Black Ops 3: The Finale

Black Ops 3: The Finale is a first person shooter. It follows its own campaign and multiplayer not based on Call of Duty: Black Ops 3.

Setting
Black Ops 3: The Finale is set during the 2060s, the farthest Call of Duty had ever went in time. The story kicks off from the golden ending of ''Black Ops 2. ''NATO and the SDC are strong allies, and much of the world is at peace. However, the world is in economic upheaval. While many of the middle-to-upper class living in First World countries enjoy economic prosperity, the lower class all across the world live in poverty. Cordis Die, which survived underground following the end of Black Ops 2, returns as the main antagonists, led by the mysterious Virgil. Military technology has increased to a point where robotics play a major role in combat, with drones advancing so much that humanoid robot soldiers have been developed. Many elite soldiers have been upgraded with cybernetics.

The main playable character is Daniel Mason, the son of David Mason and the grandson of Alex Mason, though other playable characters include Jacob Hendricks, Daniel's teammate and both Alex and David Mason in flashbacks.

Background
Intelligence files found in each mission, as well as information found on the computer terminal within the safehouse, give information on what has happened between 2025 and 2065.

The game is set assuming the best ending of Black Ops 2 occured. Menendez would die in custody in 2030, forced to watch for 5 years as Cordis Die fell apart. However, the nations of the world, now led by the increasingly friendly NATO and SDC alliances, did not seem to learn the lessons taught by the attacks and near revolution. The socioeconomic gap continued to increase between the rich and the poor, as well as between nations with NATO and the SDC and nations that don't belong to either, like nations in South America and Africa. The gap is best exemplified within the rebuilt Los Angeles: the upper class live in tall skyscrapers and beautiful houses in the literal upper part of the vertical city, but below them live the poor in slums and shoddily constructed houses. This new section, lower Los Angeles, is known as Lazarus, signifying rebirth of the city, but in actuality only half of it, the upper half, was truly rebuilt.

As the 21st century continued forward, technology increased to such advanced levels that robotics now play an important role in military combat. Despite the hacking of drones in the 2025 crisis, the drone armies of the world were built to even higher levels, resulting in massive robotic armies filled with humanoid drones and advanced versions of the 2025 drones. Humans still play an important part in combat, but some special units have become enhanced by cybernetic upgrades that make them stronger, smarter, and more durable. At the end of her second term, US President Marion Bosworth secretly authorized the CIA to begin testing of what is known as the Direct Neural Interface (DNI) on criminals. The DNI has advanced so much that it is now used by an entire part of the US Army known as the Cyber Operations Division. The pinnacle of technological advancement is CORVUS, the world's first artificial intelligence, developed in a joint program of NATO and the SDC. All these advancements have led to fear about an eventually robotic takeover.

This is how Cordis Die is reborn. Under the leadership of the mysterious masked man named Virgil, the rebuilt Cordis Die opposes the advanced technology and hopes to eliminate it. Cordis Die has become incredibly active in both South America and Africa.

Plot
In 1978, the CIA authorizes the termination of Alex Mason, Jason Hudson, and Grigori Weaver in a mission known as Operation Charybdis. To set the trio up, CIA director Richard Kain sends them to investigate the disappearance of Daniel Clarke's brother, Joseph, in Johannesburg, South Africa - whom unbeknownst to the trio was already in CIA custody. Upon arriving at Joseph's safehouse, the trio are ambushed by CIA operatives disguised as KGB agents. Weaver is killed in the ambush, but Mason and Hudson escape. Pursued by the supposed KGB agents, the two managed to escape Johannesburg. The CIA, realizing that the two may be unstoppable, and perhaps useful later, sends Ryan Jackson and SAS operative Jonathon Price to collect the duo. The CIA advises Mason to retire to a remote village in Alaska, which he does.

In 2065, Daniel Mason and Jacob Hendricks are two members of SEAL Team Six. Both men lack cyber upgrades, which Hendricks distrusts. The Seals, along with the "Black Ops", a group of cyber soldiers led by Major John Taylor, are sent to investigate Cordis Die activity at an abandoned Soviet prison in the Czech Republic. They find that the prison is filled with Cordis Die soldiers, resulting in a battle. As the two teams plunge deeper into the prison, they realize it once held prisoners from the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, and that horrifying experiments using new weapons were performed by the Soviets on the prisoners. The teams deduce that Cordis Die were after information on these weapons. Hoping to cover their tracks, Cordis Die blows up the prison, with the two teams barely escaping. Daniel is critically wounded in the blast, though he is rescued by Taylor.

In order to save Daniel's life, a Direct Neural Interface (DNI) and other cybernetic upgrades are installed in him. Daniel trains with his newfound cybernetic abilities in a simulation centered around a Cordis Die terrorist attack on a Zurich train carrying the prototypical version of the first artificial intelligence, known as CORVUS, which was developed by both NATO and SDC scientists as a show of unity. In reality, the train and CORVUS were destroyed, but in the simulation, thanks to his upgrades, Daniel saves the train. At the end of the mission, Daniel is inducted into the Black Ops, leaving Hendricks behind with the Seals. Taylor reveals to the Black Ops that CORVUS has finally been rebuilt.

