User blog:Legos-Rule-15/Bests and Worsts in Call of Duty Episode 1 - Best Zombies Maps

Hello everyone, this is Legos, coming at you with the first in a series of blogs covering bests, worsts, and tops throughout the Call of Duty series.

For the first blog, we are going to do the best Zombies maps in Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: Black Ops, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The general idea for zombies was said by Recon Unit-52, so I decided that the best thing to cover first would be the best maps.

There are a few rules that I've decided on. First, I will be choosing the best 10 maps for this post. Dead Ops Arcade will not be considered a map, nor will any of the sub-areas of Green Run, Borough, and Cell Block be included. I will only qualify the World at War versions of the original maps, not the Black Ops remastered versions.

I will be judging the map based on the atmosphere given by the map, features such as traps, perk-a-colas, weapons, and other things, the Easter egg for the map, and special Zombies. Let's start out our list, shall we? But first, an honorable mention or two.

Honorable Mentions: Call of the Dead and Kino der Toten
Call of the Dead had one of the best atmospheres in any of the zombies map. The constant fog that appeared on the map gave a real unique feel to the map. However, most of the other features, or rather absent features decreases gameplay. The Ziplines were the best feature in this map. They were actually one of the only features due to the absence of traps. And the Scavenger is a beast of a weapon, but is 1. terrible in CQC without PhD Flopper; 2. hindered due to there being few long range areas.

Kino der Toten is also a great map. However, to me it felt almost too much like Der Riese, but at the same time it seemed like the joy of fighting zombies was lessened. It is a wonderful map due to the Thundergun, Fire Trap, Auto Turret, and Cold War era weapons, along with the song 115 and other tons of Easter eggs, but to me, it just lacked a good atmosphere which allows for more enjoyment.

Number 5: Moon
"Uh...We are on... the Moon. Really at this point, even going to the Moon is not a surprise."

- Nikolai Belinski

Everyone knew that Black Ops zombies had to go out with a bang, one way or another. And they certainly did with Moon with its setting and Easter egg. The quote above does not go with me. I was surprised and excited when I found out that zombies was being taken to the Moon. This map can take some getting used to, requiring the player to adjust to the low gravity, as well as deciding if and when to try and prevent an Excavator from depressurizing an area.

The Astronaut Zombie isn't too much of a problem, since it is possible to escape his grasp. The Wave Gun is easily one of my favorite wonder weapons. Moon featured just the right amount of new features, unlike Origins, as well as the return of the proper items. A new perk, two pieces of equipment, a new enemy, and the return of the Gersch Device. Not much more can be asked of in this map.

Number 4: Shi No Numa
"What... Are they gonna put a music easter egg in every map now?!"

- Dempsey after activating "The One".

Shi No Numa is a great map in my opinion. Which is extremely disappointing when I see less than a hundred people playing on Black Ops (I don't have the World at War version yet). The atmosphere it cast was spectacular, with few other maps being able to compare. When I saw that trailer, I knew this was going to be a fantastic map, to which I am glad to say it was. The One certainly was "the one" for this map, suiting the swamps the players are forced to fight in. In addition, it started the whole musical Easter eggs in the maps thing.

The Flogger was an interesting trap that suited the swamp environment the map was set in, however, it is disappointing it only made one appearance, making this map all the more important. The Hellhounds added more to the map, with the fog covering the map, and giving it an even better atmosphere. While this isn't technically the start of the whole story, the story is covered more in-depth than Verruckt ever did.

With the debut of the Wunderwaffe DG-2 and original characters, as well as the unique map layout, Shi No Numa is one of the best and most memorable maps in the zombies story.

Number 3: Ascension
"Need to get the power on, so all this cool stuff turns on."

- Nikolai Belinski

Ascension follows this quote. With the return of the Auto Turrets and Fire Trap, and the debut of PhD Flopper, Stamin-Up, and the Lunar Landers, the power is crucial to fully experience this map. After Juggernog and Speed Cola, these two perks are two that should be in the player's inventory when they have the opportunity.

