Excitement for Call of Duty Black Ops III has been building since the official announcement, but gameplay details were slim, leaving everyone to wonder what road Treyarch will be heading down for the game. Question that no longer. It’s been a big couple of days for Call of Duty fans, as we’ve gotten our first glimpse of the game in action, starting at Sony’s E3 conference.
Yep, that wasn’t a typo. Confirming what’s been churning in the rumor mill for a few weeks now, Treyarch’s Mark Lamia and David Vonderhaar took to the PlayStation stage on Monday night to introduce the game, complete with a demo of the four player co-op campaign, as well as the multiplayer.
Favorite modes like Domination, Hardpoint, and Kill Confirmed look to return in Black Ops III multiplayer, along with a fast and furious movement system that will keep your enemies guessing. In addition to being able to wall-run and swim through water on multiplayer maps, it looks like the ExoBoost of Advanced Warfare is being replaced with the ability to jump higher, thanks to your augmented body.
For the first time, it will be Sony owners who will receive map packs and other DLC first, with Xbox owners to receive it at a later date. Andrew House, the President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, took to the stage after the multiplayer reveal to announce that advantage would also extend to the beta, as PlayStation owners will get first crack at it when it goes live in August.
Activision on Tuesday also wasted no time in announcing two new Specialists for the multiplayer, Prophet and Nomad. If you’re in need of a refresher, Specialsts are preset characters with one unique power and one unique weapon, with a catch. You can go into a match using one or the other, but not both.
Prophet’s weapon of choice is the Tempest, a lightning gun that shoots out bolts from the initial target to other enemies nearby. His power, Glitch, enables him to go back in time six seconds, as was seen in the multiplayer reveal trailer on Monday night. This power used to belong to Reaper as of the initial reveal, but of course, everything until launch day is subject to change.
Joining Prophet is Nomad, who yields the HIVE, which fires out pods that release nano-drones on his enemies. His power is Rejack; meaning he can boost himself back to full health when he’s close to death.
Similar perks, scorestreaks, and weapon attachments will return for Black Ops III as we’ve seen before. Flak Jacket, Blind Eye, Scavenger and Dead Silence will be joined by new perks like Sixth Sense and Afterburner. UAV’s and Lightning Strikes will continue, joined by other scorestreaks like the Talon, Combat Robot and Mothership. And all your favorite weapon attachments, from Stock, to Grip and to Quickdraw, will fine-tune your gun. Speaking of weapons, you’ll be able to channel your inner Tomb Raider with the new Compound Bow.
Treyarch and Activision made four different maps available for play this week at E3, and it’s widely believed these same four maps will be the ones included in the August beta.
-Combine: Set in the remote Egyptian Sahara, this vertical farming and sustainability research facility plays fast and frenetic with tight interiors, an open middle and a dangerous flank path.
-Hunted: This big game hunting lodge is situated beneath a waterfall in the lush mountains of Ethiopia, where rugged terrain opens up to long sight lines and a stealthy underwater pathway.
-Stronghold: A high-tech Swiss chateau in the frozen, mountainous Alps, Stronghold has an asymmetrical design with a mix of exposed sight lines and tight, close quarters.
-Evac: An abandoned emergency evacuation zone atop an overgrown rooftop in the middle of Singapore’s flooded quarantine zone.
And finally, If you’re wondering about eSports and League Play (and if you’re reading this, you probably are) those details will be available at Gamescom in August. Be sure to follow OpTic Intel on Twitter, as we’ll keep you update on all the Call of Duty: Black Ops III news and