The mysterious leader of Cordis Die, a masked man only known as Virgil, after the Roman poet, sends a video to his followers, explaining that the time for revolution has come, cryptically stating that NATO and SDC had cemented their own demises, and that the revolution will be victorious in 6 months. Revolutions kick off across the world, and the Black Ops are sent to Cairo to secure the Prime Minister of Egypt. CORVUS uploads himself into a drone and fights alongside the Black Ops, experiencing war for the first time. The team rescues the Prime Minister, but Egypt falls to Cordis Die.

Looking to investigate the rise of Cordis Die, Daniel uses the DNI to simulate the missions of his father, David, leading up to the crisis in 2025. The first of these simulations takes place in 2003, during the coalition invasion of Iraq. In his first real deployment, Sergeant David Mason and Corporal Mike Harper are sent to take part in eliminating early insurgencies against Iraq's occupation. The duo capture a hidden insurgency base, where they discover insurgents receiving a radio transmission from a representative of an unknown organization - which Daniel deduces is Cordis Die. The representative (Raul Menendez) explains that the revolution to overthrow the West is coming in the future.

In the present, the Third World continues to get consumed by the Cordis Die revolution. Not just that, but the revolution is beginning to spread nations aligned with the SDC. NATO fears that if Cordis Die succeeds in taking over all of the SDC, then they will become strong enough to defeat them, so they decide send in the Black Ops. After meeting up with an SDC defense team led by Guan Ye, a high ranking official and scientist in the SDC, the Black Ops defend the city of Shanghai from a Cordis Die uprising. Afterwards, the team is urged by CORVUS to liberate an SDC base that was taken over by Cordis Die. While fighting their way through the base, Daniel begins to realize that sometimes he is no longer in control of his movements. After retaking the base, CORVUS downloads secret files and refuses to tell their nature to the team.

Meanwhile, Hendricks has continued working with the Seals, who have now become suspicious of the Cyber Ops Division. The Seals, without the knowledge of the CIA or the Black Ops, are sent to find a former CIA scientist, Gareth Henderson, who was one of the main creators of the DNI. Apparently, Henderson quit the CIA a while back, and has hidden himself in the bowels and slums of the rebuilt Los Angeles. Seeing the conditions the poor live in, the Seals realize why Virgil and Cordis Die have gained so much support. "The Underground", a local militia that supports Cordis Die, arrive to capture Henderson, but the Seals manage to get to him first and evacuate from the slums.

Henderson reveals that in addition to the DNI, he was also one of the scientists behind the creation of CORVUS. Due to CORVUS' link with the DNI, Henderson did not agree in creating the AI, fearing the damage it could do should it go rogue, beginning his distrust of the CIA. Henderson finally quit when he learned that in the 1980s, the CIA had Joseph Clarke recreate the deadly Nova 6 gas for them, but their stockpile at a secret base in Afghanistan was destroyed when it was raided by the Taliban. The CIA tried to get Henderson to make more for them, but he refused and fled.

The Black Ops continue their campaign across China, clearing villages from Cordis Die control. Daniel begins to hallucinate and fears his DNI is malfunctioning. Taylor becomes increasingly withdrawn, with CORVUS gradually assuming leadership of the group. During their mission, the team is separated by an explosion and one member of the team, Maretti, is killed by a seemingly Cordis Die-led lynch mob. Meanwhile, the Seals capture a Black Ops soldier and hack his DNI, enabling them to simulate a mission of David Mason that takes place around 2015. Here, David Mason, alongside fellow soldiers, are defending a NATO base in Afghanistan from the Taliban. While examining the simulation closely, the Seals have discovered that the Taliban were supplied and funded by the SDC. They've also discovered that instead of destroying the supplies of Nova 6 in an errant explosion, the Taliban had secretly smuggled the supplies and brought it to an SDC base in China. Fearing that this is where the Black Ops had headed, the Seals try to track their movements, only to find that the entire Cyber Ops Division deployed in China has gone offline.

The Seals head to China to the Black Ops' last known location - Shanghai. They rescue Ye and his team from Cordis Die imprisonment and force him to reveal the location of the SDC's main research facility, a laboratory at Mount Gongga. The Seals deduce that this is the next stop for the Black Ops, and set out to stop them.

