History VideoGame / CallOfDutyBlackOpsColdWar

* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler: Adler killing Arash Kadivar retroactively becomes this when we realise later on that he shot Bell in the chest twice over [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy of him being Perseus's favourite.]]]]

** [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted if you]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch choose to shoot Richter or leave him in captivity rather than free him. It turns out he's sold out to the KGB.]] If you read the paper, that might mitigate the guilt of killing him]].

** The game's trailer advertised the campaign with footage of Soviet dissident Yuri Bezmenov talking about Soviet espionage and subversion. However the context of the interview is missing, as Bezmenov was not simply talking about Soviet spies or sleeper cells as depicted in game. Rather, [[https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/08/call-of-duty-trailer-recklessly-promotes-far-right-conspiracy-theory/ Bezmenov was speaking to]] G. Edward Griffin, a conspiracy theorist and member of the far-right John Birch Society, where the former accused the USSR of subverting the US through promoting racial, gender, and social equality, which is considered a cornerstone of the "[[https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Cultural_Marxism Cultural Marxism]]" conspiracy theory popular among far-right circles (which was originally conceived by ThoseWackyNazis as "Cultural Bolshevism.")

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Operation Fracture Jaw on which the eponymous mission was named was indeed a thing back during the Vietnam War, where the United States Army would, theoretically, move nuclear weapons into Southern Vietnam for use against North Vietnamese infantry. Rather fortunately, the White House cottoned on to their plan before it was enacted and put a lid on it before any actual mobilization was made, unlike the in-game depiction.

* GuideDangIt: The puzzles for the best outcomes of the optional missions are difficult to put it lightly.

* * GuideDangIt: The puzzles for the best outcomes of the optional missions are difficult to put it lightly.

The one set in TheEighties.

''Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War'' is the seventeenth title in the long-running ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' first-person shooter series, releasing on November 13th, 2020 for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne and PC, and as a launch title for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 and [[UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesX Xbox Series X|S]].

* TheEighties: With the exception of a flashback mission to the Vietnam War, the game is set within the 80's, with all the pop-culture references and aesthetics that entails.

* LockpickingMinigame: At several points in the story campaign, the player character has to lockpick through closed doors in a curiously ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}''-style minigame, highlighting the clandestine atmosphere of the mission. The game is fairly simple, as the player must simply rotate the lockpick to find the right spots and the tumblers will trip on their own when enough pressure is applied.

* NonstandardGameOver: If Bell hesitates to make a decision during the confrontation with [[spoiler:Volkov at the end of "Brick In The Wall", Volkov will draw a gun and kill the player, forcing a restart, though if the player is faster on the draw, they can kill Volkov before he shoots them, automatically attaining the "Kill Volkov" outcome of the mission.]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Belikov is working against the KGB as a mole for the CIA. Bell can also fulfill this role if they breaks their brainwashing and rejoins Perseus, leading Adler's team into an ambush and allowing Perseus to succeed in his plans.]]

!! Due to the nature of this game bridging the gap between ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' and ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII Black Ops II]]'', as well acting as an indirect prequel to ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'', all spoilers for these three games may have been left unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: In the multiplayer you Zombies and PVP mode levels and equipment are actually shared, with the only split being cosmetic unlocked and the unlock requirenent for certain things being changed to reflect the mode you're playing such as requiring more kills for zombies mode and fewer for pvp. This means if a player wants to unlock some equipment for pvp they can go through the co-op mode or if a pvp player wants to bring their kitted out weapons to zombie mode they can.

* PowerWalk: In the cutscene to the last mission [[spoiler: in Solovetsky]], the heroes are seen walking together on the deck of a warship, in full combat armour and with guns ready.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: The description for the Pelington's "Recon Barrel" caused a bit of head-scratching due to being both smoothbore and rifled. This type of barrel, that is mostly smoothbore with rifling at the final segment, exists in reality, and is known as paradox rifling, designed to allow shotguns to fire both scattershot and rifled slugs effectively. It is also used, in Russia for example, to allow certain civilian rifles [[LoopholeAbuse to be classified as shotguns]] and make them easier to legally obtain, an example of which is the [=VPO-209=], a civilian semi-auto only variant of the AKM chambered for the [=.366TKM=] cartridge, which features a paradox rifled barrel (in this case, smoothbore with the last 120 mm of it being rifled).

* HeroicMime: Unlike previous ''Black Ops'' titles, and in contrast with ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps3 Black Ops III]]'' where the player character speaks during missions, Bell does not speak at all. Exaggerated if you choose a non-specific gender option, in which case Bell doesn't even have pain grunts.

* RareGuns:
** The FARA 83 is a lesser-known Argentinian rifle inspired by the IMI Galil of the previous ''Black Ops'' entries. It seemed to fill in as a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute of the aforementioned Galil until it actually returned in Season 6 (being referred to as the "Grav" as in ''Black Ops 4''), making it a case of ExpyCoexistence.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Should Bell [[spoiler:betray their own team and face them in the bad ending, Mason and Woods, who were known for their PlotArmor in the previous ''Black Ops'' games, will go down just as easily as regular mooks the player has been killing through the game.]]
** Through dialogue with Sims, you can request all sorts of exotic gear including an attack helicopter. Despite his ability to procure said gear, Sims shoots down your request. Someone has to pay for all that hardware, and Adler doesn't want to pay for it while Bell doesn't have the money.
** During conversation with Woods and Mason, Bell can ask about the events of the original ''Black Ops''. While both of them give a few details, namely the parts known to everyone, like the fact they stopped Dragovich from releasing Nova Six onto American soil and their botched attempt to kill Fidel Castro, they stay fairly quiet about most of it since it's well, classified. It ''does'' lead to a moment of levity, as Woods then muses that he should kill Castro and chalk it up to "collateral damage" in service to the team's present mission, only for the trope to once more take effect as he notes that Hudson would throw the book at him for stepping out of line like that.
** Hesitating to make a decision in critical moments of the story will result in a NonstandardGameOver, because time doesn't magically freeze so the player can weigh the pros and cons of taking someone in alive or shooting them dead on the spot.

Alongside the campaign and multiplayer, [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies Zombies]] returns with a soft reboot of the Aether storyline, now known as Dark Aether. ''Cold War'' did not come out with its own Battle Royale gamemode, instead offering various bits of media into the previous year's iteration, ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWarzone''.

** The fictional [=KSP=]45 however, takes it UpToEleven. It's based on the Heckler & Koch [=UMP=]45 (first produced in 1999), with the bolt release of an AR-15, right-side charging handle, a vertical magwell and the magazine release from the Walther [=MPL=] to make it more period-appropriate.

* HeroicMime: Unlike previous ''Black Ops'' titles, and in contrast with ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps3 Black Ops III]]'' where the player character speaks during missions, Bell does not speak at all. Taken UpToEleven if you choose a non-specific gender option, in which case Bell doesn't even have pain grunts.