Note: This review specifically covers the Zombies mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. For our thoughts on the other modes, see our campaign review or our multiplayer review.
Despite playing a new one every year, I never know what to make of modern Call of Duty – a first-person shooter so big, so successful that it is no longer a standalone game but a platform with file sizes so large it asks you to choose the other two things you’d like to have installed on your PC or console. This year’s PC release comes with a frustrating new anti-cheat that seemingly caused my CPU fan to choose death instead, so while I would normally base my playtime on that version, as God intended, I am initially slumming it on PlayStation 5 to bring you some early impressions of this year’s Zombies mode. I still have tons left to see as the community collectively hunts for Easter eggs and solves mysteries, but so far I’m interested in digging into what’s here, even if it may take a bit to get to the vital organs underneath these bones.
Zombies is my favorite part of Call of Duty, simultaneously the stupidest, silliest side thing the series has ever done and probably big enough to be a small video game in its own right. I remarked on a similar feeling in last year’s review, but remember when this was a serious game series about war, and you were storming the beaches of Normandy, machine gun fire spraying sand in your face? When you died, you used to get quotes about how terrible war was from men who had lived it. Now, I play roulette on a big mystery box covered with skulls for weapons, the best of which is a ray gun, so I can shoot zombies in the face while a disembodied voice who calls himself the Warden taunts me from afar; my character quips about how said voice reminds him of his high school gym teacher. Zombies has been doing this for a while now, but I still don’t know whether to laugh or weep.
There is allegedly a story here – Raul Menendez, who apparently has been alive and drinking beer on his porch for the last decade, is back and threatening to cause chaos the world over, there’s a shady security company somehow involved, and massive, violent zombie death, of course. All of it is very well-produced and so goofy that the only thing I could do was watch the introductory cutscene while emulating the face that I imagine a cow would make if you gave it cocaine, chuckle a little, and get on with it. I suppose I answered my own question there, huh?
This year’s Zombies is hard to get a handle on so far because so much of what Zombies does will come down to the community working out the new maps in the coming days and perhaps weeks. Right now, we’re all kind of bumbling about, figuring out what’s what, which is simultaneously fun and frustrating. Many of the pain points from last year remain early on – for instance, you can’t make your loadout until you hit level four, which means if Zombies is all you want to do (and for me, it is), you’re stuck with a pistol and whatever you can earn by buying stuff on the walls after you’ve dispatched enough undead. Remember when games just let you have fun from the outset instead of unlocking it?
I still love sliding at a group of zombies and firing a shotgun until they’re paste.
Otherwise, the underpinnings of Zombies feel much the same. You’re on a map, you open up new doors and paths with currency you earn, and you’ve got Pack-a-Punch machines to upgrade your guns. There’s additional armor you can apply plastered to the walls, an Arsenal to really crank up specific aspects of your weapons, Gobblegums for a little flavor if your mouth is lonely and you want a mid-battle pick-me-up, and so on. And of course, while you’re managing all of this, the undead rise and hunger for flesh. Ghouls, man.
The gameplay here is similar to last year’s – I still love sliding at a group of zombies and firing off a shotgun until they’re just paste and all that. No, what’s new are the maps. I’ve played both maps in their round-based modes, Ashes of the Damned and Vandorn Farm (the latter seems to be a part of the former, but I haven’t reached it in the standard mode yet), and so far I prefer the farm. Ashes of the Damned seems to be home to what will be the more traditional “find the secrets to finish the map” fare, while Vandorn Farm is more of a “you’re locked in here with the undead, kid, so try not to die too much” deal.
Our run on the former ended when one of my teammates, who didn’t communicate with the rest of us, grabbed a truck and started driving it to the next objective… before he decided it might be more fun to smash into the zombies until it exploded. The rest of us spent most of the map either trying to catch up to the truck or waiting in vain to be revived after we all died. It went about as well as you’d think. I’m interested in seeing what Ashes of the Damned has to offer with a more talkative crew; right now, if you’d told me I’d hallucinated the whole thing, I’d believe you.
The farm is more old-school. Zombies hang from the rafters in the big barn, the smaller one houses the Mystery Box where each of my teammates made offerings in the fleeting hope of a Ray Gun, and there was a house with a skeleton family sitting at the dinner table and a roof in desperate need of, well, more roof. It was a much more interesting map than Ashes of the Damned, and I enjoyed navigating its twists and turns, learning where everything was, and spending the in-between time killing the misbegotten horrors that were formerly people.
