Black Ops 3’s competitive multiplayer brings back the same reliable Pick-10 loadouts, which let you select 10 weapon attachments, perks, grenades, and more to take into battle. This isn’t anything new, but it’s still a solid system that ensures you can go into a match with exactly the gear you want, and nothing more. Multiplayer includes a huge array of unlockable guns, perks, and gear that let you mold a playstyle of your own. It’s excellent, but at this point Call of Duty fans should expect nothing less.
The important new change for multiplayer is that you no longer play as generic soldiers. Before a match begins, you pick a Specialist to play as – anything from a murderous robot to an elite archer. Each Specialist has one exclusive power and one exclusive weapon, and you get to take one of the two into battle.
Single Player Campaign
Story
On October 27, 2065, the Player and their partner, Jacob Hendricks, infiltrate a base in
Ethiopia as part of a Winslow Accord operation to rescue hostages from the tyrannical NRC, assisted by Commander John Taylor and his team of cybernetically enhanced soldiers. The rescue is successful, but the Player is critically wounded, necessitating the installation of cybernetic enhancements to save their life. The Player is also given a Direct neural interface (DNI) to control their cybernetics, and is given virtual training inside it from Taylor and his team (Sebastian Diaz, Sarah Hall, and Peter Maretti) while undergoing surgery. Hendricks also decides to undergo cybernetic enhancements.
Five years later, the Player and Hendricks are put under the command of
CIA Agent Rachel Kane and tasked with investigating a CIA black site in Singapore that has gone quiet. They find the site attacked by the 54 Immortals, Singapore's most powerful criminal organization, and the station staff murdered, with the site's data drives stolen. Kane concludes that Taylor and his team defected and carried out the murders, so the trio go to investigate the last location Taylor's team visited: the Coalescence Corporation in Singapore, which had been destroyed ten years prior in a mysterious explosion that killed 300,000 people.
The Player and Hendricks discover a secret CIA lab under the building, and are forced to kill Diaz, who was wired in to the facility's computer systems attempting to leak CIA information. Connecting to Diaz's DNI, Hendricks discovers Taylor is trying to find the survivors of the Singapore explosion. Taylor then uses the information to release the locations of every CIA safe house in the world, allowing the Immortals to capture Kane. While Hendricks distrusts Kane, the Player, refusing to abandon her, defies Kane's orders and rescues her by killing Immortals' leader, Goh Xiulan.
The team then heads to Egypt to find Dr. Yousef Salim, one of the two survivors of the explosion. Salim reveals that he had worked on a secret project involving illegal DNI experiments on humans, and that his job was to comfort emotionally unstable humans by using a calming exercise involving imagining a frozen forest. Taylor and his team then capture and execute Salim after interrogation. With the help of the Egyptian Army, the Player, Hendricks, and Kane chase after Taylor, killing Hall and Maretti in the process.
Connecting to Hall's DNI, the Player discovers that Taylor and his team were infected by Corvus, a gestalt intelligence created during the secret CIA experiments to contain and monitor the thoughts of DNI users that ended up causing the Singapore explosion. Corvus' influence turned Taylor and his team mad, making them obsessed with finding the frozen forest, which Corvus is determined to prove is a real place. The Player realizes that both they and Hendricks are infected with Corvus after interfacing with Hall and Diaz respectively, and it is only a matter of time before they fall under its control as well. The Player and Hendricks pursue and confront Taylor in
Cairo. Taylor manages to resist Corvus and tear his DNI out to avoid killing the Player, but Hendricks, succumbing to Corvus, kills Taylor and abandons the Player, leaving for Zürich to interrogate Sebastian Krueger, the manager of the CIA experiments in Singapore.
The Player and Kane head to Zurich to stop Corvus, fighting through drone forces controlled by an infected Hendricks. They eventually reach Zurich's Coalescence Corporation's headquarters and discover Corvus caused the Singapore explosion with the gas Nova 6, and it is attempting to release more Nova 6 in Zurich. Kane attempts to contain the gas, but Corvus traps her inside the compound room and leaks the gas, killing her. The Player continues on and confronts Hendricks, who is holding Krueger hostage. After an unsuccessful interrogation, Hendricks kills Krueger, but is then in turn killed by the Player.
The Player then tries to kill themselves to stop Corvus' infection, but ends up inside a simulated frozen forest, created by a guilt-ridden Corvus after the Singapore explosion so that DNI users could live on peacefully after death. There, the Player reunites with Taylor (who became a glitch in Corvus' programming after resisting the virus), who explains that the only way for the Player to defeat Corvus for good is to purge their DNI. Corvus' last-ditch effort to manipulate the Player and Taylor into staying in the forest fails, and the two fight through Corvus' illusory forces. Finally, while Taylor holds Corvus back, the Player starts the DNI purge and erases Corvus. After the Player stumbles out of the Zurich headquarters, a ZSF soldier helping survivors asks for their name. The Player responds "Taylor", before the DNI purges and the Player dies.
