Black Ops Declassified dev emphasizes focus on multiplayer

By: Musa Afridi

  |   October 15th, 2012   |  

Uncategorized

Robert Huebner, the CEO of Nihilistic, the studio developing the PlayStation Vita debut of the Call of Duty series, explains how they are focusing on delivering a deep multiplayer experience on the console.

Sony is hoping that Nihilistic and Ubisoft can add to the PlayStation Vita’s limited titles from third-party developers. NetherRealm is the only other studio to have released a triple-A franchise on the console with Mortal Kombat, and the addition of Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation will provide much needed content.

The main problems that analysts are highlighting for the console’s slow sales, which recently hit the million units sold mark in Japan, are lowering the price and providing more content. Sony seems to be more focused on the latter and is counting on bringing the biggest name in gaming, Call of Duty, to their console. (We say biggest based on just how many units the series has sold over the years).

However, Black Ops: Declassified failed to impress on its reveal at GamesCom earlier on in the year. Although the game was teased at E3, there was no gameplay or anything else for that matter, shown apart from a teaser screen.

The full reveal left gamers wondering what they were seeing, however, the game seems to have come a long way since then with Robert Huebner explaining how Declassified will be defining itself on its own terms.

He said, “The biggest difference is in terms of the game focus. Declassified is not about the big campaign storyline and huge cinematics, it’s more focused on the multiplayer essence of Call of Duty and bringing that to a portable device as completely as possible.” And would only bring in “…lighter story elements.”

The single-player campaign itself revolves around players completing objectives in various missions and the true object of each level is to see if they can complete the perfect run. It is similar to Unit 13’s concept, but with a few twists as well.

Huebner went on to explain that they did not want to offer an experience that would end up competing with the console versions of the game but rather provide a game that would cater to the Vita and provide a unique Call of Duty experience that could not be found anywhere else.

“The goal was not to make a product that is a port of any past or present Call of Duty game, but to make a tailored experience for the Vita that adds new content and new background about Wood’s and Mason’s careers.”

But what does the reader think; is Nihilistic taking too big a risk with Declassified or is their approach one that will pay off? Let us know in the comments section below.