The Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Awakening DLC has finally arrived on the PS4 about a week ago, and it came with four new maps called Skyjacked, Splash, Gauntlet and Rise, along with the zombie map Der Eisendrache, the follow-up to The Giant.
Plenty of gamers all over the world have gotten their hands on the first of many additional content packs, and here's what they have to say about their experience on the new battlefields.
Skyjacked
First things first, Skyjacked is basically a remake of the Hijacked map in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. It's virtually the same as the original in almost every aspect, but it has some adjustments here and there to accommodate the new wall-running and jet-pack gameplay.
While a modernized version of one of the most popular maps in Black Ops 2 seems like it will definitely be a big hit, some say otherwise.
"Skyjacked represents some of the worst aspects of Call of Duty map design. I'm not a fan of levels that funnel the action into one area, and both this map and Hijacked are guilty of doing that. The middle of the ship emphasizes twitch-shooting instead of actual strategy, and it's all too easy for the action to devolve into a mess," Eric Hall of We Got This Covered says.
Splash
Splash stands out from the bunch because it introduces players to a different setting compared to the usual militaristic environment of the series. To be exact, it's a waterpark warzone. As everyone can imagine, it features all the colorful twisty slides, pools and party decorations. It's a bit of a shame to riddle these sights with bullet holes, but that could be what Treyarch wants players to do.
"It's colorful, with interesting routes through shops and down slides. Each end of the map has a nice open area where some longshots can be achieved, as well as tight close quarter sections through the shopping outlets and waterslides. As you'd expect in a water park, there are plenty of areas for the underwater combat that Black Ops 3 has introduced, and I still get a little gleeful when I manage to get one of these," God is a Geek's Nicola Ardron writes.
Gauntlet
Gauntlet features a three-lane setup to get in on the action, where it seems to be more like a mashed-up military training zone with three distinct locations: a snowy area, a jungle and an urban area.
"These settings in turn are staples of all Call of Duty games and the whole thing feels like a celebration of the whole franchise in just one map. The actual design can be a bit flat, with little chance to get above the action, but it's still a fun map without all the gimmicks," GameCentral for Metro.co.uk says.
Rise
Rise takes players to an industrial site, and just like Gauntlet, it also features a three-lane approach where players have the option to go in stealth mode underwater or go in on the other, more compact side for some good ol' wall running.
Despite having some similarities with the popular Gauntlet map, players generally prefer the other maps over this one.
"This is a fun map, but it is not my favorite in the new series of gameplay. It feels like it could be a fun one to play objective games on. Rise is a large map, and so is Gauntlet, but the layout of Gauntlet feels tighter," Josh Smith of GottaBeMobile remarks.
Der Eisendrache
Set in World War II, Der Eisendrache definitely takes some cues from Wolfenstein. It's a pretty large map filled with tons of secrets to uncover, making it quite the fun map. Also, it's centered on Richtofen, Nikolai, Takeo and Dempsey, the classic team.
"The Second World War setting and Wolfenstein-esque castle will mean fans will feel right at home, although some might [have] been hoping for more Shadows of Evil-style escapades," Gary Jones of the Daily Express says.
It's also worth mentioning that Rashid Sayed of GamingBolt compiled secrets and tips in getting around Der Eisendrache, creating a DLC mega guide.
A Closer Look
The crew at VideoGamer sat down and played the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Awakening DLC extensively, uploading a 1-hour stream of their take on the update. Don't forget to check it out to get a better view of what the game has in store now.