As is usually the case, success will largely depend on how the maps shake out.
The problem, once again, was that we couldn’t figure out what to do yet. There was some mysterious infection growing on one of the machines that seemed to power the farm, but after we destroyed it, our objective told us to wait for it to come back. So we did, killing zombies and upping the round count. The issue is the infection never did reappear. Normally, this is a good thing. The antibiotics worked and the patient is recovering well, thank you. In this case, it meant we got to round eight, nothing happened, the four of us spent several minutes looking for any zombies we somehow missed or a way to progress, and then all three of my teammates left the game after we couldn’t figure out what came next. Hard to blame them. The farm’s cool, but I’d prefer something with some warmer colors and fewer rotting corpses, you know?
Like I said, I’m never sure what to make of Call of Duty, and that extends to this year’s Zombies. It certainly plays well and you can see the absurd amount of money spent to develop it on-screen – but the ooey, gooey, juicy parts of the mode haven’t revealed themselves to me quite yet. As is usually the case, its success will largely depend on how the maps shake out. I’ll need a bonesaw and a ribspreader to get to the still-beating heart of this thing, but that’s fine. I can’t say I’m not interested in seeing what’s in there. I just hope I don’t get anything on me in the process.
Activision has issued a statement in response to player outcry regarding the seeming use of generative AI art assets in a number of areas of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.
Players have been taking to social media today to complain about images they believe to be AI-generated across the game, primarily focusing on calling card images that they claim appear to use Studio Ghibli styling, following a trend of AI-Ghibli images from earlier this year.
I havent really looked at the Multiplayer and Zombie calling cards as closely and im willing to bet they’re using ai on those too but its only the Campaign and endgame calling cards that are this type of blatant Sora/Grok artstyle pic.twitter.com/5qmEXhoQkJ
In response to this outcry, Activision has issued a statement to a number of outlets, including PC Gamer, that acknowledges the issue…sort of: “Like so many around the world, we use a variety of digital tools, including AI tools, to empower and support our teams to create the best gaming experiences possible for our players. Our creative process continues to be led by the talented individuals in our studios.”
It’s worth pointing out that the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Steam page also includes the following disclaimer: “Our team uses generative AI tools to help develop some in game assets.” Not exactly descriptive!
This isn’t the first time Call of Duty has come under fire for this, either. This exact scenario played out back in February, when Activision admitted that it had used generative AI in the development of Black Ops 6, including in a zombie Santa loading screen that angry fans referred to as “AI slop.”
Then, just this past August, Black Ops 7 associate creative director Miles Leslie clarified the team’s stance on the technology further:
“We live in a world now, where there are AI tools. I think our official statement we said last year, around Black Ops 6, is that everything that goes into the game is touched by the team a hundred percent. We have generative AI tools to help us, but none of that goes in-game.
“And then you’re going to say, ‘Yeah, but it has.’ I’ll say it has by accident. And that was never the intention. We’ve come out and been very clear that we use these as tools to help the team, but they do not replace any of the fantastic team members we have that are doing the final touches and building that content to put it in the game.
“So everything you play: human-created and touched. AI tools in the world we live in: it’s how do we streamline it? That’s really the goal. Not replace, but streamline.”
In response, IGN asked why the zombie Santa and other generative AI images hadn’t been removed from the game yet, to which Leslie said that was not his department, and that “the team is actively looking at that stuff.” It is unclear if, why, or how Activision’s stance on this has changed over time.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is out now. We’ve given the campaign a try and aren’t totally crazy about it, with our reviewer saying it’s ” a wild one thanks to the scope of its ambition, but the big swings it takes don’t always land, leaving it an uneven step down from last year.”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Ubisoft was, at one point not too long ago, working on a brand new Splinter Cell game. But it morphed over time to become XDefiant, according to a new report.
This comes from a Bloomberg story about AdHoc Studio, the developers of workplace superhero comedy game Dispatch, which describes their journey from Telltale Games to Ubisoft to their own independent studio. The leadership of AdHoc began working together at Telltale Games, working on Tales from the Borderlands, before Nick Herma, Dennis Lenart, and Pierre Shorette departed for Ubisoft in 2017. There, the trio worked on a new entry in the Splinter Cell franchise.
