Call of Duty Ghosts: Invasion DLC Review

So here we are: the penultimate map pack for CoD: Ghosts is now on digital shelves, meaning only one thing – support for the cross-generational FPS is coming to an end. With the exception of one last batch of maps to come in the future, all eyes are now starting to shift in the direction of 2014’s newest iteration of the persevering series, i.e. Advanced Warfare.

But does that mean we should ignore the here and now? If Invasion was an enjoyable batch of content for Ghosts then no, you shouldn’t discard your interest in the soon to be usurped shooter. Unfortunately, the above is not the case, as Invasion is probably the most lazily put together DLC for Ghosts thus far, bettered in almost every way by its predecessor.

Of all the competitive multiplayer maps on offer in Invasion, none of them stand out as essential additions to the already large roster of maps, and all of them have little personality or visual presentation to make them stick in your mind after you stop playing. On top of this, the standard inclusion of a map from previous games, this time, is just a direct port rather than a remake.

Departed is probably the most varied and best map of the bunch this time around. Set in a small Mexican town, the walls of the buildings bordering the town’s open plaza are plastered with festival banners and bright colours. Connecting the shacks and cramped houses are small, narrow alleys and dirt paths offering ample opportunities for players preferring to be always on the move. The plaza area, as one would likely guess, is the kill box, the area where you’re likely to live for no longer than a few seconds trying to traverse it – as second floor windows provide an almost complete view of the area for snipers to pick you off almost straight away. With that said, there are abandoned market stalls and crates to provide some temporary cover, but lingering for too long is ill-advised.

Mutiny and Pharaoh share the unenviable title of worst map. The former is situated on a medieval-themed dock, replete with an eerie pirate ship. Surrounding the drawn masts of the ship is a U-shaped shanty town connected by walkways, wine cellars and piers that all loop around on each other providing little in the way of a fortifiable position. The stage looks bland, and actually playing in it is equally boring – there’s no variety in how to approach each conflict. Most players will try to hold the ship for its ability to provide a sweeping viewpoint of the surrounding area and for a chance at gaining the new kill streak: Ghostly Sailors.     

Pharaoh, again, is an unremarkable and uninspiring stage taking place in an Egyptian excavation site. It’s also the biggest map in Invasion, featuring everything you might expect from a map with such a location. Sandstone blocks, unearthed tombs, rickety scaffolds and knee-deep trenches are everywhere, and while the map is balanced in terms of how you like to play, there’s just not enough verticality to the locale. There may be pyramids and sunken tombs around you, but the playground you’re dumped in is rather flat, only broken up by claustrophobic crevices and sandy pits.

Last of the competitive stages is Favela, a map from Modern Warfare 2 that has changed so little that the developers have decided to stick with the original name. Just like before, this map – which was, quite honestly, one of the worst maps from MW2 – is all about gaining a vantage point over the other team. The radius of the area may be small, but the shanty town makes up for it in multiple story buildings and alleys so tight you’d need to be a string bean to fit through them. The only apparent change is Favela’s level-specific kill streak: the AC-130. The gunship makes a return from the Modern Warfare series purely as a random care package from completing field orders. If you hear the thunderous sound of its many guns firing, you better find some shelter.

All that’s left is Awakening, the new extinction map. Disappointingly, this isn’t as good as Mayday, and probably not as good as any prior maps full stop. Set in the Cryptid hive, bioluminescent mushrooms and flora are a stark contrast to the clinical feel of the top secret military bases you’re used to, but outside of the different aesthetic, Awakening is a letdown. Again, you need to use the drill (this time repurposed into a scanning device) to decipher obelisks scattered around the area, to find out just what the Cryptid are all about. To help you, the area – for some reason – has low gravity, meaning you can evade the aggressive aliens by bouncing around and scouting out crows nests to pick off the blighters from a distance. Unlike previous extinction levels, progress doesn’t feel focused, and other than the setting, there doesn’t appear to be much else new in this iteration to get your hands on.

Invasion is definitely the weakest map pack Ghosts has received so far. It’s not terrible, but it certainly isn’t memorable in the slightest. The game may be coming to the end of its life as the newest entry in the CoD series, but that’s no excuse for a subpar addition that adds little asides from variety that you’re better off without.