Gamescom : Call of Duty Black Ops Declassified Preview.
Developer Nihilistic Studios
Publisher Activision
Platform Sony PS Vita
Release Date Nov 2012
Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified will be the first COD game to appear on Sony’s PS Vita bringing with it all the action we have come to expect from the Call of Duty franchise. At this week’s Gamescom conference we got the chance to have a very quick meeting with the developer team and to be one of the first people to see a multi-player match in action over Wi-Fi.
Multiplayer supports games of 4 V 4 across six different multiplayer maps that have been designed specifically for the small screen on the new console, the handheld market is very different but we have been assured that veteran FPS players will instantly be comfortable picking up the Vita and playing. Well known game modes like team death match, capture the flag and kill confirmed have all been included and of course your standard practice COD Kill streaks and XP unlocks from the iconic series
The Vita has some extra control features that are not available on the normal consoles and Black Ops Declassified makes use of these. Features like the touch controls that now allow you to throw your grenades in a different direction to the way you are facing giving you even greater accuracy when confronted with lobbing grenades, great when faced with a tricky doorway for example. A quick demonstration shows how easy it is to now just track with your finger and throw your grenade. Players can be running one way pass a door and flick a frag in without looking.
Touch controls are also used for other attacking options like the melee attacks and when in snipping mode it is used to both hold your breath and to aim, these are just some of the early control features announced on the Vita version.
It also makes use of the Vita’s “Near” feature, for example you can drop load outs for your close by friends to pick up. They can even benefit from picking your load out up and using weapons they might not have had the chance to unlock yet.
We are then given a chance to see an online game in progress, it is quite impressive and has all the hallmarks of a Call of Duty game. It is quick but perhaps it is fair to say it is not quite as fluid as it is on PS3 or Xbox but it certainly looks the part. Although it is hard to fully form an opinion without getting to play a game for a few hours to get a feel for it.
The single player campaign has been designed to suit the mobile platform rather than trying to replicate the console versions which is good news for the platform. The campaign will focus on short quick objective based missions that suit the Vita’s pick up and play style. The game will be set between the events of Black ops 1 and the upcoming Black ops 2 but anything beyond that is being kept under wraps.
Releasing this November Call of Duty Black Ops Declassified looks to fill that COD shaped hole in the handheld market and the Vita with its dual stick set up and high quality technology looks like it can handle it but can Nihilistic handle it after the mediocre Resistance Burning Skies?
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