“I was so excited to be a part of this and help revitalize it, because it’s been dormant for a while,” Herman told Bloomberg. “And we thought we could tell a great story and do something the fans would love.”
However, they explain that Ubisoft was beginning to push games as a service hard across its portfolio, and Splinter Cell didn’t quite fit that mould. Over time, the Splinter Cell project transformed into what would become xDefiant, a free-to-play first-person shooter that launched to middling reviews last year and shut down just this past June, taking two entire studios with it.
The trio eventually reunited with Michael Choung, another former colleague from Telltale, to start AdHoc Studio in 2018. While working on a version of what would eventually become Dispatch, they also took on a scriptwriting co-dev gig on The Wolf Among Us 2, only to pull out of the project after writing an 800-page script due to frustrations with a lack of creative control. That project, last we heard of it, seemed similarly ill-fated.
Eventually, though, the group was able to pull together the final version of Dispatch with the support of both a publisher and a number of well-known actors thanks to casting director Linda Lamontagne. A last-minute deal with Critical Role for another game helped get them across the finish line.
As for Splinter Cell, fans remain bereft of a new game, with the last new Splinter Cell title being Blacklist from way, way back in 2013. There’s allegedly a remake of the original 2002 game in the works, but Ubisoft has been so quiet about it since 2022 that it’s hard to say whether or not it will ever fully emerge.
Dispatch, meanwhile, is excellent. We’re working on a review in progress as each episode comes out, but you can read our thoughts on the first two episodes here for now, where our reviewer says they’re “totally enthralled in this world, and I’m keen to get tangled up in Robert’s fractured personal life.”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Magic: The Gathering is getting yet another big Secret Lair collab with a major video game series, and this time it’s Monster Hunter.
Announced today in a very odd press release, the Monster Hunter Secret Lair Superdrop will be available from December 1 at 9am PT to December 22 at 11:59pm PT, but only while supplies last, and these things tend to sell out pretty quick.
The collaboration includes four separate drops, each priced at $29.99, with a foil edition for $39.99. All cards involved are reprints of existing cards with Monster Hunter themes, nothing mechanically unique or new. The press release includes some basic information about each of the drops, titled respectively The Hunt, The Hunters, The Monsters, and The Monsters II, but no card images as of yet.
The Hunt focuses on non-creature spells, themed around “the terrifying attacks that monsters across the Monster Hunter franchise can unleash.” There is one spell of each color:
1x Blind Obedience: Malzeno from Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
1x Snap: Kushala Daora from Monster Hunter 2
1x Village Rites: Magnamalo and Tobi-Kadachi from Monster Hunter Rise
1x Mizzium Mortars: Yian Garuga from Monster Hunter Generations and Monster Hunter 2
1x Tooth and Nail: Azure Rathalos and Seregios from Monster Hunter 4
The Hunters is, as it sounds, about the hunters themselves, with each card depicting a different set of armor and weapons and having the human creature subtype. As before, there’s one spell of each color:
1x Grand Abolisher: Tigrex Armor with Bone Scythes from Monster Hunter Generations and Monster Hunter Freedom 2
1x Archaeomancer: Velkhana Armor with Slinger and Winged Seraphyd Greatsword from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
1x Grim Haruspex: Nargacuga Armor with a Hidden Eye Light Bowgun from Monster Hunter P2G/MHFU
1x Imperial Recruiter: Rathalos Armor with Red Tigrex Claws; Brachydios Armor with Burning Knocker; Gore Malaga Armor and Royal Rose from Monster Hunter 4G
1x Champion of Lambholt: Astalos Armor with Verdant Lightning Shield from Monster Hunter Generations.