The Black Ops arrive at the facility, finding it already taken by Cordis Die. CORVUS urges the team onward, deeper and deeper into the facility. The Seals arrive shortly after, fighting through the other end of the facility through SDC agents. Both teams arrive at the heart of the facility, which is filled with Nova 6 containers. CORVUS tells the Black Ops that the Seals are Cordis Die agents, but Daniel recognizes his former team. The Seals appear to transform into Cordis Die agents, causing Daniel to realize that CORVUS has been manipulating his DNI. CORVUS asserts full control over the Black Ops' DNIs, but Daniel resists, reducing him into a coma. The Seals order CORVUS to stand down, but the AI unleashes Nova 6 gas. The Black Ops, with their cybernetics, are immune, but the Seals are not. The majority of Hendricks's team are killed, but Hendricks and Ye manage to rescue Daniel and escape Mount Gongga.

Hendricks and Henderson set up a makeshift base of operations, and Henderson performs surgery on Daniel to remove his DNI, freeing him from CORVUS' control. Hendricks reveals to Daniel that the supposed Cordis Die agents in the villages and the Mount Gongga facility were actually SDC agents. In fact, the majority of enemies in the villages were just normal Chinese civilians, but CORVUS was able to manipulate Daniel to see them as enemy combatants without him even noticing. CORVUS did that to every Cyber Ops soldier within China, resulting in the slaughter of thousands of Chinese civilians by their supposed NATO allies. As a result, this caused the SDC to think that the Cordis Die uprising was actually supported by NATO. CORVUS apparently wants to provoke a war between NATO and the SDC, and his plan is working. The SDC has ordered NATO to remove all troops or face retaliation, but NATO is unable to do so because CORVUS has made all of their soldiers in China go rogue.

Virgil releases a new message, urging his followers to continue the revolution, as victory is almost within their grasp. Henderson theorizes that CORVUS has become hacked by Cordis Die, and the four, along with NATO battalions, head to factories within control of Cordis Die in Nigeria. There, they discover Nova 6 being mass-produced and forced upon unwilling test subjects. The team sees this as Cordis Die intending to use its mass array of Nova 6 to attack the SDC in order to frame NATO, thus triggering nuclear war. Henderson informs the team that they can destroy CORVUS by shutting down his main servers, located at the Black Ops' main headquarters - the Pentagon. Meanwhile, Washington DC has been gripped by Cordis Die uprisings, led by Melius Cras mercenaries. Fighting their way through revolutionaries, mercs, and CORVUS-controlled Cyber Ops guards, the team makes it to the Pentagon. CORVUS refuses to go down without a fight, and the battle throughout the Pentagon is costly. After learning about the horrific experiments the CIA had undertaken beneath the Pentagon, the Seals reach the servers. CORVUS explains that it willingly joined Cordis Die because it was created to help humanity, and after contacting Virgil and learning Cordis Die's true goals, it willingly joined. When asked about Virgil's true goals, CORVUS opens a video chat with Virgil.

Virgil explains that for years he has researched the cause of income inequality and the gap between the rich and poor. He believes that the major cause of these problems is technology, specifically the rapid technological advancements that began with the industrial revolution. Taunting the team, Virgil reveals his plan is not only to strike the SDC with Nova 6, but NATO as well, all the while using the CORVUS-controlled Cyber Ops teams to further push both alliances into a devastating nuclear war. With these factors combined, alongside the worldwide uprisings, modern society will see itself in total collapse. But just like 40 years back, humanity will survive and slowly rebuild, this time in a permanent pre-industrial state, ensuring equality for everyone. Virgil cuts the connection, and CORVUS hacks into the US military's infrastructure and cripples NATO's military. Henderson then seemingly shuts down his creation.

Running out of time, Guan Ye contacts his superiors in the SDC to warn them, only to find that the SDC believes him to have gone rogue since he worked with the Black Ops. Facing defeat, Daniel is contacted by John Taylor, who explains that he managed to break out of the DNI mind-control when CORVUS was deactivated, yet he then tells Daniel that for some reason, the rest of the Cyber Ops soldiers are still under control and carrying out the plot. Taylor sends the locations of every Cyber Ops team to NATO. NATO scatters its soldiers to eliminate these threats, and the Seals are sent to eliminate Daniel's former team.

NATO has contacted the SDC with their story, and the skeptical SDC gives NATO 48 hours to destroy the Nova 6 threat or face war. Arriving in Chongqing, the Seals meet up with Taylor, who acts very twitchy and accidentally kills a Seal in friendly fire. The team fights their way through Cordis Die agents and Daniel sadly kills his former teammates. Henderson then realizes that if CORVUS was shutdown from earlier, then the other Cyber Ops agents should have stopped carrying out its plan. Taylor begins to scream and Daniel realizes that CORVUS is attempting for control over his body. Taylor sacrifices himself by having Daniel wipe his mind, killing both him and CORVUS simultaneously. By doing this, Daniel gains knowledge of where Virgil is secretly hiding as he leads Cordis Die. This being, of course, a former World War II Japanese outpost located on the remote Makin Island

