Vorkuta (Call of Duty: Black Ops)
Three senior Call of Duty developers have cited Vorkuta as their favorite mission from the entire Black Ops series, and for good reason. It takes place in 1963 in the Vorkuta labor camp in the Soviet Union and features a thrilling escape sequence where players must flee through the mines while fellow prisoners are dying around them. The mission culminates in an explosive motorcycle chase, making for a memorable and action-packed experience.
- “It’s the great escape from the mine and the motorcycle chase,” says Adam Hoggatt, expert level designer and creator of Nuketown.
- “Vorkuta is an obvious choice. It’s just an incredibly memorable map. Reznov leading you out from the mine, the sacrifices of the other Russian prisoners pushing the mine carts as you’re taking cover behind them. It was just an epic map that was full of a lot of action and big moments,” notes Jake Harley, Raven Software lead audio designer.
- “It had a lot of strong narrative and gameplay beat changes from beginning to end, especially the escape on the motorcycle,” adds Damon Shubhastari, Raven Software lead designer.
Rebirth (Call of Duty: Black Ops)
Another popular campaign mission cited by multiple Call of Duty developers is Rebirth, also from the first Black Ops game. This mission sees a shocking plot twist revealed, where it turns out that the character Reznov was a figment of Mason’s mind the whole time, and highlights Black Ops’s psychological thriller themes. The mission set the tone for the twisty, grimy world of the Black Ops in the years to come.
- “That moment when you realize that Mason and Reznov are one and that Reznov was actually dead and in Mason’s mind is such an ‘Oh my god,’ moment. It really cemented what Blacks Ops is internally, and you could feel that in the studio when we were developing it… I’d walk over to the team making it and we would talk [about Rebirth and I would just go], ‘you’re blowing my mind,’” says Miles Leslie, Treyarch associate creative director.
Judgment Day (Call of Duty: Black Ops 2)
Miles Leslie also lists Judgment Day, from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, as one of his favorites. This tense mission sees players leading Mason on an assault on a secret Haitian facility. Players are given a choice to either kill the game’s primary antagonist, Menendez, or capture him alive. The choice the player makes determines the game’s ending.
- “I have fond memories of people [asking me], ‘Oh, you killed Menendez? How could you do that? That’s not the way,’” Leslie recounts, explaining that Menendez “had to die.”
- “It was really cool that even internally we would have these debates on the branching story,” Leslie adds.
Break on Through (Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War)
Branching storylines have become a key feature in the Black Ops series, with player choices leading to different outcomes. This is showcased in Break on Through, a mission from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. When players are unable to secure the location of a nuclear bomb, Russell Adler drugs the player in an attempt to uncover the hidden location using psychoactive chemicals. This results in a drug-fueled trip with Bell forced to either obey or disobey Adler through a series of surreal scenarios.
- Joanna Leung, Treyarch lead game designer, highlights the red doors that teleport the player through different drug-fueled vision quests, drawing a connection to a similar mechanic she worked on for the multiplayer map, Deprogram.
In Darkness (Call of Duty: Black Ops 3)
Matt Coutras, Treyarch senior level designer, fondly remembers the first campaign mission he worked on after joining the development team for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Titled “In Darkness,” it takes place in Singapore during a destructive storm, with the city partially destroyed. The mission features a wide range of locations, from docks to a flooded subway to a downtown space, making for a unique and immersive environment.
- Coutras found the challenge of integrating four-player co-op into the large map, allowing multiple players to explore different parts of Singapore, to be particularly interesting.
Brick in the Wall (Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War)
Brick in the Wall, one of the first missions developed for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, is a favorite of Jake Harley, audio designer. This spy-thriller stealth mission sees Bell and his team hunting down a Perseus associate in East Berlin. Players must navigate through ghost tunnels, meeting informants and sneaking past Stasi guards.
- “I love stealth missions to begin with and I really liked seeing how the team brought East Berlin to life and just sneaking through the ghost tunnels. It was a really cool experience,” Harley says.
Karma (Call of Duty: Black Ops 2)
The mission “Karma” in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is a memorable one for Jake Harley, and his second favorite campaign mission after Vorkuta. Players enter an opulent club and engage in combat on the dance floor while dubstep music blares.
- “As an audio person, that was so cool to me and memorable,” says Harley.
Call of Duty: The Complete Playlist
From the original PC hit to the ever-expanding lineup of console, handheld, and mobile Call of Duty games, this is the complete series in trackable and sortable form.
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