Gaming

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 review: Ambitious but reliably good

Thanks to a refreshingly experimental campaign

Published

November 7, 2024

Luigi Leonardo

There is only so much you can do with the first-person shooter genre before it all boils down to just shooting at targets. With decades of experience under its belt, it’s easy – or perhaps, expected – to assume that the Call of Duty series has reached the end of its bag of tricks. Black Ops 6 can prove this assumption wrong, though. But it’s not so much a reinvention as it is a loving tribute to the greatest hits of the genre.

A campaign to (shoot, sneak, survive, and) die for

As someone who’s played the original campaigns of the very first Call of Duty games, the franchise relies on a few strategies to set each game apart from one another. They can tell a compelling story, design intricate maps, or – as is common in today’s game – showcase what players can do in multiplayer mode.

Black Ops 6, on the other hand, takes a more experimental approach, rather than going for the traditional run-and-gun levels. After a brief prologue of the latter, the campaign opens up to a cornucopia of variety. One level has players stealthily infiltrate a political event hosted by Bill Clinton. The next chapter then takes players to the front door of Saddam Hussein’s palace in a Halo-like open-world map. Each level is fundamentally different from the rest. But, if you miss the old run-and-guns, every level usually ends in a straight-up gunfight.

This is definitely a bold approach for a very traditional series. The campaign effectively borrows its ideas from the best of the genre: the aforementioned Halo, Bioshock, and Dishonored, for example. Amid its boldness, it’s also refreshing after years trudging through similar-looking shooting levels.

What makes Black Ops 6 a Call of Duty game?

Though Black Ops 6’s campaign is easily the most fun I’ve had in a Call of Duty campaign, it’s a bit difficult to sniff out its essence as a Call of Duty game. A lot of times, I kept forgetting that I was playing one.

It’s not a knock on Black Ops 6, to be fair. Rather, it’s a comment on the entire series. The game could have been tighter if it had a stronger fiber that bridges levels together into one cohesive unit.

Now, the campaign does have a few ways of doing this. The story, for one, has the makings of a traditional political thriller, as is expected from the Black Ops series. Another way is the safe house in between missions, a hub world stylized as “The Rook”. This is where the game can do a bit more.

The Rook is a safe house where the main crew rests in between missions. It’s where you, the playable character named Case, can learn more about your teammates. Additionally, it also offers upgrades you can take for missions, purchasable through collectible currency, which is difficult to obtain through the campaign.

While these are all what you would expect from a hub world, it doesn’t feel valuable in the overall game. Each upgrade, offered by improving the safehouse, offers only marginal benefits like reducing recoil by a small percentage. All of them are just tiny adjustments that can make the campaign a tad bit better but are ultimately unnecessary. Plus, since the game goes through different genres, an upgrade tree that focuses mainly on shooting doesn’t seem as useful.

Where do zombies go?

Leaving the campaign aside, it’s time to look at another Black Ops classic, the Zombies mode. Much like its previous iteration, Black Ops 6’s Zombies is an arcade mode that has players fight through never-ending hordes of ghouls.

As I’ve played over the years, the Zombies mode is always an enjoyable time, especially with friends. Black Ops 6 is no different. The game currently has two different maps: Terminus and Liberty Falls. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it doesn’t really need to. The formula is still tried-and-tested for a coop experience.

It’s still a difficult journey for solo players, though. If you’re playing the mode without much experience of the maps, finding where to go is almost impossible. A guide was practically a necessity when I tried the new maps alone for the first time.

A multiplayer so fast, your head spins

As I mentioned, I played through the original Call of Duty a lifetime ago, which automatically puts me in an age group whose reflexes trail behind today’s younger players. Climbing through the leaderboard is more difficult. That said, Black Ops 6’s multiplayer mode retains the same trait that makes it popular year after year: being easy to pick up.

A multiplayer match rarely needs an introduction. Just click “Multiplayer” and fly immediately into a lobby. On-screen prompts and a voiceover tell you what to do, but the flow is simple enough to follow even without instructions.

Yes, I died a lot more often than I got a kill, but there was never any frustration of losing. The fun was always present, whether it’s watching others get amazing kills or getting the occasional one yourself.

Also, though I’ve waxed poetic about this before, it bears repeating that the new omnidirectional movement plays so fluidly on Black Ops 6’s system. The new maps are also fun to discover as they add more verticality in king-of-the-mountain-style layouts. Finally, the current map rotation includes an almost-identical recreation of Nuketown, the classic map from the original Black Ops.

Is this your GaMeMatch?

The Black Ops series is a bright spot for the entire Call of Duty franchise. The original featured the franchise’s most memorable story and other game modes to keep you playing for some time. Now, more than a decade later, Black Ops 6 regains the series its reputation as the most ambitious title to date. The game’s singleplayer experiments combines seamlessly with tried-and-tested multiplayer and zombie modes, making it worth playing for the whole year.

Related Topics:Call of Duty Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 featured

Gaming

Life is Strange: Reunion now available on consoles and PC

Max and Chloe return for an emotional finale

Published

March 27, 2026

GadgetMatch

Bandai Namco Entertainment Asia and Square Enix have officially launched Life is Strange: Reunion, the latest entry in the narrative adventure series. Developed by Deck Nine Games, the title is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Microsoft Store. A physical PlayStation 5 edition is also available across Southeast Asia.

The launch comes with an official trailer, marking the return of one of the franchise’s most beloved storylines.

A long-awaited reunion

Set 11 years after the original events, Life is Strange: Reunion brings back Max Caulfield and Chloe Price as they reunite to solve a new timeline-spanning mystery. This time, the stakes center on a devastating inferno threatening Caledon University–Max’s workplace as a photography teacher.