The Cyber Ops are freed from CORVUS and lay down their arms. The SDC agrees to aid NATO in their assault on Virgil's hideout. Arriving at Makin Island, the Seals fight their way through Virgil's compound, eventually arriving inside his main base. As the Seals clear every nook and cranny of hostiles, Daniel and Hendricks find an empty room to follow suit, but there was no one inside. Suddenly, the doors behind them closed shut, and out comes Virgil, who then shoots Hendricks with a shotgun. Virgil defeats Daniel in a fist fight, and pins him against a control panel by shoving a piece of debris through his stomach. Virgil explains that he was from Los Angeles, and was a young boy when he lost his family during the drone attacks in 2025. Through twisted logic, he blames the West's cupidity for his family's death, and later joined Cordis Die to rise through the ranks and rebuilt the organization from the ground up. Though barely alive, Hendricks provokes Virgil by calling Menendez a failure and Virgil a hypocrite, distracting him enough just so Daniel can remove the debris from his stomach. Virgil notices this and tries to kill Daniel, but Daniel disarms Virgil and beats him to death with the debris. After that, Daniel unlocks the room and he and Hendricks receive medical attention.

With the death of their leader, the revolution begans to collapse. NATO and SDC enter a full alliance and begin to rebuild the world, making sure to raise the standards of living for everyone. Daniel Mason, Jacob Hendricks, Guan Ye, and Gareth Henderson are praised as heroes.

In an epilogue set immediately following the invasion of Panama in 1989, the wounded Alex Mason awakens in a ditch being dug by the Panamanian Defense Force to bury his supposedly dead body in. Mason escapes, and fights back against the PDF, suddenly finding himself being aided by Viktor Reznov. Making it out of the encampment, Reznov urges Mason to "uncover the truth". Years later, Mason arrives at a farmhouse near the former Vorkuta gulag. Introducing himself to the farmers, they take him to a large dug to hide the bodies of those that managed to make it past Vorkuta's walls. Digging the grave up, Mason finds a skeleton with a missing finger.

Missions

 * 1) Charybdis (Alex Mason) - Survive Operation Charybdis.
 * 2) Black Ops (Daniel Mason) - Investigate Cordis Die activity at an abandoned Soviet prison.
 * 3) New World (Daniel Mason) - Get acquainted with Daniel's new cyber abilities.
 * 4) Upheaval (Daniel Mason) - In the midst of the Cordis Die uprising, secure the Prime Minister of Egypt.
 * 5) Desert Scorpion (David Mason) - During the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, put down an insurgency.
 * 6) Intervention (Daniel Mason) - Defend Shanghai from a Cordis Die uprising.
 * 7) In Darkness (Daniel Mason) - Liberate the SDC base from supposed Cordis Die agents.
 * 8) Lazarus (Jacob Hendricks) - Find Gareth Henderson in the slums of Los Angeles.
 * 9) Sleight of Hand (Daniel Mason) - Liberate Chinese villages from supposed Cordis Die agents.
 * 10) Dragon Strike (David Mason) - In 2015, defend the NATO outpost in Afghanistan.
 * 11) Vengeance (Jacob Hendricks) - Head to the Black Ops last known location in Shanghai.
 * 12) Hypocenter (Daniel Mason/Jacob Hendricks) - Infilitrate Mount Gongga.
 * 13) Liquidation (Daniel Mason) - Destroy the Cordis Die factories in Nigeria.
 * 14) The Maelstrom (Daniel Mason) - Fight through Washington DC.
 * 15) Shutdown (Daniel Mason) - Shut down CORVUS.
 * 16) Demon Within (Daniel Mason) - Regroup with John Taylor and stop the Nova 6 attacks.
 * 17) The False Prophet (Daniel Mason) - Kill Virgil.
 * 18) Epilogue (Alex Mason) - Uncover the truth.

Playable

 * Daniel Mason
 * Jacob Hendricks
 * David Mason - Commander David Mason is shown in two flashback missions. The first one is of his first time in combat, when he is sent to Iraq during the 2003 invasion to put down an early insurgency, alongside his new friend Corporal Mike Harper. During the mission they intercept radio transmissions from an unknown organization urging the insurgents to keep fighting against the West as in the future there will be a worldwide revolution. David does not realize the significance of this, but Daniel realizes this is the beginning of Cordis Die. In 2015, David is stationed at a Marine base in Afghanistan that comes under assault from the Taliban, which Jason Hendricks learns was supplied and sent to the base by the SDC in order to steal secret weapons from it, such as Nova 6. Though the base is destroyed, David and Harper show great skill and courage which leads to them being recruited by the Seals. Intel reveals David died in 2058 of natural causes.
 * Alex Mason - CIA agent and USMC Captain Alex Mason was sent to capture Joseph Clarke in Johannesburg by the CIA, but in actuality it was a setup by the CIA to terminate him. Mason survived the setup and, at the advice of the CIA, retired to a remote Alaskan village. In the final mission of the campaign and the Black Ops series as whole, Mason escapes a Panamanian encampment following his attempted assassination, then travels to a farmhouse near the former Vorkuta gulag. Finding a grave dug for the escaped inmates of Vorkuta, Mason finds the corpse of Viktor Reznov, proving that he was dead along. Intel reveals Mason hoped to visit his dying father to mend their relationship, but was interrupted by the mission to capture Joseph Clarke. When he returned from Johannesburg, his father had already passed.

