For the first time in E3 history, Call of Duty was playable on the show floor. This naturally lead to ridiculously long waiting lines for the next installment in the insanely popular franchise. Thankfully, I’m someone who had appointment, so I luckily avoid that madness and got some good hands-on time with Black Ops III. Though this wasn’t the big change to the series that Activision has said it would be, it’s still CoD which means it’s still a top notch and fun shooter.
In my time, I got to play through two modes: Capture and Kill Confirmed. These two modes have been in the last few games. However, having the new high jump mechanic and the use of futuristic weapons (in addition to playing as a robot!) brings new life to modes which are about as standard CoD as you can get.
In both modes, we were divided into two teams who each had to score the most points to win. Capture had us capturing and defending three areas of the map. Kill Confirmed was interesting since your kills do not count unless you pick up the dog tags of your slain foes. Both modes took place on the same map which seemed to be a mountain top research facility.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not very good at CoD. In the past, I’d go entire rounds without so much as getting one kill. However, my time with Activision’s other big shooter, Destiny, helped me hone my FPS skills to a point where I did well to very well in the game. The fact that the Black Ops III also played a lot like Destiny and that it was much easier to kill opponents also contributed to my wins.
CoD fans have a notorious reputation for being meatheads who just want to run around killing each other. Unfortunately, the guys I played with lived up to this standard. During Capture, I was the only real one actually trying to capture positions. In Kill Confirmed, I snatched up dog tags off dead foes since my teammates didn’t even bother to pick them up. I killed who I needed to kill, but I tried to stick to the objectives and my team won because of that. It was kind of hilarious to see this stereotypical behavior play out before my eyes but I guess this reputation persists for a reason.
Call of Duty has long been associated with Xbox but now, things have changed thanks to the new exclusivity deal with Sony. I believe that the game was playable on the show floor, on PlayStation 4 consoles, because of this deal. Now, Black Ops III will still be available on the Xbox One, but Sony wants the hardcore CoD fan, as well as the misinformed, to see that the only home of the franchise is on PlayStation.
In the end, not much has really changed in Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s multiplayer, but that’s probably for the best. Say what you will, but this series has a formula that works and the developers won’t be quick to change it dramatically any time soon. However, the small changes do give the game a fresher feel, even if you’re essentially playing the same game you always have. As a non-CoD fan, I had fun, and I’m sure this will be another huge hit in the franchise.
