‘Black Ops – First Strike’ Trailer Features Zombie Map ‘Ascension’

Gamers are only a mere week from the release of the First Strike Map Pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops, and so Treyarch and Activision thought it apropos to release a new, more cinematic trailer. While the first trailer for First Strike was more about introducing the multiplayer maps, this trailer is all about showing how each one, including the new Zombie map Ascension, works within the confines of the game.

Set in what appears to be some sort of NASA facility in the dead of night, Ascension has a look similar to the multiplayer map Launch, but with a few tweaks here and there. One notable addition is a rocket-propelled platform that allows the player to hover in the air and pick off what appear to be ape-like zombies from high ground. Ascension is a great addition to the already awesome Zombie maps, but what most gamers are looking for are more multiplayer maps.

For those who don’t know, the four multiplayer maps included with First Strike are titled Kowloon, Discovery, Berlin Wall, and Stadium. Each brings something new to the table, with Kowloon and Berlin Wall being the biggest standouts.

Sick and tired of all the Rolling Stones tie-ins with Black Ops? Too bad. Here’s the new trailer:

With only one map (Hanoi) that takes place at night, Kowloon will allow gamers that prefer to stick to the shadows with their suppressed weapon and ghost perk to have a new favorite stomping ground. On top of that, Kowloon’s use of zip-lines is a welcome addition, and one that opens up Call of Duty’s multiplayer to a world of possible game interaction – just look at the turrets in Berlin Wall.

No word has come down as to how these maps will integrate with the multiplayer in Black Ops – whether they will be added into the rotation of any gamer who owns them, or if gamers can play just the four new maps over and over again. After one of the more recent patches increased the randomness of maps, and made it so gamers can only play the same map twice in a row, the potential for gamers playing some of these new maps right from download could be very slim. Let’s hope that Treyarch finds a way to get these new maps integrated without them each becoming the next Nuketown.

Which of the four maps do you think adds the most variety to Black Ops? What do you think of Ascension, the Zombie map set in a zombie-infested NASA facility?

The Call of Duty: Black Ops - First Strike Map Pack releases February 1, 2011, for the Xbox 360.