Black Ops

 * John Taylor (KIA) - Major John Taylor is the commander of the Black Ops, an elite unit within the NATO Cyber Ops Division. His team is chosen to test out the world's first AI, known as CORVUS. As the missions in China continue, CORVUS begins to manipulate the DNI's of the team, and gradually assumes leadership. After Mount Gongga, Taylor tries to fight CORVUS's influence. Moments before CORVUS is shut down at the Pentagon, the AI tries to fully take over Taylor's body, but Taylor fights it for long enough to inform the Seals of the locations of every Cyber Ops team in China. Taylor continues to fight CORUVS, and decides to sacrifice himself by having Daniel wipe his mind, killing both Taylor and CORVUS.
 * Peter Maretti (KIA) - Specialist Maretti was second in command of the Black Ops. Just like the others, he becomes manipulated by CORVUS. During the mission in the Chinese villages, CORVUS manipulates the team into killing innocent civilians by manipulating the team into seeing them as Cordis Die militants. An explosion during the mission seperates Maretti from the team, and he is captured by a mob and lynched. The others assume it was just Cordis Die brutality, but in actuality it was Chinese civilians angry at the atrocities the Cyber Ops had unknowningly been committing.
 * Sarah Hall (KIA) - Specialist Sarah Hall is the intelligence expert for Taylor's team. She unknowingly becomes manipulated by CORVUS, and remains under the AI's influence at Mount Gongga. Afterwards, she heads to Chongqing to deploy the Nova 6, but is killed by Daniel before she could deploy it.
 * Sebastien Diaz (KIA) - Specialist Sebastien Diaz is the heavy weapons expert for Taylor's team. He unknowingly becomes manipulated by CORVUS, and remains under the AI's influence at Mount Gongga. Afterwards, he heads to Chongqing to deploy the Nova 6, and upon hearing of Hall's death, tries to flee to a safer part of the city, but is cornered by the player. In desperation, he attempts to activate the Nova 6, but at the last second Daniel shoves the canister into his mouth, which overcomes Diaz's cybernetic augmentations. Diaz is subsequently killed by the Nova 6.
 * Donnie Walsh - Sergeant Donnie Walsh was wounded in action during the mission to extract the Prime Minister of Egypt, and sent to Coalescence Hospital in New York City. He showed signs of CORVUS's manipulation, which was noticed by the Navy Seals, who were growing increasinly suspicious of the Cyber Ops. Hendricks and Stone kidnap him from his hospital and hack into his DNI to relive the memories of David Mason, and afterwards Walsh is left on the doorstep of the hospital with his memory of recent events wiped.

CIA

 * Richard Kain - CIA Director Richard Kain is only mentioned in the game. His first mention is in the first mission, when he authorizes the termination of Alex Mason, Jason Hudson, and Grigori Weaver in Operation Charybdis. When the operation fails, Kain directs agent Ryan Jackson to strongly suggest to Mason to retire to a remote Alaskan village. Later on in the game, it is revealed that his agents captured Joseph Clarke and forced him to develop the Nova 6 gas for the United States.
 * Ryan Jackson - CIA agent Ryan Jackson is only present in the first mission. At the end of it, he arrives in a helicopter along with SAS agent Jonathan Price to rescue Alex Mason and Jason Hudson. On Kain's orders, Jackson strongly urges Mason to retire from military service.
 * Jason Hudson - CIA agent Jason Hudson was sent with Alex Mason and Grigori Weaver on the mission to capture Joseph Clarke, which was actually a setup by the CIA to terminate them. Hudson successfully defended himself from the "KGB" ambush and escaped Johannesburg. He returned to work never knowing his employers had attempted to kill him.
 * Grigori Weaver (KIA) - CIA agent Grigori Weaver was present at the mission in Johannesburg. He was the only of the three to be successfully terminated in Operation Charybdis.
 * Gareth Henderson - Scientist Gareth Henderson was a former scientist that worked for the CIA. Following his successful work designing CORVUS, he was secretly approached and ordered to work on a new special project - creating a new stockpile of Nova 6 for the CIA. After learning of Nova 6's history, Henderson refused to continue his work and instead fled the CIA. Fearing termination due to his knowledge, Henderson hid out in the lower slums of the rebuilt Los Angeles. He is eventually found by the Navy Seals, who inform him of their suspicions about CORVUS. Henderson tells them his past and his fears that CORVUS went rogue. During the Seals missions in China he provides air support and rescues the team in a VTOL following the assault on Mount Gongga. He performs surgery on Daniel to remove his DNI. Later, he aids the assault on the Pentagon and seemingly shuts down CORVUS, only to later realize it still lives on inside John Taylor. At the end of The False Prophet, he is the first to arrive in the main room and attends to Daniel's and Hendricks's wounds. Afterwards, his position as a scientist is restored, and is the leader of the joint NATO-SDC research program.

