It’s the turn of a new year, and a turn of fortunes for PS4-owning Call of Duty fans. Not only have Treyarch and Activision had their faith in the series rewarded by fans’ overwhelming response to this year’s entry, but the DLC’s timed exclusivity has now switched over to the PlayStation nation. It’s the mostly usual affair with ‘Awakening’, four multiplayer maps (including a remake) plus another entry into the ever popular Zombies saga.
With the surprising occlusion of a new DLC weapon or indeed a new Specialist character, these new maps have a lot to live up too; otherwise it’s back to playing Combine again, and again…
Where better place to start than with Gauntlet? What with Treyarch’s affinity for the classic three-lane map design, along with their sense of visual theatre, Gauntlet couldn’t be better suited. A relatively large map, Gauntlet’s main attraction would be its distinctive lanes, each of the three playing host to a different theme reminiscent of maps in previous Black Ops titles. The centre of the icy and snow covered map is flanked on one side by a lush jungle, and on the other side, by an urban setting. All joined in various ways by narrow corridors that contrast the wide open central hub.
Fans of Black Ops 2’s (DLC) maps, ‘Grind’ and ‘Rush’ will have no doubt had their eyes on Splash for a while now. This bright and colourful map is by far the most attention grabbing, in a visual sense at least. Set in location that wouldn’t look out of place at your resident Disneyland, it features (sadly) blocked off water pipes, treasure coves, gift shops and cafes. Whilst it may have the initial wow factor, and despite there being some great battles in larger, more focused game types such as Safeguard and Domination. Unfortunately it plays, for now at least, a little slowly for Team Deathmatch, this being a shame with it of course being the most commonly played game type. Perhaps we should stop being ‘filthy TDM casuals’ after all!
The third map Rise, is large, industrial and at times, all too familiar. It’s yet another candidate for being used for objective play over straight up slaying, but then that seems like a theme of which this pack is at ease with. Appearances wise, it doesn’t quite have the pop or flair of the others; instead it has a more ‘competitive’ feel with long lines of sight, choke points and a substantial underwater section that’s perfectly designed for flanking. The ‘B flag’ in domination is especially demanding to capture, what with there being so many routes and positions overlooking it. The Treyarch-y deal here being that one of its three lanes is almost entirely water, complete with submerged cover and ambush points. One of the most underused features in this year’s Black Ops finally gets its time to shine; honestly it’d be nice to see some underwater objective play in the future too.
Skyjacked is this year’s token remake of a fan favourite map of yesteryear. Unsurprisingly it’s based off of Black Ops 2’s love it or hate it, Hijacked. The ship’s taken to the skies this year and instead of Mr. Vonderhaar’s private yacht, we’ve got something more akin to Marvel’s Helicarrier. Whilst most of the same tactics can still be applied in this instance of the map, there are of course some differences. For starters, there’s a whopping great hole in one side of the airship that thankfully allows for a third entrance into the previously impenetrable underground section. On top of this, there’s a whole lot of use to be gained out of thrust jumping and wall running; if you’re careful, you can even traverse the outer sides of the ship. Aesthetically it’s been altered for the better too, instead of the almost dreary, peachy browns of old, it’s now lavished in a much cleaner and more modern palette.
Justifying the entrance fee for some alone, the new zombies map Der Eisendrache (or The Iron Dragon) groups together some memorable characters from the past: Richtofen, Nikolai, Dempsey and Takeo to take on Castle Wolfenstein and unravel its mysteries. Secrets and Easter Eggs are obviously a large part of the zombies experience now; with the inevitable main draw being trying to uncover an extra snippet of lore from one of modern gaming’s most convoluted plot lines. If you’re not up for that, there’s plenty to uncover by yourself too, including the Sparrow’s bow, complete with elements; even the Gravity Spikes make a welcome appearance. Whilst the initial setting of a spooky old castle might not exactly scream innovation, it’s populated with areas and rooms that beg to be explored and absorbed; its cavernous subsections hold more than it first appears.
‘Awakening’ is home to Black Ops III’s first crack at DLC and overall, it’s a pretty good showing of Treyarch’s unique twists and styles of their tried and tested three lane system. The multiplayer maps vary between expected design and surprising execution; in most cases this was a good thing. Rise could be the weakest portion, simply because the long sight lines and large open areas encourage a ‘campy’ style of play that’s frustrating to go up against. The size of each of the new additions also might err on the larger side for some too, especially for those who exclusively play TDM. Here’s hoping the community adapts to the intended, quicker, playstyle over time. It’s a tad unforeseen and ever so slightly disappointing to not have an extra weapon or specialist thrown in for good measure, but with any luck they’ll treat us to something like that in the future. Provided they don’t make it only attainable through the Black Market however…
