Call of Duty: Ghosts – Nemesis Review

Having given up any pretence of originality some time ago, the Ghosts expansion packs (and possibly Call of Duty as a whole) are instead content to retread old ground, throwing a few gimmicks in here and there to distract from wanton xeroxing of series staples. Nemesis is no exception: this time, however, instead of the Predator it’s, um, an invisible snowbeast. And mine carts. Of course.

As before there are three new competitive maps (plus one remix of an old classic) and a new Extinction stage to play through. Also as before, the latter is the best part of the package. Everything else is phoned in with the enthusiasm of someone calling in sick to work: one of the stages, Subzero, is so reminiscent of Modern Warfare 2’s Sub Base that at first I thought Infinity Ward had put two old maps in this time around. It didn’t. It just feels like it did.

Of the new maps, Goldrush (the mine cart one) is the most interesting, mixing various intricate running routes with an emphasis on constantly changing vertical levels. The carts themselves are inadvertently hilarious, what with the heads of your opponents poking over the top as they fly past, and its aforementioned qualities make for an interesting Search and Rescue map.

Dynasty – set in China – feels like a rather soulless retread of World at War’s Castle map, and barring the Asian architecture is difficult to recall with any fondness. Finally, Showtime is a re-imagining of Modern Warfare’s Shipment, now rendered as a set in a Running Man-style future gameshow deathstravaganza.

This initially sounds like a good thing, but play a few rounds and it’s clear IW has jettisoned the one and only concept that made Shipment interesting: its tiny size and clear choke points. Instead, the map is broader, more visually busy, and as such not anywhere near as interesting. The intensity of the older version is lost.

This is the last of the map packs, and that’s undoubtedly a good thing.

Version Tested: Xbox One.