I’ll gladly admit that for better or worse, I play the new Call of Duty every year. While I stick around for the invincible gunplay and fun multiplayer sessions with friends, it’s always nice when a new season comes around to refresh the experience with some new content.
Be it maps, guns, operators or events, we got the chance to try out Season 02 Reloaded, and I must say, it’s quite the package. As you would expect, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, like previous entries, offers multiple ways to interact with its Battle Pass system, from free unlockables to the paid Battle Pass and ultimately the Blackcell tier, which unlocks additional and instant rewards in addition to the regular Battle Pass.
While there are additional Battle Pass and Blackcell unlockables available, we’ll primarily be covering the general main additions to the season that all players will be able to enjoy. Here’s a quick breakdown before we dive in:
Multiplayer
Maps
With most seasons and updates, there are always a few new maps, or even some remasters of older maps, to enjoy in these newer games. So let’s list them here before we proceed.
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Torque – Brand-New, 6v6, 2v2, Small-Sized
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Cliff Town – Remaster, 6v6, Medium-Sized
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Mission: Peak – Brand-New Skirmish Map, 20v20, Large Scale
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Grind – Returning from Black Ops 6, 6v6, Medium-Sized
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Firing Range – Returning from Black Ops 6, 6v6, Small-Sized
Torque and Mission: Peak serve as the brand new maps for Season 02, and while you’ll spend more time with Torque, given that it covers a few more traditional modes, I think it’s a decent map. It definitely looks a little chaotic, but its narrow bridges and verticality give you a few approach options and a few decent places to snipe from. There aren’t as many walls to utilise jumps, but I feel as though it excels on the even smaller 2v2 Gunfight modes as a result.
While most large-scale maps feel relatively flat and open, Mission: Peak does have a few decent towers and spots to emphasis vertycioality, but I’m not loving it as much, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I don’t really spend much time in these larger maps, but I feel as though a few streets and corners are just way too open, leaving people avoiding them for more obvious pathways to the left and right, which can lead to some easier kills.
Cliff Town is a remake of the map Yemen, but I’ve never been a big fan. It just feels too chaotic, and while there’s plenty of certainty, the narrow streets leave you scurrying for open doors and windows, creating more chaotic encounters and sneaky spawn traps.
Grind and Firing Range, both returning maps from Black Ops 6, are fantastic. While Grind feels visually more interesting, Firing Range is an absolute staple as far as I’m concerned, and I’m glad it’s back.
Modes
We only get two modes this time around.
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Gauntlet
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Infected
Gauntlet is the new mode here for Season 02, and essentially serves as a mashup of various traditional multiplayer modes that play out one after the other over the course of five rounds. It’s fun enough and is as basic as it sounds, but it’s incredibly fast-paced, and lets players fight over the Akimbo Hand Cannon, which is absolutely overpowered, but fun to use.
Infected is a fan favourite and hasn’t really changed. That being said, it’s an incredibly fun mode to play with friends, and a really underrated mode for encouraging you to explore maps and find hidden areas and optimal routes.
Scorestreaks, Abilities, and Events
Finally, there’s the new Lockshot scorestreak, which basically grants you access to a cool smart pistol that automatically locks onto targets. You can essentially fire upon multiple enemies at once, and while that might seem cheap, it’s nice to see more scorestreaks that translate directly to kills.
A new Ranked Series Event will allow you to climb a ladder of 50 players to unlock exclusive Camo, Emblem Rewards and a Weapon Charm.
Zombies
Maps
There’s only the one new map this time around, Paradox Junction, which essentially takes you across time through various maps, both destroyed and intact.
It’s a fine map for the sake of variety, but it is largely comprised of existing maps in the first place. There are also randomised perk placements, new Pack-a-Punch camos, a new GobbleGum, and Loot Cysts, golden sacks on buildings that can be shot to gain various scraps and loot. There is also a main quest that can be completed for extra goodies, along with some new weapons.
Weapons
Players will be able to unlock and use the Blundergat, which feels fantastic to use. The Blundergat is a massive, four-barreled shotgun that blows enemies apart with ease, and can even be upgraded to the Sundergat, which can be charged to punch out an even stronger shot. While it’s much slower than most shotguns, it’s devastating if used at the right moment, and I’m a huge fan.
Endgame
Glitch Fratcure
I’ve never been a fan of the Endgame mode, so I was hoping the new Glitch Fracture mode would fix that. While it adds a little more meat to the bone, you’ll essentially be beating bosses and waves of enemies in certain Nightmare Zones, to unlock the chance to take on a Glitch Boss and new Nightmare Skills along with them.
These skills include:
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Nova Strike: Melee Strikes have a chance to generate an electrical field that damages enemies.
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Phoenix Burst: When at low health, trigger an explosion that damages enemies and fully restores health (with a cooldown).
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Hellwing: Wingsuiting over enemies drops an incendiary trail on them.
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Chaos Rounds: Weapon attacks have a chance to trigger Photon, Incendiary, Frost, or Shock effects.
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Frost Vortex: Bullets have a chance to create a Snowstorm that pulls in enemies.
Finally, there’s the Exotic Fabricator, which can now allow players to turn weapons into exotic versions, compete with additional perks and statistical advantages.
I can appreciate the amount of variety on offer here, but I just feel as if the mode itself still succumbs too quickly to its repetitive nature, along with those same bullet-sponges one would call enemies.
Warzone
Black Ops Royale
Inspired by the original Blackout mode, Black Ops Royale essentially strips players of loadouts, second chance Gulag encounters, and Buy Stations, making it a much more intense experience if Warzone wasn’t stressing you enough.
Beyond that, though, it is very much the same Warzone experience, so I’m not sure it’s going to sway you over if you aren’t already a fan.
Other New Features
Perks
Season 2 also grants players a few new neat perks, all of which I’m in favour of:
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Momentum (Perk Slot 2) Replaces Alertness – Improves weapon handling in tight spaces
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Berserker (Perk Slot 2) Replaces Bomb Squad – After eliminating an enemy, players get a short burst of speed
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Hunter (Perk Slot 3) – Replaces Tracker – Essentially combines Alerness and Tracker perks
New Weapons
We’ll touch on each of these new weapons as we go here, so buckle up:
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Primary Weapon: Voyak KT-3 – Assault Rifle, Event Reward
A slower fire rate than my trusty XM4, but it definitely packs more firepower and improves time to kill. If you’re a fan of more deliberate semi-automatic rifles and are more confident in your aim, give this a crack.
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Primary Weapon: Swordfish A1 – Marksman Rifle, Event Reward
This is fast becoming the meta for its incredible accuracy, and I can see why. My friends are already attached to this as a staple in their loadouts, and while I’m more partial to the Voyak KT-3 for now, I totally get why this is a fan favourite: four-round bursts and incredible fire rate.
Keep in mind, though, these weapons are unlocked via the Counter Skies Event Pass.
Final Thoughts
If I’m being honest, I haven’t even covered the new offerings in the Store, or the various new weekly challenges to complete, but I must say, I’m really impressed with how rounded Season 02 Reloaded feels.
While I’m a fan of the new weapons and maps alone, I tend to stick to standard multiplayer offerings over the course of the year, but have been pleased with how accessible this feels for fans who wish to grab the Battle Pass, or play through and enjoy the free unlocks and additions.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Solid new maps and weapons; Plenty of variety added to all modes
Lowlights: Engame mode is still bland
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software, Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games, High Moon Studios, Beenox, Demonware, Activision Shanghai
Publisher: Activision
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on PlayStation 5 Pro with a launch code provided by the publisher.
Featured header image also provided by the publisher.
