During my day one coverage of E3 2015, I made a visit to Activision which is an annual tradition for us so I can see the latest Call of Duty as well as the other great things that the company has in store.
As usual, our up close look at Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 consisted of gameplay video that we saw in a private viewing room and we were given another treat which I will talk about later.
The game has some interesting new features such as abilities obtained via a cybernetic implant that allow players to use abilities such as hijacking enemy tech and power smash moves on enemies.
The gameplay is familiar to any fan of the series as waves of enemies came at the players and they made their way around the map to meet each threat, biological and mechanical as they arose.
Black Ops 3 will allow up to four players to play through the campaign mode of the game which is a huge draw as now players can share in what looks to be a very deep and engrossing storyline.
While our gameplay preview was limited to one extended moment of the game compared with past previews where we usually see two-three different segments of a game, we were invited to play a multiplay version of the game.
With a Dualshock 4 in hand underscoring that the PS4 is now the platform of choice for the Call of Duty franchise, I got into the action with a Kill Confirmed and Hardpoint match once I finished my customizations. I usually play shooters on a PC so not having my mouse and keyboard was an adjustment but I soon found myself taking down enemies with my two primary weapons and Semtex grenades.
The maps had a very familiar feel to them but the gameplay was as fast and smooth as fans would expect and I can say I gleefully enjoyed coming up on a pack of enemies defending a hard point who made the mistake of all having their backs to me.
One really nice touch was a special one-shot kill pistol that arrives for players to use when you fill your counter. I was told that certain actions that a player does will speed this process up. The pistol has the range and power that fans will love and I can say the first person to cross my path with it equipped went down fast and in a very satisfying heap.
At first glance some may say that the game looks and plays like past Call of Duty games but the level of customization and new abilities that can be called upon in both solo and multiplay show that Treyarch have taken the three years they have had to develop the game to good use and have crafted what may be the best looking and must diverse Call of Duty game to date.