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Call of Duty: Black Ops II: Revolution
Score: 92%
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Treyarch
Media: Download/1
Players: 1; 2 - 12 (Online)
Genre: First Person Shooter

You Say You Want a Revolution:
Black Ops II promised DLC would be coming and Revolution is the first one available. This first DLC drop seems to have all the bases covered; there should be something for anyone who plays Black Ops II.

For one, you get the Peacekeeper SMG as a new bonus weapon, along with the expected suite of challenges for the weapons and the XP to be gained from completing those challenges. The meat of the DLC is composed of four new maps for online multiplayer play, of course, although I botted-up and ran around them some so I could get a decent look at the maps without constantly being capped unawares. Finally, there is something for the Zombie fans out there - a new location with a new type of gameplay. In Turned, you get to play as a zombie and try catching up to some fast food.

Revolution DLC Gameplay Trailer - Official Call of Duty: Black Ops II Video (on PS3)

GRIND:
You like urban warfare? Well, you can't get much more urban than this huge skate park in Venice Beach, Cali. However, if you're a fan of urban warfare on account of all of the hard corners you can duck behind, you might find things a bit tricky in Grind... it's not real easy to find cover when you're standing in the center of a bowl and enemies appear around the top. Just sayin'.

HYDRO:
Yet another very urban combat environment, Hydro puts you in a hydroelectric facility in Pakistan. Keep an eye out for snipers in this one; there are a lot of close-quarter areas, but a few nice chances to pick off enemies from a distance, as well. Oh, and watch out for the occasional "water hazard;" don't be caught in the lower area when the torrential flood waters are loosed...

MIRAGE:
Still wet from Hydro? Play in Mirage and relax and dry off in a luxurious beach resort... in the Gobi Desert. Okay, well, it may not be a beach, but there is a lot of sand - and it was luxurious until that sandstorm came through - but now it's a bit of a fixer-upper. It does have one thing in common with a beach, though - sand does get everywhere.

Mirage presents a little more opportunity to play some hide-and-seek and make use of your quadcopters and the like. In addition to some nooks and crannies in which to hide, there are also some good areas for losing pursuers; run through this door, slip around that corner and wait for them to pass and now you're chasing them.


DOWNHILL:
If you prefer colder climes for your resort activities, Downhill may be more your speed. Set in a ski resort, there are ample opportunities for sniping as well as an interesting dynamic created by the ski-lift. This environmental hazard gives you something to watch out for, but can also provide moving cover in certain areas of the map. One thing Downhill doesn't provide, however, is a lot of opportunities for cover, so remember to wear your winter camo.

TURNED:
That's right folks, now you can play the part of a zombie in Turned, a new mode for Black Ops II Zombies. Everyone starts as a zombie, but the first player to find the antidote gets to be human. Well, at least until the other players come for dinner. Fend off the zombified players as long as you can, for if they kill you, they respawn as a human and you respawn as a zombie.

I expected to like this mode, but I had no idea it would be as much fun as it was. Psibabe doesn't like online multiplayer, but she said she could play Turned for hours. I was actually surprised that it didn't feel more like Juggernaut, which is amusing, but generally unbalanced. Instead, I would describe Turned as more madcap - and a load of fun.


DIE RISE:
Another goodie for the zombie players, Die Rise presents a survival mode that takes place in a high-rise building in a big city in the some Chinese metropolitan city. As you survive, if you get bored with simply shooting the increasingly dangerous and maniacal waves of zombies, you can build devices and explore deeper into the skyscraper.


Thoughts:
Psibabe enjoyed Die Rise a bit, at least until she ended up inside the skyscraper without a lot of options with zombies pouring in, but we both really loved Turned. This mode can make a multiplayer gamer out of you, even if you dno't usually like multiplayer gameplay. It seems like taking away your ability to use any weapons and making you simply run, screaming and clawing, at someone seems to level the playing field a bit. Who knew?

Of the standard multiplayer maps, I enjoyed the cat-and-mouse opportunities in Mirage the most, but Grind was a lot of fun, as well, and, quite frankly, all four maps are beautiful and provide something unique (if a bit gimmicky), providing some new experiences and a change of pace from the original maps.

If you play Black Ops II regularly, either in Multiplayer or Zombies modes, I highly recommend the Revolution DLC.


-Geck0, GameVortex Communications
AKA Robert Perkins

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