At 17 years old, Call of Duty is not quite America’s longest war, but it’s close. So when I went into the single-player story mode for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, I expected a pleasing shooting gallery with familiar narrative twists (there’s always a nuke about to go off) and re-shuffled scenery (this time the walls are plastered in vintage Doritos ads). But the real twist is that I left feeling frustrated about the game it could have been.
Black Ops Cold War is the kernel of a thrilling and intimate spy story that’s tragically strapped on the front of a runaway train. The game begins in a neon-drenched bar in Amsterdam on New Year’s Eve 1980, where your CIA partner beckons you to quickly follow him away from the party. From the…