Everything You Need to Know About Black Ops 3 (Info, Images, Analysis)

Activision and Treyarch have been teasing the next Call of Duty for weeks and they’ve finally delivered the official reveal of Black Ops 3.

Today’s reveal sent out one clear message: Treyarch are back and delivering a different type of Call of Duty. To coincide with the reveal, Treyarch have redesigned their website, which we imagine will become a key source of community interaction in the coming months.

The reveal of the game itself was different than usual also, and perhaps suggest that we’re in for a more direct approach. The trailer focussed more on gameplay than story, there will be a public beta for the first time since 2008, and key members of the press and community have already played portions of multiplayer. This is opposite to what usually happens with Call of Duty and signals a change in approach and the full effect of a 3-year development cycle. The hype in the run up to the game will be different than ever, so buckle up and enjoy the ride!

In this article we’ll do our absolute best to put together everything that’s been confirmed about Black Ops 3, from information about the game to high-quality screenshots. We also hope to have an some sort of analysis of the trailer up within the week, so stay tuned for that too.

General

• • Black Ops 3 will be available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC on Friday, November 6th 2015.
  • There is no ‘ported’ game and Treyarch showed press the game running on all platforms to quell misconceptions about games development. Treyarch aren’t developing the game for any other platform and Activision have stated that they had no further announcements to make about other platforms.
  • Multiplayer Beta – Those who pre-order will receive a code that can be redeemed on the beta website. The beta is expected to be available be 1-2 months before launch and will around last 1-2 weeks. The beta will be available on all platforms. Retailers will have other pre-order bonuses, such as a Zombies poster available at GameStop.
  • More “fluid movement, combat variety and sheer personality” than other games in the series, and borrows elements from Titanfall (wall running) and Destiny (power abilities).
  • The game has an element of gore, with the ability to shoot of limbs possible (including in multiplayer).
  • You can see your own shadow and look down at your feet.
  • Movement – More precision-focussed, momentum-based and fluid. Treyarch valued traversal moves over verticality and want players to use the environment as a tool rather than to feel encumbered by it. Moves can be chained together and players will still be able to use their weapons during movement. Movements can be carried out as long as a single meter is full, which recharges a few seconds after moves are performed. There’s no Exo Suits or Double Jumps.
    • Wall Run
    • Thrust Jumps – Mechanically work very different to Exo Suits.
    • Switch Directions mid-jump
    • Power Slide – Longer than in Advanced Warfare and can be queued up while in the air. Players can also changes direction while sliding.
    • Swimming (can shoot weapons while underwater)
    • Unlimited Sprint
    • No dive to prone
• A social system is in place to enable players to be able to seamlessly transition from one mode to another with their friends.
• PC Specifications:
  • Operating System: Windows 7 64-Bit / Windows 8 64-Bit / Windows 8.1 64-Bit
  • Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-530 @ 2.93 GHz / AMD Phenom™ II X4 810 @ 2.60 GHz
  • Memory: 6 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 470 @ 1GB / ATI® Radeon™ HD 6970 @ 1GB
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Network: Broadband Internet connection
  • Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

Campaign

• The Campaign is set during the future (2060) where biotechnology and cybernetic enhancements have delivered a new kind of Black Ops soldier. The enhancements and Direct Neural Interface technology (which allows players to connect to an ‘intelligence grid’ and fellow operatives) makes soldiers faster, stronger, and smarter. A Directed Energy Air Defense (DEAD) system, which has been developed by countries from around the world, has rendered air superiority useless.
• Players will have the ability to personalize their characters, including weapons, loadouts, abilities and outfits. A progression system is also present.
• The Campaign will support four-player online (two-player split-screen) cooperative play. The campaign is designed for co-op play, with larger and open-area environments (which also have multiple path routes) providing a new level of replayability.
• The campaign adopts a more layered approach then a branching storyline strategy featured in Black Ops 2.
• No quick time events as the game is now built for co-op play.
• Smarter AI – Robots, humans and drones all act differently and fight players in different ways depending on the player’s tactics.
• Augmentation choices –
  • Cyber Cores – Level agonistic skills such as remote hacking, deploy swarms of nano drones etc. There are 40, all of which can be upgraded.
  • Cyber Rigs – Passive abilities such as wew movement and defensive capabilities. Designed to make players feel more powerful.
  • T-Mode – Allows co-op players to visualize the environment with a threat assessment overlay.
• Customizable Safehouse – A place for co-op players to hang out in between missions and showcase their earned medals and achievements.
• An in-game Wiki system will enable players to digest a deep backstory and current situation on what’s going on in the fictional game world.
• Climate change, lack of resources, and super-human soldiers (with increased senses and strength, albeit with decreased humanity)  have forced nations into conflict.
• An objective early on in the game is to investigate a secret CIA site in Singapore which has suddenly gone off the radar. Following this, the largest leak in intelligence in military history occurs, leading to the collapse of global cover operations. Character similarities to Edward Snowden have been described by Mashable. Treyarch acknowledge that they use popular culture as an inspiration. The leaked files contain information on CIA secrets, such as covert op locations and military weak points, which creases a level of instability. A female soldier had this to say: “The information Taylor released helped the NRC target strategic weak points in the Egyptian military defenses. They are gaining territory fast. Civilian casualties are high. Cairo’s on the brink of total collapse.”
• A mission the press experienced was set at the Ramses railway station in Cairo, Egypt. The mission was presented in the form of a flashback, highlighting the station before destruction occurred.