The Monsters and The Monsters II are similarly self-explanatory, including the following monsters as legendary creatures. These are two different sets, but the press release is unclear exactly how these nine creatures will be split between them. IGN has reached out to Wizards of the Coast for comment on this and just generally on the confusing nature of this press release:
Nezahal, Primal Tide: Lagiacrus from Monster Hunter 3
Drakuseth, Maw of Flames: Rathalos from Monster Hunter Generations
Sarulf, Realm Eater: Zinogre from Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire: Nergigante from Monster Hunter World
Ziatora, the Incinerator: Fatalis from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
Razaketh, the Foulblooded: The Gore Malaga from Monster Hunter 4
Amareth, the Lustrous: Velkhana from Monster Hunter World: Iceborne
Wasitora, Nekorus Queen: Nargacuga from Monster Hunter Portable 2nd Generation/Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Kalamax, the Stormsire: Brachydios from Monster Hunter 3 Generations
It’s been a busy year for both Secret Lair and third-party Magic collabs in general, with some incredible Secret Lair card drops including Sonic, Final Fantasy, Deadpool, SpongeBob, The Office and more. We’re currently eagerly awaiting the release of the Avatar: The Last Airbender Universes Beyond set, following close on the heels of Marvel’s Spider-Man. Next year is looking equally stacked, with planned Universes Beyond sets featuring TMNT, The Hobbit, Marvel, and Star Trek. It’s too many cards. Please, slow down.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
As part of its early Black Friday Doorbuster Sale, Best Buy just dropped the best deals we may see this entire month on the Meta Quest 3S VR headset. Not only do you get $50-$70 off in instant discounts ($249 for the 128GB model and $329 for the 256GB model), you also get a bonus $50 Best Buy gift card with your purchase. That’s basically getting a Quest for as low as $199. This is the best deal I’ve seen this year on a Quest 3S headset with warranty. Recently we’ve seen deals on refurbished models, but in this case the advantage of buying new is that you also get a couple of free games.
Meta Quest 3S Starting at $249 Plus $50 Best Buy Gift Card
The Meta Quest 3S is the best standalone consumer-oriented VR headset under $300. It costs 40% less than the Quest 3 and yet retains most of its hardware and functionality, including the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor, Touch Plus controllers with inside-out tracking, and mixed reality passthrough. However, whereas the Quest 3 has been updated with a new pancake lens design, the Quest 3S retains the Fresnel optics of the Quest 2. Although obviously not as good as the Quest 3, the Quest 3S still very much offers an immersive visual experience that is sure to impress. I myself logged in hundreds of hours on the Quest 2 before I moved on to the Quest 3. For newcomers who want to try out VR gaming without investing tons of money, of for people who want to give this as a gift to someone who’s never tried VR, I would recommend the Quest 3S over the Quest, especially at this price.
TL;DR Quest 3S vs Quest 3:
Same Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor
Same Touch Plus controllers
Same 120Hz refresh rate
Same Mixed reality passthrough functionality
Same tetherless and tethered functionality
Quest 3 has sharper resolution (2064×2208 vs 1832×1920)
Quest 3 has better lens array (pancake vs fresnel)
Quest 3 has lower FOV (104°/96° vs 96°/90°)
Quest 3 has higher storage capacity (512GB vs 128GB)
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 launches on November 14, and we’re hosting a launch day livestream to celebrate. The latest entry in the long-running FPS franchise is set in 2035, 44 years after the events of Black Ops 6. Omnimovement is back, but there are added movement options and new game modes in both multiplayer and Zombies.
The livestream is presented by Xfinity, where you can get reliable Wi-Fi at a reliable price for five years. And with Unlimited Data, you won’t miss a moment of action. It’s powerful and secure with fast downloads. Gaming is better with Xfinity.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Livestream Date, Time, and Where to Watch
The livestream will start on Friday, November 14 at 5 p.m. Pacific / 7 p.m. Central / 8 p.m. Eastern. It will stream across IGN’s channels, and you’ll be able to watch it at any of these places:
If you’re not able to watch it live, that’s alright. You can still watch it in its entirety on our YouTube page after it’s over.
What to Expect in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Livestream
The stream will run for an extended period, but we don’t have a specific amount of time in mind. We’ll feature as much as we can during the stream. You’ll see extended gameplay, get a look at what’s new in Black Ops 7, and different game modes to get a sense of everything on offer. See you there!
Hands-on impressions of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond have hit the internet, bringing stinging criticism of an early human sidekick. And now, a new trailer published by Nintendo shows Samus will also interact with a wider cast of human characters throughout the game.
In IGN’s just-published Metroid Prime 4: Beyond hands-on preview, we described Galactic Federation trooper Myles MacKenzie — who Samus gets lumbered with for a lengthy chunk of the game’s opening area — as “mildly annoying to downright infuriating” with “cringey” dialogue and contstant chattering through gameplay.
