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See a taste of battle royale in the latest ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’ trailer

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Official Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 – Multiplayer Beta Trailer

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 won’t include a traditional campaign mode when it launches in October, but in its place will be the series’ take on battle royale, dubbed “Blackout.” Thus far, we haven’t seen the mode in action, but a trailer for the upcoming beta test offered us our first taste.

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Near the end of the multiplayer beta trailer post on the Call of Duty YouTube channel, we see a grounded helicopter surrounded by several soldiers. The camera then cuts to the helicopter soaring through the air with a number of enemies below, one of whom kills a passenger with a single shot from a sniper rifle. The helicopter briefly veers off-course before the remaining occupants start firing on the vehicles below. It looks like the helicopter might escape, but a well-placed rocket appears to throw a wrench in that plan.

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The first multiplayer beta test for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 begins on August 3, and it will be limited to PlayStation 4 players who pre-ordered the game. A second test on August 10 will also include Xbox One players, and the PC version will receive a concurrent beta test on Battle.net. These tests will include access to modes like Team Deathmatch and Hardpoint, but Blackout won’t be available to play until a separate beta in September.

Black Ops 4 will include classic series characters in Blackout, which could convince former players to return to Call of Duty. It isn’t the only big-name first-person shooter including a battle royale mode, however, as Battlefield V is planning to include one in a post-launch update. Unlike Black Ops 4, however, Battlefield V will still include a campaign mode, and doesn’t appear to be focusing on zombies.

If you are interested in zombies, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be right up your alley. Three separate undead campaigns will be included at launch, and they go to some places the series has never ventured before, including Ancient Rome and the Titanic.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launches for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on October 12 — nearly a month ahead of when the series generally releases new installments.

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
The best Perk-A-Colas in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
A screenshot from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's zombies mode.

There's nothing more refreshing than taking a nice big swig of a Perk-A-Cola during an intense Zombies match with your pals in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Besides tasting great (we assume), these colas empower you with buffs that will keep you alive until the later rounds. These bonuses are just as important as the Pack-A-Punch, but come in a wider range of flavors. It is possible to stack them all, but that gets expensive very fast so you need to be thrifty about choosing which ones are most valuable early on. These colas come in eight different types that may or may not be worth your Essence to chug. If you want to know which ones are the best in Black Ops 6, check out our ranking.
Best Perk-A-Colas in Black Ops 6

We're ranking these Perk-A-Colas based on their base bonuses, not any additional effects you can get if you Augment them, from best to worst.
Jugger-Nog
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Quick Revive
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Speed Cola
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Stamin-Up
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Deadshot Daiquiri
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PhD Flopper
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Elemental Pop
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Melee Macchiato
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Soldier holding weapon in Modern Warfare II.

Few video game series are as influential and popular as Call of Duty. The annualized franchise throws players into fast-paced battles across various historical time periods -- along with fictional eras as well. Call of Duty has taken us to World War II, the Cold War, a modern setting, and even to the future.

Although it's one of the most successful video game franchises out there, Call of Duty's quality varies significantly from game to game, with some fantastic entries in the series, but many mediocre ones as well. But which Call of Duty games are worth your time and which ones should you skip? To answer that question, we've ranked all the mainline entries in the series, with details about why you should or shouldn't play a particular game.

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