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Call of Duty: Black Ops III is a 2015 first-person shooter video game, developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It is the twelfth entry in the Call of Duty series and the sequel to the 2012 video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on November 6, 2015. A feature-limited version developed by Beenox and Mercenary Technology that only supports multiplayer modes was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and was also the final Call of Duty title released on those platforms.

Black Ops III takes place in 2065, 40 years after the events of Black Ops II, in a world facing upheaval from climate change and new technologies. Similar to its predecessors, the story follows a group of black ops soldiers. The game's campaign is designed to support 4-player cooperative gameplay, allowing for bigger, more open level design and less corridor shooting. As the player character is cybernetically enhanced, players have access to various special activities. The game also features a standalone Zombies campaign mode, and a "Nightmares" mode which replaces all enemies as zombies.

Announced on April 26, 2015, the game is the first Call of Duty video game released after Activision parted with Microsoft Studios and partnered with Sony Computer Entertainment, which secured the timed exclusivity of the game's downloadable content. Upon release, the game received generally positive reviews from critics, praising the gameplay, Zombies mode, and amount of content. However, it was also criticized for its story, absence of fan favorite story mode characters, and lack of innovation. The seventh-generation console versions in particular were singled-out for their lack of a campaign and numerous features, as well as them being online-only. It was a commercial success, with it becoming the top-selling retail game in the US in 2015, and one of the most successful titles released for the eighth generation of video game consoles.

A sequel, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, was released in October 2018.

Gameplay[edit]

Campaign[edit]

The campaign in Black Ops III is designed to support 4-player cooperative gameplay, allowing for bigger, more open level design and less corridor shooting. In addition, the player can customize their character's appearance and clothing. The campaign features its own progression system, featuring unlock tokens which must be used to acquire different weapons and gears as they progress through the campaign.^[2] The game features a "realistic" difficulty mode, in which players will get defeated if they are hit by one bullet.^[3] Finishing all campaign missions will also unlock "Nightmares" mode, where players can replay the entire campaign with a new narrative, as well as zombies replacing most of the normal enemies.

Multiplayer[edit]

The multiplayer introduces a new momentum based movement system, which utilizes thruster packs to allow players to perform slow boosts into the air, as well as perform wall running and sliding, all the while giving players complete gun control.^[4] In addition to the Pick 10 class system from Black Ops II, Treyarch implemented a character system called "Specialists", where players can pick from 9 different soldiers, each with either a special weapon or ability unique to them. In a later update, a tenth specialist named Blackjack was added to the game. Blackjack is able to mimic the abilities of other specialists, and is only playable for a short amount of time upon completing a set of challenges.^[5][6] A new "Gunsmith" feature offers aesthetic variations in weapon attachments, allowing various weapon customization combinations.^[7] The Paintshop feature allows players to create their own custom prints onto specific portions of a gun, further emphasizing the depth of customization in the game.^[8]

Zombies[edit]

Zombies features a new XP progression system, which allows players to unlock items in a similar fashion to multiplayer and campaign. Unlockable items include "Gobblegums", which grant players with temporary bonuses, and weapon kits that allow players to modify the appearance and attributes of the guns with various camos and attachments. Shadows of Evil was revealed as a new map for the Zombies mode on July 9, 2015 at San Diego Comic-Con International 2015.^[9] The map features four brand new characters: Nero the Magician, Jessica the Femme Fatale, Vincent the Cop and Campbell the Boxer as the main cast, and takes place in a new setting called Morg City.^[10] "The Giant" includes the original characters, Tank Dempsey, Edward Richtofen, Nikolai Belinski and Takeo Masaki. These characters return from the Black Ops II map "Origins", in their alternate timeline versions. They reappear in the DLC maps "The Giant", "Der Eisendrache", "Zetsubou no Shima", "Gorod Krovi" and "Revelations". The zombies gamemode involves a story, which links with every DLC. On May 16, 2017 Treyarch released a fifth DLC including the remastered versions of Zombies maps from their previous Call of Duty games, called "Zombies Chronicles". These maps are "Nacht der Untoten", "Verrückt", "Shi No Numa", "Kino der Toten", "Ascension", "Shangri La", "Moon" and "Origins". These maps retain most of the original aesthetics updated with Black Ops III's graphics engine, while also add in the gameplay elements of Black Ops III, such as Gobblegums and Weapon Kits.^[11]

Plot[edit]

Single-player campaign[edit]

Setting and characters[edit]

Call of Duty: Black Ops III takes place in 2065, 40 years after the events of Black Ops II, in a world facing upheaval from conflicts, climate change and new technologies. A Third Cold War is ongoing between two global alliances, known as Winslow Accord and Common Defense Pact. In response to the drone assaults caused by the Nicaraguan narco-terrorist Raul Menendez in 2025, several countries around the world have developed Directed Energy Air Defense systems that render conventional air forces virtually useless. As such, most of the warfare between countries is done by covert operatives fighting behind enemy lines. Military technology has progressed to the point where robotics play a major role in combat, and both fully robotic humanoid drones and cyborg supersoldiers have been developed to fight in the battlefield. There is speculation and fear about an eventual robotic takeover.

Like previous installments in the Black Ops series, the campaign follows a team of black ops soldiers,^[12] who work for Winslow Accord. The player character (voiced by Ben Browder if male and Abby Brammell if female) and Jacob Hendricks (Sean Douglas) are members of the faction's wetwork team, while Commander John Taylor (Christopher Meloni) and his team Sebastian Diaz (Reynaldo Gallegos), Sarah Hall (Katee Sackhoff), and Peter Maretti (Ary Katz), compose the faction's cybernetics division.^[13][14]Rachel Kimsey voices CIA agent Rachel Kane, Robert Picardo voices the Coalescence Corporation CEO Sebastian Krueger, Tony Amendola voices the therapist Dr. Yousef Salim, and Lynn Chen voices the 54 Immortals criminal organization leader, Goh Xiulan. NFL running back Marshawn Lynch makes a cameo appearance in the game as a 54 Immortals mercenary.

Included in the game is the "Nightmares" campaign mode, which is a retelling of the main campaign with the plot changed to incorporate zombies and other supernatural beings. In this campaign, the lethal Virus 61-15 is released in various cities around the world, turning whoever it infects into zombies. In response, the governments of the world seal off the worst infected areas into Quarantine Zones and form the Deadkillers, cybernetic soldiers trained to exterminate zombies.

Story[edit]

On October 27, 2065, the Winslow Accord black ops initiate a successful mission in Ethiopia to rescue hostages from the tyrannical Nile River Coalition. However, the Player is critically wounded by a combat robot. Rescued by Taylor, the Player undergoes cybernetic surgery to save their life, being installed with a direct neural interface (DNI) and receiving virtual training from Taylor and his team during surgery. Hendricks also undergoes surgery.

After five years of wetwork, the Player and Hendricks are put under the command of Rachel Kane and tasked with investigating a CIA black site in Singapore that has gone quiet. They find the site attacked by the 54 Immortals and the site's data stolen. Kane concludes that Taylor and his team defected and murdered the staff. The Player and Hendricks then disguise themselves as arms dealers and meet up with the 54 Immortals. The mission goes awry when their cover is blown, causing the death of one of the 54i's leaders, Goh Min. They manage to recover data regarding Taylor's last known location, a facility of the Coalescence Corporation in Singapore (destroyed ten years prior in a mysterious explosion that killed 300,000 people and turned most of the island's east inhospitable).

The Player and Hendricks travel to the facility, and discover a hidden CIA research laboratory. The pair find Diaz leaking CIA information and are forced to kill him. Interfacing with Diaz's DNI, Hendricks discovers Taylor is trying to find the survivors of the explosion: Sebastian Krueger and Dr. Yousef Salim. The leaked information allows the Immortals to capture Kane. The Player disobeys Kane's orders to leave and rescues her by killing Immortals' other leader, Goh Min's sister Xiulan. The trio then head to Egypt and find Salim, who reveals that he performed secret DNI experiments involving comforting humans via a calming exercise involving imagining a frozen forest.

