Treyarch have held an event in LA in order to unveil new information and to show off four new deathmatch maps for the up and coming Call of Duty: Black Ops.
The maps they had on show were: Cracked, a war torn urban landscape. Launch, a facility littered with scaffolding-covered towers. Radiation, a Soviet style nuclear facility. And Summit, a remote mountain base.
A lot of people around the net have been poring over the details to find every scrap of info that was given away. So here are some of the more interesting bits:
The game uses a points system known as Call of Duty Points (CP), which you earn for every game you play. Once you have them they can then be used to unlock things like new levels, weapons and equipment. So instead of unlocking levels in the old way you will now essentially have to buy access to them with these points. On top of that, you can actually gamble with these points. So, if you think you are going to win a match you can up the ante and gamble some of your points on you winning. Then at the end of play the top three players split the points that were in the pot. As you will have more to win (or loss) on these matches it should definitely add a little extra excitement to the game.
Treyarch have also tried to create a new level of customization. Almost everything, such as weapons like Snipers and shotguns can now be customized. Players will also have the option of a special attachment for their weapons. Using this they will be able to place clan tags, decals and other things onto their weapons. There will also an Emblem editor. If you want more info the Black Ops blog have done a good job of breaking it down.
Along with the extra customizations Treyarch are also looking for a higher level of interactivity in the levels, as Vonderhaar from the development team explains: "The innovation we're trying here – and this is something we've been wanting to do for several games and just haven't been able to get it done right – is adding a level of interactivity into the maps. In Radiation, for example, you can press a button and the blast doors open [these provide access to a subterranean area which leads into a tunnel system]. If you're playing team deathmatch you'll probably want to keep them open, if you're on CTF, you'll want them shut – we're doing this sort of thing selectively, we don't do it in every map, we do it if it makes sense."
All in all, Treyarch really seem to being trying hard to add something new to their multiplayer experience with Black Ops. The game is due out on all three platforms on November 9.
