Of course, the important question was always going to be, how does it play? Two nights ago, Treyarch revealed some interesting details about the Black Ops multiplayer offering, including new killstreaks, perks, equipment and progression systems, but has the developer captured and maintained the immensely popular 'feel' of the CoD online experience?
The short answer is yes. At its multiplayer reveal event in LA, Treyarch unveiled four new deathmatch maps, and each of them is structured around the familiar components – lots of open areas for rapid-fire shoot-outs, all enclosed by built-up multilayered interiors, and overlooked by sniping cubby holes that are rarely entirely safe camping spots. This is CoD by the book (and design director David Vonderhaar told me that Treyarch actually does have a massive multiplayer design manual, explaining the architectural rules to its level creators) - but with a few intriguing new twists.
'Cracked' will be instantly familiar to Modern Warfare fanatics. Like MW2's Invasion and Kerachi maps, it's an obliterated urban landscape, densely jammed with crumbling shops and homes, the roads pockmarked by burned-out vehicles. There are anarchy symbols spray-painted on walls, rusted corrugated iron roofs, haggard, shrapnel-scarred window openings, with narrow views over open areas. It's a classic street battle map, accompanied by plenty of higher-level walkways and rooms for snipers to get a good view on the action.
In contrast, Summit is a remote mountain base, surrounded by sparse tundra. Howling winds send snow billowing through the buildings, and occasionally shattering large glass windows. There's a series of treacherous walkways hugging the mountains-sides – I found that chucking a flash-bang down here could lead to players accidentally running off the rickety planks into the abyss. Fun, but not particularly productive.
'Radiation' looks to be a Soviet nuclear facility, all gargantuan military-industrial machinery and blasted concrete buildings. 'Launch' is another ruggedly metallic complex, overlooked by looming scaffolding-covered towers. Glance up and you'll see an enormous rocket, which will actually take off during a bout – and woe betide any player caught beneath it when it goes.
These two levels also exhibit one of the new features Treyarch is toying with in this title: as Vonderhaar explains, "The innovation we're trying here – and this is something we've been wanting to do for several games and just haven't been able to get it done right – is adding a level of interactivity into the maps. In Radiation, for example, you can press a button and the blast doors open [these provide access to a subterranean area which leads into a tunnel system]. If you're playing team deathmatch you'll probably want to keep them open, if you're on CTF, you'll want them shut – we're doing this sort of thing selectively, we don't do it in every map, we do it if it makes sense."
The new killstreaks are fun, adding new forms of air power in the shape of the attack helicopters and gunships, but also providing the surface-to-air missiles for a bit of protection. The RC-XD car is tricky to manoeuvre, and its blast distance is limited, but it's great fun, and being chased down an alley by one is a fraught experience, like being cornered by a charging facehugger. They're just as tricky to shoot, too. As for new weapons, I got a few round in with the crossbow, which you think will operate just like a sniper rifle, but is much more demanding – the bolts seem to shift in the wind, affecting accuracy, though this makes successful kills all the more satisfying.
The Wager levels could prove to the truly addictive additions. Gun Game, in which you progressively work your way through each weapon type, levelling up with every kill, is just so demanding, engrossing and frenetic – and the betting element, in which you wager your CoD points on finishing in the top three, will really have you grimacing over every missed shooting opportunity.
On the subject of CoD points, a few comments on my news piece yesterday asked why purchasable progression couldn't have been employed using XP points. So I put this question to Treyarch community manager Josh Olin, who told me, "we did think originally about just using XP, but it's not practical. I mean, if you lose XP, does the game de-level or downgrade you? Do you lose the items you just unlocked? What if you've just customised them? It would just be frustrating, it would really annoy players. That's why we integrated a currency system."
So, a solid set of maps, exhibiting all the features we expect from a CoD multiplayer landscape, but with new stuff like interactive switches, and timed events. The killstreaks balance each other well – I didn't see the attack dogs, but apparently they're an imposing sight. There were no radical re-thinks of how a multiplayer map should look, but then this is probably a quarter of what we'll eventually see. From this evidence, the genetic throughline of the CoD multiplayer experience has been upheld.
