The two biggest military shooters of the year, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Battlefield V are now available. Both games provide much of the same experience that fans have come to expect from each of these franchises but which installment overshadows the other. Does Battlefield V maintain its hold over Call of Duty following Battlefield 1's popular reception or did Black Ops 4's multiplayer only approach give it the leg up this year? Let's find out.

What a Campaign

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's single-player is pretty much a joke. It's a series of tutorial missions featuring small cutscenes that try to tell a subpar story. Similar to Activision Blizzard's Overwatch or Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege Treyarch attempts to provide a backstory and personality to each one of the characters. This very weak attempt to give life to generic characters as you face waves of NPCs falls flat.

Battlefield V attempts to recapture the intensity from Battlefield 1's campaigns but fails to do so as well. Unlike the setting of World War 1, World War 2 doesn't hold the same interest since the setting has been used in hundreds of games. All the campaigns in Battlefield V are short-lived and over-utilize the poorly implemented stealth mechanics from the previous game while trying to force emotionally charged situations with characters we barely know. It's mediocre but compared to Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 it's vastly superior.

Winner: Battlefield V

Large Scale Versus Blackout

Battlefield V doesn't attempt to revitalize the traditional formula. The use of fortification does add a new element of strategy as players attempt to section off specific areas but Battlefield V plays much like other Battlefield games.  The class-based system and squad mechanic encourages proper teamwork as you try to capture points, it definitely captures that sense of being a cog in a machine since each class has a disadvantage so going lone wolf is strongly discouraged.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 features much of the same players have come to expect from the franchise as well. The new recovery system means players have to manual regenerate their health. The guns and unlockables are plentiful but it's clear that the game's guns have been balanced for the battle royale mode Blackout and feels lopsided in the traditional arena.

Submachine guns dominate the traditional competitive arena whereas assault rifles are basically worthless. In Blackout, these weapons work effectively but the competitive multiplayer features a lot of balancing and leveling issues. With more emphasis put on microtransactions to unlock some of the game's cosmetics.

In terms of variety, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 overshadows Battlefield V. Much of the content for DICE's title will be added through the game's live service model but the base game doesn't feature as many options as Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Players not only have access to the base 8 multiplayer modes but also Blackout and Zombies which all have their own progression tree. However, those who wish to keep playing will have to purchase a season pass which will split the player base, unlike Battlefield V which features free content updates.

Zombies may offer another multiplayer option but seeing that most of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's content is locked behind a paywall, despite having more variety, Battlefield V will eventually surpass Black Ops 4 in value.

Winner: Battlefield V

Does this Work?

More than often gamers have to contend with unstable games due to bugs and glitches, especially from triple-a games. Fortunately, despite the server problems which were extremely problematic when Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launched the core game ran well. Players were stating massive issues similar to the Fallout 76 but Battlefield V does have its fair share of issues.

Many of the bugs and glitches in Battlefield V can affect gameplay. While some are hilarious problems such as bodies flying through the air others include objective-based explosives not responding, the game failing to register when a team runs out of tickets, and players unable to revive allies. This happens very frequently, breaking the momentum during matches. Since matches can last up to 30 minutes and leaving are-entering a new match can take up to 5 minutes having an issue like this popup can destroy all your work.

Winner: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

Winner: Battlefield V

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's Blackout mode may be an excellent battle royale mode but the balancing problems and the absurd season pass asking price for the multiplayer only title doesn't compare to Battlefield V's longlasting appeal. DICE and EA's military shooter may lack variety and suffer from issues but considering that the game will feature updates to not only correct these problems but add new content with no extra charge makes it a more appealing game than Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.

Which is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
Twitter | YouTube | Facebook