magma map

Players of the Call of Duty series are no strangers to downloadable content in the form of additional maps on which to shoot, stab and detonate. Ever since downloadable map packs were released for Call of Duty 3 back in 2007, console gamers have been treated to (or blighted by, depending on your stance on DLC) regular releases of additional content to purchase or risk being the one guy in their group of friends who can’t play on the same maps as everyone else.

This time around, developers Treyarch are dropping virtual soldiers and screaming headset-wearing pubescents on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands. As well as being situated in the shadow of an erupting volcano, the town featured in the map is absolutely covered with cute cultural references and written Japanese which, we’re happy to say, is not riddled with mistakes.

Japanese gamers were not best pleased with Square-Enix’s handling of the Japanese release of Black Ops 2 last December. As well as the dubbed version arriving much later than the subtitled release, Japanese text and in-game messages were considered to be either superfluous to the point of distraction or — in the case of one in-game war gizmo whose display read “hakkinku” instead of “hakkingu” (hacking) — just plain wrong. Thankfully, the written Japanese that appears on message boards and road signs in the new “Magma” map looks to be free of these kinds of sloppy mistakes. But that’s not to say it isn’t amusing in its own way.

After getting a sneak peek at the map, which is pack of the latest downloadable add-on “Uprising”,  many Japanese players were left chuckling at some of the signs around the virtual town. Here, for example, we see an ad for a takeaway sushi restaurant, offering its customers 10 percent off their order if the nearby volcano happens to be erupting. Hmm, sushi or death; sushi or death…

magma map sushi discounts

The town’s post office, meanwhile, tells us that the town itself is known as “Magma”, while the developers cleverly used the katakana character テ (“te”) in place of the Japanese Post Office symbol, probably to avoid legal issues or having to pay royalties.

magma map post office

Residents of the fictional town can — or at least could, prior to the volcano throwing a hissy fit — even hop on board the futuristic-looking “Magma Super Liner” overhead railway to see the surrounding sights and pink cherry blossom. So “let’s go to northern Kyushu!” as the ad suggests in typically peppy, tourism-promoting style. See? Even video games can help you brush up on your Japanese reading skills! Just don’t stand there examining the text for too long or you’re liable to get a knife in the back…

magma so let's go to north kyushu

The real-world island of Kyushu home to nine volcanoes of varying size, some of which are considered to be among the world’s most active. Although the town being besieged by lava and ash in the new Call of Duty map is situated in Northern (or “Kita“) Kyushu, the vast majority of these volcanoes are in fact located in the southern half of the island, which is just as well considering that the majority of the population is situated in the north-west, particularly around Fukuoka City, whose airport makes skipping over to neighbouring South Korean an absolute breeze.

Gamers among you will no doubt want to take a look at the map in motion, so we’ll leave you now with a short video courtesy of YouTuber Matroix, who also offers a little commentary on how the Magma level plays. Enjoy.

Uprising, the new downloadable content for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 which features three new multiplayer maps along with a new Zombie mode campaign, is out now for Xbox 360 and coming soon for other platforms.

Source: 俺的ゲーム速報

Video via YouTube Matroix