With the Call of Duty: Black Ops III beta on its last legs, one last evaluation seems to be in order before this old girl rides off into the sunset, only to return to us in November with a shiny new saddle and freshly-brushed teeth.
This piece isn’t meant to be a formal review, more like an organization of my own thoughts, impressions, and feelings about the game. I had a good time with the game, and I think that the folks over at Treyarch deserve some praise for their successful experience. However, while the beta was mostly successful, there are a few grievances I would like to air on my tiny little soapbox.
Character Customization
The ‘Pick 10’ system that Treyarch has stuck to for the past couple of games is great and allows for deep customization without confusing the player with too many options. Players can choose any 10 items (guns, grenades, perks, secondary weapons, etc.) and incorporate them into each given class; whether you want a pimped-out submachine gun or if you only want to go in with a pistol and a pair of underwear, the pick 10 system allows you to play the way you want to play.
The Specialist perks are a nice addition and while the powers certainly make an impact on the game, they don’t greatly imbalance that game. Unlike traditional killstreaks, these specialist perks are unlocked via a timer and can be used multiple times a match. These perks range from a short-ranged UAV / Thermal vision pulse to body armor that prevents bullet damage for a very short period of time.
Movement & Control
Like its other Call of Duty brethren, Black Ops III is a benchmark of tight controls; character movement is quick and precise and guns work like they’re supposed to. Even the additions of the thruster packs and power slides fit nicely into the game’s environment and don’t feel like tacked-on and useless additions. The powerslide is a great way to get around tight corners without giving up weapon control and the thruster pack adds an element of vertical movement to matches. Both of these elements are well executed allow for players to change their tactics up a little bit.
However, the newly added wall-running didn’t receive the nice polish that the rest of the game received. Running on walls feels stiff and tight, and extra actions like jumping and shooting are hard to execute while running against the walls. It works on a very basic level, but it could certainly use a bit of fine-tuning.
Combat
Combat is smooth, quick, and certainly lives up to the Call of Duty brand. Time to kill is short, but the fast-paced movement and the additional of the power slide still allow for evasion and retreat from conflicts that really aren’t going your way. Like its predecessors, Black Ops III greatly favors submachine guns and assault rifles over sniper rifles and light machine guns; the maps lack huge open spaces and are more likely to be populated with tight rooms and jagged hallways. However, I’ve found that shotguns are a tad more useful here than they’ve been before. With the added maneuverability, players can more easily get up close to enemy players and take them out with a close-range weapon.
While the gun on gun combat is still fast paced, scorestreaks and killstreaks have been slowed down considerably when compared to older Call of Duty titles. The streaks aren’t as flashy nor as deadly as the Modern Warfare games and don’t impact the flow of matches as dramatically as before. The necessary number of points needed to earn even the UAV have been raised, making Team Deathmatch feel a little barren and boring. However, scorestreaks are much more useful and more easily earned in objective game modes where sources of points aren’t so barren.
Map Design
These maps function, but they’re aren’t the easiest things to get used to. The maps’ basic designs harken back to earlier Black Ops and other older Call of Duty entries; the maps roughly adhere to understandable grid formations and have predictable traffic patterns.
Because of the addition of the thruster pack however, now vertical movement plays a large part in controlling and traversing the maps of Black Ops III, an addition that makes learning these maps harder than in previous Call of Duty titles. Whereas in older Call of Duty games (other than Advanced Warfare) where maps where relatively flat, these maps have much more emphasis on vertical movement and on moving between elevation levels. While the vertical movement isn’t as extreme here as it is in other games (like Titanfall), it could be quite jarring for Call of Duty players who have gotten used to the map layouts of the previous games.
The new maps layouts aren’t bad, but they get some getting used to. I can’t say if I like it better than the more linear maps or not, but it certainly took me for a spin for the first few matches.
Conclusion
Overall, I very much enjoyed my time with the Black Ops III beta and would very happy if the final release mirrored my experience with the beta, albeit with a few minor tweaks (wall running, *cough*). This is very much Call of Duty at the top of its game, but I don’t think that will be enough to sway the countless number of anti-fans that this game has. If you’re a fan of Call of Duty this is a welcome return to former glory; I really enjoyed my time with the beta and I look forward to the full release on November 6th!