Salim is then interrogated and executed by Taylor. The Player, Hendricks and Kane pursue Taylor with assistance from the Egyptian Army. After killing Hall, the Player connects to her DNI and encounters Corvus, a gestalt intelligence created during the experiments to monitor thoughts of DNI users which malfunctioned, causing the explosion. Infecting Taylor and his team, Corvus made them obsessed with finding the forest, with the Player and Hendricks also becoming infected after interfacing with Hall and Diaz.

After killing Maretti, the pair track down Taylor in Cairo. After wounding the Player, Taylor manages to resist Corvus and tear his DNI out, sparing the Player. However, Hendricks then succumbs to Corvus and kills Taylor before abandoning the Player, leaving for Zürich to find Krueger. The Player races to Zürich with Kane to stop him. Reaching Zürich's Coalescence Corporation, the pair find Corvus caused the explosion with the gas Nova 6. Kane attempts to contain it, but Corvus locks her in the compound room, leaking the gas to kill her in front of a helpless Player.

Continuing on, the Player finds Hendricks holding Krueger hostage. After Hendricks kills Krueger, the Player kills him in turn. The Player then tries to kill themselves to end Corvus' infection, but ends up in a simulated frozen forest, created by Corvus to retain the consciousness of dead DNI users. Taylor, still alive after becoming a glitch in the forest, reunites with the Player, stating that they must purge their DNI to end Corvus. With Taylor's help, the Player resists Corvus' last-ditch manipulation and purges their DNI, erasing the virus. Stumbling out of the Zurich headquarters, the Player identifies themselves to Zürich Security Forces as "Taylor".

Reality[edit]

Taylor's mission reports reveal that the Player actually died during their cybernetics surgery during the mission New World, due to complications. The resulting events until Taylor's death occur in a simulation deviating from Taylor and Hendricks's experience of hunting down Dylan Stone and his team (Javier Ramirez, Alice Conrad, and Joseph Fierro), their teammates who defected after finding the CIA black site. The Player's consciousness is shown living in Taylor's mind throughout the simulation, indicating that the Player manages to take over Taylor's body after his simulated death until the DNI purge sees Corvus and the Player erased as Taylor regains control.

Nightmares[edit]

The Player wakes up only to be told by Dr. Salim that they are dead, and that the Player must recount their memories. The Player tells Dr. Salim that they are a Deadkiller who was sent to investigate the disappearance of Taylor's Deadkiller team. However, upon investigating, the Player and Hendricks discover that Taylor's team has used their DNI connections to disable the Quarantine Zone defenses all over the world. Teaming up with Rachel Kane, the Player and Hendricks chase Taylor's team all from Singapore to Egypt, eventually being forced to kill the entire team. However, Hendricks is infected by the same virus that turned Taylor and his team mad, and heads for Zurich. The Player discovers that Dr. Salim is in fact Deimos, the demigod responsible for unleashing the undead plague on humanity. Deimos had entered the Player's mind when they interfaced with Hall, and attempts to manipulate them into opening a portal to his home dimension, Malus. The Player is then contacted by another demigod, Dolos, who is sympathetic to humanity and seeks to kill Deimos, her brother. Dolos transports both the Player and Deimos to Malus, where Deimos is vulnerable. Under Dolos' guidance, the Player kills Deimos, ending the undead plague on Earth, but trapping the Player in Malus. Dolos then explains to the Player that her true plans are to kill every other demigod and supernatural being that can challenge her, and the Player agrees to help her.

Multiplayer[edit]

The Multiplayer mode of Black Ops III features a shared narrative setting with the campaign, in which players battle in virtual simulations across a variety of battlefields, while wielding the avatars of nine elite soldiers, referred to collectively as "Specialists": infantry grunt Donnie "Ruin" Walsh; scoutswoman Alessandra "Outrider" Castillo; engineer David "Prophet" Wilkes; demolitions expert Erin "Battery" Baker; 54 Immortals enforcer He "Seraph" Zhen-Zhen; survivalist Tavo "Nomad" Rojas; specialized combat robot "Reaper"; assassin "Spectre"; and arsonist Krystof "Firebreak" Hejek.

Through progression of each Specialist, players can unlock audio logs that provide backstories of each of the soldiers. Full progression of all Specialists unlocks a final audio log, in which an unknown informant reports to their superior about keeping tabs on "eight other soldiers", implying that one of the Specialists is not a simulated avatar, but the real person injecting themselves into the simulation to monitor the others.

Zombies[edit]

Settings and characters[edit]

Like in previous games, the Zombies storyline in Call of Duty: Black Ops III is told in an episodic format, with one map, "Shadows of Evil", available at launch, and the rest to follow in the downloadable content season. "Shadows of Evil" focuses on a new group of characters: Nero Blackstone (Jeff Goldblum), Jessica Rose (Heather Graham), Jack Vincent (Neal McDonough) and Floyd Campbell (Ron Perlman), who reside in the fictional Morg City. Treyarch describes the new characters as "troubled individuals" with "a long and sordid history of past misdeeds". The four characters are thrown into a twisted version of the city, overrun by zombies, and are guided by a mysterious, unreliable figure called the Shadowman (Robert Picardo).^[10]

"Shadows of Evil" acts as a prologue that leads into the core storyline, focusing on the Dimension 63 version of the original characters: "Tank" Dempsey (Steven Blum), Nikolai Belinski (Fred Tatasciore), Takeo Masaki (Tom Kane) and Edward Richtofen (Nolan North), who were introduced in the Black Ops II map "Origins", referred to collectively as Primis.^[d] Their story continues from where "Origins" left off, as they attempt to prevent the events of the original timeline from ever occurring across the multiverse. Other characters include the leader of Group 935, Doctor Ludvig Maxis (also voiced by Tatasciore), and his daughter Samantha.^[15] The downloadable content maps feature the original versions of Primis, referred to as Ultimis,^[e] and reintroduce various minor characters mentioned/featured in previous games, including Group 935 scientist Doctor Groph (also voiced by Blum), the OSS spy Peter McCain, Dr. Maxis' assistant Sophia (Christa Lewis),^[16] the Ascension Group scientist Gersh, as well as introduces the mysterious omnipotent being Doctor Monty (Malcolm McDowell). Robert Picardo also briefly reprises his role from Call of Duty: Black Ops as United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

Story[edit]

Following the undead outbreak in 1917, Northern France of Dimension 63, Doctor Ludvig Maxis, whose brain resided in a mechanical drone at the time, arrives at Agartha and is given a new body by Doctor Monty, a self-proclaimed omnipotent being and member of the Order of the Keepers. After helping to cleanse the soul of his daughter Samantha from the original timeline, Monty instructs Maxis to retrieve an artifact called the Summoning Key, a powerful artifact that can fix their world back to its original state. To do so, Maxis instructs his friend Doctor Edward Richtofen to retrieve the Kronorium, an ancient book detailing the events of every universe and dimension, which contains the location of the Key.

After learning of the Key's location, Richtofen travels to Dimension 63 and arrives in Morg City in 1944, where the Apothicons, former Keepers who were corrupted and mutated by the dark energy of the Aether, manipulated four individuals: Jessica Rose, a burlesque dancer; Jack Vincent, a corrupt cop; Floyd Campbell, an up-and-coming boxer; and Nero Blackstone, a washed-up magician. Misled into doing the bidding of the head Apothicon named the Shadowman, the four opened a rift beneath the city using the Summoning Key, thereby freeing an ancient Apothicon beast. With the Keepers' aid, the four manage to trap the Shadowman inside the Key, and banish the beast from their dimension. Before they could retrieve the Summoning Key from the Keepers, however, Richtofen snags the Key from them, thanks them for their effort and exits through a portal, leaving the four and the rest of Dimension 63 to be doomed by the Apothicons.

