Call of Duty: Black Ops II Vengeance

Score: 85%
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Treyarch
Media: Download/1
Players: 1; 2 - 12
Genre: First Person Shooter/Action/Online

Back with a Vengeance:

Activision and Treyarch promised to release ongoing updates to Black Ops II and here's the latest one, just like clockwork. Another bevy of maps have been released for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, in this latest DLC pack, Vengeance. You get four beautiful maps for the multiplayer mode as well as a new map for Zombies and a weapons specially for Zombies, as well...

UPLINK:

This map is a re-imagining of Summit, a fan favorite multiplayer map from Black Ops II, but the lush tropical foliage surrounding this mountaintop high-tech facility is absolutely gorgeous. Uplink features a number of nice touches, from nice locations to set up and snipe from to close-quarters halls that make for interesting skirmishes and narrow trails that can be used to skirt around the edges of the battlefield to get to your destination with, perhaps, fewer enemies in your way.

I found that Uplink was a really good Domination map, with the heaviest contention always being Checkpoint Bravo, which is nicely laid out, with access from two levels, some (limited) cover near the flag and defensible approaches, although there are four of them.

Uplink is fairly well-rounded, however, and is a good map for Team Deathmatch, as well, so this is definitely one map with which to get really familiar.

DETOUR:

Suspension bridges such as this one are important to the infrastructure of cities, but that just makes them more valuable targets. Perhaps that's why this bridge is severely damaged and is littered with emergency vehicles. Your battlefield is contained within a section of the bridge, but that doesn't mean you're a sitting duck; there are two levels at play here, as you can take the stairs down into the maintenance areas beneath the bridge, as well.

I found that Detour was a great map for Domination, with some nice areas for a sniper to cover a checkpoint, but it also made for some really fun games of Search and Destroy, with a good bit of cat-and-mouse action in the underside of the bridge.

RUSH:

I'm more of a Lazer Tag guy than a paintball guy, but the idea of obstacles to run around and hide behind translates well in either. This paintball course has become a real battlefield, however, and you're not firing balls of paint, but live ammunition. (I found it a bit amusing that more things can't be shot through, but it's still just thin materials such as plywood that can be shot through.)

Snipers will appreciate the bus, which gives a somewhat decent view of Checkpoint Bravo and the surrounding area, but you won't want to hang out in the bus too long; it's not what I would call "safe." There is also an elevated area on one side of the course that has some windows for sniping out of and a long hall that makes for some nice sniping opportunities, as well.

Most of the gameplay I got on this map was in Domination games, and the layout works pretty well for that game mode, but this is a pretty fun map, regardless.

COVE:

Of all the maps in Vengeance, I like Cove the least. That probably says less about the map and more about my preferred style of play, however. I like to find a place that I can set up with a sniper rifle and take out enemies when they least expect it from a great distance. I also enjoy a good knifing from time to time, or a nice up-close shotgun blast - assuming I'm delivering and not receiving, of course. I find Cove to be more of a mid-range distance map, limiting the efficiency (and usefulness) of either of these play styles. The map's layout is analogous to Swiss cheese, with lots of short tunnels to run through, and natural stone formations to run around, but there's really not anywhere you can set up at a long, straight distance and snipe, nor is it really close quarters enough for me to get some good, sneaky stabbing in. You never have a great view of the island, but you're never really out of the open, either.

That being said, Cove might be an excellent map for a team that has some cohesion and actual teamwork; it's not a big map and if you have three players communicating with each other and watching each other's back and working as a unit, you could clean up. I've seen this happen, although it was the other team, of course.

BURIED:

This quaint and long-forgotten ghost town may have been dead and buried, but it's having a hard time staying dead. In a bit of a twist on the Zombie maps, Buried will have you progressing downward into the depths of this buried ghost town, with each progressive level being more dangerous and no obvious way to get back up and escape. Be careful where you step - you want to advance to the more difficult levels, but you may want to take your time in getting there.

Bonus: The Anti-Zombie Ray Gun Mark II

The Ray Gun from Zombies is back with a vengeance, with this upgraded version, Mark II. This science fiction armament is designed to give you the upper hand against the zombie menace. Further, it's available for use in every Call of Duty: Black Ops II Zombie map.

Thoughts...:

All of the maps are gorgeous and Buried's downward progression is an interesting twist. The Cove map isn't my bag, but I can see it being someone else's favorite... and it comes down to providing something for everyone, which is what Treyarch seems to be doing.

If one of these maps sounds like something you have to have, you can pick it up through Xbox LIVE. If you don't have the points, you can purchase them through Xbox LIVE or on Amazon, via the link below. If you want all the maps you can get, you should consider the Season Pass, which gives you access to four DLC packs (including this one) for $10 USD less than buying them individually (See link below). And, if you already have the Season Pass... get to downloading - what are you waiting for?

-Geck0, GameVortex Communications
AKA Robert Perkins