Multiplayer

• Utilizes the movement system described early – Thrust Jumps, Wall Running, Power Slide etc. Players will be able to use their weapons while performing a move and the movements are designed to support a player’s progression through the environment. The movement focusses more on traversal gameplay rather than verticality. There is a limit to wall running (it’s not possible to wall run on every area), and each map only has a small amount of spots that can be used for wall running.
• The maps are designed to cater to traditional movement as well as the new advanced movement. Players can still focus on ground movement, lying prone with a sniper rifle etc.
• Skill-based matchmaking is comparable to Black Ops 2 rather than Advanced Warfare.
• Multiplayer will be playable at E3 and via a public beta coming later this year (pre-order to guarantee access).
• Supports splitscreen multiplayer.
• Pick 10 returns.
• Theatre Mode is returning.
• Supply Drops won’t be included.
• Specialist System – A new character class system which provides some personality to a player’s character. Each class can be levelled up individually and has its own look, personality, voice and weapons and abilities. There are nine Specialist classes and each one has two options to equip; a special weapon or a an ability. Players can only equip one option for each class and both the class and ability must be chosen in the lobby before the match has begun. Players can use the weapon/ability for a short amount of time when they reach the limit on a meter count. The meter increases based on the player’s performance during the match; special weapons generally activate at four minutes (getting a good amount of kills and other actions could increase this to two minutes), while the ability generally activates at two minutes (again, kills and other actions may make this one minute). This system is described as a useful method for players who doesn’t often get Scorestreaks as it allows them to try out cool weapons and abilities without needing to stay alive. Four classes have been confirmed, with five more to be announced in the coming months –
  •  Ruin AKA Donnie Walsh
    • “Raised in a military family in a tough neighbourhood, he is fearless and headstrong, an infantry soldier through and through. He uses his unique abilities to rush into battle and surprise the enemy with sheer force.”
    •  Special Weapon – Gravity Spikes which take out nearby enemies with a powerful shockwave
    • Ability – Overdrive which provides a brief burst of movement speed.
  • Seraph AKA Zhen Zhen
    • “Militant enforcer of the 54I crime syndicate’s rule of law. She is known for her focused and unflinching combat discipline, striking fear within the ranks of the cartel.”
    • Special Weapon – Annihilator which is a high-caliber revolver with penetration rounds.
    • Ability – Combat Focus which grands a bonus multiplier towards earning Scorestreaks.
  • Outrider AKA Alessandra Castillo
    • “Developed keen observation skills growing up in the streets of the Favela, traversing the rooftops to watch the action of the city below, and this earned her a place in the ranks of the Brazilian Special Forces. She outsmarts enemies by finding them before they have a chance to know what hit them.”
    •  Special Weapon – Sparrow which is a bow equipped with explosive bolts.
    • Ability – Vision Pulse which tags and highlights enemy locations within a certain range.
  • Reaper AKA Experimental War Robot (EWR)
    •  “Started as an expensive military R&D project to supplement Special Operations soldiers in the field, the EWR was a cutting-edge prototype combat robot, the most advanced in the world at the time. Budget overruns and embarrassing political incidents left the project all but a resource for scrap metal, except for the one prototype that remained.”
    • Special Weapon – Scythe which is a robotic arm that can turn into a high power mini-gun.
    • Ability – Glitch which allows players to teleport back to the position that they were at around six seconds earlier.
• Gunsmith System – A new weapon customization system. Players can equip an optic and up to five additional attachments to their weapon (within the limits of Pick 10). Players are then able to custom the appearance of the weapon further by creating up to 64 layers of custom camo art which can be placed on three sides of the weapon.
• Press played a number of matches on three maps (Stronghold, Combine, Hunted) and three modes (Kill Confirmed, Domination, Team Deathmatch).
• Confirmed maps –
  • Stronghold – Set in a chateau in the Swiss Alps. Described as having an asymmetrical design that mixes open areas with close quarters.
  • Combine – Set in a Saharan research facility. Described as a small and tight facility with tight interiors and a middle open area. One part of the map features a wall that can be traversed to get to another side, but the player may face death if they fall into a large drop.
  • Hunted Set in an Ethiopian hunting lodge in the jungle. Described as having long sight lines with mid to long-range engagements supported. Features an underwater section that players can swim in (the game will allow players to fire weapons while underwater, although only a few maps will have accessible underwater areas).
• Most maps have three lanes and there is never more than two storeys of verticality.
• Details on Create-a-Class, Scrorestreaks, Pick 10, Specialist levelling,social features, eSports, and more coming at E3 and Gamescom.

