Black Ops: Cold War REVIVED the Series - A Campaign Retrospective

Cold War wasn't a perfect game. But, it was the perfect game to revive the Black Ops series.
Check out the Northfield Saga: linktr.ee/calv...
Join me in this retrospective video essay, as we explore the story of Black Ops Cold War, and how it relates to the rest of the Black Ops series.
#blackops #blackops2 #blackops3 #blackopscoldwar #blackops6 #callofduty #callofdutyvideos #gaming #gamingcommunity

[@calvinfishermedia]

Thanks for watching everyone! Did you enjoy Black Ops Cold War?

[@justincholos.balisang6884]

I initially did; I still do but I wish it there was more of it's campaign and was done properly (not Warzone).

[@calvinfishermedia]

@@justincholos.balisang6884 that’s definitely fair! Thanks for sharing.

[@garnetcobragaming]

Cold War was actually my first COD. I had played BO2 and BO3 multiplayer at my friend’s houses when I was a kid, but I never owned a COD of my own. I had high expectations and I was genuinely surprised. I found the story’s twists and turns to be very gripping. The gameplay is buttery smooth and the atmosphere of the levels are so memorable! I’ve played it all the way through probably 10-15 times. It’s a great game and honestly, (I’m extremely biased, having not played basically any other COD) it’s my favorite COD game!

[@DrWhobertCh]

35:58 Interesting is that what Gorbachev says is not only is a parallel with Reagan says at the beginning of the game but almost word for word what Kennedy says to Mason in BO1, Only changing "Communist" to "Capitalist" and "Freedom" to "Collective"

[@calvinfishermedia]

That’s a good point! I didn’t think about the parallel with BO1. Thanks for sharing

[@Surepeacooler]

Cold War was my first call of duty game and it's what got me hooked onto the black ops franchise, after beating cold war i went back to play BO1 and 2. I'm definitely biased towards it, but I think it still stands as the best modern call of duty game

[@calvinfishermedia]

It’s my favorite of the modern campaigns for sure! Glad you enjoyed it too. Thanks for watching.

[@Average_Internet_User101]

As a boomer Cold War is such a fenomenal game... The campaign: Entertaining, Memorable and emersive Multiplayer: Enjoyable with no P2W weapons (Since they're all unlockable) Zombies: Not perfect but great mechanics, no dogsh*t weapons, and so replayable Outbreak: The best thing to be introduced into the COD franchise since the Zombies we all know and love, it stll has it's flaws, but super replayable nonetheless Onslaught Containment: the most chaoticly awesome zombies mode I've ever experienced in any vanilla COD

[@matthewmcshane399]

Bell's Theme is one of the best pieces of music made for this franchise.

[@calvinfishermedia]

Cold war has great music overall!

[@jamariobrown-tolliver8163]

In the bad ending its revealed that Persius is an organization and a title that's passed down

[@calvinfishermedia]

True. However, I’m pretty sure it’s the same Perseus that Adler was after in Nam, right? Thanks for watching

[@chikentinder6627]

To answer your question about modern warfare games and black ops games being tied together: the past two modern warfare games (mwii and mwiii) you actually go to two different Cold War era Russian bunkers with Perseus insignias/logos and flags all over. So basically the new modern warfare games probably take place in the already established black ops universe. (To add more info to this: in mwii’s raids you see the Perseus logos and flags as you progress thru the story of the raids; in mwiii’s regular campaign while on makarov’s trail you visit another Cold War era bunker with the same kinds of Perseus insignias and flags)

[@calvinfishermedia]

Ah, interesting! Thanks for filling me in!

[@chikentinder6627]

@@calvinfishermedia you’re welcome also great job on the fantastic video ❤️❤️

[@spectre4326]

Cold War is one of my favorite video games ever just on art direction alone

[@calvinfishermedia]

The art direction really is superb! Thanks for watching.

[@Triqii]

It’s incredible how well the black op games specifically put you in the setting of the game. Certain choices make you feel proud, or grimey. They, if putting forth the effort, excel at character creation and development.

[@calvinfishermedia]

Definitely! They do a great job of pushing the moral boundary and making you think about the decisions you’re making. Thanks for watching!

[@fadedraider1705]

black ops cold war was a refreshing start to the upcoming rise of activision, till they released vangaurd....

[@calvinfishermedia]

Definitely fumbled the ball with Vanguard! Perhaps my least favorite in the series…

[@matthewmcshane399]

I actually enjoyed vanguard. I know it's not the best in the series but I had fun with it.

[@MisunderstoodProphet]

call me crazy but I enjoyed vanguard more that the new MWII

[@Stalin99]

Some corrections is that Gorbachev is the secretary of agriculture when Cold War takes place. So neither is he premier of the ussr, but he shouldn't be getting involved with a mole in the KGB. Don't get me wrong it's a cool thing to see the guy, but it's just kinda silly considering his career at the time. Also they've scrapped the future canon of black ops 2 I believe. They announced that a little before cod next if memory serves.

