User blog:Damac1214/Zombies Review - Green Run

That's a nice fucking banner if I ever done seen one

Hello all, and welcome to my review of Green Run, the main zombie map for Call of Duty: Black Ops II! The Map isn't called TranZit you fools There was a lot of anticipation leading up to the reveal of this map, and so I've given it time to sink in before deciding to resume my Zombie Map review writing.

In this review, I'll be looking at TranZit, Survival, and Grief each on their own, since they all play a bit differently. I'll also bring up the Jet Gun and Tombstone Soda in their own sections as I've done in the past.

The Maps Setting
Green Run is set in after the events of Moon in a North-Western United States Rural area. The map sets a kind of apocalyptic mood, everything is destroyed, cracked, or burning. Lava flows through the streets and wreckage while fog fills the air. It's actually got quite the creepy atmosphere, something we haven't really gotten since the World at War maps. Green Run is also the largest Zombies map to date, but how much of that is playable we will get to in a second...

TranZit
This is the big gamemode of the map. It's the biggest, has the largest playable space, and is the most complex Zombie game too date. Full of secrets that are still puzzling the community and bringing out insane theories and ideas, TranZit is a truly massive undertaking from Treyarch.

Bus
TranZit, like all Zombie maps, has a few trademark "gimmicks" in order to differentiate itself from the rest of the maps. The big one this time is the Bus. Driven by the comical Bus Driver the bus is the players main form of Transportation around Green Run. It will bring players safely through the fog and too 5 main stops along it's path, Bus Depot, Diner, Farm, Power Plant and Town. The bus also can be entered and exited at any time by the players, which will grant players access to other areas of the map such as the Tunnel, Hunter's Cabin, Cornfield, Pylon, and even Nacht der Untoten

The bus is relatively difficult to Defend however. It has about 10 windows within close quarters, with 5 on each side. Zombies can also climb in from the front windows of the bus, the roof hatch, and the doors if they are open. Being inside the bus also poses a problem for full teams, as four players moving throughout the bus tend to bump into each other and block each others view rather consistently.

Most of these problems can be solved using the new buildable system. A plow can be attached to the front of the bus so Zombies can no longer crawl through the front window, and two different ladders can be attached to the bus to offer quick access to the roof, which is significantly easier to defend than the inside. Zombies will swarm the roof in smaller numbers, and take a longer time pulling themselves onto the roof than throwing themselves through a window.

Zombies on the bus while it's moving will also slow to a walking speed which will make them slightly easier to avoid. Be aware however, Zombies slaps on the top of the bus have a significantly farther range than normal, so be sure to watch yourself.

Bus Depot
The Starting room of TranZit and one of the least interesting locations. The Bus Depot houses Quick Revive, the M14, the Olympia and is where the player can build the Turbine a power generator that can be used in place of flipping the power switch, or in place of unpowered Doors. To the side of the Bus Depot building, in a semi-secret area, players can also find the mysterious Navcard, the purpose of which is still unknown and a huge annoyance to the Easter Egg hunting community.

The Bus Depot itself is rather boring, being only three rooms large, one of them recquiring the turbine to open, and having little to nothing of interest, the Bus Depot is one of the places you want to avoid if you want to have fun, though it is useful for running trains in later rounds.

One big negative to note about the Bus Depot is it's Box Spawn. The Box Spawn is outside the Bus Depot Building and by the street, but should the bus be there, you won't be able to use the Mystery Box unless standing in the right spot, which can be a pain if you are being swarmed.

Tunnel
The Tunnel is the second playable area of TranZit players can visit. The Bus doesn't actually stop here, but Players are able to get out and explore the middle of the tunnel. The middle is a relatively large area mapped out by wrecked cars and a Lava Pit in the center. There isn't much for excitement here. The M16A1 can be found here, as well as a piece for the Buildable Wonder Weapon. The Tunnel is relatively good for circling, though the Lava pit in the center can cause problems.

Under normal circumstances, players are unlikely to get out of the bus during the first drive through of the Tunnel. If players are fighting on the top of the bus however, they have a bit more of an active fight ahead of them. Road signs and hanging pipe will continuously try to knock them off the bus requiring players to dodge or jump over them to not get knocked off. Falling off means a long Fog and Denizen filled run to either the Diner or the Bus Depot.

