'Black Ops 4': A Controversial Year

The Call of Duty franchise is no stranger to controversy. From the now infamous 'No Russian' mission in Modern Warfare 2 to the botched Twitter fiasco of Black Ops 3, the series has had its fare share of controversy. But its most controversial year could be 2018-2019 with Black Ops 4.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was released on October 12, 2018 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. But before the game was even released, Activision and Treyarch were already starting to get heat with its playerbase. When it was announced that BO4 wouldn't have a campaign, reactions were mixed; while some didn't mind the change, others were left disappointed. But this was just the start.

Not long after, Activision announced that post-release DLC would not be sold seperately. It would have to be purchased with the Black Ops Pass, a season pass where DLC would be released at a more consistent basis throughout the game's lifespan. This announcement was met with widespread criticism from fans, with some reviewers stating that this pass would split the playerbase.

The controversies didn't stop there however, as after the game's release, an item shop similar to games like Fortnite was implemented. Like Fortnite, this item shop required real money to buy COD Points to get cosmetics like weapon reticles and camos. This system was criticized because most of the items were overpriced and some items, like Special Orders, required subsequent hours of grinding to unlock them. The Black Market Contraband system also didn't fare better, as it also required hours of grinding and or COD Points to progress.

An update released in Feburary 2019 brought back supply drops (known in the game as Reserve Cases/Crates). This system was highly criticized because initially it required two hours of play time compared to the previous one hour. Cases also couldn't be earned after Tier 100, offering no incentive to play after completing a Contraband Stream. Cases also only offered one item per case, compared to previous games that offered three items per Supply Drop. Reserve Crates could only be purchased with 200 COD Points. After three days, Treyarch released an update that reversed most of the implementations (cases awarded after tier 100, one hour required per case, etc). However, cases still offered only one item and Crates are only bought with COD Points. Also keep in mid that some of the items in reserves have gameplay advantages.

Starting with Operation Grand Heist, certain items like weapon camos were locked individually for every weapon, reverting back to the Black Ops 3 system for camos. This would dilute the reserve items, making it difficult to get a desired item. Operation Spectre Rising followed up on this by locking weapon charms and other items individually, further diluting the reserve items. I look forward to seeing what future Operations have in store for us.

Black Ops 4 is by no means a bad game. While the core game is fine especially with new content, a lot of that content requires hours of grinding and/or spending of real money. And I'm just talking about the Contraband Streams. The reserve items are even worse. With that hours of grinding comes a chance of a reserve case having a duplicate item, essentially making your grind worthless. To get a much better chance of getting items you want comes with a $2 price tag, literally. Not to mention the $40 price you have to pay to get extra DLC maps and four exclusive Blackout characters. If you plan on getting Black Ops 4, be wary of the amount of time and or money you will have to spend to get extra content.