Two Games Bring Out the Big Guns: Call of Duty returns with many worthwhile enhancements

By: Ben Boezinger

If you’re like me, you sat awaiting the release of the highly anticipated Black Ops 3 shooter to come out last Thursday. Continuing the evolution of futuristic military and scientific technology, many players across the globe are skipping straight to the widely played multiplayer. With the emergence of ESports, console multiplayer shooters are growing bigger and bigger. Maybe you are new to the series and want to see what all the fuss is about, or, also like me, you have been a part of the series before, but just suck, or maybe you just would like to brush up a little before you jump on into multiplayer. Regardless of background, here are the tips you’ll need to succeed in this challenging and futuristic shooter.

If you haven’t heard, the theme of the newest COD is futuristic sci-fi apocalyptic militarian mayhem. With this new theme and setup comes new exo suits and movement capabilities. The new movement in the series, also incorporated in last year’s addition, can separate a novice player from an elite one. The new wall running and boost pack can also get you around the map smoothly without even breaking a sweat.

Incorporating this skill into your scheme can help you aggressively flank the enemy or avoid getting hunted down. The ability to shoot while sprinting across objects can be extremely helpful in one-on-one situations. As long as you have your finger on the trigger, you can outlast or catch an enemy by surprise.

If this all sounds new and alien to you, then I would suggest trying the new free run mode. It’s a fun competitive way to learn the basics and advanced controls of the new movement system. While trying to orientate these new skills into your online arsenal, know that an easy normal sprint may do the job.

It’s much easier to take down enemies on ground level, and harder to get killed too. If you prefer a less run-and-gun type of offense, a stealthy approach is useful too. You can use the wall running to get around to the backside of enemies and take them out in hordes. I’ve noticed on specific maps where this is most useful. This can lead to faster kills, and in some cases even less deaths.

New to the COD series are the specialist abilities. Choosing wisely amongst the nine different specialists can dictate the way you turn out. I’ve noticed that for each specialist character, there is a defensive and offensive ability to use.

For example, one of the favorite specialists I’ve seen so far is Battery. Her special weapon is a huge and powerful grenade launcher capable of taking out multiple enemies. I think I’d call this one the offensive ability, while on the other hand she has kinetic armor which can block all body shots and prevent any damage.

For a newer player this might be a good way to start off your multiplayer campaign. Out of all the population, this one is most likely the most underused skill.

I personally like to use Reaper’s scythe. It’s powerful but not limiting like the outrider’s Bow or Battery’s grenade launcher.

Maybe you’re looking for a less demanding ability. Ruins will fit you just fine. The ability of a ground slam with a tremendous amount of range acts as an easy kill or multiple ones.

The progression system is also reinvented since the previous edition to the series. Now when you level up, you achieve unlock tokens, and you can simultaneously unlock specialists and weapons. The later you move on in the progression system, the more you should save up on tokens.

Once you get to the higher levels, you can get the good specialists like purifier and scythe. You can also get the man-o-war assault rifle that I’ve seen as a player favorite.

Also new is the weapon level progression system. The more points you achieve with the weapon, the more accessories you can achieve. These really help the stats of your weapon, and especially if you use an SMG.

This is one of the best games added to the Call of Duty series, and if you skipped out on the previous games, this would be one to buy.  Multiplayer is extremely difficult, so I hope these tips help you master this year’s edition.