Ten things to love and hate about: Nazi Zombies

We all love zombies, right? So when Nazi Zombies was discovered as a bonus on CoD5, most of us were in total addiction for the next few months. However, not everything kicked off immediately - for me, the zombie goodness started at Verruckt (Map Pack 2). Comparing Verruckt to the other maps isn't really fair content-wise, but at the time it was the most fun I've ever had in a CoD game! Of course, things got better and better, and before you knew it, you were hooked. Why not? After all, it is basically what kept CoD5 alive for so long, it was fresh, punchy and a tad scary at first. Although, as much as I love Nazi Zombies, it doesn't come without any faults - mainly not with the game itself, but with the way the community have played it. This list was INCREDIBLY hard to conjure up, but I'm sure it is an accurate summary for my experience ;)

Things to love:

1. The Concept
You are a group of four unlikely heroes, all from very different backgrounds - forced to team up in order to survive a massive horde of flesh-eating zombies resurrected from Nazi Germany after the war. What ISN'T there to like about that?!? Whether it is Nikolai's vodka jokes, Takeo's formality, Tank's inappropriate yelling or Richtofen's pronunciation of "Wunderwaffe", every character is instantly recognizable and easily likable. Also, the fact that you need to cover many windows all at once, trying to prevent zombies from breaking in and attacking you - it sends chills down your spine!

2. Kick-ass Weapons
A ray gun. A RAY gun. RAY GUN. When you think of Call of Duty, what do you think of? Let's see.... WW1/WW2, old fashioned characters, shooters, rusty old weapons, a dark war-story... and..... A RAY GUN!?!? Could they think of something more random?? But it didn't stop there - we got treated to the Wunderwaffe as well, a gun that can easily eradicate countless zombies in an instant... Too epic to be legal xD. Don't forget Monkey Bombs too - they draw in the zombies and explode to create a huge clearance in the crowd. How fitting for WW2 :D

3. Teamwork
A big MUST if you plan on getting far in this game. It is extremely fun, planning with your friends what door to open, or what strategy is needed in the situation. Without mics (or friends :P), communication is low, and your teammates are less predictable. If you talk to your team, and get to know them, they will care more about you, and you'll care more about them - which pushes you that extra little bit to be a co-operative player. talking out problems like low ammo, or when to make a crawler is essential, and makes the experience much more rewarding and a good laugh!

4. Perks
Introduced in Verruckt, these little diddies made the game a LOT more challenging, and easier in the later rounds. Whether you needed extra hits against zombies, lightning-fast reloading, extremely quick reviving skills or double the fire rate - they were in there, a vending machine with a very unfitting jingle alongside it. It was so much fun in Verruckt, trying to find which perk did what!

5. Scooby Doobie.... Dead!?!?
Who let the dogs out..? In Shi No Numa, I remember my pants being dyed brown the moment I saw one of those vicious hell hounds bound their way across to me! After that, every time my team heard that sudden jingle at the end of every fifth round or so, we'd all huddle together in the darkest corner of the hut and prey the first one wasn't coming for us. It was another thing to love about zombies: it brought the team together and we fought our way through them as one - none of the "hey guys, I'll go off on my own and get killed repeatedly for the rest of the game!!" :D

6. Easter Eggs
Oh god, here we go. Where can I start.... If Treyarch are good at ANYTHING, it is hiding easter eggs within their games. Zombies wasn't an exemption. Especially with Der Riese, you couldn't walk two paces without walking right past one of them! Whether they were radio messages, element 115 crates, notes, blood-written messages, hanging people, teddy bears - you name it, there WERE easter eggs. They made us think about the actual story behind it (let's not get too far into this lol), and it was surprisingly fun to hunt around aimlessly, hoping to stumble across something no one has seen yet. PC modders looked high and low around the maps, that's how much people cared about this game!

7. Tension
We've all been there - it's Round 34, you are almost out of MG42 ammo, no monkey bombs, ray gun isn't even upgraded yet - you know you're boned. You HAVE to rely on your team mates to survive, but you're forced into camping, and your team is in the exact same predicament you are in. There's no possible way to describe it - you feel a sort of adrenaline rushing through you, pushing you forward. The tense situation makes the entire game so serious, and yet fun and exciting at the same time! If you've ever been in this situation, it really does feel like you are facing a horde of zombies!

8. The "silent" co-operation
Have you ever had a game where no one has a mic, and yet you all know EXACTLY what all of you are doing? No, not telepathy dumbass - it's difficult to explain, yet again lol. Like when you are taking care of the windows at the back while your team fights the zombies at the front - and one slips through one of your windows - you'd be screwed normally, right? Well, in some cases, your teammates will split themselves off accordingly, depending on what guns or perks they have, and help you out while the rest focus on the front. THAT, is true teamwork. To know that much about your team without even talking to them, to understand a situation so well, it doesn't even have to be discussed - it is a truly remarkable team, and you can't wait for the game to end so you can add them as your friends - players who actually don't suck, for a change :D

9. Being Competitive
There's nothing like good old-fashioned competitions, and Zombies doesn't disappoint. Whether it is trying to see who can rack up the most points, get the best headshots or kills - even trying to beat your highest round record, there is always room for fun here!

