Call of Duty Zombies has always been a preferred game mode of mine- despite my lack of skill in the game. However, the fact that I'm certainly not the best player in this particular game mode- or any game mode for that matter- has never stopped me from enjoying this unique mode of play. It is undoubtedly one of the many things which has contributed towards making Call of Duty the massively successful franchise that it is today.
It gives the game more versatility, when you get bored of one feature there is always another to turn to, that's how I've always felt about the games anyway. When we were younger, and had a LOT more free time on our hands, my friends and I would party up and play copious amounts of S&D online, then once boredom struck, we would switch it out to zombies and vice versa. Ah, the good old days.
But, I digress- see what I did there? No? Okay. Without further ado, here it is: my top 5 COD zombie maps.
#5- Buried, COD Black Ops 2:
When I first heard about buried, the concept of an underground map intrigued me almost instantaneously. And then after playing it for a few games, I was hooked. It was a lot different that I imagined, the fact that it was an underground old Western style town really caught my attention. The details of the visuals make this map a really fun one to play, that is, until you play it with someone who has absolutely no clue what they are doing.
It is both extremely and excruciatingly painful, when people free Leroy and then randomly force him to guzzle some booze in a totally non-useful position, which leads him to run uncontrollably into a not-so-responsive obstacle (usually a wall). While you're left standing in the middle of the map, screaming abuse down your headset, and at the same time learning that endeavouring to play online with randoms, is totally and utterly, an endeavour of true futility.
This map isn't an easy one to form a sound strategy on. There are so many hidden routes and alternative paths that everyone seems to develop their own strategy. It isn't as simple as buying jug, getting to a location and running a rape train for 30 rounds. Not in the slightest. Pack-a-punching, for example, is incredibly rage-inducing in this map. When you open the door which releases the witches and then attempt to navigate the maze, it can be stressful. And one or two controllers will have been broken at this stage, especially when one has their points stolen. Let's be positive though, these are the many things which make this map a very fun and entertaining one to play.
So, in conclusion, my advice to you, fellow gamers, is to play this map with someone who knows what they are doing, unless of course you are prepared to tear your hair out strand by strand.
#4- Five, COD Black Ops:
This one may come as a surprise. This map has received an array of negativity since its release in Call of Duty Black Ops, many people hated it and I'm not quite sure why. Perhaps it's because of the maps degree of difficulty, which is fair enough. It goes without saying that this map is a hard one to do well in. With limited areas and a tight layout, it is hard to run any sort of rape train in Five. There's only one place you can realistically and that's on the middle floor, next to the teleporter for pack-a-punch, but it is extremely hard to do.
I liked this map because of its enjoy-ability. Its like I said before, I've never been a great zombies player but I have always enjoyed playing and this map is certainly enjoyable. The doctor- who is the boss in the map- spices things up drastically. I can still remember getting told off by my parents on countless occasions, for screaming too loud whenever he was chasing me. Admit it: that guy scared you too!
That warning siren would sound and the voice would warn you of a 'breach on level 3' and after that all hell would break loose. The doctor would emerge from the teleporter and chase you relentlessly until he managed to steal your gun. Once he did so, the roles were reversed and you were the one giving pursuit. The only way to get your beloved gun back is to kill the doctor. But good luck with that, he's a deceivingly fast runner!
#3- Nacht der Untoten, COD World at War:
Ah, now we're talking old school! German for 'Night of the Undead'- Nacht der Untoten is the original zombies map, the one that got many of us avid gamers hooked. It's hard to believe that Wold at War is coming up 8 years old this year! It was released late on in 2008 and marked the dawn of zombies game play, a mode which would later turn out to revolutionise Call of Duty, forever.
The map itself was very simplistic. Dark, dull and surrounded by thick, grey mist. Visually, it was everything I would have expected a zombies map to be. But after playing it once, it was also far more addictive than my expectations could foresee. Just like everyone the first time they played it, I was totally unsure of what to do. I think I made it to round 3 before being swarmed from behind. But that didn't discourage me from playing it for hours on end.
