It’s finally here. After weeks of anticipation and ogling some cool promo items (including the Call of the Dead poster that arrived last week), Call of Duty: Black Ops’ latest map pack, Escalation, is available for purchase. The first map pack that came out a couple of months back was pretty cool, but this one easily tops it, thanks to four new intriguing areas to do battle with your friends through, and a phenomenal zombies stage that’s worth playing, even on your own. The four multiplayer maps – Stockpile, Zoo, Hotel and Convoy – each have something special to offer. They’re large with plenty of room to strike from above or below, and give you opportunities galore to take out your friends and build up a few points. The environmental detail to each stage is absolutely splendid, especially in Zoo, where you’ll run through areas previously infested by animals and even a monorail that’s been put out of commission – though that won’t stop you from running along the track.
Hotel can be quite intense with its confined areas, and Convoy provides you with even more lethal opportunity with its exploding gas pumps. Gotta love taking out a group in clusters. But where the real party is at with Escalation is Call of the Dead. Like the Black Ops presidential stage, this has more personality than your standard zombie maps. The stage takes place on a film set in Siberia, where the director, George A. Romero himself, demands another take. The stars – Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michael Rooker, Robert Englund, and Danny “Machete” Trejo – get more than what they bargained for when zombies suddenly plague the set for real, with George leading the pack as a runner. The rule of thumb is DON’T HIT THE RUNNER. He’s slow and steady, but also invincible, and if you shoot him even once, his temper will flare up and he won’t leave you alone until you’re dead.
The waves of zombies build up immensely, and you can unlock new weapons and areas to the stage, giving you more room to run – though you simply can’t hide. This has to be our favorite Call of Duty Zombies stage to date, not only because it’s enormous and packed with danger, but also because of the grade A dialogue that plays throughout. Each of the stars are quite game with their scripts, especially Gellar, who brings a little Buffy-ness to her role. Romero is definitely top-notch too, shouting out stupid one-liners as he hunts you, such as “Let’s do some re-shoots!” Overall, this pack is definitely worth the 1200 Microsoft points. If the four multiplayer maps don’t sell you, the awesome Call of the Dead certainly will. That mission alone deserves its own game – and would give Left 4 Dead a run for its money.
Final Recommendation: BUY IT
