So, it seems you could call this the “worse” ending to the “bad” ending, although you did make these choices along the way so your decision to betray the CIA and not ask for help arguably makes this the “painfully stupid decisions” ending. You could certainly make the argument that you deserve to die for your betrayal, but unlike the good ending (which sees the world saved from nuclear war at the cost of your own life) and the bad ending (which does see a nuclear war come to pass but at least tries to spin a “greater good” angle into the nightmare), this ending is pretty much nothing but disaster. While this is being touted as the alternate bad ending, it’s interesting how this ending ties into some of the other events and themes of the game.

That is to say that nukes detonate across Europe, Reagan orders all information related to this operation to be destroyed, and Perseus prepares to try to build a new world, albeit this time without you by his side. You’ll still head to Duga just like in the bad ending, but this time, there are no reinforcements waiting to help you, so Adler shoots you shortly after figuring out you’ve betrayed him.įrom there, the ending plays out roughly the same as the other bad ending. This time, though, don’t use the nearby radio to tell Perseus about your plans. If you want to see how dark Cold War‘s ending can get, then you just need to follow the key step outlined in the “Bad” ending (in other words, lie to Adler after the interrogation sequence). Of course, there is an optional ending in Cold War that’s even bleaker than this one… Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War – Alternate Bad Ending There’s almost a sense that elements of the bad ending are designed to leave you questioning whether or not you made the right decision or are at least designed to maintain the narrative illusion that you have. Well, nuclear war is absolutely a “bad” outcome, but it is somewhat interesting that the game’s bad ending is the one where you live and that your death in the good ending doesn’t even come across as some kind of heroic sacrifice. You’ll be able to exchange some dialog with him if you’d like, but if you’d prefer, you can just choose to initiate an ambush on Adler and the rest of the team. At Duga, Adler will become suspicious of your actions and information. Shortly after lying to Adler, you’ll be able to use a nearby radio to get word to Perseus about your deception. During the Adler interrogation sequence, you just need to lie to him and say that Perseus is at Duga. Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War – Bad EndingĪgain, it’s pretty easy to trigger Cold War‘s bad ending. It’s certainly great that you prevented multiple nuclear attacks, but that larger questions linger regarding your methods, their implications, and the motivations of your companions. Still, everything that happens in this ending feels roughly in-line with the other events of the game. After all, it not only ends with you seemingly dying at the hands of a former friend for seemingly knowing too much about the CIA’s activities (or at least so that they can create a martyr) but we don’t even really get to see what happens to Perseus or some of the other key Soviet players. In many ways, this is presented as the “true” ending of the game (or at least the “good” ending), which is actually somewhat strange. Amongst all this madness, it seems that Perseus remains at large. While we don’t see what happens, it’s strongly implied that you kill each other.

After appearing to make amends for his actions and pay you tribute for your work, he asks you to make one more sacrifice for the “greater good.” Shortly thereafter, you and Adler pull guns on each other. After some celebration, you’ll meet up with Adler at some nearby cliffs.

Breaking bad alternate endings