Black Ops 7 closed beta: Futuristic and creative, but still Call of Duty

The Black Ops 7 beta is finally here, so Esports Insider gave the latest COD entry a try to see how it holds up against previous titles in the action-packed franchise. Black Ops 7 impressed us with its creative scorestreaks, unique zombie bears, and the perfect level of futuristic fun.

Call of Duty has returned to the future once again, but this time, it looks like Treyarch has limited the advanced technology. Get ready, because Black Ops 7 may be a huge stepping stone for Call of Duty as a whole.

The core of any Call of Duty is its long list of weaponry. The Black Ops 7 beta didn’t feature every gun in the upcoming COD, but the handful we tried were fun and offered a nice selection of attachments, like the M8A1 equipped with an underbarrel grenade launcher.

The weapons in the BO7 beta were great, but the real creativity is found in the scorestreaks. D.A.W.G. allows the user to deploy an armoured groundcraft to defeat surrounding foes, while the RHINO is a robotic soldier wielding a power-packed gun; a truly impressive scorestreak.

Our biggest takeaway from the Black Ops 7 beta is that the equipment is exceptionally creative and fun to use, which is an essential part of any good first-person shooter.

Zombies mode is fun for casual gamers and FPS pros alike, and luckily, it was present in the Black Ops 7 beta this October. We got to try Vandorn Farm, a small section in the upcoming Ashes of the Damned map. The location itself was on the smaller side, but it was the perfect place to test out Black Ops 7’s new equipment on large groups of enemies.

Between the standard BO7 arsenal and the classic Ray Gun, the weaponry was fun, but also what you’d expect in Call of Duty zombies. The field upgrades are what really caught our attention, like the Dark Flare, which summons a beam of energy to crush hordes of enemies in a flash.

Vandorn Farm felt like a classic zombies map, equipped with a creepy barn and an easy-to-access mystery box. Beware the zombie bears, though, as they’re even more deadly than they look.

The maps in multiplayer mode stood out due to wall jumping. Some higher locations can be reached quickly by jumping off a wall, offering endless opportunities to gain the high ground or surprise your enemy with a well-timed manoeuvre.

Players can wall jump all over each map, and it’s fun to come crashing down on the opposing team. There are plenty of objects to use as cover spread throughout each locale, plus a few pathways hidden out of sight. Automatic doors caused some problems at the beginning of the beta, but the developers addressed the issue by increasing the time the doors stay open.

The handful of maps featured in the Black Ops 7 beta, like Exposure and Cortex, are fairly standard for a game in the Call of Duty series, as the latest locales didn’t stand out in many significant ways. Luckily, though, each map has ample structures available for strategic wall jumps.

After testing the weapons and movement in multiplayer mode, we came to the conclusion that Black Ops 7 is a futuristic COD, but not in the same way as a game like Infinite Warfare. Wall jumping requires a nearby object, so it’s much more limited and strategic than other types of advanced movement. Additionally, the mix of wall jumping and omni-movement can create some interesting combos on the battlefield.

Black Ops 7 manages to capture COD’s familiar gameplay while still advancing into the future. Though the time-to-kill (TTK) was initially quite quick in the BO7 beta, the developers noted the community feedback and made adjustments where necessary.

The multiplayer in Black Ops 7 is a fast-paced first-person shooter that feels fresh compared to other recent Call of Duty games, primarily because of wall jumping and BO7’s fun variety of advanced scorestreaks.

Black Ops 7 was a blast to play, in part due to the introduction of wall jumping and robotic scorestreaks. Though the setting of the latest Black Ops is futuristic, the focus on advanced technology is limited to provide that classic COD gunplay that fans have grown to love.

Vandorn Farm offers a zombies experience that many players will find familiar, while multiplayer takes a few steps in a new direction. The Black Ops 7 beta offered innovation while also providing a traditional FPS experience, so it left us excited to see what the full game has in store for players this November.