Ok guys and girls. I just returned from some game time with Map Pack 3 and I was highly impressed. The multiplayer maps were absolutely amazing, and Der Riese is ridiculously fun....and difficult. They've added A LOT of new things from new power ups (hammer boards all windows), to voice-overs, to new dog behavior.

After getting some time with Map Pack 3, I can safely say that this IS the absolute best DLC released yet.

Der Riese Gameplay Footage-
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How does the difficulty of Der Riese compare to the previous Zombie Maps?
I found the difficulty to be quite a bit harder. There seems to be more places for the zombies to enter, the pace is a lot quicker, and the lower rounds tended to become increasingly more difficult much quicker than the previous maps. I enjoy the higher difficulty because I seemed to always dread the boring early rounds of the previous zombie maps.


Is the Ray Gun upgradeable via the Pack-a-Punch machine?
Yes. The upgraded Ray Gun has no splash damage which allows you to shoot the zombies at point blank range.


Explain the monkey bomb.
I actually ended up with the monkey bomb rather quickly, via the mystery box. It is located where your secondary grenades are (left bumper). You receive 3 bombs when you pick it up, and those are replenished every round. Once you've thrown the monkey bomb, the zombies will crowd around it and will be blow to bits upon explosion. Very very cool.


What is the stopwatch for?
That stopwatch is how much time you have to link up the teleporters.


Explain the teleporters.
Once you've turned the power on you will be able to activate the teleporters. You will have a certain amount of time to make it between teleporters to activate them. Once you've linked at least two you'll be able to port back and forth, which helps when you're being chased by a horde of zombies. Another very very cool addition that should add to your bag of strategies.


Will the mystery box have random locations again?
Yes, the teddy returns.


Can more than one person have monkey bombs at a time?
Yes.


Why can we not play 4-player splitscreen zombies?
From how I understood the explanation, the gameplay would've been compromised if they were to reduce the player screens that much.


What is the fly trap?
I didn't personally see the trap, but was told it was the electric barriers which have been featured in previous zombie maps.


How big is Der Riese?
It's big, but probably comparable with Shi No Numa. It's just nowhere near as open as Shi No Numa. There are several buildings, hallways, walkways, etc. which you'll be able to explore.


How big are the multiplayer maps and what are they like?
While Battery was labeled the smallest, it's layout seemed to make it seem much more expansive. I would guess it to be about twice the size of Dome, perhaps more. CTF played really great on this map.

Revolution is a large map, although not huge. There is a central building with 2 floors and joining walkways, along with accessible rooftops. The central building is surrounded by smaller 2 story buildings with a lot of nice vantage points for you snipers.

Breach is the other large map in map pack 3. It basically has two sides that are split by the huge columns that you've probably seen. This is a very tricky map which will have you checking your 6 quite a bit. The layout made for hectic and intense battles. This is a map that you'll be wondering where in the heck you were shot from, because there are sooo many spots. CTF was a blast on this map, but War really shined and created some very intense moments.


Will the maps be available offline.
Yes.


What size (mb) will the map pack be?
I was told that it would be comparable in size to the previous map pack.


We also had the chance to ask some questions about the game in general, and you all know the first question that came out of my mouth. Actually, I only said one word. "MP40". Treyarch realizes that this is a "hot-button issue" in the community. Basically, they feel that the MP40 is balanced well compared to the other weapons, although they are aware that is also an easily accessible weapon that has it's advantages. The given explanation was that although it has higher damage, it's rate of fire evens that out. Vahn did say that if he were to do anything to the MP40 (which he's not), it would only be to reduce the range. I also confirmed that the PC damage was reduced due to the accuracy of the keyboard/mouse. All in all, it comes down to a game having that "one weapon" that we all talk about. In this case, it's the MP40. Whether you feel it's overpowered or not, you can bet that the constant moans and groans will keep Treyarch on their toes as far as balance goes in any future projects.


Bolt actions were also discussed, mainly regarding their power. The unscoped bolts are purposefully weaker than scoped bolts with the hopes of keeping those from being overpowered. If you remember CoD2, the unscoped bolts were regarded as "overpowered" and "cheap", mainly due to the fact that there were no differences in damage between the scoped and unscoped bolts. Thus, the "magic scoped damage fairy".