GamesFPSCall of Duty: Black Ops 6Black Ops 6 will let players talk directly to their meat shield hostages, and people are already bracing for heretofore unseen levels of toxicity and abuseWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesFPSCall of Duty: Black Ops 6Black Ops 6 will let players talk directly to their meat shield hostages, and people are already bracing for heretofore unseen levels of toxicity and abuseWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Activision)
This is the best worst idea in videogames I’ve seen in a very long time: Treyarch saysCall of Duty: Black Ops 6will give players the ability to talk directly to the people they’re holding hostage and using as meat shields.
The meat shield, for those not familiar with the maneuver, works like this: A bad guy is stunned or wounded but still on his feet, so you grab his shoulder, spin him around, put your arm across his throat, and march him forward into the gunfire that would otherwise turn you into a sticky mess. Here’s agreat exampleof the move from the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger flick Total Recall, which I will link but not embed because it’s pretty bonkers in the way that only ’90s action movies are. (I will also note that the guy in this case isn’t so much bad as just really unlucky.)
Anyway, there’s not a lot of space between the shield and the shielded, and someone at Treyarch has decided that forced closeness would be a great opportunity for people to get to know each other better:
We heard you and can confirm that the Body Shield feature in Multiplayer will enable voice chat between the attacker and victim. Be nice… pic.twitter.com/KxyaDo7bAcAugust 28, 2024
We heard you and can confirm that the Body Shield feature in Multiplayer will enable voice chat between the attacker and victim. Be nice… pic.twitter.com/KxyaDo7bAcAugust 28, 2024
Unfortunately, as noted in other replies to the tweet, there’s far greater potential for abuse. “Can’t wait to be held hostage whilst being called the F slur 1,000 times,” Camelcastofftweeted.
(Image credit: Angelica_Reed1)
Even more common than expressions of concern, though, is the eager anticipation for bad behavior that some players are clearly feeling: “This is the most toxic thing you could have added,“vivakingtonetweeted. “I love it.”
(Image credit: Nostrildamus88 (Twitter))
The reactions really do set the table: Black Ops 6 isn’t even out for another two months and people are already telling their imagined victims that they need to get a thicker skin. The “be nice” at the end of Treyarch’s tweet did not go unnoticed either:
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(Image credit: Risen_SzN (Twitter))
Look, this is obviously a bad idea. It’s agreatidea, yes, and one that I think would be a lot of fun with friends, or even well-vetted strangers. But do I want this kind of power in the hands of amped-up kids who’ve hung their entire sense of self-worth on how badly they kick my ass in Call of Duty? I do not.
Fortunately for people who don’t want racist and homophobic abuse injected directly into their brains, Treyarch confirmed that there is an option to turn off proximity chat, so you don’t have to deal with this if you don’t want to.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 comes out on October 25. The early access beta, for those who preordered the game, is live now and runs until September 4; the open beta is set to go from September 6-9.
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