Returning from a trip, Max discovers the campus engulfed in flames, with lives lost across the university. She survives only by using her Rewind ability, a power that allows her to reverse time.

The situation takes an unexpected turn with Chloe’s sudden arrival–an outcome tied to the timeline-merging events of Life is Strange: Double Exposure. Now dealing with fractured memories and an unstable sense of reality, Chloe once again finds herself relying on Max.

Dual perspectives, new gameplay dynamics

For the first time in the series, players can take control of both Max and Chloe, switching perspectives as the story unfolds.

Max’s Rewind power lets players revisit decisions, reshape conversations, and manipulate environments to solve complex, time-based puzzles. Meanwhile, Chloe brings her signature Backtalk ability, allowing her to push conversations in her favor and access situations Max cannot.

This dual-character approach expands both narrative depth and gameplay variety, offering different ways to uncover clues and influence outcomes.

A character-driven finale

Life is Strange: Reunion continues the series’ focus on grounded, emotional storytelling, with choices that carry meaningful consequences. The game builds toward a dramatic climax that aims to close out Max and Chloe’s journey.

As the final chapter in their story, Reunion positions itself as both a continuation and a conclusion–tying together years of narrative threads while delivering a new mystery shaped by time, loss, and choice.

Gaming

Nintendo will make it cheaper to buy digital games than physical

Physical releases will have the same price.

Published

March 26, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The days of lining up for a newly released game are well and truly over. Though some games still experience shortages in brick-and-mortar stores, such as the widely successful Pokémon Pokopia, gamers can get their titles digitally. Now, Nintendo is making digital releases more enticing by offering a tempting discount on the eShop.

Starting in May, Nintendo will start charging different prices for the physical and digital releases of first-party games. While physical releases will still have the same prices going forward, digital releases via the eShop will enjoy a discount.

The discount, of course, will likely depend on the title itself. Nintendo has already given the upcoming Yoshi and the Mysterious Book as the first example. The new platformer will cost US$ 70 from retailers. However, it will cost only US$ 60 on the digital eShop.

The company says that the new pricing scheme “simply reflects the different costs associated with producing and distributing each format.” With the prices of chips skyrocketing, it’s no surprise that the physical release is more expensive than the digital one.

To be more technical about it, Nintendo has started skipping a physical game card for a while now. The physical release of Pokémon Pokopia, for example, has only a game-key card or a code to download the game. In this format, physical releases are just pretty cases you can display on your shelf.

Also, digital releases do carry the added risk of getting delisted on the whims of the developers, the publishers, or Nintendo itself. It is, however, still a cheaper option, especially in a world where getting any discount is a welcome thought.

SEE ALSO: Nintendo sues the United States

Gaming

Razer Blade 16 (2026) packs more cores, faster memory

Razer’s thinnest gaming laptop yet

Published

March 26, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

Razer has officially unveiled the 2026 version of its Blade 16, doubling down on what it does best: squeezing high-end performance into an ultra-slim chassis.

This year’s refresh focuses on meaningful internal upgrades. That includes a new Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, faster LPDDR5X memory, and NVIDIA’s latest RTX 50 Series laptop GPUs — all while keeping the Blade 16 as the thinnest gaming laptop in Razer’s lineup.

Performance gets a serious bump

At the core of the new Blade 16 is the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H, featuring 16 cores and up to 4.9GHz boost clock. Razer claims a 33% increase in core count versus the previous generation, translating to stronger performance across gaming, content creation, and AI workloads.

There’s also an integrated NPU capable of up to 50 TOPS, enabling faster on-device AI tasks like image generation and live translation.

Memory gets a notable upgrade too. The Blade 16 now supports up to 64GB of LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM, which Razer positions as the fastest available in a laptop today. The result: quicker responsiveness for heavy multitasking, creative apps, and AI-assisted workflows.

On the graphics side, NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 50 Series (Blackwell architecture) brings DLSS 4 and enhanced AI capabilities for both gaming and creator use cases.

Display and design stay premium

Razer isn’t fixing what isn’t broken. The Blade 16 retains its signature CNC-milled aluminum chassis, measuring just 14.9mm thick and weighing around 2.14kg.

The display remains a highlight. You get a 16-inch QHD+ OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, now brighter and certified for VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 1000. It supports full DCI-P3 coverage, Calman calibration, and NVIDIA G-SYNC, making it just as suited for creators as it is for competitive gaming.

Battery life and efficiency improve

Despite the performance gains, Razer is also pushing efficiency. Thanks to Intel’s newer architecture and system-level optimizations, the Blade 16 can hit up to 13 hours of productivity use and up to 15 hours of video playback under ideal conditions.

That’s a notable improvement for a machine in this class, especially given its slim form factor.

Connectivity and audio step up

The 2026 Blade 16 gets a future-ready connectivity suite, including Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0. There’s also a full set of ports, from USB-A to HDMI 2.1 and an SD card reader.

Audio gets an upgrade too. The six-speaker system now supports THX Spatial Audio+ with virtual 7.1.4 surround, aiming to deliver more immersive sound both on speakers and headphones.

Price and availability

The Razer Blade 16 configured with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB VRAM) and 32GB LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM is priced at US$3,499.99 / €3,599.99 MSRP.

It is available now, exclusively via Razer.com and select RazerStores worldwide.

Still the Blade, just sharper

At a glance, the 2026 Blade 16 doesn’t reinvent the formula. But under the hood, it pushes performance, memory speed, and efficiency forward in ways that matter.

It’s still the same idea: a no-compromise gaming laptop that looks like it belongs in a minimalist workspace — just faster, smarter, and a bit more future-proof this time around.