Through shorter gaming sessions and late-night chats with friends, I tend to stick with the current Call of Duty as my go-to live service game.
While Call of Duty is always subject to a wealth of content through its dedicated store, be it new Operators, weapons, or Blueprints, there’s generally always something to invest in. But via these newer Reloaded seasons, available via a free update, players will find plenty to come back to, with a wealth of new and previous maps, along with new modes for those who also dabble in Endgame, Zombies and Warzone.
Much like our review of Season 02 Reloaded, Season 03 Reloaded brings a new range of content that generally hits the mark.
That being said, we’re going to do things a little differently this time around. We’re going to go through each category, list all the new features and inclusions, and finally, give our thoughts on each category as a whole. So let’s dive in.
Endgame
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Act II: Operation Broken Mirror
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New Activity: Mega Abomination
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New Major Ability: Thermal Spike
Endgame remains free to play for a limited time. It’s a great way to come to grips with the game’s mechanics, and while it’s not quite my favourite mode, there’s still a decent amount of stuff to do and see as you explore the map and complete objectives.
Act II sees players tackle The Guild, the antagonistic military group, now attempting to upload a virus into the C‑Link network (controlling all JSOC operatives) in order to take control of the neural chip implanted in their brains. The story is rather loose as always, but the new act sees players heading to certain parts of the map to gather Diagnostic Data, as you hold off the area from incoming enemies. It barely adds any depth to the overall mode, but it is a new objective nonetheless.
The Mega Abomination is a new boss in Endgame’s Nightmare Zones, and it grants you a new Exotic Weapon Case drop if you beat it. It’s a cool-looking boss, but once again, it doesn’t really add anything new to the mode.
Finally, the Thermal Spike Major Ability grants players a powerful blast of flames, essentially cooking anyone nearby, leaving them open to a few quick shots for the finish. Given you’ll get swarmed while collecting that Diagnostic Data, I found myself relying on this as often as possible.
Overall, I feel like the Endgame mode succumbs to its repetitive nature a little too soon, but if you’re a fan of it, in its current form, I think you’ll enjoy what’s on offer here. Even as a free-to-play mode, it’s a fun few hours with friends.
Multiplayer
Maps
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Onsen – Brand-New, 6v6/2v2, Small-Sized
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Summit – Remastered, 6v6, Medium-Sized (Call of Duty: Black Ops)
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Hacienda – Returning, 6v6, Medium-Sized (Call of Duty: Black Ops 4)
Onsen is the newest map of the bunch, creating a few nice lanes for attacking, complete with in-house areas for close-quarters combat. It’s far from my favourite new map over the past few seasons, but it’s serviceable.
If you’ve ever played the original Black Ops, then you know just how good Summit is. It’s wide, vertical, and full of great spots for sniping and close-quarters combat alike, making it one of the most diverse Call of Duty maps ever. A welcome return.
First featured in Black Ops 4, Hacienda feels great by today’s standards, with its central mansion closing most encounters for some chaotic matchups. Once again, a serviceable map.
Modes
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Freerun – New Mode, Launch
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Heat Wave Havoc – New Mode, In-Season
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Freeze Tag – New Mode, In-Season
Taking place in the Ascent map, Freerun is the newest mode that essentially focuses on your ability to traverse environments. You’ll need to run, wall jump, slide, grapple and glide while hitting targets to open the path ahead. It’s a fun mode that takes the pressure off the action and feels very reminiscent of the opening training mission from Titanfall 2. If you don’t really use these mechanics in other modes, I urge you to give them a try here, as there’s simply more time to focus on implementing these moves in the encounters. This version of Ascent is also really cool.
Players can test Heat Wave Havoc, the new limited-time mode, in a Mosh Pit of Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, Domination, and Hardpoint. You’ll essentially gain heat and operator bonuses by doing things like scanning for enemies and scrambling radars. Your level of heat will change as follows, granting you these abilities:
- Low Heat: Faster Field Upgrade recharge.
