The Call of Duty ban card is great and it's a good sign

I approached the cemetery quickly and low, thanks to the Skulker mod that I had acquired a few minutes ago. The thickness of the iron fence that surrounded it was excellent when I explored the perimeter of the cemetery. I quickly fell on a gap. PerfectI thought about it. There is no way anyone is here. Far from the drop zone and filled with stone tombs, the grim terrain was an opportunity to cross a desert otherwise little covered. Without hesitation, I jumped the gap in the fence and sprinted a few tens of feet beyond the threshold.

That's when I heard a moan.

Duck for the cover, I went around in circles to see what was making the noise. Anything could surprise me in my mid-match tensions, but it was sudden and unusual. A groan? Why would another player groan? Maybe if they had fallen from a height, but I was in a graveyard. A nearby tree was the biggest thing in sight.

A zombie came out from behind a grave and, probably for the first time in a video game, I had the reaction you expected: I panicked and ran. A zombie? In Blackout, Royal Battle Mode of Call of Duty? I did not expect it, I was not prepared and I had no idea how to handle it.

Fortunately, I felt I found another flaw in the fence and escaped unhurt. But the experience has given me a glimpse of the brilliance of Blackout & # 39; s map.

Variety is the spice of life and the royal battle

My surprise came partly from ignorance. I went in BlackoutBeta with only basic knowledge. Yet the game itself did not contribute much to this possibility. From above, the map seems to be able to be extracted directly from PUBG. The terrain is realistic, though exaggerated, and divided into areas that seem industrial or agricultural.

Once you hit the ground, the difference becomes obvious. PUBG A large map is made possible by the liberal use of copy-and-paste resources. Many buildings are similar. I'm sure that there are reused assets in Blackout too, but they are not so common. There are a ton of different structures of different sizes, shapes and heights.

It's not just a visual problem. This deeply impacts the gameplay. Blackout & # 39; s the graveyard is a good option for those who want to enjoy distracted players. It is directly adjacent to what looks like a large abandoned mansion that offers plenty of camping opportunities, but is also, in some areas, filled with phantasmagoric sounds. In one room, I came across faulty electrical equipment. It did not shock me, but the intermittent buzz could hide the sound of approaching footsteps, making it much easier to execute an ambush.

The card that is not just a card

Fortnite is aware of how an interesting map is the key to the experience of the royal battle. That's why Epic constantly changes it with new events. Again Blackout & # 39; s the intention is a little different. It's a more tactical game, much closer to the tension of PUBG that the absurdity of Fortnite, and so the map deliberately leans in that direction. It wisely puts together interesting and unique spaces that completely change the way a situation is approached.

In BlackoutThere is a pair of massive warehouses that can be a sniper's dream (if they arrive first) or a nightmare (if they arrive last). There is a collection of barns and farms, with an irrigation system that annoyingly whistles and hides other sounds nearby. There are several tactically advantageous hills, but most are surrounded by trees or other types of blankets that could be used to reverse the situation. You can even fly a mansion from Silicon Valley with a helicopter.

Just to be clear – a card does not do a royal battle, but it can break a royal battle. If the intelligent design of Blackout & # 39; s the map is an indication, the people who build the new Call of Duty game mode know what they are doing and do not miss good ideas. PUBG should be very, very worried.