Diner
The third playable location, Diner is a more interesting location than the previous two. Diner is split between two buildings, the actual Diner and a Gas Station. A third building, a Garage, can be opened via Turbine. The Diner holds Speed Cola, The MP5, and the precious Galvaknuckles which are stored on the roof of the diner and only accessible if you use the Hatch meant for the bus on a vent in the Diner. Diner also feature the Zombie Shield a buildable Variant of the Assault Shield and one of the best buildables in the game. The Mystery Box also spawns here. This usually ends up being box whores last stop

I love the look and feel of Diner, it just feels like any old place you could happen upon, just ravaged by an apocalypse. It has a fair amount of space and some interesting places to hold out, and is an all around fun and well detailed part of the map.

I don't have any real problems with this stop, unless the bus is there. It can be a bit of a problem as the bus fills a large area of the map that could be used to escape a horde if you were being chased by one. Also, if you are on the Gas Stations side of the area, you have to run into the fog if you want to climb on top of the bus, or you have to cross lava to get inside the bus.

Farm
The fourth location, and one of my favorites. I love the look and feel of the farm. I'm really into the "Everyday Place" maps which is one of the reasons I think Farm is so great. The use of a Barn, Shed, and House as the setting make it a lot of fun to just look at. The layout itself is also well done. Unlike a lot of the places in Green Run, Farm doesn't feel like it has any Zombie/Player chokepoints. As long as you play smart, you'll live.

Farm includes Double Tap, with it's new effect of increasing bullet damage, The Remington 870 MCS, Caymores in the shed only openable via turbine, and a Buildable Sentry turret that requires a Turbine to be nearby to power it. The turret is also deadly to players, a fact I learned the Hard way sadly.

Most of Farms offerings a fairly useful, making it one of the more important locations on the map. It's look is also pleasing, so it can be fun to hold out here if you know what you're doing.

Corn Field
It contains Corn, something Samuel Stuhlinger is stunned about. Most of it is just scenery and unplayable, though there are a couple paths to playable parts of the map within the cornfield. It's not suggested you hold out here, considering the fog, deniznes, and lava cracks along the trails. And I wouldn't go in unless you're prepared. It also is rather boringly setup and all looks the same.

The Pylon
A small and boring place pretty much reserved for the Tower of Babble easter egg. It's fairly boring to hold out here, but not particularly hard. The only notable thing here is the ability to build the NAV table, but no one knows what it's for so it's effectively useless.

Nacht der Untoten
The only thing really of note in the Cornfield, Nacht der Untoten, the original zombies map, can be found direct across the street from the Pylon. Though you can now fight outside the map, the inside is limited to the starting room with no weapons or re-buildable barriers. It can actually be pretty fun to holdout here, and a piece of the wonder weapon is here. But you'll probably want to move after a bit.

Power Plant
Home of the now buildable power switch Including an amputated hand! How lovely fun fact, it can give you a handy  The Power Plant is the next playable location and the fourth bus stop. The Power Plant is pretty much a straight corridor. Players can access the power room via an outhouse Many, many strange late night strolls to the bathroom were horribly interrupted by falling into the labs. They can't leave until the power is built, at which point a shutter door will open and allow players to run back to the bus, if it's even still there.

Power Plant contains the AK-74u, Power Switch, Electrical Trap, which has to be powered by a Turbine. and the new perk Tombstone Soda. Additionally, a piece of the Wonder Weapon can be found here.

The Power Plant has a long list of negatives, and I'm just gonna put them in list form.
 * The Area is like a Corridor, with very limited mobility or escape routes making it very difficult to survive a trip through on higher rounds.
 * The entire thing is close quarters, no breaks. Even the large building is restricted to close quarters combat.
 * A death pit is present, instant death if you fall in.
 * The Avogadro is released from the labs once the power is turned on.
 * The Power doesn't turn on instantly, instead players are stuck in the small switch room until Avogadro breaks out of his tube, at which point the doors open but the bus has moved, stranding the players.
 * If the bus is still present at the stop, but the ladder on the side hasn't been built yet, than there is literally no way for the players to re-enter the main area if they exit the building. They are stuck fighting in the road and lava.

