SDCC 2015: ‘Call Of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies’ Escape Room
San Diego Comic Con is in full swing, and the folks over at Activision and Sony have a major treat for us. They’ve teamed up to give attendees a hands on experience with Call of Duty: Black Ops III multiplayer and an incredible escape room puzzle. On Wednesday night, Juan Carlos and I got a sneak peak at the newest addition to the Zombies feature and even attempt an ‘escape room’ puzzle.
The giant Call of Duty tent was brightly lit, and oddly enough, Jazz music could be heard coming from the lot. We immediately noticed the out of place motif, as the staff were all dressed in 1940’s clothing. Flapper girls and tramps checked us in and lead us to the press area, and we found the source of the Jazz music. A live freaking band was there playing music that would sound perfectly placed in a speakeasy.
Shortly afterwards we were called into the experience. Each attendee was handed either a tarot card or a book of matches, and separated into two groups. The entire room was decked out with posters advertising a boxing match and a mystical magician named Nero.
A couple of the developers from Treyarch came out and gave us a sneak peak at the new, bigger, better Zombies mode. It’s called Shadows of Evil, and takes place in a pre war era. The trailer we saw introduced us to the four playable characters. A boxer who rigged a match, a showgirl who murdered a producer, a private detective who was after some criminals and the magician Nero who killed his wife after she racked up an untold amount of debt. All four of the characters were soon kidnapped by an unseen evil sounding voice. It was really interesting to see a narrative being brought to the game mode, especially one as unique as this.
When the Treyarch team was finished, one of the actors gave us the run down of what we would be doing next. The two groups would go into separate rooms, and we would have 8 minutes to solve the puzzle and get out alive. Juan and I walked into what seemed like Nero’s study. A couple of chairs, a fireplace, a piano, and a book case were about the room. In the corner was a locked item box that we needed to find the combination to and get in.
Soon it was time to begin, and when the clock started a bunch of zombies busted through the fireplace. I screamed like a little girl. Everyone began to scatter. I ran over to the piano and started to rifle through the sheet music looking for some sort of code. I opened the piano chair and found a four digit number that didn’t open the lock. Another person came running over with a piece of the set that had a similar four digit number on it. We soon realized that these were most likely asset tags for the props department of where all the stuff came from. Someone on the other side of the room came running over with four playing cards that all had Playstation buttons drawn on them. We soon figured out the order and opened the item box. Inside was a pair of boxing gloves, and we were then instructed to find something “Not of this world” and put it in the box. The group found a remote control in the corner and placed it in the box and we were out in time.
Afterwards we headed into the Playstation truck and played a few rounds of Black Ops III multiplayer. The game feels extremely tight. The sheer amount of customization you have access to is astounding. The free running and double jumping play very well. It was surprising how much I enjoyed playing a shooter on a console. It was very on point.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III hits stores November 6th. You can give the Shadows of Evil experience yourself here in San Diego. No badge needed!
