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Starting this weekend, Call of Duty: Ghosts' will break new ground for the series, offering a free demo of the game's multiplayer. The demo will include 3 maps and 3 modes, as well as a brief segment of the vanilla Extinction mode, and will run from Friday March 7th until Monday March 10th.
Ahead of that ground-breaking (for Call of Duty) multiplayer demo, Activision and Infinity Ward have also detailed their second major DLC pack for Ghosts, which we now will be titled Devastation. As with past Ghosts' packs, Devastation will include four new multiplayer maps, a new chapter for the Extinction mode, and a new multi-use weapon called "The Ripper."
Devastation is slated to hit Call of Duty: Ghosts on April 3rd for Xbox 360 and Xbox One players and will retail for $14.99. Season Pass holders, however, are free and clear to unlock the additional content when it goes live. Moreover, Infinity Ward is giving those pass holders the opportunity to download the new Ripper weapon — a gun that can quickly convert from submachine gun to assault rifle — right now.
Of course, the focal point of the new Devastation DLC, as with any Call of Duty add-on pack, is the promise of new multiplayer arenas. This second pack boasts four small to medium-sized maps that are highlighted in sparse detail in the above trailer, but you can read more about below:
Ruins - located on a Mexican peninsula and set amidst the remnants of a mountaintop Mayan temple, with multiple levels providing verticality for longer-range weapons, and underground pathways perfect for close-quarters encounters. Savvy players that find and complete the unique Field Order will be able to trigger the map's volcano to erupt, and enjoy watching enemy players attempt to take cover as fiery debris fall from the sky.
Collision - a mangle of debris scattered atop a container ship pinned underneath a crippled bridge in New York. This small map is ideal for run-and-gun tactics. Players that dominate Collision and complete the map's specific Field Order will be able take control of a heavily armed aircraft and rain down destruction from above.
Behemoth - takes the battle aboard a massive excavation platform in South America. Long sight lines open this map up to longer-range weapons, while the compact interiors of the control rooms are ideal for SMG's and Shotguns. Completing Behemoth's Field Order will allow players to control an attack helicopter armed with a deadly, armor-piercing Rail Gun as it circles the excavator searching for enemy combatants.
Unearthed - drops players into a reimagined version of Dome, the fan-favorite multiplayer map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. With a new look and all-new secrets, Unearthed is a compact map for all player types, who must navigate an alien artifact dig site in order to unlock the map's Field Order and unleash the power of the Cryptids, as well as locate the map's secret alien weapon.
And finally, Devastation includes the second episode in the new, story-focused campaign for Ghosts' Extinction mode. Titled Mayday, episode 2 features a mod-able version of the Venom-X weapon and concludes with a boss called the Kraken.
Despite an obvious focus on multiplayer maps, it appears Infinity Ward is doing their best to bolster additional elements of the Call of Duty: Ghosts experience, specifically the Extinction mode. As has been noted before, the new multiplayer maps add a decent change of pace to the proceedings, but only for those still logging hundreds of hours online. Something like the new Extinction episodes, however, provides an incentive for players who prefer single player-only experiences to return.
What do you think of Devastation? Which map are you most interested in? Does episode 2 of Extinction interest you?
Call of Duty: Ghosts — Devastation hits Xbox platforms on April 3, 2014.