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Call of Duty: Black Ops – Rezurrection Review for Xbox 360

Call of Duty: Black Ops – Rezurrection Review for Xbox 360

No One Can Hear You Scream

The last three Black Ops map packs had one thing in common: they offered four new competitive maps and a single zombie level. The Rezurrection pack still has five maps, but this time around you’re getting four remastered zombie maps from Call of Duty: World At War and a brand spanking new zombie level called Moon. Treyarch has done a fantastic job of bringing us one original zombie level after another, covering everything from ancient ruins hidden deep inside a dense tropical jungle to a frozen wasteland where the Godfather of Zombies himself, George Romero, comes out of the water to chase you down. It seems that with each new zombie level, Treyarch gets a little more creative and goes a little further over the top. Their newest effort, Moon, is no exception.

If you’re like me, there’s a very good chance you’ve considered your chances of surviving a zombie apocalypse whilst on the moon, on a spaceship, or in space in general. As a zombie fan I feel it’s my duty to be prepared for whatever undead-related situations may arise. After fighting to survive in the low gravity environment of the moon, I can honestly say that fighting hordes of the undead in that type of situation is insanely hard. Thankfully, the arsenal has been expanded to give players a better chance against these undead monstrosities.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Rezurrection Screenshot

For starters, there’s the first of two new Wonder Weapons called the Wave Gun. This handy little gadget has an incredibly entertaining ability that makes zombies cough up blood and gradually inflate like some sort of zombie balloon before exploding into little giblets. The Wave Gun can also be taken apart and dual-wielded, where it becomes the equally deadly Zap Gun Dual Wield.

The second new Wonder Weapon is the Quantum Entanglement Device, or QED for short, and it takes up a tactical grenade slot. This is a gun for gamblers; it can either be a blessing or a curse. Its effect is random, like causing explosions, spawning random weapons, reviving fallen comrades, and even granting power-ups. There’s also a new Perk-a-Cola called the Mule Kick that gives you a third gun slot.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Rezurrection Screenshot

For the unfamiliar, Moon takes place on two locations: the moon (I bet you didn’t see that one coming), and Area 51. The four badass zombie-slayers you’ll be taking control of are Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki, and Edward Richtofen. The change of scenery brings with it some new things to experiment with, including a low-gravity environment and gravity lifts. A good team will find a way to use these new elements to their advantage, because the gravity lifts in particular can help you escape from tougher situations.

As for the enemy selection, there will be two new foes you’ll need to prepare yourself for: the Phasing Zombies and the Astronaut Zombies. The Phasing Zombies blink in an out, getting closer to you without you being able to do much about it, and the Astronaut Zombies are fairly self-explanatory—zombies wearing astronaut gear. But that’s not all, these annoying little buggers can take a ton of damage before they go down, and when they finally do, they violently explode and cause massive damage to anything close by. They also have a red player’s name above them, and that name will be one of your friends, so make sure you’re wary of that as well. Luckily, they’re also very slow, so you’ll have an opportunity to take them out before they get to you.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Rezurrection Screenshot

The rest of the Rezurrection pack includes four remastered versions of maps from World At War. Each of the maps have seen significant visual upgrades as well as new music to listen to while you’re slaying tons of zombies with your friends. The first is Nacht der Untoten , which is set in the crumbling remains of a building. If you never had the chance to try World At War’s Nazi Zombie mode that started it all, this will be a pretty great entry point. This level is very basic: there isn’t much exploring and it’s easy to stick with your team.

The second map, Verrückt , takes everything to a whole new level, with a bigger map that takes you to the rusted confines and dark hallways of the Wittenau Sanitorium in Berlin, Germany. Because it’s a larger, more labyrinthine map, that makes it easier to lose your way, or worse, lose sight of your teammates. Several new features also make their debut in this map, including the power switch, electro-shock traps, and the aforementioned Perk-a-Cola machine. The Perk-a-Cola’s beverage options range from the Speed Cola that lets you reload and barricade more quickly to the Double Tap Root Beer, which greatly increases your weapon’s firing rate. Just watch out for the latter as it can drain your ammunition very quickly. The electro-shock trap, which can be found in Black Ops’ Kino der Toten map, acts much like it sounds: it creates an impassible electric barrier to keep you safe from the undead, albeit temporarily.

The third map is Shi No Numa , which takes you to a barren swamp somewhere in the Pacific where the recently deceased soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army are now zombies. This map is unique, at least from the four zombie levels in the Rezurrection pack, because it introduces a Special Round where you and your team must fight off a unique enemy. The unique enemy in question is the Hellhound, a creature that many Zombie mode veterans have grown to hate. The Mystery Box that gives you random weapons now also spawns randomly as opposed to on a set path throughout the level, so it’s far more difficult to find and therefore infinitely more exciting when you actually do come across it. It’s mostly up to you and your team here, because there aren’t any traps or power switches to lend you assistance.

Call of Duty: Black Ops - Rezurrection Screenshot

The final map is Der Riese , or Waffenfabrik Der Riese (which roughly translates to “The Giant Weapons Factory”), and it takes the fight to a secret Nazi facility. Der Riese also introduces the teleporters and Pack-a-Punch machine, which for a very high price can upgrade your weapon, giving it a larger clip and increased damage. This is a good-sized map but its layout keeps it from being hard to traverse, so sticking with your friends shouldn’t be an issue.

The Rezurrection pack is a nice change of pace from what Treyarch’s been giving us. It seems that every new map pack gets progressively better or more interesting, and a zombie-exclusive pack is a great way to keep Black Ops’ Zombie mode alive and kicking for a very long time, while also giving fans who missed out on World At War a chance to experience that game’s incredible zombie offering. If you’re a fan of the genre, enjoy playing cooperatively with your friends as opposed to against them in the multiplayer, or simply want a reason to dust off your copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops, this is definitely worth checking out.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 4.0 Graphics
The wildly different Moon map continues the trend of bringing us one unique new zombie map after another, and the four remastered maps look better than ever. 4.4 Control
Black Ops controls as well as it ever has, and Moon’s low-G environment requires a little adapting on the player’s part. 4.5 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The new tracks are fantastic, and the rest of the game still sounds great. 4.8 Play Value
There’s a ton of fun to be had in the Moon level, and the four remastered maps are even more enjoyable with their updated visuals. 4.5 Overall Rating – Must Buy
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 – 1.9 = Avoid 2.5 – 2.9 = Average 3.5 – 3.9 = Good 4.5 – 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 – 2.4 = Poor 3.0 – 3.4 = Fair 4.0 – 4.4 = Great 5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

  • A brand new zombie map called Moon.
  • New zombies, including the Phasing and Astronaut Zombies.
  • Four re-mastered classic maps: Nacht der Untoten, Verrückt, Shi No Numa, and Der Riese.
  • An enhanced Zombies Soundtrack including three new tracks.

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