5 reasons to be excited for Black Ops 3

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is easily one of the most highly anticipated first-person shooter releases this year. The original two titles in the spin-off series were heralded as the best games in the entire franchise. And that’s saying a lot, especially considering how many releases we’ve seen for Call of Duty.

So what makes this year’s release so insanely special for the gaming community? Well, there are quite a few reasons to be excited for this iteration.

The Specialist character system looks great

The multiplayer component – which is easily the one area where most gamers will spend their time in Black Ops 3 – will introduce a new Specialist character system. This will allow everyone to choose their favorite operative, each one with its own unique abilities and voice-acting.

However, the special abilities are what truly have everyone interested. For example, Outrider has a compound bow that can fire bolts that explode when they come in contact with the enemy. That’s pretty cool!

Weapon Paint Shop gives us more customization

Weapon modification is nothing new for the franchise, but the weapon paint shop does add an extra layer to the extensive customization we’ve previously seen. Distinctive camouflage can be equipped to almost any weapon, and the weapon paint shop goes beyond simple emblem editors. These emblems can be displayed on either side of your weapon, letting your enemy know exactly who destroyed them this round. You can literally create anything you want – with up to 64 layers and three different areas to design.

Nuk3town is making a comeback

Nuk3town was one of the most popular multiplayer maps in the original Call of Duty: Black Ops. It was a tiny frag-fest that consisted of two suburban homes and a single road separating them, with some vehicles for cover in-between. It’s basically a spray-and-pray – players’ true haven for the game.

This popular multiplayer map will return for the third time – once again updated for the new consoles and the new game releases. 

Unfortunately, this one isn’t available on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360. But everyone can gain access by pre-ordering the game ahead of time.

Zombies is also returning

Black Ops 3 brings back the intensely popular co-operative game mode, Zombies. This time around, the co-op mode is set in a fictional 1940s city, and has a film noir style horror setting.

Entitled Shadows of Evil, Zombies mode allows the player to personalize their entire experience with an XP-based progression system, and features replayability to ensure many hours of fun can be had.

Four playable characters are included, all of which are portrayed and voiced by well-known Hollywood actors, including Ron Perlman.

It’s taking CoD farther into the eSports scene

Developers Treyarch and Activision are working to ensure this release is the one that caters to competitive gaming. Coinciding with the upcoming release, the studios have also announced the Call of Duty World League, which features a prize pool of $3 milion for professional and amateur teams.

This all happens next year, so we have  a bit of a wait, but it will be worth it.

In the end, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 has plenty of new content and features to be excited about. This should be one of the best releases in the entire franchise.

Do you agree? Are you excited for Black Ops 3? Let me know in the comments!