Alongside Myles, three other human troopers are highlighted in Nintendo’s new 7-minute Overview Trailer (which feels as close as we’re going to get to a dedicated Direct) seemingly from later sections in the game.
Beyond is structured with four major areas accessible via its desert hub (a forest area where you meet Myles, then an electrical power plant, frozen research center, and firey volcano area). The suggestion is that Samus will meet more of the main quartet in each.
“Like Samus, some Galactic Federation troopers were also transported to Viewros,” the trailer states. “Follow distress signals to help the troopers, and occasionally battle alongside them. They can provide useful upgrades. Teamwork is key if any of you hope to escape the planet alive.”
A montage then shows the other troopers in action, chatting away about getting back to their families, donning a mech suit to smash a wall for Samus, and even prising open a door. Huh — couldn’t Samus have just done that with a new suit upgrade?
Of course, Metroid games have featured other human characters before — even while Samus is typically a silent protagonist. But the real concern here, beyond it interrupting the core solitary exploration of most Metroid adventures, is that the human characters on offer in Beyond are simply too distracting, and too unlikable.
As we discovered in our hands-on preview, gameplay with Myles features escort-style sections and moments where you need to defend the hapless trooper while he hides behind the rock. Allow him to perish in a firefight and you’re given the chance to revive him using Samus’ psychic powers. Fail to do so (or try and refuse) and you get a Game Over screen.
“Of all the things Metroid Prime 4 could’ve been, I never would’ve guessed it would include outdated escort missions with a companion that never stops talking,” we wrote. For much more on the impact of playing alongside the game’s NPC characters, check out Metroid Prime 4: Beyond hands-on preview now.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Uma Racing is based on the popular anime and game franchise, Umamusume: Pretty Derby. In this Roblox experience, you’ll play as a trainer who will raise and race uma – hopefully to victory. You’ll start with just one uma, so use these Uma Racing codes to give you a big cash bonus. In doing so, you’ll be able to purchase new uma to strengthen your team, MVPs, and intros. You never know, you might get lucky with your pick and get a Legendary uma.
Working Uma Racing Codes (November 2025)
The following codes are all active and working and can be redeemed for cash.
RELEASECUH – 1,500 cash
MBFORANOTHERDELAYBRO –2,500 cash
UFFUEWANTTOMATO – 1,000 cash
FIRSTBUGFIX –1,500 cash
THANKFORSUPPORTIN – 4,500 cash
FIFTYTHOUSANDLIKES –3,000 cash
IOOKMEMBERS – 3,000 cash
How to Use Uma Racing Codes
Ready to redeem the active Uma Racing codes listed above? Here are the steps you need to take:
Press Codes (it’s the fifth option on the Menu, next to Settings)
Copy the code from this article and press redeem
Expired Uma Racing Codes (November 2025)
These codes no longer work. We test all of our codes on a regular basis, so, as soon as a code is expired, we’ll move it into this section:
CINDERELLAGRAY
PLAYTEST
DELAYMBBRO
SORRYFORBUG
Why Isn’t My Uma Racing Code Working?
Codes for Roblox experiences are usually case-sensitive, so the best way to ensure you’ve got a working code is to directly copy it from this article. We check all codes before we upload them, so you can guarantee they’re working. Just double-check that you haven’t copied over an extra space!
Lauren Harper is an Associate Guides Editor. She loves a variety of games but is especially fond of puzzles, horrors, and point-and-click adventures.
After eight years of waiting, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is just three weeks away, and honestly, writing that still doesn’t feel real. Maybe that’s partly because Nintendo has kept a pretty tight lid on specifics surrounding Samus Aran’s next adventure – we’ve only seen a small handful of trailers, and much of Prime 4 has remained a total mystery. That’s caused a lot of fans to think that they must be preserving some special surprise, right? Well, while playing over an hour of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on Nintendo Switch 2, I discovered a seemingly major component that’s been completely absent from any footage we’ve seen so far: an extraordinarily talkative companion who’s constantly spewing unwanted hints, quippy jokes, and cries for help, breaking the isolated, atmospheric themes Metroid is known for.
His name is Myles MacKenzie, a specialist from the Galactic Federation stranded with Samus on the planet Viewros. Myles tagged along for a significant chunk of my play session, and the way Retro Studios has implemented this NPC companion is far and away my biggest concern about Prime 4 after my time with it. But we’ll get to him a bit later.
