Black Ops 7 is out today, but if you're jumping into the campaign, be aware that you can't just pause it whenever you want for a quick bathroom break. The game's always-online campaign mode doesn't have a pause feature, and will kick if back to the main menu if you're idle for too long.

Call of Duty Black Ops 7 launched with an online-only campaign that cannot be paused and lacks checkpoints, leading to criticism from players seeking a traditional single-player experience. IGN's review scored the campaign 6 out of 10, citing these restrictions and the absence of difficulty options or AI companions as major drawbacks, especially for solo players.

In other gaming news, Rockstar announced enhanced versions of Red Dead Redemption and its expansion for current-gen consoles and mobile, with free upgrades for existing owners. Additionally, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond will feature NPC companions, including a notably talkative sidekick, which has sparked mixed reactions among fans.

Call of Duty campaign has 'no pause menu'

Happy Friday everybody, Max here with your fix of gaming news. Coming up, Call of Duty Black Ops 7 is out today, but the campaign might frustrate some folks hoping for a single player experience, Red Dead Redemption is coming to current gen and mobile in just a few weeks, and Metroid Prime 4 Beyond will feature NPC companions including one very chatty sidekick. Let's get into it. Happy Call of Duty day to all who celebrate. This year's installment, Black Ops 7, is officially out today, and while it's a little early to slap a score on the multiplayer or zombies modes until they've been out in the wild for a bit, IGN's review for the campaign is up. While the content of the game itself is decent enough, with our reviewer Simon Carty scoring it a 6 out of 10, he did note a couple extremely baffling restrictions that might frustrate a few players. Historically, the campaign for Call of Duty games has been a primarily single player, story-driven experience, though many players also enjoy playing through it cooperatively. Black Ops 7's campaign can be played online with up to 4 players, which is all very well and good, but unfortunately anyone who wants to enjoy it solo will still need to be online to do so. But wait, it gets worse. Because the campaign is online only, it can't be paused, which wouldn't be that much of an issue in and of itself, but it'll also kick players for being idle for too long. To make matters worse than that, anyone who gets kicked or disconnected will be forced to restart the level they were on because there are also no checkpoints. On top of that, there are no difficulty options, so anyone hoping to enjoy a nice casual pick-up-and-play and then put-down-and-go-do-something-else kind of experience might find themselves losing a frustrating amount of progress along the way depending on skill level and how many interruptions you have while playing. Also, even if the game is being played co-op, the lack of checkpoints means that a lost connection will have everyone starting a level over. In his review, Simon also noted that several sequences in the campaign felt designed specifically for 4 players. For instance, placing explosives in 4 locations is something that's a quick endeavor with a full squad, but it becomes a repetitive chore when playing alone. And again, this wouldn't be an issue if there was the option to fill out your squad with AI companions, but unfortunately there currently isn't. You can check out Simon's full thoughts on the campaign in his review, but just a word of warning for anybody who is excited for the single-player portion of the game. No word on if or when Treyarch plans to patch it, but we'll let you know. Moving on, GTA is still unfortunately delayed, but yesterday we got some good news from Rockstar Games that the original Red Dead Redemption and its Undead Nightmare expansion are getting an enhanced release for PS5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch 2, and they're also coming to mobile on Android and iOS at no extra cost for Netflix subscribers. The PS5 and Xbox Series versions will run at 60 frames a second and feature enhanced image quality, HDR support, and up to 4K resolution. Switch 2 will support DLSS, HDR, mouse controls, and will also run at 60fps at a high resolution. Anyone who already has the game on PS4, Switch, or the digital backward-compatible Xbox One version can upgrade digitally for free, and PlayStation and Switch players can even continue their existing save data on the new platform. The mobile versions will feature mobile-friendly control options and can be purchased on iOS and Android, or downloaded through the Netflix app for eligible subscribers at no extra cost, which is pretty sweet. Best of all, this is only a few weeks away, with all versions dropping on December 2nd. Now Rockstar just needs to get 60 frames a second for Red Dead 2 on current-gen consoles. That would be nice. And finally, IGN's own Logan Plant got to go hands-on with Metroid Prime 4 Beyond, and he just put up his impressions about the long-awaited sequel. And while they're largely positive, he did encounter one unwelcome surprise, a chatty NPC companion named Miles McKenzie. Having a talkative companion in-game isn't necessarily bad, and in some cases, that's what makes a game great, but it's not exactly what the Metroid series is known for. Here's how Miles is introduced. Oh, wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, what a mess. What a mess. You're alone, on a planet, no hope of survival. But you're also not sitting next to Phil anymore in that cubicle, so... Win? Ugh. And look, it's not just that Miles is chatty or that he cracks bad jokes, it's that he constantly tells Samus what to do and where to go next. Logan likened him to Atreus, blurting out the answers to puzzles in God of War Ragnarok and points out how counterintuitive it felt to the whole Metroid Prime experience of exploring and discovering stuff for yourself. What do you all think about Miles McKenzie? Do you love him? Do you hate him? Do you not care either way? How excited are you for Metroid Prime 4 Beyond? Let me know in the comments below. For what it's worth, Nintendo also dropped a new gameplay overview trailer this morning that reveals there will be other NPC companions in the game, so it's possible that Miles is only there for the tutorial area, but we'll have to wait and see. Go watch or read Logan's full preview to get his thoughts on all the stuff that does work in Metroid Prime 4, which is out for Switch and Switch 2 on December 4th. Man, between this and Black Ops 7, it's a bad day for people who just want to shoot stuff by themselves. On that note, that's your fix for Friday, November 14th, 2025. If you are looking for something to play that supports a good cause, head to IGN's sister site Humble and you can grab Total War Warhammer 3, Another Crab's Treasure, No More Heroes 3, Etrian Odyssey HD, Pharaoh A New Age, Synergy, Spin Hero, and Paleo Pines for just $14.99. First of all, every purchase supports No Kid Hungry, a non-profit that provides meals to students in need across the U.S., a cause I think we can all agree is pretty good. And on that note, thank you for watching, I hope you all have a great weekend, go play some video games, I'll see you next week.

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Breakdown