Monday 6 October 2014

Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010) - Zombie Mode


I have long intended to do a blog post about the awesome zombie modes in Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2. It was first included in Call of Duty: World at War but I won't talk about that much as the maps were re-released as DLC for Black Ops. I promised I would state that I only ever got into the zombie mode due to my dear friend Lucinda who is a keen advocate of it. I have discovered I wrote about this two years ago but hey; this is an update. My original post on this can be found here.

The zombie mode tasks you with one objective only; survive. It takes place over a confined map in which zombies assault barricades eventually destroying them and coming after you. Whilst it can be played in single player it is really designed for co-op play. You earn points from killing zombies which you can use to buy better weapons, power ups from vending machines (such as quick revive), and unlock more areas in the map you are in. Each round the zombies get stronger and there are more of them. You will die! The puzzle box is the most essential item to find in each level. Opening it gives you a random weapon, the one hit kill Ray-gun is the one you really want to get.


I  don't own all the maps for Black Ops but I do have most of them. Following is a small description of the various maps...

Ascension: I don't own this map, it takes place at an abandoned Soviet Cosmodrome and features four characters from World at War. There is a special enemy type in the form of space monkeys (sounds cool).


Call of the Dead: Again I do not own this map. This one takes place on the Siberian coast and features a lighthouse and a ship wreck. A special enemy type is zombie legend George Romero! You play as one of four horror icons; Danny Trejo, Robert Englund, Michael Rooker, and Sarah Michelle Gellar who provide voices for these characters.

Shangri-La: The last of the Black Ops zombie maps I do not own. This one takes place in a jungle and features a host of new enemy types (such as a zombie monkey) and again the character you play as are the four ones from World at War.


Kino Der Toten (Theatre of the Dead) - This is the first of the three maps that come with the disc and is one of the best zombie maps. As the title suggests this is set in a theatre and has you battling Nazi zombies as well as crawling zombies that explode upon death. It is quite a large map and includes a huge theatre room as well as a teleporter that briefly takes you away to a safe room for a breather. Every five or so rounds rather than zombies you have to survive against Hellhounds that spawn in randomly.

"Five" - Set in the Pentagon, you play as either John F.Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon or Robert McNamara. The layout for this one is quite linear rather than the looping design most maps have. Once the press room is over run you can take an elevator down to the mission room. From here you can get to some offices which includes a teleporter that takes you back to the start. A hard level I find.


Dead Ops Arcade - Different to all the other maps this is an overhead shooter similar to Smash TV. You are attacked by waves of enemies and after they are all killed you move on to the next arena. There is lots of treasure and power ups to collect. Is ok but I often get bored with this one.

Nacht Der Untoten  - This was the very first zombies map and it shows due to a very small layout. Nonetheless it is fun and chaotic after an initially slow start. Set in a ruined building.


Verruckt (Asylum) - There are many doors in this level and as with quite a few of the maps the power is off until you find the switch. It seems that you either spawn in one of two parts of the building. Another level I never seem to do well in.

Shi No Numa - For this one you are fighting Japanese zombies in a building in the middle of a swamp. Quite a large level and features Hellhounds again. The swamp water makes your character move slowly.


Der Riese  - Starting in a courtyard in the middle of the factory the big draw for this one is to initiate four different teleporters which then opens up a Pack-a-punch machine in the courtyard (this machine upgrades your weapons). Another large map that has quite a few ledges you can drop down from to make cheeky escapes from death.

Moon - The last map and the most bizarre. Moon features the largest zombie map out of both Black Ops and Black Ops 2. Starting on Earth you have to get to a teleporter that takes you to a secret Nazi moon base. On the moon you have to wear a space suit to avoid suffocating while altered gravity means you can jump long distances. I have yet to see all this level has to offer. Here you get teleporting crawling zombies as well as zombie astronauts who cause you to teleport to a random section of the map if they grab you!


So there you have it, quite a self indulgent blog post but it is something I have always wanted to write about. I love the zombie mode in this game, I wish they would make a stand alone Call of Duty zombie game and no, the mobile games do not count.

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