Xbox Game Pass

It's fascinating how gatekeepy shooters have become (with the huge downloads, and endless splashscreens full of shite). I assume that as kids grow up, the format will be entirely normalised going forwards, but it's always going to be a huge hurdle for anyone who fancies just dipping their toe into a new game.

Riot, I think, do a good job in Valorant. Small, single download. The graphics are hyper simplified. And the UI is clutter free, and doesn't relentlessly pimp paid for content. There is a single forced tutorial which explains the mechanics of the game and that's it. Overwatch 2 and Apex aren't too bad either (at least the GAS stuff is hived off to an extent), but nearly all flavours of COD and MW (including the BR variants) are a shitshow.

Now that the dust has settled, and discounting the launcher itself (which really is terrible), Black Ops 6 is fun. It all seems quite basic too, in a way that appeals to this old man. There are some grounded maps, set in various 90s conflict zones. There are a few guns, none of which seem overpowered. Nicki Minaj has not yet appeared. There are 9 game modes, but they're all old faithfuls such as Team Deatchmatch and Capture the Flag. There isn't even a battle pass, just one quite pleasing screen with a 'Find match' button.

Maybe the bloat that I saw in MW3 comes later. But for now Blops 6 is a fun, crunchy, entirely un-Gen-Z shooter.

I've tried the Campaign and it's a bit 7/10. It's not as good as the campaign for Infinite Warfare so far.