Zombies (Treyarch)


 * This article is about the Call of Duty: World at War game mode. For the enemy featured in the game mode, see Zombies.

Nazi Zombies is a leisure game mode in Call of Duty: World at War where both single player and co-op modes are available with up to four players online or two players in local splitscreen. It became highly popular upon its release.

The player must survive endless waves of attacking zombies, buy weapons and perks in the process, and optionally repair nearby defenses to keep zombies out. There is no limit to the levels. Zombies become stronger and faster upon completion of each round, forcing players to make tactical decisions about point spending and progressing through the map.

There are four maps in the Nazi Zombies game mode; the first, second, and fourth feature Nazi Zombies, but the third featured Imperial Japanese Zombies.

Nacht der Untoten
"You drove them deep into the heart of Reich. You thought they were dead. You were wrong."

- Nacht der Untoten description

Nacht der Untoten is the first map of the Nazi Zombies campaign. It is also the smallest and simplest. There are only three rooms in this map, which is based on a bunker and some of the land surrounding it in Airfield. The zombies in this map are less deadly than the ones in the others. This is the only map not to include perks, traps, and electricity. This map introduces the four power-ups that are seen in the other maps. Because it is a last minute developer addition, this map simply acts as an introduction to the Nazi Zombies game mode and does not advance the zombie story arc. It takes various design elements from a building in the multiplayer map Airfield, the building in the map therefore earning the name "Zombie House".

Verrückt
"Electroshock therapy. Chemically engineered beverages. Hordes of Undead Nazis. Find the power to unite and send them back to their graves!"

- Verrückt description

Verrückt is the second map in the Nazi Zombies campaign. The zombies in it are more dangerous because they can attack through windows, climb through windows, and down you faster. This is the first map to include traps, perks, and bouncing betties. It is also the first map to require the electricity to be turned on. The map is based on Asylum. There are ten rooms in this map. This is the first map where the mystery box can be destroyed by the teddy bear and reappear somewhere else. This level takes place in Wittenau Sanatorium in Berlin, Germany. This is the only map to feature "sides." There is a German and American side, each with the faction's respective weapons. When playing with 3 or 4 players, they will be split up and have to reunite at the generator room. This is also the first map to introduce an objective of sorts.

Shi No Numa
"Maggot ridden corpses. Bug infested swamp. Hundreds of undead Imperial Army. Choose your tactic and defend for your lives!"

- Shi No Numa description

Shi No Numa is the third map in the Nazi Zombies campaign, even though it includes Japanese zombies instead of Nazi zombies. There are five main buildings in this map and four unlockable swamp areas connecting these buildings. Four of the buildings contain only one room, while the main building has two. This is the second map where the electricity doesn't have to be turned on. This is the only map where the perk machines spawn randomly and the second map where the mystery box can explode and reappear. This is the first map where the mystery box shows its location by shooting a light in the sky. This is the only map where the players can walk outside of buildings without glitching or cheating and have zombies spawn next to them. This is the only map with a zip line and introduces hellhounds. This map also introduces the backstory. This is the first map to include completely new content; and not based on a map built into the game, although it takes some design cues from Makin and Knee Deep. This is also the first map where the identities of the players are known. This level takes place in a swamp somewhere in the Pacific. This map introduces a new weapon, the Wunderwaffe DG-2, an electricity-casting weapon that can destroy waves of zombies at once. This map is also the only one with the flogger.

Der Riese
"The Giant is rising. Face the might of the Nazi Zombies in their heartland. This is where it all began. This is where the master plan took shape. Is this where it all ends?"

- Der Riese description

Der Riese is the fourth map in the Nazi Zombie campaign. It is takes features from Nightfire. It is the first map where zombies can climb over areas and jump down from an area towards the characters. It introduces the Pack-a-punch machine, which for a fee, upgrades weapons to have increased ammo capacity, more power, etc. It is the second map where the power is required to be switched on. It is the third map where Perk-a-cola machines are included, and the second where perk machines do not spawn randomly. It is the second map to have hellhounds. It is the first map to have teleporters, the Monkey bomb, the bowie knife, and the fly trap. It is the third map to feature Nazi Zombies. It is also the first map to feature zombies and hellhounds spawning in the same round, which they do once you reach round 16. It is the second map where the identity of the characters are known, and the second to advance the plot. It is the second to have a small objective, which is turning on the power and connecting the three teleporters to the mainframe to access the Pack-a-Punch machine. Der Riese also features the new "Carpenter" power-up, which boards up all opened windows in the level.

Story
In Shi No Numa, a radio message can be heard in the starting room by turning on three radios. The message is "R-4808n 37 14 06 115 48 40. I hope that you are receiving this transmission Peter, if not then all is going to be lost. You must know by now that we failed to contain the Asylum and we had to move the experiment here. Location the numbers will guide you. The giant must remain (static) at all costs, repeat, Der Riese must remain (static) at all costs. The DG experiments continues. You're our only advantage now. Find Doctor Richofen (static is in this word, but it is still audible) and Doctor Max, they may know what's going on. The use of 115 is dangerous at best. I'm not sure how much longer we can continue here. We've lost most of our best people. I hope you get this. I hope I happen to be there too but I'm almost out of hope. 60 54 06.96 101 55 44.94."

The numbers are the coordinates of Tunguska and Area 51. Dr. Max is probably Dr. Maxis. "DG experiments" is a reference to the Wunderwaffe DG-2. The asylum is the setting of the second level, Verruckt. 115 is element 115, an element found in meteors and known to power the Wunderwaffe. The meteor containing 115 is shown in the map Shi No Numa outside one of the swamp areas.

In Der Riese, the creation of the zombies and hellhounds is explained. Dr. Maxis was testing zombies for the government project christened "Der Riese" or "The Giant". The problem was that they would always go berserk and try to kill him, resulting in their deaths. He was also testing teleporters by sending zombies through them, but they never reappeared at the mainframe. All of these experiments were done with his assistant, Edward. When he used his daughter Samantha's dog, Fluffy, as a teleporter test subject, he accidentally created the first hellhound. The dog was teleported, but like the rest of the subjects didn't reappear at the mainframe. It did however reappear in a ball of electricity and mutated into a hellhound. When Samantha came running in and started questioning her dad about her dog, Edward left the room. Edward then betrayed him by locking him and his daughter in the room with the hellhound, which then killed them. How more hellhounds were created is shown in another radio message. In it, Maxis talks to his daughter about Fluffy's pregnancy, which makes it possible that Fluffy became a hellhound while pregnant. One of the characters, Dr. Richtofen, has obviously been to Der Riese before and probably worked there. He knows about connecting the teleporters and about Dr. Maxis. It has been decided that he is Edward.

In another radio message in Der Riese, Dr. Maxis is contacting higher command. He states that he needs more 115 for his experiments and that the "Nevada Base" has some. The "Nevada Base" is obviously Area 51, which is what one of the groups of numbers was the coordinates of in the message in Shi No Numa. This makes Area 51 a possible future level, but because it would have players fight against zombies in America, it is unlikely.

iPhone/iPod Touch Application
On November 16th 2009, Nazi Zombies was released for the iPhone and iPod Touch as an application. Currently, only Nacht der Untoten is available to play, but Treyarch have said other maps will be released in the future. The iPhone and iPod Touch versions are identical to each other. Although they have lower quality graphics than their console counterparts, they do include leaderboards, unique Achievements and three different control schemes.