I don't know how unpopular this opinion is nowadays, but Shang lowkey gotta be one of my favorite BO1 maps. And I'd say it's how to do a difficult map right.
But first I want to start with the enviroment. Both the BO1 but especially the BO3 version of this map still look stunning today. And it's proof that a map in daylight can work, if the setting is right. God do I love the setting. Up until that point I'd say Shi No Numa was the closest we got, but Shang took the jungle astethic and cranked it up even more. The skybox, the temples, the waterfalls all look beautiful.
I also think the general gameplay is fun if you are looking for a challenge. Most areas are really tight, but in my opinion the map rarely ever feels unfair. Also the wonder weapon on here makes up for it. The baby gun gotta be one of the most fun wonder weapons to use. Also the map manages to be difficult, but still keep things like Pack a Punching simple. Only critism I'd have is unlocking PaP in public matches.
Also, the traps on this map feel more targetted towards the player. But the map easily makes up for the lack of traps with the special enemies.
In particular one of them: The Napalms.
They are threatening, add alot of tension to this tight map and a smart player can use their explosion as a replacement for the lack of traps.
The Shrieker Zombies are fine. They are easy to kill, but if you are not careful can blind you which adds to the challenge and keeps you on your toes.
Also the monkeys, while annoying to many, are great imo. A skilled player can use them to their advantage and easily get any drop they want, including perks.
The playable crew on this map are Ultimis, the goats. Can never go wrong with them.
There are probably so many things I could mention here, but I don't wanna glaze too much. I just think Shang is an awesome map and difficult in all the right aspects. I rarely see people talk about it and just wanted to give my opinion.
Do you guys agree? And what aspects do you like or not like about this map?
6 Comments
Shang is great love the challenge, too bad there’s never more than like 5 people playing it on the BO1 servers
I have 100+ on most maps and this is one of the few that still intimidates me.
Thes types of maps are a love hate relationship.
Great setting. Wish the map was a little bigger.
It’s a great map on BO1. Terrible map on BO3
Its a hard map but when you know what you’re doing its a lot of fun. The Babygun is legendary.
This is probably my favorite of the old maps from the Black Ops 1-3 era. I remember playing when it first came out for Black Ops 1 and each map release at that time felt like a huge event. They were all so wildly different from each other. I didn’t know what to expect with Shangri-La and I loved the aesthetics right away. Then the special zombies… the underground section leading to the power… all of it is so well crafted and once you open up the map, you can use the waterslide and minecart to zip move around easily.
Still one of my favorites to go back and play!