It looks like Mr Peeks has more to say. Following the excitement of The Truth Dies on Thursday, a further update to the site on Friday gave us some things to ponder over the weekend.
Channel 3 published a news report stating that the CIA has declassified top-secret files. Mr Peeks then laughs and shows us snippets from documents relating to Terminus Island. Piecing it together, we can start setting the scene for one of the BO6 launch maps, appropriately named Terminus.
Ernst Duffer was assigned to Terminus Island as an interrogator in 1987 by the Project Janus administration. His professional history is “undisclosed.” We know Terminus takes place in 1991, so Weaver, Grey, Carver, and Strauss were likely subject to interrogations over a period of roughly four years—grim stuff.
Speaking of our beloved Requiem Heads, we also have access to information regarding their interrogations. The documents are linked below, but to sum it up:
- The Director wanted Weaver to suffer. He is now a bitter, broken man. Weaver blames himself for the outcome of Requiem.
- Grey was hopeful of rescue when she first arrived on Terminus Island, but she has since lost her faith and accepted her fate. She is uncooperative during interrogations.
- Carver is the beacon of hope for the crew. He is well-versed in interrogation methods and has massive resolve. Duffer is considering isolating him to try and break the crew.
- Strauss is losing his grip on reality but still cares for his teammates. His knowledge is vital to Project Janus’ goals. He has successfully manipulated some of the Terminus staff, with Duffer warning them to exercise caution.
Safe to say they are in a very dark place. With luck, the introduction of Maya Aguinaldo will help strengthen their resolve. But what happens to Strauss? Maybe we’ll be tasked with saving him during the main quest, or perhaps the intro cinematic will reveal his fate.
Looking back at Channels 1 and 2, I wonder if the figure we see watching the screens is Ernst Duffer. It would make sense, considering that The Director has deferred interrogation responsibilities to him. If I were to guess, we’re more likely to see The Director on the Liberty Falls map.
One final thought on Channel 3: With Brutus and Klaus forming part of the Vault Edition of Black Ops 6, it begs the question, why Brutus? The reason could be as simple as “he’s an iconic Zombies character, and operators aren’t canon.” But what if we discover Dark Aether has its very own Warden? Ernst Duffer would undoubtedly fit the bill.
Product Placement
Channel 4 started broadcasting an advert for a “Sounds 4 Love” compilation CD before Mr Peeks ran an advert of his own, showing off the Gobblegum machine. It looks like he successfully gained ownership of the Gobblegum IP! Congratulations, Mr Peeks.
The new machine looks stunning and even has a jingle this time. “Chew until you die” has been in my head all weekend. Zooming in on the screen reveals a cartoon version of Mr. Peeks and a few Gobblegums we’re familiar with: Perkaholic, Wall Power, Stock Option, Cache Back, and Profit Sharing.
Interestingly, some of the Gobblegums have changed in colour since BO3.
Stock Option: Green to Blue.
Cache Back: Purple to Blue.
Perkaholic: Orange to Red.
The meaning of the GobbleGum colours will likely be completely different in Black Ops 6. In Black Ops 3, the colour Blue indicated that the Gum was round-based (e.g., Afterlife lasted for three rounds). However, this logic doesn’t work with Cache Back as it grants the player with Max Ammo. It could be that the effect of Cache Back is changing dramatically, but given we have a few examples of Gums changing colour, I’m betting on a revamp of the Gobblegum colours and rarity system.
Although the Shadows of Evil reveal trailer featured them, red Gobblegums are a brand new colour for Black Ops 6. Given that Perkaholic is red, I wonder if it’s specifically for extra-powerful gums. Maybe you can only use one red Gum per game, regardless of how many you have in stock. We’ll need to wait for further information.
The return of Perkaholic has delighted some and upset others as expected. While I understand the fear of game-breaking GobbleGums, there must be a few top-tier gums to incentivise players to keep earning them. I fully trust Treyarch has developed a Gobblegum system that improves on the one that debuted in Black Ops 3. The return of Perkaholic also raises interesting questions about the perk limit (which I covered recently. If Mr Peeks is allowed to advertise, so am I!).
And now, we wait. Channel 5 and 6 are currently off-air, so we’re likely due one more day of teasers at the very least. Hopefully, there’s more! With the promotional campaign kicking off so early, I think there’s a high chance we’ll get a trailer before COD Next. If not, we’re only about three weeks out anyway.
Chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew, chew until you die!