Xbox 360 owners have been raising hell on the maps featured in the "First Strike Map Pack" for "Call of Duty: Black Ops" since its February 1 release. Everyone else has been kept waiting for the 360-first exclusive to make its way to the PlayStation 3 and Windows PC platforms. A new announcement from Activision now indicates that March is the month, so clear your calendars accordingly.
"First Strike" is coming to the PS3 version of the game on March 3 and to the PC version "later in the quarter," meaning sometime before the end of March. The news came as part of the publisher's quarterly financial results report, along with news of the franchise's Project Beachhead, which will focus exclusively on the series' community services and features.
In case you've been living under a rock, or simply avoiding any news about the still-exclusive "First Strike" pack, the $15 buy gets your four new multiplayer maps and a new zombie map. The four MP maps -- "Discovery," "Kowloon," "Berlin Wall" and "Stadium" -- introduce a range of new, location-specific features, such as auto-turrets keeping watch over No Man's Land in Berlin Wall and ziplines for quick access (and quicker death at the hands of a sniper) in Kowloon.
The zombie map, "Ascension," is set in an abandoned Soviet launch facility and, like the MP maps, introduces a number of new features. Perk-stealing Space Monkeys replace Kino Der Toten's Hellhounds and Five's weapon-stealing scientist. There are new perks and weapons, two apiece: PhD Flopper and Stamin-Up for the former and Matroyshka Dolls (cluster grenades) and Black Hole Bombs for the latter.
Fans have also quickly discovered that the new zombie map in particular packs in a complex set of secret easter eggs. In addition to a hidden song, there are hidden Russian stacking dolls and radios to be found as well. There's also an elaborate series of steps to follow involving four players, a collection of power nodes and a specific set of weapons. The community is still working on puzzling that one out; some even believe that such a thing won't be possible until an update arrives alongside the coming multi-platform DLC releases.