Because everything else was pretty encouraging: classic Metroid Prime exploration and combat, an intriguing setup, gorgeous art direction, and great technical performance on Switch 2 are coming together to create an adventure that likely won’t redefine Metroid in any meaningful way – or live up to the unrealistic hype built by nearly a decade of waiting – but one that could serve as a great return for a subseries that hasn’t seen a new mainline entry in 18 years, as long as annoying sidekicks don’t keep getting in Samus’ way.
Behind the Visor
Before we get too far, a word about spoilers. Everything I played takes place during the first 90 minutes or so of the adventure, so you really don’t have to worry that you’re going to see too much. It’s also worth pointing out this was all on Switch 2, no one outside of Nintendo knows how Prime 4 will perform on Switch 1 just yet.
But on Switch 2, it’s looking fantastic so far. I started my preview in handheld mode, where I replayed the same introduction sequence we got to play at the Nintendo Switch 2 Premiere event back in April. This was the final build of Prime 4’s opening, and it’s still an explosive introduction that sets the stage for the conflict between Samus and the Metroid-breeding bounty hunter, Sylux, as our hero is warped away to the mysterious planet Viewros. The biggest takeaway here is that Prime 4 looked fantastic on the Switch 2 screen, specifically at 120 fps in Performance Mode.
Once I was set up on the TV – playing in Quality mode at a crisp 4K 60 fps – things got started with a very familiar, nostalgic chain of events: the camera snaps behind Samus’ visor and I’m left alone to explore a lush forest region, so I – almost reflexively – start scanning everything in sight to add it to my logbook. Gameplay-wise, Prime 4 doesn’t seem to be reinventing the Morph Ball: this still looks and plays like Metroid Prime, and I really enjoyed falling back into its investigative flow: examining the local flora and fauna, locking onto floating gaseous spores or roots that leap out of the water and blasting them away with my arm cannon, scanning lore tablets to learn about the ancient race called the Lamorn, seeing Samus’ reflection in the visor as I open the blue and orange wireframe map all Prime fans will recognize… I felt like Retro Studios was picking up right where it left off, retaining the core DNA of the series in this first major area.
This still looks and plays like Metroid Prime, and I really enjoyed falling back into its investigative flow.
The forest is called Fury Green, and after making my way through several linear hallways I was formally introduced to it with a sweeping wideshot that showed how great Retro’s art direction still is. You can tell Prime 4 was built as a Switch 1 game in a couple ways – some background elements look a bit flat – but handing the added power of the Switch 2 to a studio with an artistic track record like Retro has resulted in what’s shaping up to be a really beautiful game.
At least in this self-contained area – my preview didn’t cover the open desert or Samus’ motorcycle we’ve seen in the last couple of trailers. It’s important to note that Nintendo specifically chose not to include that content at this preview event. Make of that what you will, but it leaves those two key components as our biggest unanswered questions that will have to wait for our final review.
But back to what I did actually see: in classic Metroid fashion, I soon ran into the first door I couldn’t pass, so I morph-balled over to a new area and unlocked one of Prime 4’s main new powers: the Psychic Glove. This gives Samus telekinetic control of psychic objects. I returned to the blocked door and used the glove to grab a psychic energy “mote” from a nearby statue and redirect it into the lock, allowing me to proceed. All examples of this were pretty simple so far, but this is the first major area, so it’s probably fair to expect they’ll get more complex as Samus progresses.
I’m hoping the same for the other uses of the Psychic Glove, which involve slowly tracing basic shapes to unlock an energy tank, or painstakingly pulling a lever to open the way to a Save Room. The animations felt sluggish and the actions were completely mindless – another thing I’m expecting to ramp up as we go.
Retro’s art direction is still great, and Prime 4 is shaping up to be a really beautiful game.
My map beeped, alerting me of a distress beacon from the Galactic Federation a few rooms away. On the way there, I passed some hardened tree resin I couldn’t yet destroy, and scanning it indicated that a missile would take the wall down. I appreciate that Prime 4’s blockades aren’t all the same familiar doors, and that in this case, it was naturally woven into the environment. We’d be back here later, but with a friend in tow….