Zombies

• Will be a “full-game experience” and include its own distinct storyline from launch.
• Will feature an XP-based progression system, providing some depth and replayability. The mode has also been described as the “most immersive and ambitious” Zombies experience so far.
• Aiming to deliver a “totally unique, highly creative mind-blowing creation” which is not like “anything” in the campaign or multiplayer.

Quotes

“Nearly 100 million people have played Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops II, making it the most-played series in Call of Duty history. And those fans are about to get the best Black Ops game we’ve made yet with Call of Duty: Black Ops III. This is Treyarch’s first three year development and man, have they made the most of it; with a ton of innovation across all modes of play, and of course a mind bending, wild ride of a story, Black Ops style. Our fans will get a taste for themselves with a Beta later this year. But for now, Black Ops is back.” – Eric Hirshberg, Activision CEO

 

“Black Ops III is without a doubt, the most ambitious project ever in the history of our studio. Since the launch of Black Ops II, we have been pushing ourselves to develop the best Call of Duty game we can for the millions of fans that continue to play our games, even to this day. We’ve been taking advantage of the three year development cycle by pushing our game design forward in every way imaginable, crafting all-new experiences, mechanics, systems and characters, all in the deepest Call of Duty that we’ve ever made. This really is like getting three games in one.”  – Mark Lamia, Treyarch Studio Head

 

“Call of Duty is an entertainment juggernaut that continues to reinvent itself year after year with new storylines and exciting features. We’ve been able to get an early look at Call of Duty: Black Ops III and are extremely impressed with what we’ve seen, and expect it to be a huge hit yet again.” – Bob Puzon, GameStop Senior Vice President of Merchandising

Screenshots

Other Assets

Preview Links

• Mashable 1
• Mashable 2
• Gameplanet AU
• Eurogamer
• Game Informer 1
• Game Informer 2
• Xbox Achievements 1
• Xbox Achievements 2
• Xbox Achievements 3
• Xbox Achievements 4
• Xbox Achievements 5
• IGN
• Engadget
• VG247

ESG Article Links

• YouTubers play Black Ops 3 and give impressions
• Reveal Trailer
• Black Ops 3 screenshots and info released ahead of reveal
• Campaign, MP, Zombies info revealed in promo material
• Black Ops 3 coming Nov 6th and will have a beta
• Black Ops 3 Ember and Latest Viral Teasers
• Black Ops 3 Ember Teaser Trailer
• Viral Teaser #19-21
• Viral Teaser #16-18
• Viral Teaser #8-15
• Exo? Cybernetics? We explore the Black Ops 3 possibilities
• Black Ops 3 reveal coming April 26th
• #backinblack Teaser
• Viral Teaser #5, #6, #7
• Viral Teaser #3 and #4
• Viral Teaser #2
• Viral Teaser #1
• Black Ops 3 Viral Snapchat Easter Egg

Trailer