- Medium Heat: Faster movement, sprint-to-fire speed, and mid-air mobility.
- Hot: Faster weapon reloads, ADS speed, and swap speed.
- Extra Hot: Equipment refills after eliminating enemies.
- Extra Extra Hot: Increased damage and score for headshots.
It’s a fun mode that, like Gun Game for example, prioritises a sense of momentum along with added teamwork, bringing a level of energy to these fan-favourite matches.
Freeze Tag is a new 6v6 mode where players can hit opponents to freeze them. Teammates must then hit or shoot players to unfreeze them before the entire team is frozen at once. Freezing the entire opposing team will reset the passage of play and grant that team a massive score boost. This is a chaotic mode, in the best way. Much like Kill Confirmed, looking out for your teammates is as important as taking on opponents, making this new spin feel fresh, yet balanced.
Zombies
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New Map: Totenreich
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New Enemy: Necropincer
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New Wonder Weapon: Jotunn Star
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New Field Upgrade: Wild Fire
Quite simply, an awesome new addition, both in tone and in variety. Totenreich is an ancient village overseen by a looming lighthouse. It’s cold, dark and downright creepy, drenched in more atmosphere than most Zombies maps in recent memory. It’s quite small, but it’s packed with a new main quest, a crazy new Viking enemy in the Necropincer, and a new weapon in the Jotunn Star, an icy lantern on a chain, made for long-range melee combat.
The new Flammenfalle Trap can also activate a heat zone that protects your teammates from the chilling effects of enemies, which can slow you down and even gives your weapons a spicy Napalm Burst. Wild Fire, the new Field upgrade, works in a similar way, but can also damage enemies in the process.
These additions won’t redefine Zombies for you, but the new map, along with its icy theme, is a perfect fit for the mode, and one I encourage you to check out if it’s been a while since your last session.
Warzone
New Limited-Time Modes
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Hot Pursuit – Avalon, 100 players, Black Ops Royale
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Prop Hunt Royale – Rebirth Island, 48 players
Hot Pursuit is basically Cops and Robbers, with an emphasis on vehicles as you blaze about Avalon. It’s fast, furious (pun absolutely intended) and gives each team its own vehicles to take advantage of. Prop Hunt Royale is basically just normal Prop Hunt on steroids, but it’s still good fun, given the larger scale.
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New Equipment: Spikes
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Lethal Addition: Cluster Grenade
Spikes serve as immediate perks players can grab at Buy Stations, including the ability to immediately equip new armour plates after eliminating an enemy, reduce weapon recoil while in a prone position, and regenerate equipment over time. They’re not essential, but they can get you out of a tough spot. Finally, the Cluster Grenade is now available in Core Battle Royale and Resurgence modes.
Remaining Goodies
Weapons
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Special Weapon: Siren (In-Season)
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Melee Weapon: Katana (In-Season)
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Event: RoboCop Event Pass (CM, MP, ZM, WZ)
The Siren serves as a high-damage rifle that needs to be charged up to take advantage of its massive power, which can essentially blast through enemies and even walls. It’s generally great for larger maps, but a little tough to use in smaller maps, given its 6-round capacity. The Katana is the new melee weapon addition here and deals massive damage at a moderate range.
Finally, players can access some RoboCop-themed rewards in this limited-time event by gaining XP in any mode. While there are free rewards on offer, purchasing the Premium tier gets you RoboCop himself.
Final Thoughts
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Season 03 Reloaded might not reinvent the wheel, but there is, once again, a wealth of content to keep you busy across its multiple modes.
The returning multiplayer maps, Totenreich zombies map and RoboCop Event Pass serve as highlights, even if the Endgame mode still feels like a bit of a slog.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Awesome returning multiplayer maps; Totenreich zombies map; I love RoboCop
Lowlights: Engame mode is once again still a slog
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.
