Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War brings with it a campaign that tells a complex Cold War narrative full of talk regarding Nuclear War and mind control. The campaign is surprisingly story-focused, with less of an emphasis on action and more of a push toward solving the many mysteries of Black Ops Cold War’s narrative. While this does work, and the campaign of the game introduces memorable new characters like Adler and Park, it feels fairly disconnected from the original Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Despite being a direct sequel to the first Call of Duty: Black Ops game, returning characters take a back seat in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. While this allows Raven Software to focus on the new additions and tell a story of its own, it makes the addition of Frank Woods and Alex Mason feel forced. Players only fill the shoes of original protagonist Alex Mason in a handful of the game’s missions, two of which are optional. This immediately presents a major problem, however, as Alex Mason’s small role prevents Raven from answering the biggest lingering question of the Black Ops franchise: did Alex Mason assassinate JFK?
Despite Activision releasing a short Alex Mason biography ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s release, little is done with the character during the events of the game’s story. The main reason behind Mason’s minor role is due to the player-created character of Bell, who is the core focus of the game’s mind-bending narrative. While this is all well and good, it leaves the incredibly complex and tortured Mason as a side character. As such, any chance for the JFK plot thread to be explored further is immediately eliminated.
With Black Ops Cold War set in the 1980s, JFK’s assassination a decade prior is mostly ignored by the game altogether. Only a few torn newspaper clippings can be found around the game’s safe house hub area, all of which are used for a gate puzzle that allows players access to a series of mini-games. None of the newspaper clippings say anything meaningful regarding the assassination, with the writing mirroring that of the real world and no evidence incriminating or absolving Alex Mason. No characters discuss the assassination plot, either, leaving JFK’s death completely irrelevant to the Black Ops Cold War narrative.
Considering that early teasers and theories made it seem likely that JFK’s assassination would be the focus of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, it is odd that the historical figure is borderline nonexistent in the actual game. With the mystery around JFK’s death in real life still being discussed to this day and a huge portion of the original Black Ops ending being dedicated to the topic, seeing Raven skip over the assassination entirely is incredibly odd. However, there could be a few big reasons (apart from creative freedom) as to why Raven jumped to the 80s and ignored the topic in the latest Black Ops game.
For many, the photo reveal from the end of the original Black Ops game is an iconic moment in the Call of Duty series. Seeing Mason in the crowd during JFK’s assassination, alongside dark music from the Black Ops soundtrack, was a damning piece of evidence that hints at the character succumbing to his brainwashing and killing his own president. Despite this, the topic has never been explored in the numerous Black Ops sequels, and Black Ops Cold War campaign developer Raven has continued that unfortunate trend.
One of the possible explanations for this is the use of a different voice actor for Alex Mason in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Much like with the actor replacement for Frank Woods, Alex Mason is no longer played by Sam Worthington, his original actor. Instead played by Chris Payne Gilbert, Mason sounds quite different this time around. While it is unclear if Sam Worthington did not want to play Mason again, or simply was not asked back for the role, perhaps Raven wanted to avoid giving the character a larger role to play due to this major voice change. Fans would likely be more bothered by the voice change if Mason was the focus, calling out the developers and connecting less with the “new” Mason.
The other, far likelier possibility is that some people could take serious offense to players filling the role of a presidential assassin in a video game, and the mainstream nature of the Call of Duty franchise having such a level could lead to issues for Activision. After all, a story centered around players controlling Alex Mason as he kills JFK is hardly “appropriate.” It is interesting, however, and it is a story that should be told.
In one of the few Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War missions where players take control of Alex Mason, there is a brief moment where the Numbers appear. The iconic sign of Mason’s mind control taking effect, the appearance of the Numbers is a brief reminder that not all is well in the character’s mind. Just like in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, the brainwashing still lingers, much like a form of PTSD for the tortured Mason. As shown by this brief flash of numbers, Raven clearly knows its Black Ops history.
While a JFL campaign could be offensive to some and would be a bit of a risk for Activision, it is a story that should be told. With an unanswered cliffhanger from a decade prior, and a lengthy in-universe time gap that can still be filled, Raven can finally provide fans with the closure that Treyarch never did. Not only would tracking down a rogue Mason make for an exciting game, but it could also allow players to play as Frank Woods once again. With Black Ops Cold War touching on the bond between Woods and Mason, a game focused on the former hunting down the latter could be extremely intense and emotional.
Better yet, by incorporating numerous choices and different endings like Black Ops Cold War, unique story branches could be created. Perhaps one version of the story sees Mason in the crowd attempting to stop JFK’s assassination, while another sees him giving into his mind control and carrying out the dastardly deed. Non-canon endings, like Perseus’ victory in Black Ops Cold War, can also occur. Perhaps Woods is forced to kill Mason in one “what if?” scenario, where another sees JFK survive the assassination attempt. While this is all just fun speculation, the topic is ripe for exploration and perfect for the espionage style of a Call of Duty: Black Ops game.
While a game centered on Alex Mason killing (or trying to save) JFK would be predictable, as Mason ultimately needs to survive the events of the story and be rehabilitated, the journey players go on could be thrilling. Sure, there’s things like justifying his assassination then and his role in Cold War to consider, not to mention propelling the story forward and not backward, but that’s not really a game-stopper.
Playing off real-life conspiracy theories and building off of the relationship between Woods and Mason, the story could go in numerous directions and make use of all the new systems Raven introduced in Black Ops Cold War. While it is not a topic for the faint of heart, an original Call of Duty story focused on the infamous event needs to happen. If the Black Ops storyline is going to continue, fans deserve closure regarding this 10-year-old cliffhanger.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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