How Long is Black Ops 3 Story? A Comprehensive Guide
The burning question for many Call of Duty fans diving into the futuristic world of Black Ops 3 is: How long will the story keep me engaged? The average player will find that Black Ops 3’s main story typically takes around nine hours to complete. This makes it one of the longer campaigns in the Call of Duty franchise, particularly given the series’ annual release schedule. However, play time can fluctuate, influenced by the chosen difficulty level, exploration style, and whether you are playing solo or in co-op mode.
Factors Affecting Playtime
Several factors can impact your playtime in Black Ops 3. If you’re a completionist who likes to comb every corner of the map, you can easily spend more time on each level. Here’s a breakdown of the most influential variables:
Difficulty Level
The game offers five different difficulty settings: Recruit, Regular, Hardened, Veteran, and Realistic. Lower difficulty settings will naturally shorten your overall playtime, as you’ll be able to progress through missions with relative ease. Conversely, playing on higher difficulties will lengthen your playtime due to the increased challenge of enemies and decreased player health, forcing you to take a more tactical and cautious approach, and often leading to multiple retries.
Solo vs. Co-Op
Playing solo generally results in a shorter campaign playtime due to the streamlined nature of focusing on your own progression. However, the game’s design for 4-player co-op creates a very different experience. With co-op, the larger level designs come into play, and coordinated strategy can also extend the missions. Co-op playthroughs can either extend or shorten your playtime, depending on the coordination of your team.
Exploration and Completionism
If you tend to rush through a level aiming only for the finish line, your playtime will be shorter. However, if you like to explore every nook and cranny, collect intel items, and experiment with the customizable weapons and cybernetics, you can expect to add several hours onto your playtime.
The Black Ops 3 Campaign Structure
The Black Ops 3 campaign is structured across eleven distinct missions. These missions take you through various locations and scenarios, as you follow a group of black ops soldiers in a futuristic world dealing with both climate change and new military technologies. While the plot itself has been described as “bizarre” and “mostly terrible,” the overall design of the campaign, particularly when played in co-op, is often praised. The open-level design allows for tactical options that have become a hallmark of the game.
Is Black Ops 3 Worth Playing?
Despite the critical reviews of the story, the Black Ops 3 campaign is considered successful due to its co-op focus. The fact that the game was clearly designed with co-op in mind, allows for greater experimentation with tactical gameplay, and less reliance on corridor shooting compared to older games. Many fans agree that the co-op makes the experience far more enjoyable despite the weak narrative.
FAQs About Black Ops 3 Campaign Length & Features
Here are 15 Frequently Asked Questions to give you even more insight into Black Ops 3:
1. How many missions are in Black Ops 3?
There are a total of eleven missions in the Black Ops 3 campaign.
2. What is the setting of Black Ops 3?
Black Ops III takes place in the year 2065, 40 years after the events of Black Ops II. The world is facing massive upheaval from climate change and emerging technologies.
3. Can you play as a female character in Black Ops 3?
Yes, while there isn’t a predefined female character, you can choose the gender and appearance of your protagonist. It’s designed to be a “Mass Effect theory” of campaign design, giving you control over your soldier.
4. Is the Black Ops 3 campaign suitable for children?
The recommended age rating for the campaign is 16+, due to violence and graphic content. There is a filter you can toggle on to remove graphic content like blood. Multiplayer is rated 10+, and zombies is rated 13+. Online multiplayer interactions are also rated 11+.
5. How does Black Ops 3 campaign end?
The game concludes with the Player sacrificing themselves to purge the DNI and its AI, thereby saving those augmented by it. It’s a rather somber, but decisive end to the story.
6. Why is Black Ops 3 campaign considered one of the longer CoD campaigns?
Black Ops 3 is often called the longest campaign due to its nine hour average playtime, which is substantial compared to some of the shorter campaigns in the series, which can be as short as 6 hours. This is mostly due to the open level design and its focus on co-op, which encourages exploration and experimentation.
7. What is the gameplay like in Black Ops 3?
The gameplay is smoother and more technical than its predecessor, Black Ops 2. It features advanced movement, cybernetic abilities, and a range of tactical options when taking on enemies, especially in co-op.
8. Why do people say the Black Ops 3 story is “bizarre?”
The story of Black Ops 3 often receives criticism for being convoluted, confusing, and ultimately, lacking a compelling narrative. It involves deep themes of transhumanism and artificial intelligence, often told through abstract imagery and unclear dialogue. This has lead to it being described as “bizarre” by many critics and players.
9. How many zombies maps are there in Black Ops 3?
Black Ops 3 has a large number of Zombies maps, with over 14 maps to explore, making it a fan favorite for the zombies mode.
10. How many levels are there in Black Ops 3’s multiplayer mode?
There are a total of 55 levels in Call of Duty Black Ops III’s multiplayer mode.
11. What makes Black Ops 3 different from other CoD campaigns?
Black Ops 3 distinguishes itself through its emphasis on co-operative gameplay, larger and more open level designs, customizable characters, cybernetic powers, and the sheer scope of customization, especially when compared to its immediate predecessors.
12. Why is Black Ops 3 considered one of the best Black Ops titles?
Black Ops 3 is often praised for its smooth gameplay, diverse specialist options, and extensive customization, and the fan-favorite Zombies mode features, which some fans consider the best iteration of the mode in the franchise.
13. Is Black Ops 3 still safe to play online?
Currently there are concerns about security vulnerabilities, especially regarding PC players and malicious code. Exercise caution while playing online.
14. What is the hardest Call of Duty campaign in the series?
Many players cite Call of Duty: World at War as the hardest campaign in the series, not Black Ops 3, due to its intense enemy AI and challenging missions.
15. Which Call of Duty title doesn’t have a campaign?
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is the first entry in the series not to feature a traditional single-player campaign, instead focusing solely on multiplayer, zombies, and the battle royale mode, Blackout.
Conclusion
While the core campaign of Black Ops 3 is roughly nine hours, this can vary based on difficulty, playstyle and whether you are playing solo or co-op. Its unique features, extensive customization and overall focus on cooperative play have made it a memorable entry in the Call of Duty franchise, despite its narrative flaws. Whether you’re looking for a solo challenge or a co-op adventure, Black Ops 3 has a lot to offer, and you can expect a rich experience with hours of engagement.