It has been almost two weeks since the Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Beta was completed, and over that time, we have been trying to digest everything that we took in. As a long-time Call of Duty fan, starting with Call of Duty 2, I have seen the series go through peaks where it is amazing and slumps where it is underwhelming.

Within recent years, Call of Duty has gone through a rollercoaster of ups and downs. The Treyarch and Infinity Ward adaptations did well, while the Sledgehammer games’ releases fell a bit flat. So, how does Call of Duty Black Ops 7 hold up, and will it be able to compete with the recently released Battlefield 6? 

The Call of Duty Black Ops 7 beta was divided into two sessions between October 2nd and October 8th. In the past, Activision would divide Call of Duty betas between two weekends. The first weekend would typically be for those who preordered the game, while the second would be an open beta available to all. 

This year’s beta did offer a new experience that prior betas have not. For the Call of Duty Black Ops 7 beta, fans could get a sneak peek at not only the CODBO7 multiplayer, but also the upcoming Zombies mode. For the Zombies mode, it showed only a small portion of what the game has to offer.

For the Call of Duty Black Ops 7 Zombies mode, beta testers could try out the remastered, altered version of the Farm portion of Tranzit. In addition to the Farm Round portion, players could complete the tutorial that Treyarch has put in for new players to teach the game mode. The Tutorial section also accidentally gave players a sneak peek at the starting area of the larger map. 

For the farm portion, players could check out the new connection between the Barn and the House. Rather than flipping a switch freely, players needed to destroy spores on the generator to be able to turn on the power. Once the power was on, players could use the Pack-A-Punch machine, the Crying Baby trap, and the Wonderfizz.

With the map open and power active, it was up to players to determine the best way to survive. New to BO7 Zombies was a Field Upgrade called Overgrow; this ability allowed players to spawn a thorny patch in front of them, slowing down zombies. Returning at least for the beta was the Max Ammo reward that refilled the player’s tactical and special grenades when grabbing the drop. 

Now, while I am a lover of COD Zombies, the Black Ops 7 mode felt more like an expansion on Black Ops 6 zombies rather than its own thing. While there were a few new Gobblegums to try out, the core system for them feels identical to BO6 and feels like it will be more about spending IRL money for the necessary ones. The ability to roll through gobblegums quickly was an improvement that was instituted in Black Ops 6, but it felt like in Black Ops 7 that the game gave us a lot of Flavorless Gums after initial use, rather than ones we had multiple of. 

What irritated us the most with the beta was changing the level caps for equipment and items. In the first half of the beta, the game capped out at level 20 and unlocked all the equipment. When the update occurred, it changed the level cap for weapons and equipment, meaning players had to grind again in order to unlock the gear and equipment they were previously using. What Activision should have done was put out only a few of the weapons and equipment at first, then put out the higher-level gear for the second half of the beta. 

While we spent the majority of our time playing the BO7 Zombies mode, we did play a few hours of the multiplayer. While the combat in multiplayer felt smooth, the gameplay itself did not feel unique. The maps felt like they were either remakes of previous maps or a combination of prior maps combined together. Although the overclocking in the game felt like a nice touch to make equipment and killstreaks feel versatile, it felt like it did not go far enough. 

Even within the first week of the beta, it was clear that Black Ops 7 would be meta-driven, with certain weapons and equipment prioritized over others. Unless Activision and Treyarch do something to make the game feel unique or update it regularly, we can see it becoming stale fast. Just during the beta alone, it felt like 3/4 guns were heavily prioritized. Additionally, they made it so that the only Rocket Launcher in the game was not able to lock on to score streaks in order to shoot them down. 

The wall jumping in the game can be a helpful transversal tool, but it feels like a weaker version than the Black Ops 3 wall running. In fact, it was very rare that we saw players using the wall jump outside of traversing the environment

Now here comes the answer to the previous question: should you pick up Black Ops 7 over Battlefield 6? If you are currently happy with the Call of Duty ecosystem and cycle, then you should stick with it, especially if you have Game Pass Ultimate. If you are sick of the status quo, want to participate in Big Team Battles, and have a more realistic experience, then it is better to go with Battlefield 6. 

Outside of Zombies and the Co-op campaign in Call of Duty Black Ops 7, it really doesn’t feel like the must-have game of the season like prior Call of Duty games have been. Even though Battlefield 6 offers a different type of multiplayer experience, it has a bit of a learning curve when coming from Call of Duty, so it is up to you if you want to devote your time to a new style of combat. 

With how many great games have already been released this year, it might be better to pick up a game from earlier this year than it is to buy a newer shooter. Remember, you can always pick up these titles during Black Friday.