And it was in that very first game of zombies, during my very first down, that the number 1 rule of zombie game play firmly embedded itself into my mind: always watch your back!
Surely everyone loves this map, don't they? If like me, you are old enough to have been playing videogames when WAW was first released and this map was your first experience with zombies, then do yourself a favour, play it! Right now! Drop everything you're doing, regardless of its importance, and play this freakin' map! Talk about nostalgia. Trust me, you won't regret it. Even if you do end up losing your job...
Yeah, upon re-evaluating what I just advised, please wait until you have a little spare time on your hands.
#2- Tranzit, Green Run, COD Black Ops 2:
Now, this map was in serious contention for the top spot. I absolutely love this map. It is the only one of it's kind. It combines the other three maps from the Green Run section of BO2 and puts them all into one map- along with a few extra bonus areas. The map has a bus, yes you heard right, an actual moving, functioning, non-static and unbroken bus, in Call of Duty! (well, it may be slightly damaged, but what's a couple of holes here and there?). Bottom line is it moves and you can board it. I know, I didn't believe it until I saw it either, but its true.
This magical bus journey starts at the Bus Depot (which is one of the stand-alone maps), from there you get out of the starting area and board the bus. In this order, the stops are: the run down garage area (where the M16 is on the wall), the diner, Farm (another stand-alone map), the door to the power and finally Town (the final stand-alone map). After Town, you return to the Bus Depot and the eternal loop continues.
You don't have to stay on the bus, you can take the risk and run through the mist which connects the different stops, this can be dangerous however. In the mist you will be greeted by the Denizen- or screecher as they are commonly called, for obvious reasons. They are pesky little creatures which jump on your head and slow you down, they can even down you if you don't melee them off quick enough. If you ask me, juggernog and Galvaknuckles are essential when venturing into the mist. Stamin-up is helpful too although its effects will be rendered useless with a Denizen on your head.
Tranzit is quite simply a fun map to play, be it online or solo, it can be good to reach a high round on too. Because of its shear size, this map is great for running beautifully large rape trains. Or perhaps in the case of this map, you could pass on the train and catch the bus instead!
#1- Kino der Toten, COD Black Ops:
Here it is, my all time favourite, Kino der Toten! The German translation of this maps title is 'Cinema/Theatre of the Dead' and just in case you actually didn't get my reference at the start of the article, it refers to the awesome speech which occurs on the loading screen prior to the game starting, particularly this part: 'I still do not trust my unconventional allies, but they are of great use to me. But, I digress.' The sad part about it is, I've played this map so much that I can actually recite that entire speech word for word, accent included.
This map is just great, it has such a warm, homely feeling to it- either that or I'm just messed up. Do you not get that vibe from this map? No? Well, I guess I'm the only one who's crazy here then.
The stage pictured above was the location of my very first successful rape train. In fact, I'm sure many of you learned the fundamentals of the rape train right here too, it's just such a great place to run them. Until rounds 30+, this is when it becomes slightly laborious, this is when it takes a full clip from your pack-a-punched M16 just to kill one zombie, this is when shit gets real. This is when its time to make use of the traps and the mini-gun, which can take a while to get used to, but they are well worth it.
Kino is the epitome of a perfect zombies map for me, it contains a high level of fun and enjoyment, it is great for the high rounds both multiplayer and solo, but most importantly, it was the training grounds for many of today's best COD zombies players. The map where they managed to learn their style of gameplay and carry it into other maps. Kino is the birth place of it all. Thus meaning, Kino der Toten, takes the top spot in my top 5 COD zombie maps. All hail Kino der Toten.
So, there you have it. My personal top 5 COD zombies maps. I'm sure that a lot of people will disagree with my selection, but then again, some will also agree with it. With COD zombies, different people will have different opinions on what the best maps are. It all comes down to your age and the style of gameplay you choose to adopt.
But, one thing's for sure: Call of Duty zombies is certainly one of the most amazing and addictive modes in first person shooter gameplay in gaming history. Now that is something which I'm sure everyone can agree with.