14 DAY TRIAL // Call of Duty needs to reinvent itself, to some extent, every year to be successful while also keeping long-term fans satisfied, and the new multiplayer beta for Black Ops 3, currently running only on the PlayStation 4, is a good indication that Treyarch has hit on a winning formula for the coming shooter.
One of the elements of the game that makes the biggest initial impact is the movement system, which Treyarch says was designed to offer more fluidity and to encourage players to keep momentum and to always have their weapon ready to fire.
After a number of hours of constant battle I can say that Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is very fast, probably more dynamic than any other entry in the series, mainly because of the boost, which can be used to enhance almost any move the player is executing, and because of the wall running.
The speed takes some time to get accustomed to and I got killed a lot by gamers I could barely even see coming, but after a while it all clicks in and the movement becomes the focus of the entire experience.
The maps, which seem to be designed to encourage running battles and to limit camping, are well suited to the new style and Treyarch has clearly listened to the community, creating environments that mix elements and force the player to adapt in order to be successful.
Specialists change the way gamers prepare for combat
The Specialists are an entirely new addition to multiplayer, basically characters that gamers can choose from before deciding on the rest of the match setup, each coming with a unique ability and a weapon.
During my first few matches, I was entirely unable to both take care of my own movement and spot enemies and I was a giant liability for my teams.
That changed after a few hours, after I became more familiar with the maps and the way my chosen character, Prophet, should approach a fight.
But even if we are only on the first day of testing on the PS4, there are players who have already become very proficient and tend to dominate the battlefield regardless of the mode or map.
Seeing them in action is inspirational, given how they manage to cross the levels and find new ways to approach their enemies, but it is also intimidating because it’s clear that most gamers will have to put in a lot of work to reach that level.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is offering an exciting multiplayer experience, but the focus on movement and surprise attacks might turn off a lot of players in the long term, mainly because it will ask the community to perfectly learn the maps before they can be effective in combat.
A beta period does not offer enough time to fully explore all the possible options that Specialists open up, but I suspect most gamers will choose one character and stick with him in the long term.
The customization in Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is offered via the Gunsmith and the Paint Shop, both of which offer some cool ideas but did not capture my attention, probably because of how exciting actual combat is.
Call of Duty looks better than it ever did
The graphics of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 represent a clear leap in terms of both quality and violence for the series.
The characters and the maps look futuristic and are filled with small details, most of which players will be hard pressed to observe in the middle of the fast paced action.
Grenades and explosions also create much more mayhem than in previous entries, and the reactions characters have to weapon fire and special abilities are also a joy to behold, even if they will certainly become a little repetitive in the long term.
The matchmaking and network code the development team has created also seem solid at the moment, with most matches getting filled fast, although the level of competence for gamers can vary a lot, given that this is a beta period.
I takes at least two to three hours of death and disappointment to get a hang of the core mechanics and balance the kill-death ratio.
The game modes that can be tested include: Team Deathmatch, Domination, Demolition, Kill Confirmed, Hardpoint, Capture the Flag, and Search & Destroy.
All the core mechanics of the experience, including the Specialists, the Scorestreaks and the customization options, are present.
At the moment, the multiplayer beta for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is offered on the PlayStation 4, where gamers can play it for five days, and on August 26 the same content can also be tried out on the Xbox One and the PC.
The first-person shooter will be launched on all these platforms, as well as older home consoles, on November 6 of this year.
