Call Of Duty - Black Ops - First Strike Map Pack - Is It Worth My Investment?

The COD Black Ops First Strike Map Pack dishes out four new maps for online multi player and one new map for the Zombie mode. As in the past, we see the Call of Duty DLC fleshing out the single player campaign locations for the multi-player online maps so some of these locations will look familiar if you have finished the campaign mode.



Zombie Map: Ascension

The Zombie map is titled Ascension and is set in a Soviet space rocket launch station. Like most Zombie maps, this one features a horde of undead trying to overwhelm your position inside the Soviet structure. Earning points for ammo and guns while unlocking more and more of the map stays true the popular Zombie genre. There are a few new unlockable items and most surprising is the presence of a new foe: the Soviet Monkey Cosmonaut!

Multi-player Maps:

Berlin Wall

This map is the most interesting location, historically speaking. Set along side the Berlin Wall, the east and west are divided by a forbidden area. There are three channels that allow you to cross this area but deviating from these paths will result in gun turrets taking you out from atop the walls. This map is full of corners, balconies, long corridors and other vantage points. Taking advantage of these spots usually allows you a higher score no matter the game mode you are in. Some game modes that shine on this map are Domination, Team Deathmatch and Headquarters.

Stadium

Stadium is probably the most generic of the new maps. Not so surprisingly (due to the tile) it is set just outside a Hockey Stadium. The map has a centrally located fountain, flaked by a few high window locations and several choke points leading to the fountain. Besides a couple of buildings there aren't really any interesting spaces to explore. While most game modes function well on this map always feel somewhat bored by it. It is best to move around in groups to better avoid being gunned down in all the open areas.

Discovery

Set in a snowy Antarctic Soviet Base (you may be wondering why the Soviets needed to travel to the bottom of the world to find another remote snowy location outside their own country) this Map is pretty creative with its use of pathways. One thing that I love about this map and I'd like to see used more is that the map gradually changes. This occurs when three of the six ways to cross the central ravine eventually collapse- because they are snow bridges. I'm not sure what makes them collapse, either foot traffic or explosions from grenades or C4, and they are still crossable with a well timed jump but taking out some of these snowbridges will slow down opponents. This is relevant to most game modes but can help your cause the most in a Capture the Flag setting by slowing down a flag runner or defender. I like this map because it has a dynamic layout and seems like a perfect size, not too big, not Nuke Town small. Discovery also really uses the maps location to create unique usable elements, like the already mentioned snow bridges, but additionally things like Ice Caves and catwalks make you feel like you are in a specific setting.

Kowloon

If you enjoyed the mad scramble across the Hong Kong rooftops in the single player mode you'll like this map. Although the Kowloon map is more limited in the amount of levels (height) then the single player setting it still creates an intriguing setting that is fun to play in. Kowloon takes advantage of its setting much like the Discovery map, using elements like small walkways and ziplines to create a setting unique to a urban rooftop. The map also references the close proximity to the airport when a jumbo jet rumbles overhead at the beginning of each game. This map is great of strategic games like Demolition, Headquarters and Domination but because of all the nooks and crannies there are usually a lot of people camping out in games like Team Deathmatch. The ziplines are a great addition to the multiplayer game and I hope we see more unique features like that in future Map Pack releases.

All in all, you're getting a familiar product from the Call of Duty people. But it's a good thing, most of the time, and it only adds more variety to the online experience.