Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will have a Realistic difficulty setting; probably not a threat to Arma

Black Ops 3

It might not be the first word that springs to mind when describing the Golden-Gate-trashing interactive blockbuster, but Call of Duty’s creators have been pleading realism for years.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts’ lightning rods from space were, Activision suggested, less science fiction than prescience. Sledgehammer worked with a Pentagon adviser for Advanced Warfare, and claimed that the world loves Call of Duty because it’s “believable and relatable”.

All of that seems to have culminated in a difficulty setting to match. An early look at Black Ops 3’s achievements reveals that there are three increased challenge levels in the cyberpunk sequel – Hardened, Veteran and Realistic.

Call of Duty

The difficulty setting will, presumably, lean towards the Arma end of the spectrum for munitions simulation. Or maybe it’ll find the protagonist laid low by PTSD within a couple of missions. One or the other.

Of course, while CoD might be marketed as true-to-life military simulator, there is some awareness at the top that it’s a “cinematic movie experience”.

“We do get to work with a lot of military guys in general, and that’s been a phenomenal experience over the years,” said Infinity Ward exec producer Mark Rubin a couple of years ago. “There’s an enormous amount of appreciation for what they do, and in no way do we feel we are a representation of what their lives are like.”