Texan Mosaic

by: RILEY GOLDEN/Editorial Assistant

The year is 2065.  Technology is a large part of warfare and espionage, the world is being ravaged by biochemical warfare and climate change.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops III” begins with the player and your A.I. companion, Jacob Hendricks, breaking into the Nile River Coalitions’ prison to rescue Egyptian Minister Said.

Without spoiling anything, the player becomes a cyborg – by any and every definition of the term. After this, you’re able to pick between three different power cores, each of them having a different set of abilities that are geared toward a specific theme.

That being said, aside from the appearance of Chris Meloni from “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, ” the campaign was rather dry, boring even. This campaign stands out in the “Call of Duty” series for one reason: it isn’t engaging. It doesn’t pull you in and keep you entertained enough to stay. That is really disappointing to me, because I have thoroughly enjoyed the other campaigns. That’s not to say that all of the aspects of the game were a let down.

The award-winning “Zombies” mode returns with an all-new co-op story, characters, and, of course, guns. The same points system is in place—zombie kills, rebuilding barriers, and reviving your downed teammates all build up points so that you can get new guns and unlock new areas of the map. My one problem with the fun zombie-slaying mode is that the map is huge and there’s no direction. There are so many doors and gates to unlock that you will feel like you’ve gotten lost in a maze. Still, it’s an enjoyable mode to play with some friends. But, so is the multiplayer.

The multiplayer is the star of this game. Tryarch, the developer of the “Black Ops” sub-series, has toned down the jetpacks introduced in last year’s “Advanced Warfare,” and brought back a more fundamental “Call of Duty” experience. I am overjoyed by Tryarch having returned to unlocking weapon camos via headshots, instead of with other random challenges like in “Advanced Warfare.” The traditional “Black Ops,” “Create-a-Class,” has returned with the 10-point system– every weapon, perk, and attachment is worth one point, and it maxes out at 10.

Also introduced for the first time are “Specialists.” There are 13 different “Specialists,” and they determine what your super-soldier will look like and what your special ability will be. Each “Specialist” has two abilities. For instance, the “Ruin Specialist” has the ability to run extremely fast for a set amount of time, or use “Gravity-Spikes” that create a shockwave that kills every enemy player within a certain radius. Another “Specialist” is the “Prophet,” who has the ability to either “Glitch” a certain distance back from your current location, or wield a powerful electric-rifle that is a guaranteed one-shot kill. And that barely scratches the surface of the “Specialists.” This is one of the best multiplayer experiences I have had in a good two to three years.

Of course, you aren’t going to like every map in every game. But I enjoy the majority of these maps. The redone “Nuk3town 2065,” is classic and beautifully futuristic at the same time. Another of my favorite maps is a wooded area that surrounds a bunker, called “Redwood.”

Aside from the rather disappointing campaign, “Call of Duty: Black Ops III,” makes up for it with an amazing multiplayer experience. The multiplayer alone earns this game a solid 4 out of 5 from me.