The Dimension 63 versions of "Tank" Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, and Takeo Masaki pursue Richtofen in his interdimensional journey, and arrive in the Der Riese facility in the original timeline, only moments after Maxis and Samantha were teleported away by the original Richtofen. The three attempt to convince him to awaken their original selves, but are interrupted by the Dimension 63 Richtofen, who appears out of the teleporter and kills his counterpart, triggering various timeline fractures. The four then band together to fend off the zombie horde once more; eventually, they activate a beacon within the facility, allowing Maxis to locate them from Agartha.

In pursuit of the original Dempsey, the four then travel to Der Eisendrache, Group 935's fortress in Austria. Despite Group 935 member Doctor Groph's attempt at preventing the group from retrieving the test subject, he ultimately fails and perishes when Richtofen overrides the castle's defense system and sends a barrage of missiles to destroy the moon and Group 935's base on it. As the four retrieve the original Dempsey, Richtofen reveals his plan to prevent their original incarnations from wreaking havoc upon the universe. Dimension 63 Dempsey then volunteers to kill his own counterpart before allowing Richtofen to absorb his soul with the Key.

Afterwards, the group attempts to teleport to a new fractured timeline to locate the original Takeo, who is held prisoner at a Pacific island by the Japanese research group Division 9. They discover that Division 9 had been experimenting with plant life mutation using Element 115, with the original Takeo also a victim of the experimentation. After they manage to release him from the mutation, Dimension 63 Takeo is shocked to learn that the Emperor of Japan betrayed his original self and sent him to this island out of petty jealousy. The original Takeo proceeds to commit seppuku, with his Dimension 63 self decapitating him. After absorbing the original Takeo's soul with the Key, Richtofen takes the crew to Alcatraz in Dimension 63, where they retrieve several blood vials, the purpose of which he refuses to explain at the time.

The crew then teleports to another fractured timeline and lands in a war-torn Stalingrad in 1945, where the Soviet Union has stolen Group 935's technology to create their own giant robots and mechanical soldiers, while Germany is aided by ancient dragons resurrected and bred by Division 9. As the crew traverses across the city, they are forced to help Sophia, Maxis' former assistant who has been transformed into a machine, to initiate the Ascension Protocol, allowing her to gain knowledge of interdimensional travel. Monty also introduces himself to the crew, as he informs them of the state of the multiverse. Amidst the chaos, the original Nikolai, who has taken control of a modified drone unit, teams up with the group to destroy the alpha dragon. However, upon the dragon's death, Nikolai refuses to surrender, forcing the four to take out his drone. The original Nikolai is angered by his Dimension 63 self as he mentions their deceased wife, and attempts to shoot him, only to be killed in retaliation. With all souls collected, Richtofen calls out to Maxis to summon a portal, and release the souls into it.

The group returns to Agartha and arrives in "The House", a place built by Monty to prevent all forces of evil from infecting it, ensuring the safety of the children (Samantha and cleansed versions of the original souls in child form). After sealing off the House from the rest of the multiverse, Maxis is manipulated by the voice of the Shadowman into releasing him upon contact with the Summoning Key. The Shadowman then uses his power to merge various other dimensions, including the Dark Aether, allowing the Apothicons to enter and wreak havoc. Richtofen and the crew manage to help Sophia enter the dimension, and with her assistance, retrieve the Summoning Key and the Kronorium. They then confront the Shadowman together, and defeat him once and for all using the combined power of the two artifacts. Maxis, who still resides within the Key, then absorbs the souls of the children into the Key, and joins Sophia as they fly toward the Apothicon sun, banishing all Apothicon presences from Agartha. Richtofen and the crew are able to remain in the dimension without fading from existence, thanks to the blood vials they retrieved earlier. Monty, worried about the four becoming a paradox in his perfect world, contemplates between erasing their existence and sending them to a distant corner of the universe. In a moment, the four begin to fade away, then reappear in ancient medieval times, where they would be remembered as "Primis", heroes who aided the Keepers in sealing away the Apothicons in the Great War, effectively "completing the cycle" of the universe.

Development[edit]

Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the twelfth game in the Call of Duty franchise, and the fourth entry in the Black Ops series. The game was the second to benefit under publisher Activision's three-year development cycle, the first being Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. The cycle allows each of the development teams of the Call of Duty series (Infinity Ward, Treyarch, and Sledgehammer Games) to develop games in a three-year timespan, as opposed to the two allowed previously. Black Ops III uses a heavily modified version of the IW engine used previously in Black Ops II.^[17]

On June 9, 2015, versions for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were confirmed to be under development by Beenox and Mercenary Technology. These versions lack some features available on other platforms, such as the game's campaign mode.^[18][19] On June 15, 2015, it was announced that as part of a new exclusivity deal with Sony Computer Entertainment, all downloadable content for future Call of Duty games, beginning with Black Ops III, would be released first on PlayStation platforms as timed exclusives. This ends a similar exclusivity deal with Microsoft dating back to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.^[20]

A multiplayer beta was released for the PlayStation 4 on August 18, 2015,^[21] and was released for the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows on August 26, 2015.^[22][23] All versions of the multiplayer beta ran for six days.

Music[edit]

Jack Wall, who previously composed the score for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, returned along with Treyarch's Audio Director Brian Tuey to compose the score for the game. The game also featured an instrumental score entitled "Jade Helm", provided by Avenged Sevenfold, for use in the multiplayer mode.^[24] Additionally, both Wall, Tuey and Treyarch's Sound Designer Kevin Sherwood contributed to the composition of the Zombies mode's soundtrack, including several new songs performed by Elena Siegman and Malukah for each of the maps.

Marketing[edit]

Reveal[edit]

Teasers were released beginning with Snapchat links^[25] appearing in the gameplay of Black Ops II as well as a teaser video released by Treyarch.^[26] On April 26, 2015, the first reveal trailer for the game was released and revealed the return of the Zombies mode and beta access for people that pre-order the game for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The full game was released on November 6, 2015.^[22]

Controversy[edit]

On September 29, 2015, the official Twitter account of Call of Duty was temporarily renamed to "Current Events Aggregate". It then began tweeting messages about real-life fashion, movies and a terrorist attack that takes place in Singapore. Activision later revealed that these tweets are fake, and served to promote the game's story campaign.^[27] This marketing campaign was strongly criticized for faking news, and publisher Activision was blamed for being "irresponsible".^[28][29] The game's director Jason Blundell said that the team was "shocked" by the negative reaction of the marketing campaign,^[27] and offered an apology.^[30]

Seize Glory[edit]

Seize Glory is an official live action trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 that was directed by Wayne McClammy and starring Michael B. Jordan, Cara Delevingne and Marshawn Lynch.^[31][32] The trailer features Michael B. Jordan following a man named Kevin as he runs through warfare while destroying zombies and robots.^[33] The trailer first aired during November 2015.^[34]

The trailer begins with “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones as the background music. The setting is a war zone of explosions, soldiers, and a demolished city. Michael B. Jordan standing on a tower, watching over the battle, looks at the camera and says, “What? Y’all don’t know about Kevin?” Kevin, a younger man, explodes onto the battle field with a large assault rifle. Kevin runs through the chaotic city enjoying himself as he shoots at everything and Michael B. Jordan builds up Kevin's character. Kevin performs exciting moves like sliding down stairs and running on walls. Kevin even eats a sandwich while setting off explosives on enemies. Then, Marshawn Lynch, a star running back in the National Football League, fully geared with weapons and armor slides in, ready to take out a whole room of zombies. Kevin flies in and steals Marshawn's glory. Kevin makes the classic cool guy move by setting of explosives behind him without looking while he walks away. Suddenly, a girl that Michael B. Jordan introduces as Cara, jumps down from the sky and sends Kevin off the screen. Cara, a young woman, takes Kevin's spotlight and starts wreaking havoc on the battle field. Cara, smiling, throws her handguns to the side while walking away from explosions in the background. In the middle of the screen, in bold white letters, appears the slogan, “There’s a Soldier in All of Us.”

