Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops III: Awakening

GreatImpressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.

Four maps and some zombies

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It’s still crazy to me that I’m loading up a Call of Duty DLC pack first on PlayStation 4. After years of Microsoft-dominated timed exclusivity Sony finally has its shot at heading it up, and it has perfect timing with Black Ops III.

As one of the best Call of Duty games in years, it allows Awakening plenty of room to breathe, and lets Treyarch be its unconventional self.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III: Awakening (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Xbox One)
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Released: February 2, 2016 (PS4) / TBA (PC, Xbox One)
MSRP: $14.99 ($50 Season Pass for four packs)

When it comes to map design, Treyarch is one of the best in the business. One of its go-to staples is the three-lane approach, which allows for all sorts of interesting firefights and strategies throughout every game type. It takes it to an extreme here with Gauntlet, as it hosts three unique themes in each lane — tropical, arctic, and industrial.

Each area evokes feelings of the past Black Ops maps, Jungle, Discovery, and Kowloon respectively, which is good company to be in. Gauntlet is instantly recognizable, and really feels like three maps in one. If anything it’s a bit too tunnel-oriented as folks will no doubt have issues with a lack of elevation (especially in the arctic and jungle themes), but it gets the job done and I’m glad it’s in the rotation.

Splash (pictured up top) is typical Treyarch at its finest. It’s an absurd water park map that wouldn’t feel out of place at Disney World’s Caribbean Beach Resort. It’s bright, it’s littered with shops and rides, and even has a Main Street area. Water slides dot the landscape, as do cute mascot signs that top the previous meta Burger Town franchise — it would feel right at home in the wackier Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare games.

It’s crazy that you can consistently read the detail on individual signs now as well (a few of which made me laugh, like the “no selfie stick” one), instead of haphazardly trying to read blurry scrawls. It’s one of my favorite maps in years, with a wide array of open areas and indoor close-quarters combat sections.

Skyjacked, quite simply, is a remake of Hijacked from Black Ops II. This map was a bit divisive in the community due to its close-quarters focus and propensity to promote camping, so most of you have already made up your mind on it. Personally it was one of my favorites, so I’m glad to see Treyarch bringing it back here, and was happy to play it again.

The new theme isn’t a half-measure like some past remakes, as the entire affair now takes place in a floating fortress, set to the backdrop of an ongoing city battle. It’s a remake of a good map that’s made even better due to jumpjet and wallrunning capabilities.

There’s usually one map that I outright dislike in a pack, and this time it’s Rise. It’s far too gated and familiar for my tastes, and is nearly indistinguishable from a few industrial levels included in the base package (namely Exodus). There are times where you’d think a cool new area is just waiting around a corner, but then the game doesn’t allow you to actually go there due to invisible walls.

It’s almost like they spent too much time building the other three to really put the proper amount of care in here. If it comes up in the rotation I usually cringe.

Der Eisendrache (The Iron Dragon) caps off the DLC, which immediately adds more of an incentive to pick up Awakening. Peppering in one zombie (or alien) map is a strategy the other Call of Duty developers (Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer) have adopted for good reason — the sheer amount of depth in these things keep people coming back for more. I really dig the whole castle theme, which basically goes full Wolfenstein from the start.

I’m sad to see the Jeff Goldblum crew seemingly isn’t returning for more, but the original cast is iconic enough to last, spearheaded by Steve Blum’s Dempsey. The animated intro certainly helps give the level a different feel as well, and it’s crazy that Treyarch is still building upon the lore it created so many years ago in World at War. Der Eisendrache surprised me as well with its open layout, with plenty of room to move, lots of teleporters, and tons of secrets that players will be tracking down weeks after launch.

As Nikolai even remarks during Der Eisendrache, “will there ever be an end to this nightmare?” Not as long as Activision keeps selling DLC, there isn’t! But one man’s nightmare is another man’s video game, and the good news is that each Call of Duty developer has been pushing itself harder in recent years to justify the price. If you still play Black Ops III, you can’t really go wrong with Awakening — especially since the new maps are now built into normal playlists from the get-go.

[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]

8
Great
Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash.
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Managing Editor - Chris has been enjoying Destructoid avidly since 2008. He finally decided to take the next step in January of 2009 blogging on the site. Now, he's staff!