Beyond Chatty
After tiptoeing through an eerie, condensed part of Fury Green, I came across a crash-landed Galactic Federation ship, where I was immediately taken aback by the tonal whiplash. My way here was filled with hauntingly beautiful choral melodies and isolated exploration – it was vintage Metroid Prime. But now, it’s finally time to get to know specialist Myles MacKenzie, who introduced himself with this honestly cringey monologue (and if you don’t believe me, watch it in the video version of this preview at the top of the page):
“Oh wow! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. What a mess. You’re alone, on a planet, with no hope of survival. But, you’re also not sitting next to Phil anymore in that cubicle… So… Win?”
He didn’t leave a great first impression, but I was still intrigued to see where it went. Samus and Myles got swarmed by some jungle monsters, and it became my job to protect Myles from them. After a close-quarters firefight that concluded with shooting the vines holding up Myles’ ship, he awarded me with the missile upgrade for being his savior. “This is fine,” I thought. I prefer isolation in Metroid, but I don’t mind running into a character here and there to flesh out the story with some voice acting and cutscenes. But then…
“If it’s OK with you, I’m gonna tag along. So, where to? It might be a good idea to check the map and get our bearings.”
I started to get a sinking feeling. In one turn, Samus not only gained an unwanted companion, that companion also instantly started chiming in on what I should be doing, like Atreus to Kratos in God of War, or Aloy to… Aloy in Horizon. The next 20 minutes of my demo ranged from mildly annoying to downright infuriating, as Myles constantly bombarded me with either awkward attempts at quippy humor…
“It’s about to get reeeeal nerdy in here!”
Unwelcome hints that directly defy Metroid’s spirit of exploration and discovery:
“Missiles are effective against a creature with a hard shell, you know.”
He would scold me for not stopping to save my game:
“Samus, there’s something interesting over there. Are you sure we don’t need to use that?”
Comment on everything I scanned:
“Can you read that? Does that say anything about this place? They really don’t want anyone in here. Must be a sacred space.”
State the obvious:
“I can see the door, Samus! Let’s get out of here.”
And he’d scream whenever an enemy popped out of the ground suddenly. I promise I’m not cherrypicking here – I was in complete disbelief at how Myles was constantly talking during gameplay, to the point where I dug around the settings menu to see if I could tone it down. The only option I found was to mute voice acting entirely, but I don’t see myself doing that when there are plenty of actual cutscenes I’d still like to see play out normally.
I don’t have a problem with Metroid focusing more on story or introducing important new characters. But that story and those characters still need to be good, and Myles was so annoying and overbearing that I honestly found it hard to focus on what I was doing. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption features other bounty hunters that Samus occasionally crosses paths with, but it’s never been this much of a focus. And, throw in as many cutscenes as you want, but I can’t help but feel a sacred line has been crossed when I’m playing Metroid and an annoying engineer tells me how to open my map, how to defeat an enemy, or reminds me to save without me asking for any of it. There are far smarter, more nuanced ways to onboard new players and push a franchise forward while still respecting the reasons people love it in the first place. And, the way Retro weaved Myles in caused a lot of dissonance that shattered the immaculate vibes the introduction set up. How am I supposed to soak in these gorgeous vistas, and this epic, serious music when this guy is asking me if that “strange smell” is “sweet or stinky?”
I’d had enough, and I tried to ditch Myles during a fight on a (very cool) bridge. I heard Myles yelling to not leave him behind, but before I knew it, he went down and my visor prompted me to use Samus’ psychic powers to revive him. When I failed to do so, Myles died, and I got a game over for letting a federation trooper fall in battle. Of all the things Metroid Prime 4 could’ve been, I never would’ve guessed it would include outdated escort missions with a companion that never stops talking. Samus doesn’t respond at all – which if you’re going to pick between Samus talking a lot or not at all, silence is the right choice in a vacuum, even if I think a few words here and there would work better than awkward silence – but there are three words I really wanted to hear her say: “Please shut up.”
I never would’ve guessed Prime 4 would include outdated escort missions with a companion that never stops talking.
Thankfully, this didn’t last forever. After earning the new Control Beam ability that lets Samus direct her charge shots to hit multiple targets, (to which Myles said: “You found something for your suit, didn’t you?”) we arrived in a Lamorn temple, where Myles decided to stay behind to work on fixing up some tech. Finally, some peace and quiet! I controlled a charge shot to open a blocked door from the other side, which reminded me of using Zelda: Skyward Sword’s Beetle ability – both in its close-up camera angle and use of optional Wii-era motion controls – and pressed forward on my own.