The briefings shown before each mission (Taylor's mission reports) reveal that the Player actually died due to complications during their cybernetics surgery. As they lay dying on their surgery bed, they lived out a simulation in their DNI, based on Taylor's experience of he and Hendricks hunting down Dylan Stone and his black ops team (Javier Ramirez, Alice Conrad, and Joseph Fierro), their former teammates who went rogue after discovering the CIA black site. It is hinted that the Player's consciousness lives within Taylor's mind throughout the simulation, and that the Player manages to take over Taylor's body after his death in Cairo until the DNI purge.
Nightmares
The Player wakes up only to be told by Dr. Salim that they are dead, and that the Player must recount their memories. The Player tells Dr. Salim that they are a Deadkiller who was sent to investigate the disappearance of Taylor's Deadkiller team. However, upon investigating, the Player and Hendricks discover that Taylor's team has used their DNI connections to disable the Quarantine Zone defenses all over the world. Teaming up with Rachel Kane, the Player and Hendricks chase Taylor's team all from Singapore to Egypt, eventually being forced to kill the entire team. However, Hendricks is infected by the same virus that turned Taylor and his team mad, and heads for Zurich. The Player discovers that Dr. Salim is in fact Deimos, the demigod responsible for unleashing the undead plague on humanity. Deimos had entered the Player's mind when they interfaced with Hall, and attempts to manipulate them into opening a portal to his home dimension, Malus. The Player is then contacted by another demigod, Dolos, who is sympathetic to humanity and seeks to kill Deimos, her brother. Dolos transports both the Player and Deimos to Malus, where Deimos is vulnerable. Under Dolos' guidance, the Player kills Deimos, ending the undead plague on Earth, but trapping the Player in Malus. Dolos then explains to the Player that her true plans are to kill every other demigod and supernatural being that can challenge her, and the Player agrees to help her.
Zombies
Like in previous games, the Zombies storyline in Call of Duty: Black Ops III is told in an episodic format, with one map, "Shadows of Evil", available at launch, and the rest to follow in the downloadable content season. "Shadows of Evil" focuses on a new group of characters: Nero Blackstone (Jeff Goldblum), Jessica Rose (Heather Graham), Jack Vincent (Neal McDonough) and Floyd Campbell (Ron Perlman), who reside in the fictional Morg City. Treyarch describes the new characters as "troubled individuals" with "a long and sordid history of past misdeeds". The four characters are thrown into a twisted version of the city, overrun by zombies, and are guided by a mysterious, unreliable figure called the Shadowman (Robert Picardo).
"Shadows of Evil" acts as a prologue that leads into the core storyline, starting with the first downloadable content map "The Giant", which takes place at the German weapon factory Der Riese, a location previous featured in
Call of Duty: World at War and
Call of Duty: Black Ops. The story focuses on the Origins universe's version of the original characters: Tank Dempsey (Steven Blum), Nikolai Belinski (
Fred Tatasciore), Takeo Masaki (
Tom Kane) and Edward Richtofen (Nolan North), who were introduced in the
Black Ops II map "Origins". Their story continues from where "Origins" left off, as they attempt to prevent the events of the original timeline from ever occurring in other alternate dimensions. Other characters include the leader of Group 935, Doctor Ludvig Maxis (also voiced by Tatasciore), and his daughter Samantha. The second downloadable content map, "Der Eisendrache", takes place in a Group 935 fortress in Werfen, Austria, and features the appearance of Group 935 scientist Doctor Groph (also voiced by Blum). The third downloadable content map, "Zetsubou No Shima", takes place in a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, occupied by the Japanese research group Division 9. The fourth downloadable content map, "Gorod Krovi", takes place in a war-torn Stalingrad, and features the appearance of various characters referenced in past games, including the OSS spy Peter McCain, Dr. Maxis' AI assistant S.O.P.H.I.A., the Ascension Group scientist Gersh, as well as introduces the GobbleGum creator Dr. Monty (Malcolm McDowell).
Story
Following the battle against the undead outbreak in Northern France, Doctor Edward Richtofen went on a quest to learn about the concept of alternate timelines, and the existence of different worlds. After retrieving an ancient book known as the Kronorium, Richtofen learns of the Summoning Key, an ancient artifact that can be used to fix the universe back to its original state. Doctor Ludvig Maxis instructs Richtofen to seek out specific versions pf the three Allied soldiers who fought with him at France: Corporal Tank Dempsey, Sergeant Nikolai Belinski and Captain Takeo Masaki, as well as a specific version of Richtofen himself, and acquire their souls with the Key once found. In the process, he also learns of the Keepers, an ancient race who acts as the wards of all universes, and the Apothicon, former Keepers who were corrupted and mutated by the dark energy of the Aether.
