A revolution?

The first add-on content pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Revolution, marks a first for the franchise, namely the addition of a new weapon. It will certainly not be the revolution that many users are hoping for, but in addition to the single gun, the American boys have been able to insert a good number of new elements to continue playing.

A revolution?

Next to the Peacekeeper (this is the name of the cross between an SMG and an assault rifle) we find four maps for multiplayer, one, very intricate, for Zombie, and a new game mode in which users will take off the role of survivors for wear the sagging bones of the undead. A package therefore undoubtedly interesting and well packaged.



The maps

The map that most pleasantly surprised us is Grind. The setting is very particular. We are inside a skate park, consequently the surface (not very large) is full of ramps, curved surfaces, and rises to get to the top of the "launch points". Ideally divided into two parts, an indoor structure that houses small training ramps and the real park that has nothing to envy to those seen in Tony Hawk, Grind has two very interesting peculiarities. The curved walls require us to use the roofs significantly different from the usual one. In this sense it is impossible to sneak up without exposing almost always a good part of the body.

A revolution?

In the same way, the level design requires us to use the grenades not only throwing them in a straight line towards the opponents or trying to saturate the area, but also making them slide gently on the ramps. Obviously we are not talking about something that changes a granite gameplay, but it is pleasant to see how a well thought out level design can make us review consolidated habits. What is certain is that when all the players are in the outer central area, the abundance of cover creates frantic clashes almost from close quarter. From the park on the Venice waterfront we arrive in the Gobi desert for Mirage. This map is probably the best of the lot. First of all it is the largest: the hotel complex devastated by the sandstorm makes us fight both in a gigantic room overlooked by balconies and real dunes as well as in the external areas between different huts and buildings. Here, too, the level design is really well thought out. The sand accumulated in the open allows us to climb on the roofs and therefore, rather than on the ground, gives us rather free lines of fire, giving way to sniping actions from a distance, while in the hotel room the different access points and above all the raised areas guarantee multiple streets and secluded areas, extending the different game approaches, which makes objective game modes very fun and "complicated".



It should also be noted that both inside and outside the aim is made unstable by the hollows of the sand, hitting targets while running is more difficult. A map therefore that reconciles the different souls of the game and that thanks to its generous dimensions lends itself mainly to games with the maximum number of players on the field. We remain in Asia with Hydro, but from China we move to Pakistan. The map is set in a dam and has as its most important feature, as we had already seen in Express, an area that does not remain fixed but that changes, impacting directly on the gameplay. If in the Express it was a train whizzing through the station, here is the water from the dam that once released floods the central area of ​​the map, killing all those who were not quick to move to the areas before or below. Definitely symmetrical in its design Hydro is among all the contents released in Revolution the most "anonymous", which will most likely be the least played of the package.

A revolution?

It is not that it does not work, but the impression is that, despite a rather intricate design, between indoor areas, secluded passages and lines of fire broken by numerous obstacles, with or without flooding, it is the least fascinating map, the most "normal" "of the lot. Europe, or rather the French Alps, are the protagonists of Downhill, a snow-covered map that reminds us of the icy atmospheres of the Summit of the first Black Ops. Here, too, we must take into account an "interactive" part of the battleground. That is a cable car that shuttles between two stations and which, in addition to offering a mobile shelter, instantly kills the unfortunate person who has not noticed that he is on its way. In addition to the indoor areas that offer the usual gameplay made of frantic shootings between corridors and blind spots, the outdoor part is the most interesting of the map, uphill and with rather clean and long lines of fire. Here, too, we find a good number of secondary routes and defilations, for a map that is undoubtedly less anonymous than Hydro but which does not have that little bit extra like Grind and Mirage. Well done, but definitely not the high point of the lot.



All the rest

Regarding the Peacekeeper we can say that it did not give us the impression of being an unbalanced weapon, given its being halfway between an SMG and an assault rifle. With the large volume of fire and the recoil that is felt, Peacekeeper is also quite accurate from a distance, a practically perfect weapon in maps in which different types of approach to firefights are combined. Luckily without ever resulting in being overpowered, both in the close quarter and in clashes where great aiming accuracy is required. In short, an average weapon.

A revolution?

If the new content of competitive multiplayer offers the usual, excellent package, but without significant additions, Zombie instead makes the DLC leap in quality. The Die Rise map is the exact opposite of what has been played so far: characterized by a strong verticality and an intricate and twisted level design, more generally it requires a lot of attention (and good memory) to the player. Instead of placing us in a flat environment, Die Rise puts us on top of a building that falls apart, our task is to get to the ground, using both the elevator and the crumbling flights of stairs, jumping from one structure to the other. other, and being careful not to fall into the void since in the first few bars we will not know if turning a corner we will find a corridor or a nice unexpected abyss. It goes without saying that there is no single way to get to the end and never as in this case, given the cramped spaces and the labyrinthine level design, team play is the only way to survive. Whoever is left behind, maybe a floor higher is meat for zombies. We liked Die Rise, but the new Turned mode impressed us even more. The concept is as simple as overused we could say.



A revolution?

We all start out as zombies, the first to find the cure becomes human and will have to survive as long as possible. All it takes is one of the zombies touches him to turn him into rotting flesh while he in turn will come back alive and well. To complicate everything, Treyarch has made zombies faster than the living, but the latter gain a more powerful weapon with each kill, albeit very slow in reloading. At the end of the round, the winner is the one who has been human the most times and who has scored the most kills. A very fast, frenetic and fun mode, with a rhythm in some ways similar to the most agitated phases of the "competitive" mode of Zombie, balanced in finding what seems to be the middle ground between the pros and cons of the two factions. The only thing that has left us perplexed is that it is only possible to play it on one map. Sin. Revolution or not, Treyarch has been able to create an undoubtedly interesting first DLC, capable of meeting all types of players. The package is well worth the purchase by anyone who plays Call of Duty: Black Ops II on a daily basis. The quality is well spread both in the competitive multiplayer maps and in the exciting Zombie additions, without obviously forgetting the introduction, almost a sop though, of the new SMG Peacekeeper.

Comment

Version tested: Xbox 360 Digital Delivery: Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, Nintendo eShop, Steam Price: 1200 Microsoft Points, € 13,99
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Readers (34)

5.2

Your vote

PRO

  • Usual, excellent level design
  • Die Rise and Turned are the highlight of the DLC
AGAINST
  • New: a weapon! Well, we want more
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