Activision and Treyarch paint it black one more time with Black Ops III

Check out the reveal trailer for the latest installment of Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III is a dark, gritty future where a new breed of Black Ops soldier emerges and the lines are blurred between our own humanity and the cutting-edge military robotics that define the future of combat.

That’s the tag line for Black Ops III that you see above, and it sounds (and looks) a lot like the next game in the Call of Duty series will be pushing the FPS franchise into sci-fi territory more than ever before, which is kind of saying something after the last few titles. The setup reminds me a lot of Deus Ex actually, which also is set in a future where mankind has augmented itself with machines. The difference of course, is that while Deus Ex is a little more laid back in its approach and a somewhat stealthy series (well, it can be anyway), Black Ops III is all about the action.

And action is something that the series does very well, no matter the subtitle. Call of Duty has become, and remains, one of the biggest and most played shooter franchises in gaming. It’s earned those stripes over the years since the first CoD title saw release in 2003, and it certainly doesn’t looks like that’s about to stop here. If anything, Black Ops III’s refocusing on a pretty much straight science fiction setting and theme might draw in a few more gamers who aren’t the biggest fans of ‘military shooters’. Sure, in effect that’s still what Black Ops III is, but with the high-tech and futuristic coat of paint, it just broadened its appeal even more.

In addition to the first look at gameplay and everything else, we also have a release date for the new Call of Duty. Activision is billing launch day as the “new Black Friday”, as Call of Duty: Black Ops III lands on retail shelves and on download servers on Friday, November 6th. While that’s still a ways off, you can also follow the game on its official web page, and pre-order yourself a copy right this very minute at retailers to secure yourself a spot in the multiplayer beta.