The best Call Of Duty Black Ops games

Summary

• Call of Duty: Black Ops
  games range from the scary to the best of the best in the series, each with its own unique gameplay experience.
• Black Ops
  titles on different platforms offer different stories and gameplay mechanics, with some items worth players' time more than others.
• The series has evolved with each new entry, introducing new features such as a Battle Royale mode, advanced movement mechanics, and expanded multiplayer options.

Creating a family tree Call of Duty games would be an almost impossible feat. It all started with one great World War 2 game, but has since branched out into many sub-series, some of which take place in the same continuity, while others stand entirely on their own.

Players who want to follow one path will find a lot of interesting stories Black Ops games, but not all of these titles are created equal. As the list below shows, Black Ops the sub-series goes from the best of the best to the end Call of Duty barrel.

While
A world at war
takes place in the same continuity, it is omitted from the list because it is not its own
Black Ops
title.

Updated December 12, 2024 by Jason Wojnar: Most of the Black Ops games were easy to follow in continuity until 2020 came along and decided to destroy the numbering convention with Black Ops: Cold War.. Call of Duty 2024 made things even weirder by being Black Ops 6. Black Ops: Cold War is the fifth Black Ops game, but for some reason they chose not to call it that. However, the two games are still directly linked. Strange names are not important though. What really matters is where Black Ops 6 ranks in the best Black Ops games.

10 Black Ops: Declassified

Two analog sticks couldn't save this game

• Release: November 13, 2012
• Developer: nStigate games
• Platforms: PS Vita

The PS Vita was one of the most powerful handhelds of its time, but performance means nothing if the base game isn't something to write home about. Black Ops – Declassified is a terrible game in its own right and looks even worse compared to the rest of the tag games Black Ops name.

The single-player campaign feels like it's been pieced together with duct tape, lacking any of the excitement one expects from the series' stories. Multiplayer does its best to deliver the tried and true Cod set on a handheld, but people were better off waiting until they could play on their console at home.

9 Call Of Duty: Black Ops Mobile

Ahead of competing mobile game consoles

• Release date: December 31, 2010
• Developer: Glu Mobile
• Publisher: Activision

In 2010, mobile phones weren't powerful enough to recreate console experiences. This could be a blessing sometimes because at least one could play a completely different game on the phone. Black Ops Mobile takes place in Vietnam and the gameplay is a throwback to top-down shooters.

It looks and feels like a SNES or Genesis game, which is an interesting prospect for gamers Call of Duty series. Unfortunately, gameplay often suffered on these older mobile devices. Black Ops Mobile is far from an ideal gaming experience.

8 Black Ops DS

Another game with a similar name

• Release: November 9, 2010
• Developer: n-space
• Platforms: Nintendo DS

Although it has the same name, Call of Duty: Black Ops on the Nintendo DS is a different game than its console counterpart. It tells a slightly different story and the handheld's unique abilities fundamentally change the way players engage in combat.

All the handheld games were managed by the same developer and the titles got progressively better with each entry. Black Ops DS not really worth anyone's time, but it was definitely one of the better FPS games for Nintendo's unique handheld.

7 Black Ops Zombies

A great mobile adaptation of Zombies mode

• Release: December 1, 2012
• Developer: Glu Mobile, Marmalade Game Studios, Ideaworks Game Studios
• Publisher: Activision, Activision

Just as Capcom released a standalone Mercenaries game for the Nintendo 3DS, Activision created a standalone Zombies game for iOS. Black Ops Zombies is a surprisingly complete mobile version of the popular game mode. It was released in 2012, so the graphics are not up to the standards of modern high-end mobile titles, but that shouldn't detract from its quality in any way when the game is so smooth.

The game launched with Kino before content updates added a few more maps. As if that wasn't enough, Dead Ops Arcade was also included in the package. The only thing going against it is the older hardware and the fact that it's a single game mode where all the other games have campaign, multiplayer and zombies.

6 Black Ops 4

No single player will hurt its quality

The fourth numbered entry in this subseries took a unique approach in that it eschewed a single-player story altogether. Being a multiplayer-only title didn't hurt it in sales, but it did alienate a small portion of the audience. Black Ops 4 also introduced the Battle Royale genre to the series with the Blackout mode.

Blackout was successful but lacked some modern conveniences Warzone would eventually be implemented and not updated as often. While the lack of single player is disappointing, there is still plenty of great content for those only interested in multiplayer and zombies, even if the latter lacked enjoyment in terms of story elements and map design.

5 Black Ops – Cold War

Bringing Black Ops to the 1980s

Entering the 2020 series was something of a return to basics for the series. It doesn't touch on any future storylines and is firmly set in the Cold War era, taking full advantage of the aesthetic with missions once again set in Vietnam and some hidden missions behind the Iron Curtain.

Multiplayer offers particularly wide possibilities for all types of players. The mainstays are here, but there's also Face Off, a three-on-three mode with maps tailored for smaller players that will please fans of older, more hectic FPS games like TimeSplitters or Earthquake. The more modern gameplay mechanics suited this title, although there was some disappointment with how easy the zombies mode was and how short the campaign was.

4 Call Of Duty: Black Ops

Debut Black Ops game

First Black Ops introduced more espionage to the series with a more cerebral story that focuses on characters rather than the end of the world, not to mention the stakes aren't still high. Looking at it through a modern lens, the game isn't as polished or polished as future entries.

However, the story is still interesting and features many iconic characters like Frank Woods and Alex Mason. It was also the first time the series dealt with the Vietnam War, evoking the era by using the popular but still effective tropes of the era's iconic classic rock tunes. In addition to the incredible thriller story, the zombie content was also the start of some of the best.

3 Black Ops 3

Leaps into the future with a co-op campaign

Black Ops 3 set in the future, players have access to advanced movement mechanics that change the way they approach combat. This, along with the ability to play the campaign co-op with three other people online (one more locally), makes this title unique to this day.

The story's combat encounters are more open than usual, and the ability to jump, jump, and wall jump opens up gameplay possibilities. These mechanics translate into a multiplayer mode for high-octane action and frustration. The story has nothing to do with the prior Black Ops game, which is a little disappointing, but the game makes up for it with the best zombie content in the series.

2 Black Ops 2

An ambitious campaign

Black Ops 2 it walks the line between taking the series in a radical direction while still maintaining Black Ops identity. Most of the characters from the first game return and certain plot threads continue, but it also jumps back and forth in time, hinting at the future aesthetic of some of the later games.

The single player game also features optional missions and different endings. It was great Call of Duty a game for anyone who might be tired of the series by 2012 and will probably stand the test of time as one of the best multiplayer COD games thanks to the meta, maps and modes.

Depending on one's thoughts on Avenged Sevenfold, the band's cameo at the end of the game could either be the icing on the cake or the thing to ruin an otherwise festive and dark ending.

1 Black Ops 6

A colorful single-player campaign and fast-paced multiplayer

The 2024 game comes after what was Modern Warfare 3. Even without this significant increase in quality from a bad year, Black Ops 6 is among the best Call of Duty games of this generation. The single player campaign ensures that each level will look different. Many missions introduce new mechanics to keep players engaged before moving on to something new in the next level.

Multiplayer is incredibly fast thanks to the introduction of the omnimovement system. Zombies brings back easter eggs from the past and is more accessible than the harder wave-based modes of previous games.