10. Random
C'mon - Zombies, and World War 2 Nazis. Who would've pieced that together, huh? There is no explanation. Nazis and zombies. Epic. :D

It pains me to do it, but-

Things to hate:

1. People are assholes
Isn't it so annoying when you're at round 7, still in the starting room, and the person with the most points refuses to open the damn door? Normally, you'd bite the bullet if there wasn't that big a difference - but when you have the LEAST amount of points, and the 3rd person in line has 2000/3000 more points than you, then screw it. Let's hope they all die.
:)

2. The game can get glitchy
For the better or worse, it makes the game feel unbalanced. For instance, when people ALWAYS brag about being the top of the leaderboard, but you know they did the instant-round glitch! Then of course, the more sinister glitches - the one hit glitch, the only-one-weapon glitch, buying a perk, and not getting it, and let's not forget about zombies going through freakin' walls!! Ok, these things only happen rarely - so they only piss people off rarely :D

3. There was so much more potential
I know I sound like I'm whinging, but 4 maps isn't enough for me - hell, zombies should have been it's own game since it kicks soooo much ass!! It would be much more amazing if they continued to support it, and add new guns, new types of zombies etc... I know most of these are available as mods on PC, but I'll probably always be a console dweller ;)

4. Many mysteries left unsolved
I mentioned the story was interesting and mysterious, right? Well, maybe it was too mysterious, in-the-dark, because we never got some real answers for what happened. Yeah, this ties in with number 3, they could've expanded a bit. What exactly went down at Der Riese? Did the Area 51 base get zombies too? What were the secrets behind Dr. Maxis' murder? Yeah, I'm rambling like a zombies fanboy, but people care too much about the franchise, and they need answers!

5. Der Riese is FAR too popular...
This is NOTHING to complain about, but since the game has been out for 2 years or whatever, the servers aren't as lively as they used to be. My favourite map is Verruckt (I won't go into details, I just like it, ok?), but trying to get a game on there is a nightmare! No one is playing it - almost every single person is playing Der Riese, because it has some fancy gear and features thrown into the mix. It's taking attention away from the other maps - even Shi No Numa is a bitch to get into now!!

6. Games are restless
Again, nothing but my own fault - but when it is 3am, and you're an hour into a game, and you gotta get up early the next day, it can be hell. The game is far too compelling for its own good! I'm a total sleeping lightweight - when you gotta rest, you gotta rest. But then you realize the zombies will win if you turn it off - so you gotta keep shooting, and shooting, and reloading, and shooting, and shooti...n....g....zzzZzzZzzZz ZzzzzZzzz...................

7. Kids don't shut up. Ever.
There's always that ONE kid who just simply has to blast some gay-ass dance music across the mic, so we know how lame he is, and then he competes with Justin Bieber as he screams at the top of his lungs when he sees a crawler shuffling towards him at 0.00000375mph. Of course, then his mommy comes into his room and tells him to go to his bed - and he just so happens to be the host, so your game ends at round 30. *Sigh.

8. Hosts leaving
....Which brings me to the 8th thing bad about Zombies: it seems like whenever you are doing well, some sicko in hell notices and thinks it would be a great idea to possess the host, and make him do a runner leaving us to jitter about the map randomly, until we realize we've been punk'd. This is obviously an issue in most games, and not limited to zombies of course - but it seems to happen only from round 25+, when you have actually spent enough time that it becomes a reward, and not a waste! Tough luck there, I guess.

9. People are assholes..... again
Sorry, I can't just leave this one alone. Why can't some people co-operate for the sake of survival? For instance, one time this kid kept stealing my kills, and when I told him to f*ck off, he started screaming bloody murder down the headset. He won't shut up until we got to the mystery box, which I used and got monkey bombs and the wunderwaffe. He claimed I "stole" them from him, and then he tried and got the teddy bear after not picking up 4 guns before that. Suddenly, it was my fault he got the teddy bear and he ran away round the corner screaming something unintelligible - right into a crowd of zombies. I couldn't help sniggering, but I decided to be the bigger man and revive him. Once I got to him, he kept knifing me and crying "NOOOO!!! NOOOO!!! GET OFF ME, YOU DOUCEBAG!!! YOU DON'T EVEN TRY F*CKING REVIVING ME, YOU SUCK, I HATE YOOOUUU!!!!!!!" and then started making exorcist noises. Well, screw him - if he's such a prickf*ck, then he can go ass himself. Of course, he left, and was the host.
:)

10. Stealing Kills
I know most people aren't too familiar with the Zombies code of conduct, so I'll keep it brief. However, any idiot knows that in a co-operative game, you should.... err, what's the word..... CO-OPERATE? There are things that have ethical values, and if you lack the ability to notice them, then life will just give you a big f*ck you. I mean, there are four players, and four windows - so obviously we need two people at two of the windows!!! :D......... "Dumbasses. I WAS gonna buy the door, but screw it. I just hope you don't notice the zombie that got though YOUR window, and is making its way behind you while you're gorging off my kills ^^"

Now, I know the second section will get a few bad looks, but try to think: there isn't really ANYTHING bad about zombies that is complain-worthy. Sure, I had to exaggerate a bit, but the point is.....................
Ah screw it, Zombies is pwnsome. :D

What do you like about zombies? Is there anything you hate about it? Have your say in the comments, thanks for reading!
Here's hoping to Black Ops Zombies, and if it exists, let the epicness commence!!! xD