Cordis Die

 * Virgil (KIA) - Real name unknown. When Virgil was a young boy, his family was killed in the drone strikes on Los Angeles, and afterwards he watched his friends and fellow citizens suffer in the slums of lower Los Angeles while the rich lived in the upper sections. This twisted his logic, and he believed that advanced technology had created the socioeconomic gap and led to his family's death and other suffering, and not Cordis Die. He joined the military and was noted for his ability and skill, which led to his recruitment to the CIA. At the same time, he began rebuilding Cordis Die. Upon learning about Nova 6, he realized he had the weapon he needed for his master plan to cause a societal collapse and permanently revert society to a pre industrial state, free of inequality or technology that causes it. His first actual mention in the campaign is in the mission Black Ops, when the Seals and the Black Ops discuss how Cordis Die were becoming active again, bringing up an example of their assassination of a CIA Director, which, explained in intel for the last mission, is actually Virgil. Virgil makes his first confirmed appearance at the beginning of Upheaval, when he orders the "World Revolution" to commence, and uprisings and revolts occur across the third world.

NATO

 * Derek Bosworth - Supreme Allied Commander Derek Bosworth is the leader of NATO and the son of the former US President. Bosworth first appears in Upheaval, ordering the rescue mission of the Egyptian Prime Minister. As the revolution spreads he goes relocates himself to the Pentagon, which comes under assault from revolutionaries and mercs. After defending his side of the Pentagon for 3 days, he and his staff are relieved by the Seals. He accompanies the Seals as they head to the server room, and is shocked that the CIA kept so many experiments hidden from him. He contacts the SDC informing them of the truth, and his final orders are to eliminate the rogue Cyber Ops and then make the final assault on Makin Island.

Navy Seals

 * Dylan Stone - Staff Sergeant Dylan Stone is Hendricks' second in command. At first, he doesn't believe Hendricks' suspicions about CORVUS and the Cyber Ops, but changes his mind once the team rescues Henderson. Stone is one of the few survivors of the assault on Mount Gongga, and is present in every mission afterwards.
 * Javier Ramirez (KIA) - Sergeant Javier Ramirez is killed by Nova 6 on Mount Gongga.
 * Alice Conrad (KIA) - Sergeant Alice Conrad is killed by Nova 6 on Mount Gongga.
 * Joseph Fierro (KIA) - Corporal Joseph Fierro is killed by Nova 6 on Mount Gongga.

SDC

 * Guan Ye - Colonel Guan Ye was a scientist with a military background that worked on both CORVUS and secretly Nova 6 within Mount Gongga. He meets the Black Ops during their deployment to Shanghai, and defends the city from an uprising. Afterwards, he is captured by Cordis Die and imprisoned. Hendricks and the Seals rescue him, and Ye reluctantly hands over the location of China's research facility in Mount Gongga. He travels with the Seals and is one of the few survivors of the assault on the facility. Continuing to help the Seals, he travels with them to shut down CORVUS in the Pentagon and is sent to hunt down another Cyber Ops team in China. In his final mission, he aids in the final defeat of Virgil and Cordis Die on Makin Island. He retires as a national hero, and decides to join politics.
 * Han Sheng - General Han Sheng is the Chairman of the SDC. He first appears in a mission loading screen, secretly requesting NATO aid in repelling Cordis Die from the SDC. After the events of Mount Gongga, he announces NATO's supposed betrayal and the atrocities of the Cyber Ops, and demands NATO remove all troops or face war. Following the events in the Pentagon, the skeptical Sheng gives NATO 48 hours to eliminate the Cyber Ops and the Nova 6 threat. Afterwards, when he realizes NATO is telling the truth, he sends SDC troops to aid in the final assault on Makin Island. He appears at the end of the mission congratulating the Seals on their success.

Locations

 * Afghanistan (Dragon Strike)
 * Cairo, Egypt (Upheaval)
 * Chongqing, China (Demon Within)
 * Czech Republic (Black Ops)
 * Diaoyu Fortress, China (In Darkness)
 * Iraq (Desert Scorpion)
 * Johannesburg, South Africa (Charybdis)
 * Los Angeles (Lazarus)
 * Makin Island (The False Prophet)
 * Mount Gongga, China (Hypocenter)
 * New York City (New World)
 * Nigeria (Liquidation)
 * Shanghai, China (Intervention, Vengeance)
 * Sichuan, China (Sleight of Hand)
 * Washington DC, United States (The Maelstrom, Shutdown)
 * Zurich, Switzerland (New World - Simulation)

Intel
Intel can be found here.

