Call of Duty: Ghosts Devastation Review

Call of Duty seems tired. You can almost smell the desperation in this latest DLC pack, the marketing meetings where the ideas ball isn’t so much being thrown around as slowly deflating in a corner. ‘The series is on the wane. Put the Predator in it. Yes, that Predator. And a kraken. That as well. Pepsiman? You fool.’

Anyway, this collection of four maps (plus another, Extinction-exclusive stage) is serviceable at best, cynical at worst. The best of the bunch is Collision, which is reminiscent of COD4’s ‘Wetwork’. Long and thin, the map sees teams fighting across a wrecked tanker, with plenty of action on the flanks of the vessel. Fairly enjoyable as a Blitz or Domination stage, Collision is the map that I wanted to return to most of all.

Unearthed is a mashup of MW3’s Dome and 2’s Quarry, with good sniping spots and a crane you can use for moveable cover. It’s a bit too frantic for TDM, again suiting objective-based games (Domination is particularly enjoyable, thanks to B being bunkered, promoting strategic assaults).

The last two are the weakest by far. Behemoth is too similar, in both looks and design, to Collision (the difference is that it has a large, circular middle section to negotiate), and Ruins feels like the worst part of Black Ops’ Jungle writ large, a series of indistinct chambers and walkways (although it does improve when played in Search and Rescue). The introduction of the Predator isn’t that good either. Most of the time he turns up, kills, and is out of the game before long. Not even the new SMG, which offers both close-quarters and mid-range options, can save this one.

So, as with the last round of DLC, it’s the Extinction episode that stands out. Players have to make their way through the depths of a large boat, fighting off alien hordes and the aforementioned kraken as they do so. Far more enjoyable than the other maps, it’s a bright spot on an otherwise uninspired pack.

Version Tested: Xbox One. Played for 4 hours.