Review: Black Ops II DLC digest: Vengeance

When Treyarch began talking about Call of Duty: Black Ops II in early 2012, it was clear that Game Design Director David Vonderhaar and his team wanted to steer Activision’s first-person shooter in a different direction. Incorporating a campaign with branching storylines, a futuristic setting and Pick Ten, a fresh take on competitive multiplayer’s Create-A-Class model, Black Ops II is arguably the most innovative and ambitious entry in the franchise to date. Question is, will the developer’s downloadable packages follow suit? Or more importantly, perhaps, will they be worth your hard-earned money?

Our Black Ops II DLC digest series continues with Vengeance, the third of the game’s four planned map packs. To read June’s Uprising review, click here.

Fact sheet

Content:

• Four distinct multiplayer maps: Cove, Uplink, Rush and Detour
  
• One co-op environment for Zombies: Buried
• A bonus weapon for Zombies: The Ray Gun Mark II

Price*:

• Xbox LIVE: 1200 MS Points
• PlayStation Network and Steam: $15.00 / £11.59 / €14.45

Release date:

• Xbox 360: July 2nd, 2013
• PlayStation 3 and PC: August 1st, 2013

*Season Pass holders will receive this DLC free-of-charge

Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Cove

Swapping concrete for coconuts and power stations for palm trees, Cove maroons players on an isolated tropical island in the Indian Ocean. How to approach this Cast Away-inspired environment depends on your loadout. SMG and shotgun users gravitate towards the map’s centre, dashing amid rocky outcroppings and the remains of a crash-landed aeroplane, whereas snipers and AR users prefer to pick-off enemies from the sandy shorelines. Whichever approach you take, Scorestreaks will come easily as long as you keep the limitations of your class in mind.

Uplink                                                                                                        

Anyone familiar with 2010’s Black Ops will realise that Uplink is a reimagining of Summit, the snowy Russian research facility situated in the Ural Mountains. Layout-wise, everything is as it was three years ago; a two-tier technology centre housing computer terminals and server farms sits in the middle of the map, with open areas to the north and south, and connecting catwalks offering long sight lines either side. Even the infamous cable car to the north-west is present and correct, giving sneaky types somewhere to set up camp. The only differences to note here are the futuristic fixtures and fittings, and the foreboding thunderstorm that punctuates each match.

Rush

Like Revolution’s Grind, Rush is a product of Treyarch’s playful side. Staged in a gaudy paintball venue full of inflatable barriers, corroded containers and oversized tyres, this map was made for frenetic, reflex-testing engagements. Its snaking pathways expose players to gunfire from almost any angle, and so it’s imperative that you check your peripheries when darting between cover. To keep deaths to a minimum, pick a class with a Laser Sight attachment for better hip fire accuracy, and the Engineer perk for visibility of well-hidden lethal and tactical equipment.

Detour

Detour sees FBI and Mercenary forces go head-to-head for control of a damaged overpass on America’s east coast. The bridge’s straight-line composition might seem dull at first, but beneath the mangled cars and emergency barricades lies a traversable underbelly that can be used to flank the opposition. Detour truly shines in modes like Domination and Hard Point, where near static two-way fire fights that often happen in Team Deathmatch evolve into kinetic and erratic skirmishes. Just be careful not to fall to your death in the heat of battle…

Buried

Also known as Resolution 1295, Buried begins on a derelict mining site before taking the action underground to a forgotten Old West town. As one of the protagonists from TranZit and Die Rise, your goal is to find your way to the surface, which entails fending off reanimated corpses, navigating a haunted mansion, and befriending a towering hillbilly imprisoned in the local jail. Free the dungaree-wearing giant from his cell and he will help you flee the subterranean settlement in return for Booze and Candy, clearing obstructing debris and mashing the undead like a lanky Incredible Hulk.

As per previous expansions, Buried introduces a wealth of new game changers too. These include buildable defensive devices such as the Head Chopper (essentially a motorised saw on a stand) and the Subsurface Resonator (a gadget that emits powerful sound waves), a new Perk-a-Cola that lets players spot various things through walls, and a block of golden C4 that rewinds time when detonated.

The Ray Gun Mark II

The Ray Gun Mark II is the successor of the Ray Gun that first appeared in Call of Duty: World at War’s Zombies mode. By investing in Vengeance, this space-age firearm becomes available for use in every Black Ops II Zombies level, and can be obtained at random via the Mystery Box. It delivers a flesh-melting three-round burst with each pull of the trigger, and can be upgraded to the Porter’s Ray Gun Mark II using any Pack-a-Punch machine – upping its magazine size, ammo count and overall stopping power. Even though the original Ray Gun can down most foes in a single shot, the Mark II cuts through crowds like a knife through butter.

To buy, or not to buy?

True to form, the hearts and minds of Treyarch’s level designers have manufactured another add-on that does well to keep multiplayer boredom at bay. Time spent on Cove, Uplink, Rush and Detour proves satisfying and worthwhile irrespective of whether you’re a cool-headed casual player or an MLG wannabe, and the latest addition to the studio’s Zombies spin-off is sure to regale its fanbase.

My only complaint is with Buried’s convolutedness. Trying to repel decomposed hordes whilst tending to an enormous simpleton, locating parts for various buildables, and trying to figure out what to do when is a real struggle. That’s not to say the experience isn’t enjoyable, necessarily, but I do feel my success was heavily reliant on guesswork and trial and error, rather than a clear understanding of the task/s at hand. For me, there is simply too much going on at once.

Still, there is a lot fun to be had with Vengeance until the fourth and final DLC package Apocalypse arrives on Xbox 360 later this month, and PlayStation 3 in September. What more is there to say?

To buy, or not to buy? I say buy.