The Multiplayer is the obvious draw for many Call of Duty players. Many go straight for this feature, skipping the story completely. While I personally completed the story before I even touched the multiplayer, the choice to ignore the campaign isn’t necessarily a bad one, at first.

The Controls, graphics, sound, and general gameplay is definitely great. There is no question that this is my favorite COD yet. There are so many new features, I have trouble remembering them all.

Killstreak bonuses, like UAVs, and Helicopters can now be unlocked, and there are many more available. You can choose up to three different bonuses, which must be unlocked, but range from simple UAVs to Harrier strikes and even a Tactical Nuke. Yes, I said Nuke. As in a nuclear bomb that kills everyone on both teams, and grants instant victory. These choices make for much more varied matches, as everyone has their own preference.

There are now Deathstreak bonuses, ego-killing boosts that are given to players who die several times in a row. These range from a health boost for the first ten seconds of a spawn, to automatic martyrdom and even being able to copy your killer’s perks. While these can help if you are having a bad round, they don’t make you an unstoppable juggernaut. The playing field is more even with these, but not perfectly so.

There are plenty of new perks, plus a few were done away with. I can honestly say that I am more than happy that Juggernaut is no longer available. About time, I say. Regardless, the new perks are quite cool, although some can be irritating. Bling lets players have two attachments for their gun, while the scrambler perk makes the radar of any enemies close to you just show static. Also, getting kills while using these perks will upgrade them to pro levels, making them even more useful.

There are tons of new guns, and attachments. There a nine different assault rifles alone. The attachments range from the usual red dot sights and grenade launchers to the new heartbeat sensor and thermal scope. Special challenges can be done to unlock these attachments, like getting kills with a silencer attached unlocks the heartbeat sensor. Shotguns, machine pistols, grenade/rocket launchers and handguns are now all secondary weapons, and attachments can be added to them as well.

Equipment is no longer limited to grenades, claymores, and C4. Throwing knives, which can be reused if picked back up, and ‘tactical insertion’ flares (which let you choose where to respawn) are a welcome new addition to the mix. Semtex grenades are also cool new sticky grenades, by the way.

Titles and emblems are cool little icons that you unlock by completing challenges. These can be changed out between matches, and let you personalize your name a bit more. The challenges range from doing things like ending killstreaks, to falling great distances. Killing someone with a throwing knife 5 times will earn you the ‘cloak and dagger’ title, while killing someone who has repeatedly killed a party member gets you ‘the avenger.’ These are cool, but don’t really do anything special. Just a way to show off, really.

Accolades are earned in every single match. These are little icons that show you just how many times you’ve done something, like ‘unstoppable’ which you get for having the highest killstreak in a round. There are numbers next to each one, showing how many times you’ve gotten it. For instance, so far I’ve mostly used my LMG, so I have an accolade which states that for 20 of the matches I’ve played, I’d gotten the most LMG kills. However, I’ve only had the most shotgun kills once. There are even negative accolades, like most deaths, most killcams skipped, longest deathstreak. These are also mostly useless, but a cool way to show off some stats.

The ranks now got to 70, but it is much easier to get points. There are point bonuses for so many things, not even including the numerous challenges. Things like headshots, killing someone who just killed you, ending a killstreak, ending your own deathstreak, killing someone from far away, just to name a few. The unlocks as you progress are well paced, making it fun even at lower levels. Everyone isn’t just waiting to max out their rank before they can start using the guns they really like.

One thing that really annoys and confuses me though is the restrictions on party chat. For many game modes, players cannot be in the party chat mode. This seemed like Infinity ward overstepping their authority a bit, as players might not want to talk to everyone else in the lobby. The first match I did, I was talking to a friend in my party that didn’t have the game, and had to cut our conversation short if I wanted to play. At first, this was a big problem for me, but I’ve started to get past it. A very strange move on IW’s part, though.

The Maps are huge, and I love the vast majority of them. The gameplay greatly varies ftom map to map, and the great number of them (16 in all) guarantees that I won’t tire of this game for a long time. Many of them remind me of the Modern Warfare maps, but with a new twist. A Map pack has been announced for spring of next year, but for me there is no rush needed.

Thanks to some cleaned up features, and cool new additions, players can expect a much more even playing field. There will always be the ridiculously unstoppable players, and plenty of cheap jerks. Also, nothing will ever just eliminate nOObs, but this game seems to have just a smidge less than most. And that is certainly welcome.

Overall, the Multiplayer is just plain fantastic. If there was any doubt in your mind, erase it immediately, and go buy this game. As I said before, this was the gameplay mode of choice for many gamers, and understandably so. This is a must play. No question, no argument, if you don’t have this game, you should. The best multiplayer all year, maybe even longer.

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