PS3 Review: Call of Duty: Ghosts – Onslaught

4 new maps and a new episode of Extinction make this a must-have for any Ghosts owner.

Onslaught is Call of Duty Ghosts’ first map pack, it contains 4 very different and unique maps as well as a new episodic mission for Extinction. The new maps are well designed and have plenty of area for all different tactics like sniping, camping or just run and gun, I’m personally not all that good at COD online but was impressed with the attention to detail that the new maps provide. But the real meat of the pack for me is Nightfall, the Extinction DLC.
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They’ve added a story to the mode that is built up of cutscenes and hidden Intel packs scattered throughout the level, as well as dialogue between team mates. It’s set at a facility that is run by a group called Nightfall, but the Cryptid’s have overrun it with their hives and a new enemy known as the Breeder attempts to stop you from progressing. The Breeder is a beast that hurls everything possible at you, not once but twice as you encounter her again before the end of the episode.

The difficulty has been stumped up considerably from the first episode, in the first I was able to escape solo and in Nightfall, I have yet to actually beat the Breeder with 4 players, I get to around wave 7-9 and everything tends to fall apart. You’re overrun by Rhinos and a new enemy known as Phantoms, which teleport all over the level while attacking. There are some nice new weapons to help you overcome the odds, but they aren’t easy to get to and some require locker keys to get to, which are found at random drops.

The main focus of Extinction remains in Nightfall, plant the drill and hold back the horde of aliens attacking you and protect the drill from being destroyed. It’s harder this time around to protect it as well, not even having all your lovely perks and abilities help that much. I suppose it’s a matter of finding the right balance for your team, but personally I have yet to come across it.
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Visually, the maps and Nightfall all look impressive and push the system to its limits. If I had a complaint about the map pack itself, it’s that unless you buy the Season Pass you have to rebuy the map packs for another system like the PS4, which seems a bit harsh for those who upgraded their PS3 copies with the Upgrade Program. It just seems unfair that if you want to earn trophies for both systems, you have to fork out twice for the map packs unless you stump up the cash for the Season Pass.

The Verdict

As far as map packs go, Onslaught is a decent addition to Ghosts competitive and co-operative modes. Nightfall’s difficulty is off-putting and with talks of the second DLC having a 100ft tall monster to fight, I bet it’s going to be even harder. It’s a shame about the cross platform support, but overall it’s a good package for those who are looking to expand their Ghosts experience.

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