Power Plant is one of my least favorite parts of TranZit, and one of the main detractors of it for me.

Hunter's Cabin
Located off to the side of the road in between Town and Power Plant, the Hunter's Cabin is the last Secret Location in the map. It is a one room cabin, and stepping foot anywhere off of it will incur the Denizens wrath. It's got a bit of a creepy vibe to it, and contains the Bowie Knife and a piece of the Wonder Weapon, but isn't worth holding out in. It has four non-buildable windows and two doors, giving the zombies 6 possible entrances. It's best to just move on.

Town
Finally we arrive in Town, the Last Stop and Location in TranZit, as well as the biggest. Town includes three enterable buildings, plus a small bookstore accessible via Turbine. Juggernog, Stamin-Up, and Semtex are in the town. Juggernog in the Apartment Building across the lava pit, Stamin-Up in the bar, and Semtex in the bookstore. The third building is the bank, which initially doesn't look like much. Throwing a grenade at the vault door forces it open, allowing players to enter it and store points in the bank for a later game of Tranzit, one of the most ingenious things in this map, up there with weapon storing at the farm. A second vault door can then be blown open, revealing a door with a large power sign on it. Placing a Turbine back at the power plant in a specific spot reveals a Massive Underground laboratory like area, complete with buildable Pack-A-Punch machine.

Town is another one of the places I like, but I think it could have been better. More of the area should have been open, which is the only real flaw.

Fog
A general term for all the areas that aren't listed above. The fog sucks. The limited visability would be one thing, but the Denizens and Lava are a whole 'nother story. It makes the fog basically unplayable. It's not hard, it's just annoying and interrupting, and it's a pain for anoyne trying to survive on higher rounds.

Wonder Weapon
The Wonder Weapon of the Map is the Thrustodyne Aeronautics Model 23, also known as the Jet Gun. This weapon is shit, but it's not because it doesn't work. To use the Jet Gun, the player have to find four pieces of it Scattered around the map. After doing that, one player can pick it up and use it. Use it too constantly, and it breaks and the pieces have to be REFOUND. The only way too keep the gun is to hold it out and NOT fire it so it can cool down, which completely defeats the purpose of the Wonder Weapon. Combined with the fact that it's useless against hordes, it pulls you towards them and doesn't kill fast enough to stop zombies from killing you, the weapon absolutely sucks. Aside from a few neat tricks such as floating while firing it, there's nothing good about this gun.

Buildables
An interesting concept for the Map. I'm not gonna elaborate since I already have above, but I like them. They are a fun little side quest for the game.

Tombstone Soda
When I initially found out it's effects, creating a Tombstone for you to retrieve when you die, I thought it was useless. Now that I realize how useful it really can be, and that you can earn 6 perks through a specific trick, I think its one of the best perks.

Avogadro
The Avogadro, or Electric Zombie, is a disappointment. He's a very weak boss, he can't do much damage and can go down with just a few hits from the basic knife. He can create some intense moments by shutting the bus down in the middle of the fog, but that's the biggest sens of danger he ever creates, and it's not even fully related too him.

Denizens
Fuck these guys, seriously fuck em. I explained them in the fog section. They aren't hard, they don't provide a challenge, they are just annoying.

Survival
I'm not gonna talk about the individual maps since they've already been discussed, so I'm just gonna mention the basics.

Survival is like a mini TranZit. It's contained to one area of the map and has more things available per location. It has some cool twists, such as Bus Depot featuring no perks or Pack-A-Punch, or Farm featuring less perks than Town. But Overall, it pales in comparison to TranZit.

Grief
Similar to Survival really, though the 4z4 is a fun little game. The Grief mechanics simultaneously make you play a co-operatively competitive game, and it's a fun little distraction from the usual "Survive as long as you can" dynamic of zombies, though it just makes you wish there were some kind of Grief Tranzit.

Overall
I like Green Run, I really do. I think there a lot of things Treyarch did really right with it. But the negatives are so massive and blatant, it's impossible to ignore them.

83/100 - Fun, but with a fair amount of negatives Fog, Denizens, Lava.... I'm looking at you

Def play it, you'll enjoy it. But it's not the best map they've done.

Coming Up Next: Nuketown Zombies, then Die Rise!