Activision hired Wayne McClammy as the director. Wayne has been the director of many Call of Duty advertisements.^[35] According to Activision Publishing CMO Tim Ellis, the trailer's intent was to show that “The gaming population is so much bigger and more diverse than people may think".^[36] Actors Michael B. Jordan and Cara Delevingne were chosen to star in the trailer as both were known by Activision to be fans of the Call of Duty series.^[37]

Pre-order[edit]

Call of Duty: Black Ops III and the Digital Deluxe Edition counterpart were available to pre-order on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The Digital Deluxe Edition comes with the season pass, which can also be ordered separately. Pre-ordering provided access to the Call of Duty: Black Ops III multiplayer beta and in-game items for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, such as custom reticles, an emblem, a calling card, and Advanced Supply Drops.^[38] Sony also announced that the Black Ops III beta would come to the PS4 first on August 19 through August 23, 2015.^[39] The beta for the PS4 went live on August 18, 2015, several hours earlier than originally announced.^[21] After the beta period ended, it was announced that all pre-orders would include the bonus multiplayer map "NUK3TOWN", a remake of the original "Nuketown" map, featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops, and in Call of Duty: Black Ops II as "Nuketown 2025". Owing to the lack of the campaign mode, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions included a digital copy of Black Ops as an added bonus, as well as having their price reduced by 10 dollars compared to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.^[40]

Comics tie-in[edit]

A comic book titled Call of Duty: Black Ops III was announced on July 1, 2015. Serving as a prequel to the game, the first issue was released worldwide on November 4, 2015 and was published by Dark Horse Comics. The story is written by Larry Hama, while Marcelo Ferreira served as the artist for the comic book.^[41] The story takes place several years prior to the main events of the game, and stars Jacob Hendricks and John Taylor along with their black ops squadmates in an attempt to stop a Russian terrorist plot. Subsequent issues were released throughout 2016.

On July 11, 2016, Treyarch announced a new comic book series titled Call of Duty: Zombies, to expand upon the story of the Zombies mode. The story features the return of the TranZit team: Abigail "Misty" Briarton, Marlton Johnson, Russman and Samuel Stuhlinger, previously the main protagonists of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, as they embark on a search for an artifact known as the Kronorium, while discovering the truth behind Edward Richtofen's reappearance. The miniseries, also published by Dark Horse, features Justin Jordan as the writer and Jonathan Wayshak as the main artist, while Simon Bisley draws the cover art of each issue. The first issue was released on October 28, 2016, and subsequent issues were released throughout 2017.

Special editions and downloadable content[edit]

In addition to the Digital Deluxe Edition, other special editions include the Hardened Edition and the Juggernog Edition.^[42] The Juggernog Edition includes a mini-refrigerator, a season pass and multiple in-game content.^[43] A Collector's Edition bonus map for the Zombie mode, The Giant was announced. It is a remake of the Call of Duty: World at War map Der Riese, and features the original characters, Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo, and Richtofen.^[15] A multiplayer-only starter pack for Microsoft Windows was announced and released on February 16, 2016. It features the multiplayer mode's core mechanics, though certain features, such as the Zombie mode and the Nightmare mode, were excluded. This version of the game is available for players to purchase until the end of February 2016, though it has been made available permanently since.^[44]

In December 2015, during Sony's PlayStation Experience event, Activision announced the first downloadable content map pack for Black Ops III, titled Awakening, and was released first on PlayStation 4 on February 2, 2016. Releases for Xbox One and Microsoft Windows happened in March 2016. The map pack contains four new multiplayer maps: Skyjacked (a remake of the Black Ops II multiplayer map Hijacked), Rise, Splash, and Gauntlet, a new Zombies map, Der Eisendrache, and several new gumballs for the Zombie mode.^[45] In March 2016, Treyarch revealed the second Map Pack, titled "Eclipse". The map pack has four new multiplayer maps, including a remake of the World at War map "Bonzai" and a new Zombies map, "Zetsubou no Shima".^[46] The map pack was released on April 19 for PlayStation 4 and May 19 for Xbox One and PC.

The third map pack, Descent, was revealed on June 28, 2016, featuring four new MP maps, including a remake of the Black Ops II map "Raid" and a new Zombies map, "Gorod Krovi". The map pack was released on July 12 for PlayStation 4 and August 11 for Xbox One and PC. The PC release of Descent received controversy, for Activision and Treyarch announced that the map packs would no longer be sold separately, and PC players must purchase the season pass to receive all map packs, while owners of Awakening and/or Eclipse would receive discounts upon purchasing the season pass. The fourth map pack, Salvation, was revealed on August 25, 2016, with remakes of the MP maps "Standoff" from Black Ops II and "Outskirt" from World at War, along with the final Zombies map, "Revelations". The map pack was released on September 6 for PlayStation 4, and October 6 for Xbox One and PC.

A fifth and final map pack, Zombies Chronicles, contains remastered versions of 8 Zombies maps from previous games: "Nacht Der Untoten", "Verrückt", and "Shi no Numa" from World at War, "Kino Der Toten", "Ascension", "Shangri-La", and "Moon" from Black Ops, and "Origins" from Black Ops II, and is not included in the season pass of the game. The map pack was released on May 16, 2017 for PlayStation 4, and June 16 for Xbox One and PC.^[47]

On May 24, 2017, Activision and Treyarch announced a Multiplayer DLC Trial Pack for the PC version of Black Ops III, allowing all players to play on all multiplayer maps from the four map packs for free for a limited time, while also offering XP bonuses to players who previously owned the map packs and/or the season pass.^[48] On March 20, 2018, the Zombies maps from the four map packs were made available for separate purchase on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with PC to follow on May 2.^[49] On June 11, 2018, Activision and Treyarch announced the "Back in Black" map pack, which contains four remastered versions of fan-favorite multiplayer maps from Black Ops and Black Ops II: "Summit", "Jungle", "Firing Range", and "Slums". These four maps, which are also included in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 at launch, are offered first to PlayStation 4 for players who pre-order Black Ops 4 on the aforementioned platform.

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

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According to review aggregator Metacritic, Call of Duty: Black Ops III received "generally favorable" critic reviews for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and "mixed or average" critic reviews for PC.^[50][51][53]GameSpot awarded it a score of 7 out of 10, saying, "Black Ops III doesn't offer anything remarkable to the series, but does just enough to maintain the Call of Duty status quo. The franchise, however slowly, continues its inexorable march."^[55]Polygon also gave the game a score of 7 out of 10, saying "Black Ops III's biggest point of recommendation may be the breadth of content there, and that's a valid point of view. But Treyarch doesn't meaningfully move the series forward here."^[59]IGN awarded it a score of 9.2 out of 10, saying "With fun 4-player co-op, new powers, and a fleshed out Zombies mode, Black Ops 3 is the biggest Call of Duty game yet."^[58] Stuart Andrews of Trusted Reviews criticized the setting and narrative, writing "Black Ops 3 is a solid installment that will please the series' hardcore fans, but it's not a mainstream crowd-pleaser in the way that last year's Advanced Warfare was", and unfavorably compared it to its predecessors, disparaging that it "focuses entirely on the sci-fi stuff, loses most of its conspiracy theory trappings and brings augmented super-soldiers in. The result sometimes feels less like a third Black Ops game than Call of Duty: Even More Advanced Warfare.^[60]

Sales[edit]

