Zoo
You'd never guess it by looking at the name, but Zoo takes place in an abandoned...zoo. Though the games were made by different developers, this reminds me of Carnival from Modern Warfare 2. It's a wacky kind of arena with a definite theme-park vibe going on. The coolest part of the level is a second-story railroad track that you can walk on; it makes you a bit of an obvious target but fun momentarily nonetheless. Zoo isn't my favorite of the new maps, but I certainly prefer it to some of the original levels within Black Ops.
Hotel
Hotel is brilliant. Basically the entire stage takes place at the very top of a building, in a sort of resort/casino area. The central location of the area contains a pool and poolhouse, as well as a locker room to hide in. Each building has it's own symmetrical sniping location, though it's best avoided. There are also elevators in the stage, which adds a nice bit of surprise and strategy (hint: claymores + elevators = hilarity). Hotel is my favorite addition in this map pack, possibly because I often performed best on this stage.
Convoy
Serving as a economical counterpoint to Hotel, Convoy takes place in a run-down suburb with a crappy motel to camp in. The most notable location on the map is a large bridge where most of the action occurs near. This bridge was great, as it wasn't simply a means of transportation from one part of the map to another, but practically the majority of the map. Above each side of the map is an area you can climb onto, cracks on the bridge offer flanking locations and nearby buildings offer vantage points to take out wandering bridge-users. Not the flashiest of maps, but another good addition for sure.
Stockpile
Probably for the better, Stockpile is the most uninteresting map included with Escalation. And yet it's great. While completely “typical” of a map in an FPS, it makes sense. Not every map can have an obvious gimmick or take place in some bizarre location. Stockpile also accommodated my “up close and stupid” style of play, despite offering several hiding places for mid to long rage gunners. Near the middle of the level is a small warehouse with a door that can be shut or closed at the press of a nearby button. Somehow shooting people as they opened the door never got old.
Call of the Dead
Honestly, Zombie mode is the reason I began enjoying Treyarch's Call of Duty games in the first place. And for that reason I looked forward to Call of the Dead the most. The online competitive multiplayer is definitely the main attraction with Black Ops, but Zombie mode is painfully addicting. Continuing a good trend, Call of the Dead is covered in secrets, easter eggs and rooms to explore. Extremely large, it's easy to got lost in such a place; and finding a logical safe room felt somewhat impossible. Other than being a great stage occurring in Siberia near a large boat, Call of the Dead is the most unique Zombie map we've seen yet. This of course being due to the inclusion of four celebrities as the playable characters in the game, and famous producer George Romero being a boss enemy. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Danny Trejo, Robert Englund and Michael Rooker make up the cast. And you thought Castro was a cool character!
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Graphics |
N/A |
The core graphics haven't been tampered with, though the level-design and new assets look great. |
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Audio |
N/A |
The voice-acting in Call of the Dead is simply fantastic. |
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Single Player |
N/A |
You can play the Escalation map pack solo but..what the hell? |
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Multiplayer |
N/A |
Four new maps add fresh breath to a game that may have grown stale for many. |
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Replay |
N/A |
Between the new multiplayer levels and Call of the Dead this is loaded with replayability. |
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Overall |
9.0 |
Expensive like usual, but of a higher quality than typical map packs. |
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