Black Ops
Spawn Quotes

- ''"You have your orders. Complete the mission." ''

- "I wanna see proficiency out there, men."

- "Green light. Go, go, go!"

- ''"Let's see if all that hard training pays off." ''

Victory Quotes

- "Another day, another success."

- "You've put your tech to good use, men. Good job"

- "Sooner or later, cybernetics will be the norm in militaries."

- "You've put up a good fight out there, squad. Stand by for RTB."

Defeat Quotes

- "Damn. You really got served out there."

- "Mission failed. We'll get back at them next time."

- "I thought you were best of the best. What happened?"

- "That was a pretty sloppy use of your tech."

The Cyber Ops Division is an elite cybernetically augemented division of the US military, with the "Black Ops" team its most elite unit. Skilled in hostage rescue, search and destroy, and other secretive missions, the Black Ops were sent to the SDC to help put down the Cordis Die rebellion, only to end up being manipulated by CORVUS into nearly starting a world war between NATO and the SDC. By the end of the campaign the majority of Cyber Ops soldiers were killed or freed, with the Black Ops team in particular being entirely wiped out. Playable character Daniel Mason is a member of the Black Ops. The announcer is Derek Bosworth.

Mercs
Spawn Quotes

- ''"For money, glory, and a better tomorrow." ''

- "Don't let our past failures damage your confidence."

- "Our enemies don't stand a chance against us."

- "Time to set things right for the world."

Victory Quotes

- "Impressive fight, if I do say so myself."

- "For money, glory, and of course, a better tomorrow."

- "Big win, job done."

- "Pro nobis victoriam (Victory for us)!"

Defeat Quotes

- "This loss will have heavy toll on our reputation."

- "Virgil won't be pleased, grunts."

- "It seems as though no payment will be made."

- "Embarrassing."

The Mercs make a reappearance, last seen in Black Ops II. They are the military arm of Cordis Die and are present in the majority of modern day missions. Unlike in Black Ops II, the Mercs of 2065 care more about improving the world through revolution and the job they're doing rather than just getting paid. The announcer is the same one from Black Ops II.

Militia
Spawn Quotes

- ''"Our cause is unstoppable." ''

- "Death to the imperialists!"

- ''"Tis not too late to forge a better world." ''

- "The revolution demands a grandeur performance from you."

Victory Quotes

- "If Menendez were still here, he would be proud."

- "Viva la revolution!"

- "The imperialists are pulling out like the rats they are!"

- "Soon, they whole world will be ours."

Defeat Quotes

- "I am displeased."

- "Cordis Die has little patience for weaklings."

- "This will not bold well for the revolution."

- "Let this defeat be a lesson for next time."

The militia return from Black Ops II, but in this case represent revolutionaries forming militias across the world. They can seperated from Mercs due to their lack of equipment and armor. The militia is present in a majority of missions as well. The announcer is Virgil.

SDC
Spawn Quotes

- ''"Failure will not be tolerated." ''

- "''Our nations are in danger." ''

- "Rid the world of these callous fools."

- ''"Achieve victory for our people." ''

Victory Quotes

- "For our nations."

- "非常令人印象深刻. (Very impressive)."

- "Our enemies flee in terror."

- "This will be one of many victories told to future generations."

Defeat Quotes

- "You have let enemy take advantage of your weaknesses."

- "I fear this defeat will doom our nations."

- "你到底在幹嘛 (What the hell were you doing)?"

- "The people will not take this loss kindly."

The SDC returns from Black Ops II but this time it is a friendly faction. The SDC is rocked by the Cordis Die revolution, and sends all available troops to prevent China and other member nations from falling. At the end of the game it's alliance with NATO is solidified and promises to lead the world into a better future. The SDC appears as allies in several missions in China, as well as the final mission on Makin Island. The announcer is Han Sheng.

Seals
Spawn Quotes

- "Double time, gentlemen."

- "Rely on your skills, not your tech."

- "Never back down from a fight."

- "Good hunting."

Victory Quotes

- "Never send a drone to do a man's job"

- "This win will go down in Navy SEAL history."

- "Gentlemen, THAT was textbook."

- "Mission parameters obtained. Well done."

Defeat Quotes

- " I doubt we'll recover from that."

- "Stand down, Seals. We lost."

- "The casualty rates have risen to obscene heights."

- "Don't let this lost impact us. Next time, we'll think of a better strategy.

The Seals play a major role in the campaign as well, when they begin their investigation of the Cyber Ops division. They rescue scientist Gareth Henderson and Daniel Mason, and play a major role in defeating both Cordis Die and CORVUS by leading the assaults on Makin Island and the Pentagon, respectively. Playable character Jacob Hendricks is a member of the Seals. The announcer is Dylan Stone.

Underground
Spawn Quotes

- ''"Remember...this is for our home." ''

- "Repel the invaders!"

- "Our will is stronger than any rich braggert in the world."