Black Ops III sold over 6.6 million copies in its first week of sales and grossed over $550 million in sales during its first three days of release.^[61][62] In the United Kingdom, the game bested Halo 5: Guardians to become the top selling game.^[63]Black Ops III was the top best selling game in the US according to NPD's figures.^[64]Black Ops III later became the top selling game of 2015.^[65] According to Activision, Black Ops III was one of the best-selling games released for the eighth generation of video game consoles, and that its financial performance is significantly better than its predecessor, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.^[66][67]

Awards[edit]

References[edit]

Notes

Footnotes

Call of Duty: Black Ops is a 2010 first-person shooter^[1] video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It was released worldwide in November 2010 for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360,^[2] and Wii,^[3] with a separate version for Nintendo DS developed by n-Space.^[4][5]Aspyr later released the game for OS X in September 2012.^[6] It is the seventh title in the Call of Duty series and the third to be developed by Treyarch. It serves as the sequel to Call of Duty: World at War.^[7]

Set in the 1960s during the Cold War, the game's campaign follows CIA operative Alex Mason as he attempts to recall certain memories in combat in order to locate a numbers station. This station is due to transmit broadcasts to sleeper agents who are bound to use chemical weapons across the United States. Mason and CIA operative Jason Hudson are the game's main playable characters, as well as Red Army soldier Viktor Reznov in only one mission. Locations featured in the game include Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, the Soviet Union, the United States, Hong Kong, and the Arctic Circle. The multiplayer of Black Ops features multiple objective-based game modes that are playable on 14 different maps included with the game. Improvements to loadout options and killstreak rewards are made. A form of virtual currency, COD Points, allows players to purchase weapons and customization options for their in-game character, as well as attachments and customization options for their weapon.

Development for the game began in 2009. It runs an enhanced version of the IW 3.0 engine used in Treyarch's past title, World at War.^[8] The improvements made allowed for bigger campaign levels to be made as well as enhanced lighting. Treyarch focused specifically on Black Ops during development; they were developing two games at once while making World at War. Different teams within the company focused on a certain game mode. Music was composed by Sean Murray, with music by The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Eminem, and Avenged Sevenfold appearing in the game. The marketing of the game began in April 2010. Multiple trailers promoting the game and its modes were released from May until October.

The game received generally positive reviews from critics. Within 24 hours of going on sale, the game had sold more than 5.6 million copies, 4.2 million in the U.S. and 1.4 million in the UK, breaking the record set by its predecessor Modern Warfare 2 by some 2.3 million copies.^[9][10] After six weeks on release, Activision reported that Black Ops had exceeded $1 billion in sales.^[11] On August 3, 2011, Activision confirmed that the game had sold over 25 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling games of all time in the US, UK, and Europe.^[12][13][14] A sequel, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, was released in November 2012.^[15][16]Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, an interquel between Black Ops and Black Ops II, will be released on November 13, 2020.^[17][18]

Gameplay[edit]

Black Ops is a first-person shooter, retaining the same gameplay mechanics as previous Call of Duty titles. The player assumes the role of a foot soldier who can wield various firearms (only two of which can be carried at once), throw grenades and other explosives, and use other equipment as weapons. A player close enough to an enemy can kill with one knife blow. A character can take three stances: standing, crouching, or prone. Each affects the rate of movement, accuracy, and stealth. The player can drop to the prone stance from the standing stance while running (colloquially known as "dolphin diving"), and can momentarily sprint before having to stop. The screen glows red to indicate damage to a player's health, which regenerates over time. When the character is within the blast radius of a live grenade, an on-screen marker indicates where it is in relation to the player, helping the player to move away or to throw it back. Among the weapons new to the series in Black Ops are crossbows with bolts and explosive ammunition, Dragon's Breath rounds and ballistic knives.

The player assumes the role of various characters during the single-player campaign, changing perspectives throughout the story. The playable characters are special forces operatives conducting black operations behind enemy lines. In this way, the player's characters have their own traits such as voices and shadows.^[7] Each mission features a series of objectives that are displayed on the heads-up display, which marks the direction and distance towards and from such objectives as it has been in the earlier versions. The player is accompanied by friendly troops throughout the game. Although primarily a first-person shooter, certain levels feature sequences where the player pilots a Hind helicopter and guides friendly troops from a SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft.^[19][20][21] The campaign features several scripted cinematic moments. One of them is a bullet time effect during the "Victor Charlie" level, activated when the player fires toward the last enemy of a Viet Cong squad.^{[citation needed]}

As a first in the Call of Duty main series, player characters can now speak during gameplay, whereas in previous installments, primarily those made by Infinity Ward, characters would be silent during gameplay, even if they could speak during cutscenes.

Multiplayer[edit]

Players can customize their weaponry in the game, as seen with this customized FAMAS.

The online multiplayer mode of Black Ops usually revolves around two teams on a specific mission. For example, in Team Deathmatch the team with the most kills wins, while in Capture the Flag, players take the other team's flags and return it to their base. Additionally, there is Free For All in which players aren't separated into teams. Not including Downloadable maps, there are 14 different maps.

Black Ops retains the experience points and unlockable reward system that has been kept since Call of Duty 4. The multiplayer focuses on socialization and customization.^[7] "Create-a-Class 2.0" allows enhanced personalization with appearance items as well as upgradable perks;^[20] weapons are extensively customizable with writing, emblems, attachments, and camouflage painting. Even reticles can be modified. There is more than one style for an attachment, which allows for a lot more personalized weaponry; for example, the player can choose between a red dot sight or a reflex sight, both of which share many of the same traits, although the red dot fills up less of the screen (something desired by many players). Character models depend on the first tier perk instead of the weapon's type. Furthermore, face paints can be unlocked.^[22] New custom killstreak rewards include explosive R/C cars, guided missiles, and controllable attack helicopters.^[23]

A currency system has been implemented allowing players to buy weapons, accessories, and clothes. Players can gamble with their "COD Points" in a free-for-all based playlist called "Wager Match", which is composed of four game modes.^[24] Time-limited objectives known as "Contracts" can be purchased to gain more currency and experience points.^[22] The progression system is not featured in the local split-screen multiplayer. In the local split-screen play, all character customization options are already unlocked. Players can no longer define game rules such as win conditions.

Players can play alone or with friends against AI opponents in "Combat Training" with a separate progression system.^[25] Online split-screen is re-introduced on Xbox 360 and PS3. The guest account can rank up but is reset after each sign out. Only on Xbox 360, a second Gold Xbox Live account can be used to keep the second player's progression.^[26] Aside from the Combat Training mode, Xbox users can also have up to four players in split-screen mode play against AI opponents even without having an Xbox Live account. This is done by configuring the Local Split Screen settings and setting the number of enemies to a value greater than zero.^[27]

For the first time in the series, clips from online gameplay can be recorded. Some specific features that have been removed from the PC version of Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 2 return, such as lean,^[28] mod tools, the developer console,^[29] and dedicated servers.^[30] Dedicated servers are exclusively provided by Game Servers.^[31]Steam is the exclusive platform for Black Ops on PC, and the game is protected by Valve Anti-Cheat.^[32]

The Wii version of the game includes in-game voice chat. This is the first Call of Duty title to include the voice chat feature for the Wii. Nintendo and PDP have partnered to release the first headset to be used with the Wii known as PDP's Headbanger Headset.^[33]

Zombies[edit]

A zombie cooperation mode, titled "Zombies", is included in the game. Originally featured in World at War, it was revamped to be included in Black Ops.^[34] It is a four-player online and two-player split screen co-op mode (which can also be unlocked online).