Richtofen travels to a dimension, where he appears in Morg City in the 1940s. At this city, four individuals were manipulated by the Apothicon into freeing them: Jessica Rose, a burlesque dancer who intends to pursue a career in motion pictures; Jack Vincent, a corrupt cop who has had dealing with various mob gangsters; Floyd Campbell, an up-and-coming boxer who is out to win his fight by any means necessary; and Nero Blackstone, a washed-up magician who is caught up in his debts. The four were mislead into doing the biddings of the Shadowman, a servant of the Apothicon, to open a rift beneath the city using the Summoning Key, which allows an ancient Apothicon beast to roam free above the skies. With the Keepers' aid, the four survivors manage to fight back, and trap the Shadowman inside the Key, and banish the beast from this dimension. As they go to retrieve the Summoning Key from the Keepers, Richtofen appears out of a portal and grabs the key, thanking them for their effort, before leaving through said portal.
Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo learn of Richtofen's travels through various dimensions, and pursue him, leading to the deaths of various alternate Richtofens. They finally arrive in an altered version of the original timeline, in the Der Riese facility, only moments after Maxis and his daughter, Samantha, were teleported away by the original Richtofen. Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo attempt to convince the original Richtofen to awaken their other selves, but are interrupted by the Origins timeline's Richtofen, who appears out of the teleporter and kills his original self. The four then band together to fend off the zombie horde once more. As the fight goes on, the characters find themselves affected by Element 115, and the personalities and memories of their original incarnations begin to bleed into theirs. Eventually, the group activates a beacon within the facility, allowing Dr. Maxis from another dimension to locate them. Using a giant robot within Der Riese, the four then travel to Griffin Castle, Group 935's fortress in Austria, in pursuit of the original Dempsey, who is being sent to the Moon base while under stasis. The group uses the defense system of the castle and brings down the rocket containing the original Dempsey's capsule, sending it crash-landing back onto the castle's courtyard. However, Group 935 member Doctor Groph activates a failsafe, preventing the group from tampering with the capsule. Richtofen then instructs the group to activate the Mysterious Pyramid Device located within the Moon base. After having to battle a Keeper corrupted by the Aether's energy, Richtofen uses the Summoning Key to override the defense system, sending a barrage of missiles at the Moon, destroying it along with Groph and all Group 935 members operating on it. As the four go to retrieve the original Dempsey, Richtofen reveals his plan to prevent their original incarnations from wreaking havoc upon the universe. After bidding farewell to his original self, Dempsey shuts down the capsule's life support by himself, allowing Richtofen to use the Key and absorb his soul.
Afterwards, the group attempts to teleport to a Pacific island, where the Japanese research group Division 9 is holding the original Takeo prisoner. However, they end up on a Division 9 boat near the island, and are caught by the officers on the boat, who demand to know the origins of the Summoning Key. After a brief struggle, the boat sinks into the sea, while the group swims toward the island, where Division 9 has been experimenting on the animal and plant life, resulting in monstrous mutation of various kind. The four fight off a combination of undead zombies and mutated spiders, as they dive in deeper into the facility. They finally discover the original Takeo, who has been mutated as well, into a horrific creature. After a long, ensuing battle, they manage to release him from the mutation. Takeo is shocked to learn that it was the Emperor who betrayed his other self and sent him to this island, out of petty jealousy. The young Takeo finally resolves himself, and allows his original self to commit seppuku, with him acting as his kaishakunin. After using the Summoning Key to absorb the original Takeo's soul, Richtofen then notes to the others that there is somewhere else they need to go to before they can go after the original Nikolai.
The crew later teleports to Stalingrad, where they find the city has been torn apart by the ongoing war between Germany and Russia. Russia has employed Group 935's technology and created their own versions of giant robots and mechanical vehicles, while Germany is aided by ancient dragons that were resurrected and bred by Division 9. Amidst the chaos, the original Nikolai has taken control of a mech and goes on a rampage against the zombies as the city's last line of defense. He attempts to kill the Origins crew upon spotting them, but then is swung into a building by a dragon. As the crew traverses across the city, they are forced to help S.O.P.H.I.A., an artificial intelligence designed to be Dr. Maxis' assistant, to initiate the Ascension Protocol by performing various tasks. They also hear the voice of Dr. Monty, an omnipotent being who reveals the true nature of the universe and its current state. Afterwards, the group finally meets up with the original Nikolai, who teams up with them to destroy the alpha dragon. However, upon the dragon's death, he turns on them instead, forcing the four to battle and destroy his mech suit. After finally defeating him, the young Nikolai approaches his original self and reminds him of the pain he tried to forget by drinking. The original Nikolai attempts to shoot his younger self, causing young Nikolai to kill him in retaliation. With all souls collected, Richtofen calls out to Dr. Maxis to summon a portal, and release the souls into it. Afterwards, Dr. Monty contacts Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo, promising to explain everything once they get to "the house".
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