[@calvinfishermedia]

Good point! Thanks for filling in more detail on the history!

[@1Staubsauger]

From the "new era" of cod where they rely on battlepass (since MW 2019 to be exact) Cold War will always have a special place in my heart. The game was in development within 8 months during Covid, originally supposed to be developed by Sledgehammer Games but then Treyarch took over. I've never been a huge fan of the gritty, realistic and "serious" tone of the Modern Warfare series, so Cold War was very welcoming to me. Kinda wish I could replay it with all the seasons the game had.

[@calvinfishermedia]

I feel that! I didn’t give Cold War’s multiplayer a fair shake when it came out. It would be nice to revisit in its prime. Thanks for watching!

[@arzntwo]

let’s also not forget that Cold War was made in less than a year due to development issues (sledgehammer was making it at first and Treyarch took over only a few months before release) and was still this good…

[@calvinfishermedia]

Great point! It is impressive that CW turned out how it did in light of the rocky development

[@jrw558]

Big shoutout to Raven as they had a big hand in ColdWars Campaign. I hope BO6 Campaign will be just as good if not better.

[@calvinfishermedia]

Definitely! Raven always made such great fps campaigns even pre-Cold War. I’m glad they had such a hand in it.

[@critowski]

How does this video only have 200 views, this is an amazing video essay!

[@calvinfishermedia]

Thanks, I really appreciate that! Sometimes the algorithm is a bit slow, so there is a chance it will get more traction :)

[@thanakornkhumon7365]

Not perfect but it did save the whole CoD story that everybody care. And it's only fews CoD campaign I care apart from OG MW trilogy. Thank you for your video

[@calvinfishermedia]

Thanks for watching! I appreciate your perspective :)!

[@MoonFanatic]

Cold War is my second favourite cod campaign just behind BO1

[@calvinfishermedia]

Definitely see why you feel that way! It’s a great campaign. Thanks for watching.

[@bigiron1990]

Cold War is my favorite modern cod title. Best since BO1 imo.

[@calvinfishermedia]

It’s definitely up there for me too! Especially the campaign. Thanks for watching.

[@shawncole36]

WaW and WW2 retrospectives?? 👀 absolutely have been spamming your vids since I came across them, keep up the work!

[@calvinfishermedia]

Thanks that means a lot, glad you are enjoying the content! I plan on doing WAW and maybe a WW2 vid at some point, but I will likely take a little break from COD videos after BO6!

[@proluk1889]

Assistindo novamente, pois gostei muito do vídeo! Um abraço do Brasil Sinto saudades do auge desse jogo

[@calvinfishermedia]

Thank you for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tomswarder4313]

and the background will actually affect some sequences involving codebreaking or investigation skills, some tasks that are designed around russian computers will lets you skip it with the ex kgb check

[@calvinfishermedia]

Oh, that is really cool! I didn’t realize that. Thanks for sharing

[@amitadhikari7796]

Love this campaign so much

[@calvinfishermedia]

It’s great! I love coming back to it. Thanks for watching!

[@thereqards5098]

I love these videos 🗣️

[@calvinfishermedia]

Thank you!! I’m glad you are enjoying them 🙂

[@swempytimes]

I really like the premise of your book, instantly hooked me

[@calvinfishermedia]

That is awesome to hear! Thank you for the feedback!

[@tomswarder4313]

dont read much but i love supporting lowkey authors

[@calvinfishermedia]

Thanks, I really appreciate that!!

[@phil_matic]

Cold War was one of the best CoDs ever made, had a great campaign, and an amazing multiplayer which is top 3 for me. The inclusion of Zakhaev in the campaign was super tryhard though

[@calvinfishermedia]

That’s definitely a fair analysis! I don’t think I gave the MP the credit it was due when it came out

[@phil_matic]

@@calvinfishermedia I honestly didn't expect Cold War's MP was going to be good. I always thought Treyarch's MPs were inferior to Infinity Wards, but decided to give Cold War a chance anyway, and it's definitely my second favorite next to the original MW2

[@humphreyshellington5592]

this sounds really reminiscent to mgsv

[@calvinfishermedia]

I definitely see the parallels! Thanks for watching.

[@dieurge]

i still try to convince my friends to give the cold war campaign a chance i swear adler is the best character on they’ve come up with since rorke 🧟‍♂️

[@Zestytrashcan82]

I wish it was less obvious which of the 'final choices' was cannon. I also really liked Bell, and I wish he stayed alive in the ending, since the next MC is... Basically just another bell by the sound of things.

[@calvinfishermedia]

That’s definitely fair! Interesting, I didn’t know that about BO6. I haven’t been following the game too closely so I am fresh when it releases. I wonder if they will go for another protagonist twist/subversion or not.

