Call of Duty Black Ops II Uprising DLC Review

Treyarch Not Quitting Yet

     With the recent announcement of Call of Duty: Ghosts, you would expect the recent installment in the Call of Duty franchise to slowly deteriorate but that isn't the case with Black Ops 2. Coming back with a kick the new Uprising downloadable content is bringing players of the franchise a fresh new look on the famous Zombies career and some new maps along with visiting a Black Ops classic, Uprising refreshes Black Ops 2's current standings among FPS'.

Zombies Picks Up Some True Talent

     With the addition of new maps, Uprising adds in a new map for Treyarch's well known Zombie mode. Taking place in Alcatraz Prison (In San Francisco Bay California) this new map adds some new gameplay elements as well as some very well known voice acting.

     Famous Hollywood actors and voice actors Ray Liotta,  Michael Madsen, Chazz Palminteri and Joe Pantoliano pick up as the main characters in the new mode "Mob of The Dead". This game mode follows mobsters Billy Handsome (Liotta), Michael 'Finn' O'Leary (Madsen), Salvatore Delucca (Palminteri) and Al Arlington (Pantoliano) as they try to escape the sporadically zombified Alcatraz Prison by following a plan scattered over their cell block after killing a prison guard. This plan requires building a plane on the roof out of 5 items scattered in Alcatraz that leads them to being shot down by lightening on to the Golden Gate Bridge. 

     Mob of the Dead also includes the musical talent of Johnny Cash, the theme being "Rusty Cage" by the deceased artist.

"Mob of the Dead" Gameplay

     Mob of the Dead includes the regular gameplay mechanics of Zombie mode (Perks, Score System, etc.). However a new mechanic was implemented called "Afterlife". You get a taste of this new death mechanic at the beginning of every match. You're a blue entity that can use a type of shock ability to turn on power for vending machines, doors, and map mechanics. Also you can use this to teleport zombies (mainly that is used to get them away from your body when your down but can also be used to get Zombies away from allies). This new mechanic is used to further your progess in the game. An example of this is using Afterlife to reach a normally unreachable area of the map to power a pulley to lower the "Warden's Key" to further access parts of the map. However Treyarch did make the system balanced as you only have a certain amount of time before you die in Afterlife.
     The progression system for Mob of the Dead is unique as well. In maps such as "TranZit" your only feel for progression was more weapons, easter eggs and turning on power. In Mob of the Dead there is more of a feeling of accomplishment as you further go into the prison and eventually reach the construction of the plane. As you can only reach the Pack-a-Punch machine by using the plane to reach the Bridge so there's that constant need to progress (Each time you return to the prison from the Bridge by using Afterlife you must acquire five fuel tanks to power the plane again to return). Also with the inclusion of some new weapons there is even more of a feeling of accomplishment when you acquire these unlockable weapons. However along with progression comes consequence. There is now boss waves that spawn a Zombie known as "The Ward" which is a Zombie that can only be killed by headshots. This hulking enemy can truly strike an adrenaline rush in players as it stomps around violently vibrating your controller and making the screen tremor repeatedly every step it takes. Another element that requires some form of group effort.
     I personally enjoy Mob of the Dead to it's full extent. With the new elements in it's gameplay there is more of a feel for cooperation among playing with random people in a Public Match and the voice acting is incredible. On one occasion of playing this with Randoms we had reached a point where we accidentally split up. We had directed each other to group back up and managed to get the remaining fuels to refuel the plane to reach the bridge before gathering back up by guiding each other to the spawns for the fuel. That feeling of accomplishment with your team mates truly feel rewarding when you get that great gun and begin slaughtering Zombies together. Now for the new maps for Multiplayer.

Revisiting an Old Favorite and New Flames

     Uprising comes equipped with four new maps for Black Ops 2's online multiplayer. These maps include Encore, Vertigo, Magma and Studio. Most notably is the map "Studio". This map is a remake of the original Black Ops map "Firing Range". This map isn't yet well known for this purpose but it can be used for Machinima with its few green screen areas.

     The map "Magma" is a small city or town in Japan near a volcano that recently erupted. There's areas of lava hazards that if touched lead to immediate death in-game.

     "Encore" takes place in London after a music festival and is an extremely asymmetrical map and at times, at least from my experience, can be very irritating to navigate as there isn't truly any memorable landmarks to realize where you are.

     "Vertigo" takes place in the skies of India atop a skyscraper. This map is somewhat symmetrical with two common hotspots for firefights in and outside of the building on the map.

Final Thoughts

     With Mob of The Dead being the highlight of this newest DLC for Black Ops 2 and the four 

new maps being important (but not as much as Zombies, lol), the $15 price tag is well worth it. I give this DLC a 9/1o. The only true flaws lying in the Encore map, at least in my opinion. But it's just an opinion, One Paranoid Gamer's opinion.

      Black Ops 2's "Uprising" is currently available on the Xbox 360 Marketplace for 1200 Microsoft Points and the Playstation Network for $15. No Current Release Date for Wii U.