"Five"[edit]

"Five" takes place in The Pentagon during a chain of events that differ from the storyline of the campaign mode. The playable characters, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Robert McNamara, and Fidel Castro^[35][36] are interrupted from negotiations by an outbreak of zombies. "Five" has many hidden secrets, from an 'Easter Egg' song, which Treyarch's Zombies^[37] are famous for (in the case of "Five", the Easter Egg song is 'Won't Back Down' by Eminem and featuring P!nk^[38]). There are also hints of connections between "Five" and the first DLC zombies map in the Black Ops season pass, Ascension through hidden radios throughout the map.

Kino Der Toten[edit]

Kino Der Toten takes place in an abandoned Group 935 facility located within a theater in Berlin, and takes place in 1965. The words "Kino Der Toten" mean "Cinema of the Dead" in German, though the in-game character, Edward Richtofen, translates it as "Theater of the Damned" in the loading screen pre-game. The map features a single teleporter pad, as well as several hidden references to other maps, both past and future. By activating various meteor pieces throughout the map, players can hear an Easter Egg song, "115" written by Kevin Sherwood, and sung by Elena Seigman,^[39] who is the lead singer in many of Treyarch Sound's songs. The playable characters in this map return from the World at War Zombies mode. Edward Richtofen, a mad German scientist from the World War Two era, Takeo Masaki, the last of the Japanese Samurai, Nikolai Belinski, a WWII era Soviet soldier, and Tank Dempsey, a Marine from the United States are teleported to Kino Der Toten from the last map of World at War, Der Riese.

Plot[edit]

Single-player[edit]

Characters and setting[edit]

From left to right: Alex Mason, Jason Hudson, and Robert McNamara

Black Ops takes place between 1961 and 1968 during both the Cold War and the Vietnam War, 16 years after the events of World at War. It portrays a secret history of CIA clandestine black operations carried out behind enemy lines. Missions take place in various locations around the globe such as the Ural Mountains, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Hong Kong, Laos, South Vietnam, the Arctic Circle and Siberia. The single-player campaign revolves around an experimental chemical weapon codenamed "Nova-6". This weapon is bound to be used by sleeper agents in the United States, who are infused with sequences of numbers, once broadcasts are transmitted from an unknown numbers station.

The player controls the protagonist, SAD/SOG operative and former Force Recon Cpt. Alex Mason (Sam Worthington). Occasionally, CIA paramilitary operations officer Jason Hudson (Ed Harris) and some other characters are playable to progress the story. Alex is often joined by fellow operatives Force Recon Master Sergeant Frank Woods (James C. Burns) and SEAL Chief Joseph Bowman (Ice Cube), while Jason teams up with Grigori Weaver (Gene Farber), a Russian-born field operative. Viktor Reznov (Gary Oldman), a key character from the Soviet campaign in World at War, returns along with that game's Russian protagonist Dimitri Petrenko (Boris Kievsky) also making an appearance. Oldman also voices Daniel Clarke, a British scientist assisting in the development of Project Nova. Opposing the CIA are the leaders of Project Nova: former Red Army General Nikita Dragovich (Eamon Hunt), Colonel Lev Kravchenko (Andrew Divoff), and former Nazi scientist Doctor Friedrich Steiner (Mark Bramhall). Black Ops also features several historical figures: during the story Mason meets John F. Kennedy, Robert McNamara, and Fidel Castro.

Story[edit]

On February 25, 1968, SAD operative Alex Mason is strapped to a chair in an interrogation room, bombarded with questions by his unseen captors about the location of a numbers station. Mason then recalls several events, as an attempt to answer their questions.

On April 17, 1961, Mason, Woods, and Bowman take part in Operation 40 to assassinate Fidel Castro and assist the CIA sponsored Cuban exiles in overthrowing Castro's communist regime in Cuba during the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Mason apparently succeeds before realizing that the CIA's Cuban rebels are losing against Castro's armed forces. Therefore, he decides to stay behind to protect the extraction plane with Woods and Bowman aboard from an oncoming blockade, before being captured by the real Castro, having shot a double. Handed over to Soviet Major General Nikita Dragovich to be held captive at Vorkuta Gulag in the Soviet Union, Mason befriends inmate, former Red Army soldier and World War II veteran Viktor Reznov. Reznov recounts to Mason the identities of their enemies: Dragovich, his right-hand man Colonel Lev Kravchenko, and ex-Nazi scientist Friedrich Steiner, who defected to the Soviet Union. On October 29, 1945, Reznov, Petrenko, and their platoon were sent to extract Steiner from a Nazi base in the Arctic. However, they were betrayed by Dragovich, who tested Steiner's nerve gas known as "Nova 6" on Petrenko's squad, killing them. Reznov was spared the same fate when British Commandos, also interested in acquiring Nova 6, attacked the Soviets. In the chaos, Reznov destroyed the Nova 6 and escaped, only to be captured by the Soviets and sent to Vorkuta. The Soviets later recreated Nova 6 with the help of a British scientist, Daniel Clarke.

Having spent over a year imprisoned, Mason and Reznov spark an uprising to flee the gulag. During the escape, Reznov diverts the attention of the Soviet prison guards away from Mason to allow him to escape. On November 10, 1963, Mason meets with President John F. Kennedy, who authorizes a mission to assassinate Dragovich; Mason briefly envisions aiming a handgun at Kennedy. Mason, Woods, Bowman, and Weaver are dispatched to the Baikonur Cosmodrome to disrupt the Soviet space program and eliminate members of "Ascension", a Soviet program giving sanctuary to Nazi scientists in exchange for their knowledge. The team destroys the Soyuz spacecraft, while Woods apparently kills Dragovich in a car explosion with a commandeered BTR.

On January 21, 1968, Mason's team is sent to Vietnam. After defending Khe Sanh from a North Vietnamese assault, they recover a dossier on Dragovich from a Russian defector being held by the North Vietnamese Army in Hue City during the Tet Offensive. The defector turns out to be none other than Reznov, who joins them as they penetrate Laos to recover a Nova 6 shipment from a downed Soviet plane. They are captured by Viet Cong and Spetznaz infiltrators at the crash site. Bowman, after being physically and mentally drained from being forced to play Russian Roulette, instigates the captors and is executed, but Woods and Mason manage to hatch an escape, wherein they are able to hijack an Mi-24 Hind, and cripple the Ho Chi Minh trail before moving on to rescue Reznov from Kravchenko's base. They confront Kravchenko and Woods stabs him, but Kravchenko pulls the pins off of four grenades strapped to himself, forcing Woods to sacrifice himself by pushing both himself and Kravchenko out of a window. In a huge explosion, Mason presumes the two dead.

Meanwhile, Hudson and Weaver interrogate Clarke in Kowloon City. Clarke reveals the location of a hidden facility in Mount Yamantau before being killed by Dragovich's men. Hudson and Weaver move to destroy the facility and receive a transmission from Steiner requesting to meet at Rebirth Island, as Dragovich has begun killing loose ends. Mason and Reznov head there to assassinate Steiner at the same time, succeeding just as Hudson and Weaver arrive. Mason is adamant that Reznov executed Steiner, but Hudson had witnessed Mason carrying out the act alone.

Hudson and Weaver are revealed to be Mason's interrogators. Dragovich has sleeper cells placed all over the United States which, when ordered by the numbers broadcast, will release the Nova 6 gas. As a result, the U.S., now at DEFCON 2, is preparing a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, which would result in World War III and Mutual Assured Destruction. Hudson needed Steiner to abort the gas launch, but after his death, only Mason has any knowledge of the numbers station. Hudson reveals that Dragovich brainwashed Mason to understand the numbers broadcasts and assassinate Kennedy, effectively making him a Soviet sleeper agent. The real Reznov never escaped, but died during the Vorkuta breakout attempt, and the Soviet defector in Hue was actually killed before Mason reached him. Mason's visions of Reznov are a result of a dissociative disorder caused by the traumatic brainwashing program. Prior to the Vorkuta uprising, Reznov reprogrammed Mason to assassinate Dragovich, Kravchenko, and Steiner instead. Mason finally remembers the location of the broadcast station: a Russian cargo ship named Rusalka off the coast of Cuba. An assault on the Rusalka begins, with Mason and Hudson infiltrating the underwater submarine base protecting the ship. Hudson calls in the United States Navy to destroy the Rusalka. Mason and Hudson confront Dragovich in the lower levels of the facility, where Mason strangles and drowns Dragovich before escaping with Hudson. They regroup with Weaver, who declares victory.

