Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 | Multiplayer Review

The 3-year cycle of Call of Duty games kicked off last year with Advanced Warfare by Sledgehammer games. The game had mixed reviews with some people liking the change with the Exo suits and jumping about, to some people not really digging it. To be honest, I was all for it, but it got really tiresome with people flinging themselves everywhere.

This year it is the turn of Treyarch. Most noted for the Black Ops series, and this year it’s the turn of Black Ops 3.

The Black Ops series is the one that got me into playing Call of Duty games online when I used to play Black Ops 1 on my 360 and Wii most days and nights. Mainly because at the time I was out of work, so while I was taking a break from job hunting, I used to play Black Ops most of the time and loved it.



I loved Black Ops 2 and now 3 has come along into my life. How does it fair in terms of the others…? Well, the game has Treyarch’s distinctive stamp on it. I can tell by how the game feels, and each CoD does feel different dependent on who has developed it.

Another first for the series this year is the use of Dedicated Servers, this makes a really big difference. No longer do you lag due to a 12 year olds Tesco Value internet connection. Now you lag because of your own Tesco Value internet connection. Great success!

I have to admit though, that pretty much all of the games I have played have been smooth and very enjoyable.

The map design is really well done, and again you can tell that it has been done by Treyarch, the maps have that distinctiveness to them in terms of the design. One criticism I would make of the maps is that I don’t think the space with the buildings has been used particularly well. Each has its own style and uniqueness and gives a good variety to short, medium and long range combat.



There’s a couple of maps where you go round and see these big beautiful buildings and think there would be loads of rooms and space to move about in, but there isn’t, you walk in and just see one big room with some stairs leading up to another single room with a window.

More options, entrances and window vantage points and making the most out of the space available would be a lot better. Just making it one big room seem to be a bit of lazy development and developers taking the easy way out.

For the level I’m at and the guns available, the ones I’ve tried so far have seemed to be quite well balanced and there isn’t anything I’ve found that is too overpowering. Treyarch have done well by taking the information that they got from the Beta and making sure things were balanced as much as possible for the launch.

Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer need to take note of this. Doing that beta has done the final game justice.



This year’s multiplayer, instead of just having a character and create and class and on you go. This year you pick a specialist. Each specialist has their own unique Special Ability. I chose Overwatch and the Sparrow special ability. Which is just a bow and arrow that has explosive rounds. It’s a pretty sweet weapon to use and can bring some awesome shots. Have a look at my video below which shows the sparrow in action.

The create a class system in the game brings back the pick 10 system, which is a system I really enjoy using. It limits to what you can have, but it’s good to have the choice to mix things up a bit. To be able to remove your secondary weapon and add another perk if you want to use two from the same category.

You have your standard category of weapons within the game, Submachine, Assault Rifle, Sniper rifles, Handguns and specials. You also have your score steaks within the game, which you can again mix and match to your ability. So if you’re the type of person to go on a 15/20 killstreak while doing quick scoping 360’s, there are the more powerful streaks such as the Rolling Thunder and Calling in a Mothership, or you might be more reserved about your killings and as such there is a HC-XD, Care packages and everything in between.

This is an improvement on previous titles, and it always seem that Treyarch steps it up, which is why I’m always excited about their games. Infinity Ward and what will probably be Modern Warfare 4 have a lot to keep up with.

Overall, Black Ops 3 for me is a big improvement on the series and the dedicated servers have helped loads with the smoothness in the gameplay. I’m looking forward to seeing what the DLC and future holds for the Black Ops side of Call of Duty.

I’m going to give Black Ops 3 4/5