After enjoying the silence while working through a few more simplistic rooms, Samus was face-to-face with Carvex, Fury Green’s plant-based boss. I blasted its tail, opening its belly up for a serving of missiles. It entered its next phase with two tails, and I found that by the time I destroyed the second, the first one had grown back. So, in classic Metroid fashion where your most recent upgrade is often key to beating a boss, I had to use the Control Beam to destroy both its tails with one bullet. This was neat, and really felt like more vintage Metroid Prime game design shining through.
Defeating Carvex netted Samus the Power Bombs, which have received a psychic buff this time around. You can place standard bombs to blow up suspicious spots as usual, but placing one infused with psychic power essentially turns it into a mote Samus can telekinetically move. I grabbed the first of five Master Teleporter Keys Samus is collecting to escape Viewros, and…
“Booyah! Long-reange comms are back online!”
Myles was back, this time in my visor. But he didn’t stick around for long, just asking Samus to return to base camp to talk about what to do next. Once I returned, Myles shared that Viewros isn’t on any known star charts, saying we could be anywhere, or we could be nowhere, setting up an interesting story that – paired with Samus’ other main objective of preserving the history of the Lamorn civilization before it’s lost to time – I can’t wait to see play out.
With that, Myles and Samus agreed to be partners, sharing data with each other now that the comms are working, and Myles stayed behind as Samus returned to the desert area we still know so little about, bringing my time to an end before I could take a single step.
So, how big of a role will chatty companions play in the full adventure? It’s hard to say. The game over screen telling me a “Federation Trooper” was killed in battle rather than that “Myles” was killed in battle, coupled with the fact that the Federation page of the logbook had several blank entries to fill out after I scanned Myles, tells me that each major area of Prime 4 will likely have a companion to find. If that fear turns out to be true, I can only hope that they aren’t all as overbearing as Myles, that his section felt particularly frustrating because it was the opening area, and that Prime 4 won’t be afraid to let me explore and figure things out on my own, which is a strength of all the best Metroid games. Because other than that major exception, I really enjoyed my first big look at Prime 4, and I’m beyond curious to see how it all – finally – comes together on December 4th.
Logan Plant is the host of Nintendo Voice Chat and IGN’s Database Manager & Playlist Editor. The Legend of Zelda is his favorite video game franchise of all time, and he is patiently awaiting the day Nintendo announces a brand new F-Zero. You can find him online @LoganJPlant.
The story campaign in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has numerous restrictions tied to its always-online nature, with no method of pausing levels. You’ll also be booted from your game if you’re idle for too long.
As detailed in IGN’s just-published Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 campaign review (which rates the offering as a 6/10), the story experience — traditionally offered as a solo affair — is really more geared to being played via online co-op, which it supports for up to four people.
The downsides of that, however, are that the game offers no AI companions to fill in if you have missing spots on your four-person squad, no checkpoints, no difficulty options, and the need to repeat tasks clearly designed for completion by multiple players if you are playing solo.
“Playing solo is borderline tedious due to having to repeat multiple objectives, such as placing C4 on a building yourself four times rather than splitting them up as is intended,” our review notes as one example of this.
Set in 2035, Black Ops 7’s campaign features a starry cast that includes Gilmore Girls and This is Us star Milo Ventimiglia as the returning David Mason, alongside Guardians of the Galaxy hero Michael Rooker and Sabrina the Teenage Witch actress Kiernan Shipka.
Long-term Call of Duty fans may raise their eyebrows at some of the more fantastical sequences presented in the mode, with trippy visuals and towering bosses more often seen in something like Activision’s former stablemate Destiny. But it’s here that the offering also provides some variety.
“Dodging giant falling machetes like you’ve stumbled into a Looney Tunes cartoon is a one-off joy, as is taking control of a lavish luxury boat and ramming into the side of a building,” our review continues. “Moments like this feel pinched right out of Christopher Nolan’s back pocket and sit perfectly in the Call of Duty mold.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 arrives just 12 months on from last year’s Black Ops 6 — the first time that the veteran shooter franchise has gone back to the same well of one of its sub-brands for a second year running. The tight turnaround comes just as EA’s rival Battlefield franchise makes its own big return, amping up the pressure on Activision’s new shooter installment.