Archive footage of President Kennedy prior to his assassination on November 22, 1963 is shown, revealing Mason was among onlookers who watched Kennedy disembark from Air Force One at Love Field. His presence, and Dragovich's taunt before his death, suggest that Mason may have carried out his initial programming.

Zombies[edit]

Characters and settings[edit]

The Zombies story takes place over various eras of time, mostly during the final year of World War II, and the 1960s. The story mainly follows four soldiers: "Tank" Dempsey (Steve Blum) of the United States Marine Corps, Nikolai Belinski (Fred Tatasciore) of the Red Army, Takeo Masaki (Tom Kane) of the Imperial Japanese Army, and Doctor Edward Richtofen (Nolan North) of the Wehrmacht. Other characters include Doctor Ludvig Maxis (Fred Tatasciore) and his daughter Samantha (Julie Nathanson). The map "Five" features historical figures: John F. Kennedy (Jim Meskimen), Robert McNamara (Robert Picardo), Richard Nixon (Dave Mallow), and Fidel Castro (Marlon Correa). "Call of the Dead" features the appearance of celebrities: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund, Danny Trejo, Michael Rooker, all playing themselves and George A. Romero.

Story[edit]

During World War II, Doctor Ludvig Maxis formed Group 935, a group of scientists that was intended to improve the human condition. Lacking funds, they soon turned to creating superweapons to aid the Nazis. Their discovery of Element 115 from a meteorite in Japan lead to the creation of zombies. Maxis and his assistant, Dr. Edward Richtofen, also work on other projects, leading to the creation of teleportation devices and 115-powered weapons. Attempting to use himself as a test subject, Richtofen accidentally teleports to a catacomb within the Moon, where he comes into contact with a mysterious pyramid device that causes him to hear mysterious voices, slowly taking away his sanity. He is later teleported to an exotic jungle known as Shangri-La, where he spends three weeks studying the Vril energy force. Upon returning to Germany, Richtofen secretly forms a plan to kill Maxis, and gathers many members of Group 935 to build a Moon base, known as Griffin Station. While maintaining his cover with Maxis and the rest of Group 935, Richtofen manages to capture three soldiers: Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, and Takeo Masaki; he begins to conduct experiments with Element 115, causing memory loss for all three soldiers.

Maxis continues his work on other experiments, attempting to use his daughter's dog, Fluffy, as a test subject for his own teleportation device. However, the experiment fails, and Fluffy is transformed into an undead Hellhound. Richtofen takes the opportunity and traps Maxis and his daughter Samantha inside the teleporter with Fluffy, believing that they would die. Richtofen escapes as Der Riese is overrun by zombies with his three captured soldiers, and arrives at the Rising Sun research facility in Japan, where Element 115 was first discovered. After gathering a sample of 115 at the site, and recovering a weapon known as the Wunderwaffe DG-2, they return to the Der Riese factory in Germany. In an attempt to escape the zombie horde, the group accidentally overloads a teleporter with the DG-2, sending them forward in time. They arrive at an abandoned Nazi theater in the 1960s, where Richtofen discovers several recordings left behind by Dr. Maxis. Samantha, having survived and managing to control the zombies, continues raising the undead in order to hunt down Richtofen.

Some time in 1963, the United States government manages to grab hold of several of Group 935's inventions, keeping them hidden in the Pentagon. Due to the presence of the undead-raising Element 115, zombies breach the Pentagon. John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Robert McNamara, and Fidel Castro are trapped within the Pentagon, forced to fight their way out. Meanwhile, Richtofen's crew arrive at a Soviet Cosmodrome site, where Richtofen intends to travel to Group 935's Moon base, Griffin Station. The crew is contacted by Gersh, a member of the Ascension Group who requests to be freed from Samantha's grip. After freeing Gersh, the four of them are teleported further in time, and arrive at a Siberian lighthouse sometime in 2011, once used by Richtofen as a secret lab. However, they are trapped within a locked room, and forced to rely on four movie actors: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Danny Trejo, Robert Englund, and Michael Rooker, who are filming a zombie movie on-site along with director George A. Romero, who had been infected as well. Richtofen requests the four celebrities to find a golden rod, which is a Vril generator device, which he then uses to fix the teleporter. He transports himself and the other three soldiers back to Shangri-La, leaving the celebrities behind to continue fighting Romero and the horde. At Shangri-La, the group discovers two explorers, Gary and Brock, who died trapped within a time loop while trying to discover the secrets of the mythical Argatha realm. The group saves the explorers' lives by traveling back and forth in time, altering the environments of the temple in the process. They discover an altar within the temple with Richtofen's name written on it, as well as a piece of a meteorite containing Element 115. However, the explorers remain stuck in the never-ending loop.

With the Vril generator and the meteorite piece, Richtofen now believes he can control the zombies, and returns to Griffin Station. Here, they attempt to activate the MPD, a machine that controls the Aether energy, which opens to reveal Samantha inside; instead of dying by Richtofen's trap, Samantha was teleported to the moon while Maxis was sent somewhere else. Samantha accidentally triggered the MPD and was trapped within the device, but this also allowed her to enter the Aether realm. Maxis, who was retrieved by Group 935 scientists, apologized to his daughter and committed suicide in front of her, prompting her to assume control of the zombies and seek vengeance on Richtofen. Richtofen fuses the golden rod and the meteorite piece, and using it to switch souls with Samantha, takes over as the new zombie controller. This causes his former allies to feel betrayed, and they ally themselves with Samantha (who now resides in Richtofen's body). Maxis is revealed to have become a sentient artificial intelligence living within the systems of Griffin Station, and he guides his daughter and the three soldiers to launch three missiles at the Earth. This severs Richtofen's link with the Aether, but the launch results in the catastrophic destruction of the Earth, while still leaving Richtofen in control of the undead.

Development[edit]

In May 2009, publisher Activision was rumored to be looking for licensing regarding Vietnam War-era music which led to speculation that Call of Duty 7 would be set in Vietnam.^[40] In May 2009, Treyarch employee David Kim revealed on his LinkedIn profile that he would work as a senior animator on Call of Duty 7.^[41] In November 2009, only a few days before Modern Warfare 2's release, Activision officially announced a new Call of Duty title for 2010 through their third quarter financial call.^[42] In February 2010, a casting call for Call of Duty 7 led to speculation that the game would be taking place during the Cold War era with some battles taking place in South Vietnam.^[43] On April 30, 2010, Black Ops was officially announced.^[2]

The game runs on an enhanced World at War engine (which itself was improved from Call of Duty 4's) at 60 frames per second across all platforms, excluding the Wii.^[44] It features a streaming texture technology (also seen in Modern Warfare 2), making bigger levels possible such as "Payback" where the player controls a helicopter. Lighting effects have been improved as well.^[45]Call of Duty: Black Ops supports 3-D imaging rendered by the engine itself.^[46] This feature is available on the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 versions.^[47]

For Black Ops, Treyarch focused only on this game unlike past practice. However, it had different teams, each working on separate game modes.^[48] Treyarch used a motion capture technology similar to the one used in James Cameron's film Avatar, which allows accurate facial expressions, capturing the whole performance of the actor.^[49] The studio also consulted special forces veterans from both belligerents of the Cold War: Major John Plaster (US Army-Ret.) who served in the MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War, and former Soviet special forces operative Sonny Puzikas.^[50] The latter taught Treyarch how Spetsnaz soldiers would react in combat, such as rolling out of the line of fire. Spetsnaz AIs in the game have been modeled after him, from his tactics and his movements to his face.^[51][52] Although having a historical background, the classified aspect of these Cold War black operations allowed the studio to create its own fictional story.^[53] The game also allows players to turn down the blood and turn off the profanity.^[54]

