First-person shooter games have always been a massive part of the gaming world, with two renowned franchises having to be in every gamer’s game library. Since the early 2010s, Call of Duty (CoD) has been revamping and enhancing the first-person action with revolutionary mechanics and intense experience.

The online experience from the game has garnered lots of attention due to how highly competitive the online community is. It grew rapidly to the point where players formed competitive leagues where they held online matches which was the ultimate foundation of what we know today as Esports.

Milestones like this motivated developers to push the limits with their creativity and innovation to create a fresh new experience for the game annually. At the start, with games like Black Ops II, the futuristic approach the game had with implementing weapons of the future was a cool spin on what gamers had experienced up until that point.

The positive feedback from the futuristic warfare theme gave the team the confidence to adapt and expand more with other franchise releases, but the idea backfired following the release of 2015’s Advanced Warfare. Players vented their frustrations on several CoD forums, complaining about the online game modes and emphasizing the lack of enjoyability factor previous titles had.

It wasn’t until the poor reception of Infinite Warfare, where the developers of the franchise decided to take a step back and analyze that maybe it was time to lay to rest the futuristic approach as well as the many boring online game modes. The developers ceased the annual title releases taking a break to go back to the drawing board to look at the DNA of CoD and what made it so iconic during the glory days of gaming,

The franchise did eventually come back with a remake of Modern Warfare, where the developers emphasized receiving feedback from players and how they improved by making their online component a key priority.

In their latest release, Black Ops 6, it was my first time returning to the game as a player since the release of their 2015 game. Like every other gamer, I felt that the enjoyability and engagement the game used to have was not there.

My first impression of the new movement system they implemented was somewhat better than what I remember experiencing. The fast-paced movement of running through the various maps or diving around corners was slightly better. The ability to dive and slide in any direction I wanted was also a creative new feature

One aspect I did like that this game had to offer was the wide variety of weapons to choose from as well as the customization system it had. Compared to previous games, Black Ops 6’s customization felt easier to navigate with different and fun camo styles to choose from.

Focusing on the variety of online modes the game had to offer, I was happy to see that they brought back a classic mode called Hardpoint. Unlike the version I played in Black Ops II, the news didn’t feel the same as the other, which made me quit after playing two games of it.

The CoD franchise for me was a massive part of my childhood, as many other gamers would agree. I think that the latest release in the franchise was not a complete throwaway, but that the game still has massive potential. The developers can still take the feedback fans give and improve the game’s online fun through their season passes by adding more new features and fun modes.

As for what it is right now, the game feels like any other title and lacks the classic wow factor fans once loved.