NUK3TOWN Bonus Map Trailer

Treyarch revealed the official NUK3TOWN gameplay trailer during the fourth, and final, Black Ops 3 Friday stream. You can watch the trailer below.

NUK3TOWN is pretty much the same as its predecessors, but more futuristic and colourful. Even with the changes required for the new momentum-based movement system, Treyarch has kept the magic that made the original Nuketown what it was: "controlled chaos" on a small map.

You can still use the same strategies and gameplay styles as you did with Nuketown and Nuketown 2025, but you have to take into account the wall-running and thrust-jumps. For example, camping is more difficult since players can thrust-jump through the second-story windows and flank you.

New Details on Xbox 360 and PS3 Versions

Activision has released new details on the limitations that the last generation versions of Black Ops III are facing. As revealed last month, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions are already missing the Campaign due to hardware limitations, but it now seems that other major features, like the Theatre Mode, are gone as well.

The details below only apply to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3:

  • Game performance may vary. Multiplayer mode scales between 30-60 FPS, while the Zombies mode is capped at 30 FPS.
  • The Weapon Paint Shop, eSports tools, CODCasting and Theatre Mode are removed.
  • Xbox 360 requires 8GB of storage space for installation, while the PS3 version will need 16GB.
  • The Season Pass is not available and individual DLC content may vary by platform. DLC details will be announced at a later date.

The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will be available at a discounted retail price of $49.99 and include a bonus download for the original Black Ops game.

"The Giant" Zombies Bonus Map Gameplay Trailer

Treyarch has released a brand new "The Giant" gameplay trailer, which you can view below. As a reminder, the bonus map is only available on the Digital Deluxe, Hardened and Juggernog Collector's Editions, plus the Season Pass.

"'The Giant' Bonus Map picks up the Zombies story where Origins left off. Re-live the chaos of Treyarch's classic 'Der Riese' Zombies map with Dempsey, Nikolai, Takeo and Richthofen. Set in a World War II-era research facility, complete with the weapon-upgrading Pack-a-Punch Machine, Teleporters, and Hellhounds."

If you missed the latest Black Ops 3 Friday, you can watch it here for the unboxing of the Juggernog Edition and brand new Zombies information.

Black Ops III Season Pass DLC Details

Microsoft's Xbox Store has updated their Black Ops 3 Season Pass description with new interesting details of its contents. It's now officially confirmed that there will be four DLC map packs released in 2016.

According to the bundle description, the DLC's will include new multiplayer content and re-imagined fan-favorite maps from World at War, Black Ops and Black Ops 2, plus new Zombies content. The Giant bonus map will now also be included in the Season Pass; before it was only available for the Digital Deluxe, Hardened and Juggernog Editions.

The official description also states that the Season Pass and The Giant won't be available for last generation consoles. This reveal doesn't come as a surprise, considering that it's already been confirmed that the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions won't have the campaign included.

"Season Pass and 'The Giant' Zombies bonus map are not available on Xbox 360."

Black Ops III Launch Trailer

With only two weeks left before Black Ops 3's official release, Activision has finally revealed the game's official launch trailer. Check it out below.

"Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the ultimate 3-games-in-1 experience. In Campaign mode, you must navigate the hot spots of a new Cold War to find your missing brothers. Players can play the campaign cooperatively or solo and are now always connected to the intelligence grid and their fellow operatives during battle. Multiplayer features a new momentum-based chained movement system, allowing players to fluidly move through the environment with finesse, using controlled thrust jumps, slides, and mantling. Black Ops III multiplayer also introduces the new Specialist character system, which allows players to master 9 characters' battle-hardened weapons and abilities through a challenge-based unlock progression system. No Treyarch title would be complete without its signature Zombies offering. 'Shadows of Evil' has its own distinct storyline right out of the box, set in the fictional 1940s Morg City, where four particularly troubled individuals - the femme fatale, the magician, the detective, and the boxer - star in this film-noir inspired horror story."

Black Ops 3 Loyalty Program and "Free Run" Game Mode Revealed

Treyarch has revealed the Black Ops 3 Loyalty Program and all-new Free Run game mode during the second Black Ops Friday live stream.

The new Loyalty Program rewards players who have reached specific levels in Black Ops 2, Ghosts or Advanced Warfare with BO3 themed in-game items:

  • Level 10 or higher: Loyalty Calling Card
  • Level 31 or higher: Loyalty Reticle Set
  • Prestiged: Loyalty Prestige Weapon Camo

Your loyalty rewards will be based on the game where you have progressed the furthest. Players that have reached any of the required levels will need to link their account by November 5, 2015 to be eligible. Click here for more details on how to do so.

