Out of the three modes, Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies, I have put the majority of my time into the Campaign. I do enjoy aspects of the multiplayer but usually play it with friends. Zombies, are well… self explanatory I suppose, and you’ll either like it and play that part or it wont be for you. I think this game does have something for all first person shooter fans. I buy games like these for the storyline, and although complex and a little repetitive (with all the robotics) I did enjoy it and got totally immersed in it at times.

Overall it’s a game I have thoroughly enjoyed playing and I was very impressed by the content. I look forward to any future developments, but I do hope they go back to traditional warfare, and not all futuristic, although interesting, games should reach new heights to keep the consumers interested. Black Ops III was a graphically incredible game filled with sci-fi action and intriguing plot twists, but there was a lot of humans versus robots, and I think there is no harm in the producers going back to the roots of the originals sometimes. I will be interested to see what they bring out next, in a campaign manner.