Over the years, you could depend on Call of Duty to deliver a fast-paced campaign that wrapped up in about eight hours. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is very different – delightfully so.

Not only is the campaign longer and more robust than your typical COD storyline, it’s almost like a series of games rolled into one.

Activision’s first-person shooter was developed by Treyarch and Raven Software, which took lead on developing the campaign. The story involves four operatives who are seeking the truth about a biological weapons program being pursued by a nefarious group known as Pantheon.

It sounds like a standard plot for COD, but it’s much more.

For example, one mission features a miniature open world set in Iraq during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. You drive across the desert attacking missile launchers, anti-aircraft sites and troop concentrations. The more obstacles you neutralize, the less trouble you’ll have when you assault one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces in the mission’s climax.

There’s a foray into a contaminated research site that becomes a zombie-infused hallucination with an interesting set of enemies and challenges.

There’s a casino heist, where each of the four operatives uses his or her special skills to reach the vault and acquire the loot – information about Pantheon.

And there’s an espionage mission involving a Soviet-era biological weapons facility that has been taken over by Pantheon. You are given three objectives and a variety of options for dealing with each one. Are you a silver-tongued trickster, or a wily saboteur who relies on stealth?

Between these and other missions, you return to a former Soviet safe house where you can explore, discover secrets and boost your characters’ attributes by purchasing abilities and gear using money that you’ve found during your missions. It’s a major step into the world of role-playing games.

The campaign is set within the franchise’s larger tale of operatives working to undermine America’s enemies, both foreign and domestic. You meet several new characters, but the anchor is Woods, who suffered a paralyzing wound in a previous installment of Black Ops. His multi-game arc of warfighting, injury and recovery tethers the whole franchise. He is answering the question of whether a wounded warfighter can continue to have a significant role, and his behind-the-scenes efforts at the safe house reflect a continued respect for those who continue to serve.

Overall, Black Ops 6’s missions are well constructed, with interesting settings, challenges and foes that add up to hours of fun. That all of this fits into a coherent story is a tribute to the writers at Raven.

And in the end, the campaign does feel much more like a role-playing game than a hard-core first-person shooter. However, it’s thoroughly enjoyable – definitely one of the best COD campaigns in years! And it’s definitely an improvement over the muddled and off-tone story featured in last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Featured on Instagram