It was announced on November 9, 2015 that Black Ops would become backwards compatible with the Xbox One.^[55] It was originally meant to be available for backwards compatibility in December 2015, but the date was later changed to some time in 2016.^[56]Black Ops was originally the sixth-most requested Xbox 360 title to become backwards compatible with the Xbox One.^[57] On May 17, 2016, the game was made available through Xbox One's backward compatibility.^[58] Shortly after, it was reported that sales of the Xbox 360 version had increased by 13,000 percent.^[59]

Audio[edit]

Black Ops features the voices of Sam Worthington as Alex Mason,^[60]Ed Harris as Jason Hudson,^[61]Gary Oldman reprises his role as Viktor Reznov from World at War and also voices Dr. Clarke,^[60] James C. Burns voices and provides performance capture for Frank Woods^[62] and Ice Cube voices Joseph Bowman, who is also the multiplayer announcer for the SOG faction.^[63][64]Gene Farber voices Grigori Weaver, Emmanuelle Chriqui plays a live-action character called Numbers,^[65][66] Eamon Hunt voices Nikita Dragovich, Andrew Divoff voices Lev Kravchenko and Robert Picardo voices Secretary Robert McNamara. Dimitri Diatchenko, an American born actor and musician voices the Spetsnaz faction and several other characters due to his strong Russian accent.

Call of Duty: Black Ops features Vietnam War era music including "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones^[67] (played during a gameplay sequence, the credits, and as an easter egg in the multiplayer map Nuketown) and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son".^[68]Eminem's "Won't Back Down" (featuring Pink) is used for the credits as well, and additionally appears as an Easter Egg in the Zombie map "Five". In the Call of the Dead zombie map the song "Not Ready to Die" by American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold is featured as an easter egg.^[69] The original music was composed by Sean Murray, who also composed Call of Duty: World at War while Kevin Sherwood composed music for the Zombies mode. The soundtrack was released on November 9. The use of The Rolling Stones' music in the game has seen a significant increase in the band's music sales since launch. "Gimme Shelter" sold 2,000 copies in the week before the launch trailer was revealed, 5,000 the week after, and 11,000 the week after the game's release. "Sympathy for the Devil" experienced a similar boost as gamers discovered the band's music.^{[citation needed]}

The game's score was composed by Sean Murray, and the official soundtrack was released on November 9, 2010.^{[citation needed]} In addition, a soundtrack for the popular Zombies mode was released on January 25, 2011.^{[citation needed]}

Marketing[edit]

Black Ops was first officially unveiled when the website for the game went live on April 30, 2010^[2] prior to the release of its debut teaser trailer on GameTrailers TV Episode 310.^[70] In early April 2010, an unmarked envelope was sent to various gaming news publications as well as high-profile Call of Duty fans via mail. It contained a USB flash drive with sound and text files. These files were codes to be decrypted, only to find a mysterious teaser site for an unknown game. Other codes were updated periodically.

Similarly to Modern Warfare 2's marketing, the first full-length trailer of Black Ops was aired after the 3rd quarter on ESPN during the NBAEastern Conference Finals on May 18, 2010.^[71] During E3 2010, studio head Mark Lamia opened the Microsoft conference by playing Black Ops on stage.^[72] It was also announced that the timed Xbox 360 exclusivity for additional content of Call of Duty titles, which began with Modern Warfare 2, extends until 2012.^[73] A remixed version of the ESPN trailer with Eminem's "Won't Back Down" was released on June 14,^[74] prior to the E3 Activision conference for which he also performed.^[75] A multiplayer teaser trailer was released on August 9, 2010 revealing killstreaks, weapons, and other in-game multiplayer features. A full multiplayer reveal took place on September 1, 2010, and revealed many multiplayer features from the game.^[76]

Chrysler produced a limited-edition Call of DutyJeep as the Wrangler is featured in Black Ops.^[77] In late September, viral site GKNOVA6 was updated revealing fuzzy footages of zombies.^[78] On October 11, a single player trailer aired on ESPN during the New York Jets versus Minnesota VikingsNFLMonday Night Football game.^[79] The same trailer was aired the next day in the United Kingdom at half time of the England versus Montenegro2012 European Football Championshipqualifying game. On October 29, the official launch trailer was released online. The same trailer aired on October 31 during the New Orleans Saints versus Pittsburgh SteelersNFLSunday Night Football game. The trailer features the song "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones, and directed by Rupert Sanders, who later went on to directed Snow White and the Huntsman and Ghost in the Shell.^[80]

Retail versions[edit]

Like Modern Warfare 2, "Hardened" and "Prestige" limited editions are available: the Hardened Edition includes a SteelBook case, a medal with its display case, four exclusive co-op levels and an Xbox Live or PlayStation Home avatar outfit. The Prestige Edition offers, in addition to the Hardened Edition's content, a real RC-XD remote-control vehicle modeled after the in-game killstreak reward, which gives video and audio feedback to its controller.^[81] In Japan, the game is distributed by Square Enix. Two versions are available: subtitled or dubbed,^[82] released respectively on November 18, 2010 and December 16, 2010. Both have dismemberment censored.^[83] Gore is censored as well in Germany in addition to the removal of "Sympathy for the Devil" and Nazi symbols considered "anti-constitutional" in the country.^[67]

Downloadable content[edit]

Treyarch released the "First Strike" Map Pack on February 1, 2011 for the Xbox 360. The PlayStation 3 received the map pack on March 3, 2011 and the PC version was released on March 25, 2011 through Steam.^[84] The Map Pack includes additional maps that can be played in the multiplayer mode. These maps include "Berlin Wall", "Discovery", "Kowloon" and "Stadium" and a map for the Zombies mode titled "Ascension" which takes place in a Soviet launch site.^[85]

On April 11, 2011, a second map pack called "Escalation" was announced by Activison and Microsoft. It features 4 new multiplayer maps named "Zoo", "Hotel", "Convoy", "Stockpile" and one new zombies map named 'Call of the Dead'. This map is based on the movies by George A. Romero, the revolutionary epic-zombie-horror director. The trailer for this map shows the four playable characters: Danny Trejo, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund and Michael Rooker. The name is a reference to the immensely popular Dead Series created and directed by Romero. The trailer also offers a sneak peek of a zombiefied version of George A. Romero himself, lurking out of water. The map is set on a ship, with instead of Nazi zombies, shipcrew zombies. It was released on May 3, 2011 for the Xbox 360, June 2 on the PC and June 10 for the PlayStation 3.^[86]

A third map pack called "Annihilation" was released for the Xbox 360 on June 28, 2011,^[87] and on July 28, 2011 for the PlayStation 3 and PC.^[88] It contains four new multiplayer maps named "Hangar 18", "Hazard", "Drive-In", "Silo", and a new zombies map named "Shangri La", which takes place in a legendary shrine lost in an exotic jungle.^[89][90]

The fourth map pack, "Rezurrection" was released on August 23, 2011 for the Xbox 360,^[91] and September 22, 2011 on PlayStation 3 and PC.^[92] The Rezurrection Map Pack is made up of 5 Zombies mode only maps. It includes the first 4 maps from Call of Duty: World at War ("Shi No Numa"/"Swamp", "Nacht Der Untoten"/"Night", "Verruckt"/"Asylum", "Der Riese"/"Factory") fully remastered. It also includes a new map called "Moon". "Moon" allows players to fight zombies in zero gravity with both the player and the zombies under zero gravity influence.^[93]

Reception[edit]