The return of the Thundergun and the debut of the Sickle, Matryoshka Doll, and Gersch Device were major for this map. While it is a bit of a disappointment that the player had no form of access to catwalks around the rocket itself, sort of like in Launch, this first DLC map of Black Ops carried its worth with its features. Of all the maps in the first Black Ops, this is easily my favorite, and I play this whenever I can.

The only reason this map isn't any higher is because it is rather easy of a map. I had a broken controller so I couldn't sprint. And I was going fine past round 25. But all in all, this map is a lot of fun to play with friends, and will always be one of the best.

Number 2: Mob of the Dead
"This is just a game, isn't it? A big, twisted, fucked up game."

- Finn O'Leary

What a game this map was. Mob of the Dead had the best atmosphere out of any of the zombies maps, except for maybe Shi No Numa. I've been to Alcatraz several times before, and when I saw the final map, I was impressed at how much of the actual Alcatraz Island had actually been captured. It is one of the biggest maps to date, if not, the biggest. Mob of the Dead featured a large variety of new features, however, it didn't go too far like Origins did.

With the return of the Zombie Shield, and the new additions of Afterlife, the Blundergat, Acid Gat Kit, Golden Spork, Hell's Retriever, Icarus, and three new traps and a new utility, this map had plenty of new features. Brutus is a difficult boss sometimes, but he isn't too difficult to deal with.

Definitely the best zombies map in Black Ops II, giving plenty of things to do, yet not too many, while also providing an excellent atmosphere with its setting being in Alcatraz Island. And with Malukah's "Where Are We Going", Johnny Cash's "Rusty Cage", and the rest of its soundtrack, the map had the perfect background music that contributed to the atmosphere.

Number 1: Der Riese
"This is where it all began"... according to the description. This map is up there. After all, who thought the PPSh-41 and MG42 could be any better? With the Pack-a-Punch Machine, this happened. A symbol of power well known in zombies, this revolutionized gameplay since Verruckt introduced the Power Switch and Perk-a-Cola machines.

The song, Beauty of Annihilation, is one of the best in zombies, and adds to a great setting. While the atmosphere is not nearly as good as Mob of the Dead, the atmosphere is nonetheless amazing, with its nighttime and German research facility setting. This map has excellent aesthetics when it comes to detail as well. The last map in World at War was certainly a crowd pleaser.

I love the World War II weapons in the map. I say that some of them are even more effective than the Cold War weapons in later maps. Due to its World War II weapons, even in the Black Ops remastered edition, this map has a large variety of weapons, and effective ones at that (not nearly as good as Mob of the Dead though). Due to all of these features, namely Pack-a-Punch, the Teleporters, Electro-Shock Defenses, and the return of Hellhounds, this map has a lot in for it. Thus making it take the number 1 slot on this list.

Polls
Kino der Toten Should be in top 5. Shouldn't be in top 5. Good as an honorable mention.

Call of the Dead Should be in top 5. Shouldn't be in top 5. Good as an honorable mention.

Moon Should be higher. Shouldn't be in top 5. Good as number 5.

Shi No Numa Should be higher. Should be number 5. Shouldn't be in top 5. Good as number 4.

Ascension Should be higher. Should be lower. Shouldn't be in top 5. Good as number 3.

Mob of the Dead Should be number 1. Should be lower. Shouldn't be in top 5. Good as number 2.

Der Riese Should be lower. Shouldn't be in top 5. Good as number 1.

What map is number 1 to you? Nacht der Untoten Verruckt Shi No Numa Der Riese Kino der Toten "Five" Ascension Call of the Dead Shangri La Moon TranZit Die Rise Mob of the Dead Buried Origins

Closing
I hope everyone enjoyed this first blog. I want to see what your opinions are on the top 5 or 10 zombies maps in comments below and in the polls above. Do you agree with any of my opinions, or do you have completely different ideas on ? Let me know.

Furthermore, next week's post will most likely be the top 5 worst zombies maps, so save those comments until then! Until next time, this is Legos signing out.