Call of Duty: Black Ops 4: 5 Things You NEED to Know

It's finally October - yay! - and more importantly, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, drops tomorrow!

This time of year is stuffed with more AAA releases than you can shake a stick at, but we'd be here all day if we listed everything releasing between now and the end of the year, so for now, let's concentrate on the Next Big Thing about to hit our consoles. The game's had some major changes to previous ones, so here is everything you need to know about Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4...

1. Yes, Battle Royale is coming to COD in new mode, Blackout

Yes, the rumours were true - battle royale IS coming to Black Ops 4. So if you were worrying that the new COD was going to rip you away from your favourite battle royale game - be that Fortnite or PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds - the good news is, you can have a little battle royale action right within COD itself now! Just fire up Blackout to give it a go. Can you be the last man standing?

2. No, there's no main story campaign this time around

Not everyone's keen on this news, admittedly - lots of people still love to play Call of Duty's singleplayer story missions - but for the first time in COD history, Blacks Ops 4 will not offer a story campaign. Instead, there'll be smaller solo missions to give you a taster of classes and weapons before you step into competitive action. No, it's not much of a replacement, granted, but Activision reckons there's enough content in Black Ops 4 to satisfy even the biggest appetites...

3. Yes, Zombies are back!

Hard to believe that this little fan-favourite mode was once just a silly add-on, but Zombies has now branched out into its very own game, with three separate zombies missions available immediately at launch, with more expected further down the line. Offering a little of everything and set in places from Alcatraz to the doomed Titanic ocean liner it looks like it's going to be a lot of fun - and yes, you can play it either via couch or online co-op, too.

4. PlayStation 4 players will get content early

This has been the case for a little while now, but just in case you forgot: PS4 players will get access to new Black Ops 4 content - from maps to events - a whole week earlier than their Xbox One and PC pals. Sure, a week's not ages - especially as Xbox One Destiny players had to wait years to get some of the same content as PlayStation 4 fans! - but something to bear in mind if you reckon you'll be playing a lot of it...

5. No, there's not much difference between the different specialists, but they all have their own special abilities

There'll be 10 specialists to choose from at launch. Yes, their skillsets will vary a little, but ultimately, it's expected that they'll all play pretty similarly when on the battlefield. The Battery specialist has grenades, Ruin has a grapple gun, Firebreak uses a flamethrower, and Ajax has a cool defensive shield. Then there's Recon that can deploy a pulse that reveals hidden enemies, Crash that can heal and offer fresh ammo, Torque sets razor wire traps, and Seraph helps your team redeploy at different locations. Last but not least there's Nomad with specialist survivalist training, and Prophet, who uses technology to disrupt your enemies. So regardless of your own particular playstyle, there should be a specialist best suited to your preferred way to play. Cool, eh?

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 releases worldwide on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 12, 2018.

- By Vikki Blake @_vixx