Don't get me wrong, BO2 was amazing and easily one of the best CODs ever. But i've always thought BO3 was the better COD overall.
# Multiplayer & Movement
For multiplayer i just had way more fun with BO3. The movement added a whole other skill gap with boost jumping, wall running, sliding, g sliding etc while u still had to aim, track, center and actually know what u were doing. Once u got good at the movement the game felt so smooth.
# Maps & DLC Maps
The maps were creative asf too. Combine, Hunted, Redwood, Fringe, Stronghold, Aquarium, Evac and then the DLC maps got even crazier. Splash was literally a giant water park. Micro had u fighting on a fucking picnic table, Skyjacked brought Hijacked back with BO3 movement, Empire brought Raid back, then u had Knockout, Spire, Rift, Berserk, Cryogen and more. They weren't scared to make maps colorful, weird and actually memorable.
# The Atmosphere & 2015
The atmosphere was amazing too. The colors, menu music, futuristic theme, multiplayer lobbies, specialists, maps, zombies, even opening supply drops. Everything had that BO3 feel to it. u could show me a random screenshot and i'd instantly know what game it was.
And 2015 itself was just peak. Coming home and getting on BO3 with ur friends, grinding multiplayer, doing zombies easter eggs, waiting for DLCs, watching YouTube videos about new weapons and zombies theories. Maybe nostalgia plays a part, but BO3 genuinely felt like an era.
# Camos, Skins & Customization
Even the customization was crazy. Dark Matter is still one of my favorite mastery camos ever, then u had shit like Cherry Fizz that everybody wanted. Specialists had all their own skins and emotes too. Getting some crazy outfit and then hitting some stupid ass emote in the winners circle after the game was such a small thing but gave the game so much personality. There was always something u wanted to unlock or show off.
# Supply Drops & DLC Weapons
And as much as people hated supply drops, i can't lie and say opening them wasn't fun. Locking weapons behind RNG was bullshit, but actually pulling something rare felt hype asf.
Especially because some of the DLC weapons were actually unique. The XMC was fucking disgusting, the 1911 coming back was cool, the Banshii literally shot energy, the NX ShadowClaw shot bolts, the D13 Sector shot bouncing discs and the DIY Renovator was a fucking nail gun. Then u had the Peacekeeper MK2, AN 94, Galil, M16, PPSH and a bunch more. Every time they added weapons there was actually something interesting to try.
# Specialists
Specialists were fun asf too. Sparrow, Scythe, Tempest, Annihilator, Purifier, Gravity Spikes, Ripper, War Machine. Between the abilities, weapons, skins and emotes they gave BO3 so much personality.
# Zombies
Then Zombies is where BO3 REALLY clears for me.
BO2 obviously had Mob and Origins and those are legendary, but BO3 had Shadows, Der Eisendrache, Zetsubou, Gorod Krovi, Revelations, The Giant and then Zombie Chronicles on top of it.
And imo BO3 is still the best Zombies experience we've ever gotten overall. That's not even some rare take either. Almost 11 years later it's still constantly brought up in the Zombies community when people talk about peak Zombies. The fact that a game from 2015 is STILL this relevant in the Zombies community says a lot by itself.
# Easter Eggs & The Zombies YouTube Era
The easter eggs were peak too. Getting the bows on DE, swords on Shadows, doing the boss fights and main quests with ur friends, all the side easter eggs and everything eventually leading into Revelations. There was always some shit to do besides just surviving rounds.
And the BO3 Zombies YouTube era was fucking insane. NoahJ456, MrRoflWaffles, MrTLexify, TheSmithPlays and all those guys covering easter egg hunts, DLC releases, storyline theories and tutorials made every new map feel like an event. Half the fun was getting on when a map dropped and watching everyone race to figure everything out.
# Zombie Chronicles & Custom Zombies
Then Chronicles gave us Nacht, Verrückt, Shi No Numa, Kino, Ascension, Shangri La, Moon and Origins. BO3 ended up with 14 Zombies maps. That's actually insane. u basically had maps from every era of Treyarch Zombies up to that point all inside one game.
And then PC custom Zombies takes it even further. People are STILL making and playing BO3 custom maps today. That's basically given the game unlimited replayability and is a huge reason BO3 Zombies has never really died. Even all these years later u still see Zombies creators going back to BO3 and playing custom maps.
That's what really separates it from BO2 for me. BO2 had some of the highest highs in Zombies with Mob and Origins, but BO3 was just way more complete. The maps, easter eggs, boss fights, wonder weapons, storyline, Chronicles, custom maps and just the amount of shit there was to do was ridiculous.
# Campaign
i'll give BO2 campaign easily though. BO3's campaign was ass. BO2 also had legendary MP maps and was probably peak traditional boots on ground COD.
# Overall
But BO3 just had more for me. The movement, atmosphere, colorful maps, crazy DLC maps, Dark Matter, Cherry Fizz, specialist skins and emotes, unique DLC weapons like the XMC and ShadowClaw, the supply drops, and then imo the best Zombies and easter eggs we've ever gotten.