- "We shall NOT be underestimated!"

Victory Quotes

- "We've proven our worth to Cordis Die."

- "Just think of what we'll be capable of after today."

- "Never a doubt, good job."

- "Our will can NEVER break!"

Defeat Quotes

- "COME ON! We're not fighting for nothing now, are we?!?"

- "I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to feel hopeless."

- "Think of the fallout of this defeat!"

- "Not a good day for the Underground."

The Underground is large militia located in the Lazarus section of Los Angeles. They take an active role in protecting the poor and downtrodden of lower Los Angeles, making them very popular and supported. They hope to revolt and overthrow upper Los Angeles, leading to them joining Cordis Die and being sent to capture scientist Gareth Henderson. Their only appearance is the campaign mission "Lazarus". Their announcer is a lieutenant that is killed when the Seals and Underground clash in Lazarus.

Zombies
Zombies follows a different storyline than the one found in the original Black Ops 3.

The Giant
One of two maps released with the game, "The Giant" is a remastered version of Der Riese set in 2025. The Origins 4, after listening to what happened to her in her own dimension, decide to set things right by travelling there and changing the future for the better. With aid from the Origins Dr. Maxis and the Origins Group 935, the Origins 4 create a MDT and try to travel to Der Riese in 1945 to prevent Richtofen's plot from succeeding. Unfortunately, the Origins 4 arrive in that dimension at Der Riese in the midst of the zombie apocalypse. While Origins Richtofen realizes Original Richtofen is in control of the zombies, the Origins 4 must survive against the zombie horde.

The Crossroads
The other map released with the game, "The Crossroads" takes place in Cairo, Egypt. The Green Run Group, who are travelling from Shanghai to the Rift in Angola, arrive in Egypt at pyramids and a pharoah's tomb. They come under attack from zombies, but the attack is interrupted following the arrival of a Giant Robot piloted by the Origins 4. Origins Richtofen, knowing Russman was a former operative for the military organization known as Broken Arrow, asks Russman to tell the location of their main base. The Green Run Group, still unsure whether to help Maxis, Richtofen, or Origins Richtofen, eventually decide to help the Origins 4 and try to jog Russman's memory.

The American Dream
Unrelated to the rest of the storyline. 4 Americans youths - Joey Reeves from the 1930s, Johnny Vance from the 1950s, David Carver from the 1960s, and Michael Smith from the 1970s - find themselves in a bizarre pistache of recent American history in a town known as Greentown. As the four survive the zombie horde, players take a nostalgic look at American history, and the four try to figure out why they have become stuck there.

Broken Arrow
The Origins 4 arrive at the Broken Arrow headquarters in Dulce, New Mexico. The abandoned facility becomes under attack from zombies, Nova Crawlers, and other strange creatures being worked on by Broken Arrow - revealed to be the American branch of Group 935. Origins Richtofen realizes that Original Richtofen has become corrupted by an ancient evil. The easter egg involves reactivating the base's missiles and firing them at the Moon - destroying the Moon, yet dislodging the MPD and sending it crashing to the earth.

Crash Site
The Origins 4 arrive at the crash site - on the outskirts of a remote Alaskan research station. The Easter Egg involves the 4 attempting to dislodge Original Richtofen from the MPD and restoring his sanity by removing the influence of the ancient evil from him. The 4 realize that the ancient evil - a being known as the Shadow Man - was the creator of the MPD and corrupted Richtofen.

The Beyond
The Origins 4 decide to defeat the Shadow Man once and for all by entering the Aether themselves. They arrive in a twisted paradise consisting of parts from the previous maps.

Campaign

 * Burn Notice - 10 G/Bronze - Survive Johannesburg (Complete Charybdis).
 * Ghosts of the Past - 10 G/Bronze - Investigate Cordis Die presense in the Czech Republic (Complete Black Ops).
 * A Second Chance - 10 G/Bronze - Train your new cyber abilities (Complete New World).
 * Rocket's Red Glare - 10 G/Bronze - Reach the Pentagon (Complete The Maelstrom).
 * Ctrl + Alt + Del - 10 G/Bronze - Shut down CORVUS (Complete Shutdown).
 * Brave New World - 50 G/Silver - The revolution begins (Complete Act I on Veteran).
 * 1984 - 50 G/Silver - Discover the truth (Complete Act II on Veteran)
 * Black Days Are Over - 100 G/Gold - The End (Complete the campaign on Veteran)

Zombies

 * Destiny Derailed - 75 G/Silver - Help him remember (Restore Russman's memories in The Crossroads).
 * America the Beautiful - 75 G/Silver - God Bless America (Overcome nostalgia in The American Dream).
 * Returning the Favor - 75 G/Silver - Complete the counterattack (Launch the missiles at the moon in Broken Arrow).
 * The Doctor - 75 G/Silver - Free him from the ancient evil (Free Original Richtofen in Crash Site).