It’s been a short three months since Treyarch launched its First Strike map pack for the Call of Duty: Black Ops video game. Back in Febrruary, the company organized a grudge match, in which we were invited to discover the new maps in a battle with NFL running backs Arian Foster and Maurice Jones-Drew.

Building on that winning formula, this time Treyarch introduced NBA superstars Tyreke Evans and Deron Williams to battle for honors on its new Escalation map pack.

Just as before, each player would lead a team of video game reviewers and bloggers on the new maps in a series of deathmatch, domination and capture the flag challenges.

When they’re not dunking on the court, NBA guards Deron Williams and Tyreke Evans can be found playing Call of Duty: Black Ops. Apparently, the two players are accomplished gamers and enjoy nothing more than killing time or taking revenge for basketball defeats with a heavy machine gun and frag grenade.

We turned up at Treyarch’s Los Angelese HQ as requested, assembling in a room resembling a bunker from the game itself. Equipped with 12 widescreens and surround-sound headsets, the battle was going to be bloody.

Unlike their NFL counterparts in February, both Deron and Tyreke are softspoken gentlemen who preferred to lead by example. Trash talking was kept to a minimum, as guns and knives commanded all their attention.

Finding our way around these intricate new maps definitely requires your full attention, but pretty soon each player was leading from the front.

Playing the First Strike maps, we picked the right side, playing with Maurice Jones-Drew. Thanks to his skills we managed to win all our games, finishing second in the points behind Maurice in each game.

Sadly, we didn’t serve Tyreke so well. We’d like to blame a stiff, new controller and lack of familiarity with the complex maps, but it was an embarrassing display. Our team was overwhelmed by Deron’s opposition and there were tears before bedtime.

You can read our full review of the new Escalation maps in our second blog at www.eurotuner.com but these maps definitely require a more thoughtful approach. The depth of each environment is greater than the previous offerings and makes them another essential purchase for the keen Black Ops player.