Early access for the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 beta is out now, giving those that pre-ordered, received a code, or are signed up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate the chance to check out the highly-anticipated FPS a month ahead of its full launch. Developed as a joint venture between Treyarch and Raven Software, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is a direct sequel to the beloved Black Ops 2.
When Black Ops 7 launches on November 14, it will feature three remastered maps that were first featured in Black Ops 2: Hijacked, Express, and Raid. The early access beta doesn’t feature any of the Black Ops 2 maps, but instead gives players the opportunity to battle it out on four brand-new maps: The Forge, Cortex, Exposure, and Imprint. Available modes include Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, and the new mode Overload. After spending some time in multiplayer and checking out Zombies, I came away underwhelmed and worried about this year’s Call of Duty.
Black Ops 7 Multiplayer Suffers from a Serious Case of 'Been There, Done That'
Even with jetpacks and jumping between radically different time periods, the core Call of Duty multiplayer experience has always stuck close to the formula established by Call of Duty 4 all the way back in 2007. As one might imagine, Black Ops 7 is no different, and it provides the same kind of fast-paced multiplayer that fans of the franchise have come to expect. But it’s never felt this stale.
If you have played any Call of Duty multiplayer before, you have played Black Ops 7. The big way that the new game attempts to differentiate itself is through the updated omnimovement system that lets players perform silly-looking wall jumps for added mobility. While it’s hilarious to see Call of Duty characters quite literally bouncing off walls, the movement is fun enough, and it makes for a frantic experience. Still, it’s not different enough to truly stand out from the other games in the series, and it’s weighed down by largely lackluster maps.
There is More of the Black Ops 7 Beta to Come
The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 beta will be open to everyone starting October 5. That will coincide with an update that adds two more multiplayer maps to the mix: Blackheart and Toshin. I’ll be diving back in to the Black Ops 7 beta when the new maps arrive to see if they hook me in a way that the early access beta maps did not.
Usually in a Call of Duty beta, I can find a map or two that jumps out as particularly fun and leaves me excited to revisit it when the full game launches. None of the Black Ops 7 beta maps have left any sort of impression on me. They’re all bland futuristic battlefields with the occasional visual oddity, like the people floating in tubes that can be found on Cortex. None of the maps are offensive or bad, but none of them feel like they’re destined to become classics like past Call of Duty maps either.
I was also unimpressed with the new Overload mode. A new take on the Capture the Flag concept, Overload has players fighting over a device that then has to be delivered to specific points on the map. It’s fine, and maybe its potential will become clearer the more I play or if I played with a full squad that was communicating, but for now, I’d much rather play Team Deathmatch or Kill Confirmed. Regardless, it’s clear to me that Overload is not going to be a game-changing new game mode on the level of something like Gunfight.
Black Ops 7 Zombies Has the Same Problem as Multiplayer
I came away from the Zombies Survival experience on the Vandorn Farm map feeling largely the same way. I didn’t think anything was bad, but I also wasn’t left excited to play more. Zombies Survival: Vandorn Farm cuts out a chunk of the larger Ashes of the Damned Zombies map that will be available at launch and gives players the opportunity to run around on a zombie-infested farm in typical Zombies fashion. All the Zombies staples are available, with players able to access a mystery box, a Perk-A-Cola machine, Pack-A-Punch, and more. It’s a bite-sized take on Zombies that is light on exploration and entirely focused on action and survival.
Earlier I said if you have played Call of Duty multiplayer before, you have played Black Ops 7. That same logic applies to Zombies. Players kill zombies for points that can be spent on buying new weapons and other upgrades, which in turn give them a better chance at surviving longer. Each round brings deadlier zombie hordes, and players can choose to exfil if things start getting too hairy. Summoning an exfil triggers a boss fight with a zombie bear that my squad was able to kill in no time at all.
How to Get Black Ops 7 Beta Early Access
If you are interested in trying the Black Ops 7 beta early access for yourself, you can pre-order the game or sign up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Early access lasts until October 5, at which point it will open up for everyone.
Zombies Survival is a snippet of the proper Zombies experience and so it’s not necessarily fair to judge Black Ops 7 Zombies by it. Still, while I’m excited to see what the full-blown Ashes of the Damned brings to the table, I don’t foresee myself spending much time in Zombies Survival at launch. Maybe I’ll change my tune if there are certain progression reasons to play Zombies Survival, but like the multiplayer, I wasn’t thrilled with what I played.
That’s not to say that the Black Ops 7 multiplayer or Zombies experiences are “bad.” They’re just aggressively Call of Duty, and for many fans, that will be perfectly fine. From what I have played of the beta so far, Black Ops 7 plays things too safe and sticks too close to the rulebook for my tastes. In a year when Battlefield is coming out swinging with Battlefield 6, Call of Duty unfortunately feels like it’s spinning its wheels. But Call of Duty fans should keep in mind that this is just the beta. I have had wonderful beta experiences that led to disappointing final products, and I have had miserable beta experiences that led to games I ended up loving when it was all said and done. There are 18 multiplayer maps planned for launch, aggressive post-launch support in the works, an expanded Zombies to look forward to, and a 4-player co-op campaign, so there’s still a shot Black Ops 7 will ultimately defy my expectations and wind up becoming one of my favorite games of the year. We’ll find out when the full game launches on November 14.