[@Zestytrashcan82]

@@calvinfishermedia I’m following it because I’m a little optimistic. I think it’s possible it is bell, but even then I wish they didint make it so ambiguous whether or not bell died in the first place. I would have liked if Bo6 was bells first chance at actually having agency in his actions, though.. I guess he had agency in the end of Bocw. Also, I forgot to mention this in my first comment, zakaiev shows up in BOCW to set up his war zone storyline. It’s really stupid I know. I really wish they were separate, it’s so dumb.

[@masterwaverider]

good video

[@calvinfishermedia]

Thanks for watching! Glad you're enjoying the content.

[@MarcoTulio-mi1ov]

another great video!! Cold War was actually pretty cool, but what bothered me was Activision's idea of ​​combining the universe of Modern Warfare with that of black ops, and even mixing Zombies and Warzone lol. At the time I thought it was really bad, in my opinion it worked better each in a separate universe!! Sometimes it could also be my nostalgic feelings speaking louder hahahaha but after this campaign nothing good came, hahaha, did you end up playing Zombies? the story is also very good

[@calvinfishermedia]

Thanks for watching! I did play a little bit of zombies when the game first came out, but I didn't get too far into the lore. I enjoyed my time with it though!

[@Internal_H3AVEN]

“When you give someone the middle finger, three are giving you the finger back.”

[@rebekk8]

That's exactly what happened to bell because they were the first ones to treaten america along with perseus lmao

[@calvinfishermedia]

Insightful quote!

[@xavdogmillionaire3650]

I think something was missed in terms of the interactions with the teams, i think you saw it as it didnt work because because of the energy but i think thats why it did work… remember they all know bell isnt who bell thinks he is, and they dont trust him and dont wanna make a mistake with him

[@calvinfishermedia]

That is fair! I see where you’re coming from. Thanks for watching!

[@zodiacmartnio7256]

best game ever made

[@calvinfishermedia]

I do think Cold War is under-appreciated, especially the campaign! What is your favorite part about it?

[@deathsexy]

Bro, modern warfare and Black Ops are in the same universe. Black Ops 6 will tell you that if you make a video on it with the military vehicles you see

[@Sillysillylittleman]

Only cod i own now Cold war nuke town is sick

[@calvinfishermedia]

I think the OG will always be my favorite but Cold War’s rendition is cool too!

[@spicyjakob234]

36:00 This isnt mirroring Reagen at the beggining, its a word for word rip off of Mason meeting JFK in BO1, though the effect is the same

[@calvinfishermedia]

I think it can be both, right? An homage to BO1 while also mirroring Gorbachev. Thanks for watching.

[@calico_cy]

i do NOT trust adler going into BO6 i WILL betray him if given the chance

[@calvinfishermedia]

That is definitely fair lol!!

[@TheChicken-nt2rs]

And to think the call of duty shared universe started with the ending of bo4 zombies

[@calvinfishermedia]

Ah interesting! I follow zombies a little bit but not much. The story sounds interesting though!

[@TheChicken-nt2rs]

@calvinfishermedia tag der toten rebooted everything and merged the various aspects of cod. Black ops, Modern Warfare (2019) and Zombies all share a universe now.

[@Bandanaacannemozze]

It's Jason Hudson not James 😂

[@calvinfishermedia]

Yep I misspoke! Thanks for watching.

[@gustavogomez1233]

Oh now yall like cold war after the disaster that is the new mw series ? i knew i wasn’t crazy for liking it day 1

[@calvinfishermedia]

I was a fan of the campaign since the start! But opinion on the game overall has warmed since its release

[@us3rlandon2]

mw19 revived cod, cold war continued it and Vanguard killed it

[@calvinfishermedia]

Have you tried BO6? Curious if it’s revived the series in your eyes or not!

[@LunganiNduna]

41:02 Wait a minute, weren't they being extracted by a plane or something? I'm just saying

[@calvinfishermedia]

You’re right, it was by plane. Good correction!

[@Randomusername56782]

train go boom.

[@calvinfishermedia]

💥💥💥

[@Krondon-SSR]

Revived? You mean MW 2019?

[@calvinfishermedia]

In the intro, I mention that I’m specifically talking about the Black Ops series. Thanks for watching!

[@justchoas]

cold war isnt the craziest campaign but its great btw in Germany when u get captured , u can get great killed talking shi

[@calvinfishermedia]

Really? I didn’t know that! That’s a cool detail.

[@POWBxDX4DxZOMB]

REALLLL💯💯💯.🙏🏽🩸🔥🎃🎃🔥🐂🦬🫡🪖🏆🛸

[@xavdogmillionaire3650]

James Hudson -_-

[@calvinfishermedia]

Yep that’s my bad! I misspoke. Thanks for watching.

[@yungmoney1347]

lol cold wars campaigns was so lame half the shit they did made no sense I just couldnt stand listening to mf’s scream “bad guys” all game instead of enemies.

[@calvinfishermedia]

Sorry you didn’t enjoy the campaign!

[@yungmoney1347]

@@calvinfishermedia I don’t know anyone who did lmao besides the gooch lickers at least