Activision is following the precedent they set themselves last year by releasing a demo for their latest CoD title months after the launch. If you’ve been going through life with gaming blinkers on for the last few months, here’s a quick recap.
Call of Duty: Black Ops launched with resounding financial success, and to dubious critical reaction. While some loved it, others have had endless trouble with the game. It was (and still is) full of bugs that crippled the gameplay for many. Treyarch has been patching in fixes, but for most PC and PS3 gamers, the game is a lame duck. Only the Xbox 360 platform seems to have a decent time with the title. Things were so bad, that UK consumer rights group Gamers’ Voice has taken Activision to task on the game’s shoddy retail release condition.
So, if you’d like a single player demo of Black Ops, Activision has deigned to provide one four months after the fact. A single player mission, WMD, is now available worldwide for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and on the PlayStation Network.
“Revered as one of the most gripping levels in the blockbuster title that shattered entertainment records, WMD is a heart-pounding experience that takes players deep behind enemy lines as an elite Black Ops operative engaged in covert warfare, classified operations and explosive conflict. Players defy death every step of the way as they infiltrate Soviet airspace in the SR-71, the most advanced, high-altitude, long range strategic aircraft imaginable. Deep behind enemy lines, players will engage in intense combat in the harshest of conditions, and scale a formidable, hidden enemy base perched atop a snow-filled mountain range,” trumpets the Activision press release with such enthusiastically verbose use of adjectives that one could scarcely believe the actual demo will hold up to the promise.