Black Ops 6 players will get to cause carnage on a remastered version of Nuketown as part of a looming update to the blockbuster game.
It’s the moment long-serving fans of the shooter have been waiting for. Since its debut in the first Black Ops in 2010, the classic Nuketown map has been reimagined for every subsequent entry in the Call of Duty sub-series.
This time around, things will be different yet eerily familiar. As older players will notice, this Nuketown replicates the original, which looks like a quaintly American cul-de-sac from the 1950s.
On closer inspection, however, you’ll discover human residents aren’t loitering outside their two-storey homes, but mannequins. The entire setting is a facade. Nuketown is actually a nuclear testing site in the middle of the Nevada desert.
With the remaster, Activision has given it a much-needed restoration, filling the bullet holes in the walls and re-tarmacking the cratered roads that were full of explosives. The dummies are back and so are the vintage cars, including a bright yellow school bus and a military jeep, which are still parked in the same spots.
For its part, Activision is promising a faithfully recreated version of the original with a visual overhaul fit for the latest consoles and gaming PCs.
While fans will celebrate its arrival, it won’t do much to temper the pockets of criticism around the game.
Though critics have widely hailed Black Ops 6 as a return to form, some players are miffed by what they perceive as its lacklustre selection of multiplayer maps. The main issue appears to be with the small size of these locales, which range from derelict train yards to luxury condos.
Thanks to the new omnimovement system that enables players to slide and dash around more freely, these compact spaces can feel even more cramped.
As such, players have complained about spawn traps and a lack of shelter from devastating Scorestreaks, like the relentless Chopper Gunner. Some players were infuriated by those same traits on the original Nuketown, so don’t expect the action to cool down soon.
When is Nuketown’s release date?
Nuketown arrives on Black Ops 6 on Friday, November 1, bringing the number of multiplayer maps to 17.
Before then, you can fight off a rising tide of mutant players being turned into freakish ghouls upon elimination in the newly released Infected mode. Or, maybe, you’ll start as the one doing the infecting. It’s yet another re-release in a franchise that habitually reinstates old modes and maps. But hey, if it ain’t broke.
When does Black Ops season 1 start?
The updates should keep things ticking along until the release of Black Ops 6 season 1 on November 14, when the game integrates with Warzone, the free-to-play version of Call of Duty. Between the swaggering campaign, multiplayer and Zombies, there’s plenty to keep players occupied until then.
