“I have marched six weeks in hell and certify
‘Boots’ – Rudyard Kipling (1903)
It is not fire, devils, dark, or anything,
But boots—boots—boots—boots—moving up and down again,
And there’s no discharge in the war.”
We finally have a cinematic intro for a round-based Zombies map. It’s been a while, but it was worth the wait! Terminus finds our heroes of the Cold War – Weaver, Grey, Carver, Strauss and Raptor-One – locked in captivity on the mystic Terminus Island. Five years in captivity has not treated them well, but luckily, the one-eyed wonder Dr William Peck and his accomplice Maya are on hand to break them out. An outbreak occurs on the island as if by fate, and they gear up to fight. There’s no discharge in the war.
Black Ops Cold War was one of my favourite Zombies experiences from start to finish, but it did suffer slightly in the presentation of its story due to the lack of cinematic intros and a dedicated crew. Treyarch has wasted no time in showing Black Ops 6 is a different beast, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with the first look.
From the top down, Zombies has never looked better. The cinematics in Modern Warfare Zombies were impressive, but this is another step up. We’re in a good place if this is the standard we can expect from future cinematics. Let’s see them return for every additional round-based map in BO6 as they set the tone for each map, let the less lore-heavy players engage with the story, and generate a lot of excitement.
Despite missing some of the core narrative techniques of Black Ops 3 and 4, Cold War successfully developed its characters through Intel. I’ve talked about the intel system ad nauseam; we know a lot about these characters thanks to it. By promoting the characters to part of a dedicated crew, we’ll get a deeper look at them through cutscenes, conversations, and dialogue. For newcomers or those who missed out on some of the intel, there’s no better time to go back and learn about them.
With the ill-fated Chaos story, we jumped in at the deep end. The world, the characters, and the universe’s rules were all new. We got four maps and a comic run before the story was nixed, yet we barely scratched the surface. The beginning of Dark Aether was different. It eased us in with familiar characters (Weaver, Kravchenko, Maxis, Eddie) while introducing new ones (Peck, Carver, Grey, Strauss, Valentina). The rules of the universe were similar to Aether, but not exactly 1:1. The phrase I always use when describing Cold War is “fresh but familiar.”
Whether intentional at the time or not, the decision to debut Weaver, Carver and Grey in Cold War before making them part of a dedicated crew has played out brilliantly. We now approach Black Ops 6 with three known entities in our crew and one newcomer: smuggler Maya Aguinaldo. Maya makes an impressive entrance, working through the shadows of the island’s prison to slit the guard’s throat and release the captives. The way the camera follows her from behind as she walks out of the control room and past the Requiem heads is fantastic. It instantly makes Maya look dangerous and in control; cool shot!
In a moment of vulnerability, we see Maya call out Peck for not keeping his end of the bargain—rescuing her brother. It’s a relatable motive that instantly puts players on her side. It also leaves us with many questions: Who is her brother? Why is he imprisoned on Terminus Island? Is he still alive? What does he know of the Dark Aether? We’ll likely get answers, but the chances of a happy reunion are low.
Some Sunny Day
The largest source of excitement is the references to a familiar name: Edward Richtofen. At the end of Cold War, we knew Eddie was The Director who had been pulling the strings of both sides, Omega and Requiem, but hearing (and seeing) his name in the Dark Aether story is surreal.
I’ve got no idea where this Richtofen is going, though the prominence of his name in the intro suggests that he will play a massive role in this part of the Dark Aether saga. The grand return of one of the most iconic characters in Call of Duty history is cause for celebration, but we should be wary.
When it comes to Zombies, I’m an old head. I’ve followed Zombies since completing the World at War campaign in 2008. No one hopes elements of the Aether saga return in the Dark Aether more than I do. I’d love to see concepts like Apothicons, Keepers, Agartha, and Element 115 touched upon again, but only in the context of the Dark Aether.
Characters can remember the past, even reference it, but we shouldn’t relive it. There must be a clear line between Aether and Dark Aether. That’s not to say the line can’t be crossed now and then; I just don’t want an eleventh-hour “it’s always been the Aether story!” twist or worse – the return of Primis and Ultimis. It’d have been pretty monotonous if Frasier kept going to Cheers in his eponymous TV show. While balancing old and new can be challenging, I trust Treyarch will handle the remnants of Aether carefully.
An Eye for an Eye. Wait.
Everyone has their sights on Richtofen (minus Maya, for now…), and who can blame them? They’ve been imprisoned for years after preventing a global catastrophe all because of one man. Weaver and Richtofen may have a history (the mention of how Weaver would “burn the whole house down” in the blog post raises eyebrows), but Grey, Carver, and Strauss were all doing their jobs. Unfortunately, Project Janus supersedes the fate of expendable department heads.
Peck lost an eye and his life’s work during the Aetherium Arms Race of the Cold War. While he deserved most of what he got, it’s still understandable he would have an issue with Richtofen. Despite being a conniving rat, I can’t help but love Peck. I’m looking forward to his banter with the crew on Terminus, especially since, judging from the cinematic, he and Strauss have partnered up.
It’s easy to be on board with an act of revenge at this stage, but what happens when the crew get to Richtofen and he explains his side? We’ve seen countless times that Richtofen can manipulate those who despise him into working alongside him. There’s also the slim possibility that his master plan is for the greater good –an increasingly slim possibility.
Litterbee Falls
The secrecy of Liberty Falls grows increasingly suspicious. It could be that Treyarch simply picked Terminus to go first, but with both maps taking place simultaneously and teases of the West Virginian town in Modern Warfare Zombies, I’m starting to wonder if information is being kept from us until we see the outcome of the MWZ finale in a few weeks.
I’m working under the impression that Liberty Falls will only use operators to avoid disappointment, but maybe we’ll be blessed with an additional crew. The landscape of Zombies –and the video game industry– has changed a lot since the last celebrity crew in Dead of the Night, but maybe we’ll be surprised. By process of elimination, if Richtofen isn’t on Terminus Island, he’s undoubtedly right in the heart of whatever is happening in West Virginia.
There isn’t much we can learn gameplay-wise, but that’s no real issue when the gameplay deep-dive is imminent (under 24 hours from when I’m posting this). I’m excited about the blowout, as there are almost as many questions surrounding gameplay as there are with the story. It’s nice to see the reception so far has been pretty positive. As long as I’m having fun, I don’t really care if others enjoy it or not, but it certainly makes it easier to talk about when they do!
Until the gameplay reveal tomorrow, it’s boots, boots, boots, boots moving up and down again.