Call Of Duty: Black Ops III – Awakening DLC review – switching sides
For the first time Call Of Duty’s DLC is debuting on PlayStation rather than Xbox, but are the new maps anything to get excited about?
The yearly release of Call Of Duty and its DLC is one of the most comfortably predictable events on the gaming calendar. A new game is announced in April, it’s released in early November, and then four DLC packs – each containing four maps and a co-op level – are released across the course of the next year. It’s been that way since the first Black Ops, but there is a major difference this year: Awakening is debuting first on PlayStation 4.
Microsoft’s timed exclusivity deal for Call Of Duty DLC stretches all the way back to Call Of Duty 4 in 2007, and the fact that Activision has now switched flags to Sony is a sign of how much the balance of power has changed since the last generation. Awakening will be released on Xbox One and PC eventually, probably in exactly a month’s time, but it’s not coming to either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.
In all other respects though this is exactly what you’d expect, and follows the pattern of four maps and a co-op level exactly – including the fact that one of the maps is a remake of an existing stage. Given the nature of Black Ops III you might have expected some new specialists or cyber core abilities, but there’s none of that. Not even a new weapon, which more recent DLC has started to throw in as well.
Black Ops III wasn’t exactly short of options in that regard though, as we discussed in our original review, and the quality of the new maps is good enough that this still feels like relatively good value for money. The four maps are called Skyjacked, Splash, Gauntlet, and Rise; with Skyjacked being the revamped one. It’s a remake of Hijacked from Black Ops II and changes the setting from a luxury yacht to a flying version that looks like a more decadent version of a Marvel helicarrier.
The close quarters nature of the map seems a slightly odd choice for Black Ops III, given all the new boost jumps and wall-running abilities, but that actually helps to make it feel different and to avoid the original problems with camping.
Splash is set in an abandoned water park, and appropriately enough encourages fighting underwater. That’s unusual for any shooter, especially Call Of Duty, and although it’s only a relatively small diversion we’d be keen to see more of it. The rest of the map is a good mix of open and enclosed areas, and thanks to all the theme park-like rides and waterslides is one of the most colourful ever seen in Call Of Duty.
Gauntlet is another good one, especially as it’s an amusing meta reference to Treyarch’s classic three-lane approach to designing a map. In this case it features three completely different backdrops for each lane: a rain-drenched urban area, snow-filled arctic base, and leafy jungle. These settings in turn are staples of all Call Of Duty games and the whole thing feels like a celebration of the whole franchise in just one map. The actual design can be a bit flat, with little chance to get above the action, but it’s still a fun map without all the gimmicks.
Rise is not only the worst of the four competitive maps but also lacks any of the self-awareness of Gauntlet. It’s set in a boring looking industrial area that could have come from any of a dozen different Call Of Duty games. It’s just as unremarkable to play through, and compared to the others feels rushed and only half conceived.
For many the main incentive for getting Awakening will be the first of four new Zombies map, in this case one called Der Eisendrache (The Iron Dragon). It’s set in a Wolfenstein-esque castle and continues with the Second World War era team from The Giant, rather than Jeff Goldblum and co. from the main game’s mix of ‘30s gangsters and Lovecraftian monsters.
That immediately seems a shame, but the map is impressively large and filled with secrets and new additions to the mode’s increasingly complex lore. But still, it does all seem too reminiscent of previous Zombies maps. Shadows Of Evil already had that problem, but it at least it offered a somewhat new setting; Der Eisendrache doesn’t even have that. Adding one of the specialist weapons to the map is an interesting bit of crosspollination, but too many of the other gadgets are just minor variations of what’s come before.
If the Zombies map had been more interesting this would’ve counted as one of the top tier Call Of Duty map pack, as Gauntlet and Splash are excellent. As it is, it’s merely a good one, and that means you’ll have to make your own calculations as to how much value for money you’re likely to get out of it, or from purchasing the season pass. In other words, apart from the Sony/Microsoft switcheroo, it’s business as usual.
Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/02/03/call-of-duty-black-ops-iii-awakening-dlc-review-switching-sides-5660426/#ixzz45u1yAYKO
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