Mobility of the Gods (or at the very least, Titanfall)
As First Person Shooters become more and more advanced, new methods of movement are needed to keep the genre fresh. Call of Duty as a whole has evolved bit by bit over time, borrowing elements from other shooters. Smoother navigation of obstacles, double jumps, jet packs, power strafing, and more have found their way into recent franchise entries, and Black Ops III looks to combine it all for one insane experience.
Wall-running, multiple jumps (not just double), gliding, and more help to make Black Ops III the smoothest, freest game in the series thus far. And the game is being built around that fact if the levels available in the current beta are any sign. Each area now has many more points of entry than in previous games, and there are even pathways set over perilous obstacles. You can enter an enemy point from the front door, or take your chances running on the series of walls set over a treacherous cavern to sneak up from behind.
A nice touch is that you never really feel stuck, which was sometimes an issue in previous games. Getting caught climbing or in the air, wasn’t a very fun way to die. The speed and power provided to soldiers in Black Ops III makes everything quick and easy. Which means you get to feel like a deadly badass no matter where you may find yourself.
Specialist Abilities
Taking a page directly out of Destiny, Black Ops III adds a bit of strategy to the whole shoot-everything-moving affair. This comes in the form of Specialist abilities. Specialists are essentially your class, although they all play relatively the same. The only major difference comes in the form of your chosen ability. These are highly powerful abilities that can give you a temporary edge in combat, and often lead to the gruesome death of your adversaries.
For instance, the Outrider has an ability called Sparrow that gives that player a single shot with a very accurate explosive arrow. It’s an easy way to take out somebody powerful, or a group of unsuspecting enemies standing too close to one another. Or to just look like a total badass archer in the final kill screen.
What makes these abilities interesting is that they are separate from the kill streaks and can be powered up over several deaths providing everyone a chance to trigger one. Of course, they aren’t as easy to use as just hitting a button and boom your opponent dies. Each of these abilities requires skill and finesse, and you can easily be killed in the middle of triggering one.
Weapon Customization Just Got Crazier
Call of Duty has always been about self-expression. Whether it’s through 360 no-scope montages being posted up on YouTube, customized emblems, or, in the case of Black Ops III, completely tricked out guns. No more will you just be choosing attachments and a skin for your weapon. And having to reach a certain level to put your emblem on the back? That’s gone, too.
Players are now able to paint their death dealing tools of the trade with unique designs just like when they made their own custom-built emblems in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Now, Kill Cams and dropped weapons will have a bit more character to them aside from some DLC skins that everybody has. Put your mark on your gun alongside some deadly attachments and have a truly one of a kind weapon.
To some, this may not seem like a bid deal, but if you take the time to look at all of the emblems in Call of Duty: Black Ops II and see the artistry there, you’ll instantly understand why this move by Treyarch is such a big deal with Black Ops III.
Mobility, combat, and expression have been stepped up once again, and that’s only in the multiplayer portion of Call of Duty: Black Ops III. There is still a massive single player campaign and an all new Zombies experience.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III is shaping up to be something really special. Let’s hope that there are more additions that show just how much Treyarch is looking to turn over a new leaf for one of gaming’s biggest franchises.
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