Black Ops 4's Greatest Feature

Something More Games Should Have

I've been having a blast jumping back into the Call of Duty franchise. Yes, I played Call of Duty WWII, but I'd argue that the majority of enjoyment from that game was based  purely on nostalgia. While Black Ops 4 seems like a true revival of the franchise that for once has built upon itself in every way. And although the game's campaign had to be sacrificed, what we got in return was something competitive, inventive, and most of all, fun! But there's one feature in particular I'd like to talk about, a feature that has seemed to of disappeared over the years, especially in AAA titles.

Split-Screen

That's right, split screen, the feature you might remember making 007 Goldeneye for the N64 so popular. But since then this feature seems to have been thrown away without all that much complaint from the consumer. The only time this topic hit the headlines was when Halo 5 infamously did away with the feature, claiming that it was to help them reach 60 frames per second. Cries from parents who couldn't play with their kids, and friends no longer able to hold the tradition of playing together on one system were heard all over social media. Unfortunately, this didn't change anything, although Microsoft was at one point on the right track, with a system feature that had people cheering.

Play... Anywhere?

It's called Xbox Play Anywhere, and it promised the ability to play games on both the Xbox one and PC as long as you purchased the game digitally. On paper this seemed like a great idea that was purely for the consumer's benefit. After all, you could argue that the reasoning for removing local co-op from games is primarily a financial decision that benefits the corporation while hurting the consumer. Because, without split screen, in order for your friend or loved one to play the game with you they must own both a console and another copy of the game. The Play Anywhere feature might not be the perfect fix to this issue, but it at least allowed those who bought the game on PC the ability to play with them on console.

This was a pretty poor fix and yet Microsoft has trouble implementing even that. Currently since the feature was announced over 2 years ago less then 30 games are compatible and less then half of those titles are from AAA developers. Essentially, this feature is meant for games exclusive to PC and Xbox one games, but what about everything else? Enter our next solution in the works.

Cross Play

Recently this topic has gotten a lot of attention when Microsoft and Nintendo came together on games like Minecraft and Fortnite, allowing players to play together no matter what platform. And after getting a lot of heat and bad press for refusing to join in, Sony later allowed cross play for Fortnite, but is that enough? Why can't I play with my friends? Should I be punished for wanting to own a PC when my friends are playing on console, or visa versa? The obvious answer is no, but unfortunately there's a lot of red tape in the way that complicates things. Companies want there to be a reason for consumers to buy their console, and if everyone is playing all the same games together, then the only difference is the shape of the plastic box you're using to play your games.

And this is only the tip of the ice berg when it comes to the debate over cross play, which is why COD: Black Ops 4 is something special. The ability to allow split screen gaming removes any complications and simply lets your friend sit right next to you to play the game together. It allows two people to play 1 game together on one system, which sounds simple until you realize the lack of local co-op in games today. And that's why split screen is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4's greatest feature, and one that more games should have while we all try and figure out cross play.



But what do you think? Is split screen a relic of the past or is its removal just another example of corporate greed?