Black Ops 4’s Blackout Mode Is Free This Month, Including New Alcatraz Map

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4‘s new Blackout Alcatraz map has launched on PS4. Alcatraz is expected to release on Xbox One and PC at a later date this month. For the entire month of April, you can play on either of Blackout’s multiplayer maps for free. Alcatraz is only live on PS4 right now, though. However free access to Blackout is live on Xbox One, PC, and PS4.

Although Blackout–the name of Blackout’s original map–is a more traditional battle royale, Alcatraz makes slight changes to the formula. Instead of deploying from a drop ship that travels in a straight line at the start of a match, in Alcatraz, your team deploys from portals that appear at random points above the island. There’s no collapsing zone wall either, and zombies seem to be more plentiful as well.

Like Apex Legends, Alcatraz also features respawns. After falling in battle, you’re allowed to redeploy after 30 seconds have passed. You can respawn up to five times. Also like Respawn’s battle royale, Alcatraz supports a smaller collection of players, all of whom are grouped into teams. All in all, there are 40 players on the map, each in a four-person squad for a total of 10 teams.

Alcatraz also features predetermined locations where you can buy firearms to use. New weapons are made available at these locations every 30 seconds, making them ideal for setting up ambushes. Alcatraz is also more vertical-focused in comparison to Blackout. The entire island is basically one large hill, with the Cell Block landmark dominating the topmost point. Numerous paths are available for teams to reach different elevations, ranging from climbable cliffs to a slow-moving tram.

“Alcatraz is a small island, and that means super fast-paced, frenetically fun fighting,” Treyarch studio design director David Vonderhaar said in a video describing the new map. Treyarch producer Miles Leslie added, “And our Zombies players might recognize this, but we’ve handcrafted Alcatraz for the Blackout experience.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/black-ops-4s-blackout-mode-is-free-this-month-incl/1100-6465991/