Black Ops 3 Loyalty Program

The new Free Run game mode is a solo experience in multiplayer where you are competing in time-trial courses for leaderboard positions. The Free Run courses are full of puzzles with movement- and weapon-based challenges. There are four courses and they get progressively more difficult.

Check out the replay of the stream below. The Free Run mode is showcased at 9:00 mark.

Zombies Mode: Shadows of Evil Prologue Trailer

Activision and Treyarch have released the official prologue trailer for Shadows of Evil. The trailer gives a quick glimpse at each characters background before the events that are about to unfold.

"Shadows of Evil introduces four unwitting characters who must uncover the secrets and challenges laid out for them by a shadowy figure, who offers them a path to redemption. Jeff Goldblum, Heather Graham, Neal McDonough, and Ron Perlman star in 'Shadows of Evil', a new survival co-op experience only available in Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Unravel the secrets and explore a massive 1940s, film noir-inspired world in the deepest Zombies experience to date."

PC Version Improvements Following Beta Feedback

Treyarch's Cesar Stastny, also known as pcdev, has shared some new details on some of the changes they have made to the PC experience following the beta feedback. Here are some examples of PC-specific changes:

  • Players reported performance issues during the beta, but it was due to the game not including all the performance optimizations that are in the final release. The problems have been solved and Treyarch is also working with hardware partners to prepare optimized drivers for launch.
  • Mouse lag / acceleration has been fixed.
  • Certain networking configurations caused compatibility issues and had trouble connecting to the game servers. The problem has been fixed.
  • Most of the crashes, freezes, or other bugs have been resolved.

Again, this is just a sample of the fixes that have been implemented or are in progress for the PC version.

Final Specialist Revealed; New "Redwood" Multiplayer Map

A lot of new information was released during Treyarch's first ever "Black Ops Friday" live stream. The first big announcement was a brand new multiplayer map called Redwood that takes place Northern California.

Redwood Multiplayer Map

The 9th Specialist was revealed to be "Firebreak", a fire specialist. Firebreak's special weapon is Purifier, which is a close-quarters flamethrower. His special ability is Heat Wave, a powerful blast that stuns nearby enemies and destroys equipment.

Firebreak Specialist

Here's a summary of other interesting details that were revealed during the live stream:

  • Theatre Mode is back with new features.
  • There are 55 ranks with 10 Prestige levels in multiplayer. Something unique is unlocked after Prestige level 10.
  • Specialists have their own unique customization options. Each "outfit set" looks different based on which Specialist is wearing it.
  • Taunts and gestures for each Specialist can be customized and then used at the end of a match.
  • There is four player split-screen for offline and two player split-screen for online.

You can watch the full stream below:

How the Black Ops III Multiplayer Beta Helped Treyarch

David Vonderhaar, Treyarch's Studio Design Director, has posted a lengthy piece on the official PlayStation blog detailing on how the beta feedback helped them improve the game. Thanks to the invaluable input of the fans and raw data generated during the beta, Treyarch can now offer a better "day one" experience.

Here are some of the gameplay changes and improvements that can be expected on the final version of the game:

  • Black Hat has been nerfed since the equipment was too powerful. The new Black Hat now scales the hacking speed based on the distance to the target. The farther you are, the longer it takes - you will also need to have a precise aim. The time-to-hack has been increased for pretty much everything, especially the high-end Scorestreaks. The enemy team will also be notified that one their Scorestreak is being hacked; the hacker itself will be displayed on the radar as a red dot.
  • Rejack has been adjusted accordingly. Rejack now counts as a kill and will be rewarded to the player immediately and marked to their stats. Players downed with Rejack will now have their Scorestreak progress reset to prevent stacking.
  • The flinch mechanic sometimes caused bullet flinch to stack, which made players completely lose their aim, even after a few hits. There is now a cap on how much you can flinch.
  • Once you down an enemy player, there will be a red "kill mark" to confirm the kill.
  • Grenade speeds and distances have been tweaked.
  • The Concussion grenade's stun time has been reduced by one second. The Flashbang stays the same, but the Tactical Mask perk, which can be used to counter both grenades, is unlocked earlier.
  • The Kill Cam now shows what killed you with additional details, e.g. the weapon or Scorestreak, and what perks the player had active.
  • Weapons have been balanced based on feedback, including the M8A7 assault rifle and Razorback SMG.

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