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This week, Call of Duty: Cold War Black Ops has a new Zombie mode, Epidemic. Well, “mode” kind of treats this experience lightly, as it could very well be part of a whole new Zombies experience – and that’s a lot more compelling for people who aren’t already into the hunt. to riddles in rounds. and the meta-resolution that Zombies is known for. In short, Outbreak is an open-world cooperative adventure that builds on a lot of enjoyable elements that you can find in other CoD games and modes, today’s loot shooters, ARPGs, and even roguelites. Now, I don’t think what’s in Outbreak is the final, realized version of what this mode can be, but rather a dawning ether where an escape, big problem (or even game) mode could one day be. . Let’s dive in.
First of all, something must be declared. I’ve been trying to train friends from CoD multiplayer modes to Zombies for years and years, but they always bounce after a turn or two to come back to Kill Confirmed or Warzone. This is good, because these games are a lot of fun, of course. But Outbreak can tie its hooks to players who don’t pair with the round-and-window-based puzzle hunting model. You give the same players a map with a bunch of weird icons to explore, events to capitalize on and develop, and remove the timing elements that keep them huddled near a wall until they’ve had enough of it. money to open a door, and things change. quickly. While I don’t think there is enough variety in Outbreak yet and the mode needs a little more variance and some rhythm adjustments (Outbreak is a loooooooong game, when you’re doing well), the setting here is exciting compared to the Zombies we already know and sometimes we love.
While I enjoy many elements of the Call of Duty Zombies lineup, the formula needed a revamp, or at least an alternative. Outbreak lets the Zombies design team take a ton of different things that already exist in the CoD universe, large maps and vehicles, and Warzone’s concept of loot boxes and push them all into one. delicious undead wrap that’s much nicer to go with friends. In a way, it’s almost like a roguelike first person shooter role-playing game. Yes, that’s one thing I said about Call of Duty Zombies. And it works! What a world.
Access to vehicles changes a lot, both for crossing and combat considerations. Of course, I ousted an enemy boss by pushing it under the ground hitting it and making sure we couldn’t complete the map, but running on your standard legions is a lot of fun. Leveling up after each level is meaningful, whether you’re getting a punch on your weapons, loading special ammo to shatter armored terrors, or just preparing for armor. Even the mundane task of picking up a loot chest has a certain degree of intensity in this mode, as there is always a small chance that the chest could actually be a mimic enemy disguised as a chest. Who doesn’t like imitations? You know, maybe Outbreak is really the Dark Souls of Call of Duty Zombies. It’s not a big deal, but when it appears right above you and you’re separated from your main group, it could be a catalyst in a chain of events that could wipe out your group.
The mode could use big tweaks and bigger experiences, but the shell that’s been crafted here with Season 2 using chunks of everything CoD is a stellar. While matches that last for hours on end as tedious players make sure to collect every power and unlock every chest, it’s welcome to have different main objectives in every map that don’t just kill a boss. Whether you’re moving to a house for a “classic” zombie goal, whether you have to haul resources around the map under duress, hunt a boss, or escort the payload, there’s already some nice replayability in place, and we are just getting started. The team relayed that the goal is to inject some of the other zombie elements, like evil puzzles and curious curiosities, into Season 3 and beyond, as they determine which directions to take Outbreak in the future.
So what would I like to see from here? Enemy variety, variety of events, and a willingness to lean into this mode as the full-fledged Team RPG roguelike / roguelite he so desperately wants to be. You can feel the energy of pseudo-MMO experiences like Destiny flowing back into this one, waiting to be tapped. Hell, add classes. Add experience points or something. Add permanent progression items (they already have it to a lesser extent, but I say go ahead and add more). Add dungeon explorations directly. They are zombies, it will work. Either way, check out Outbreak and enjoy, it’s the cool chassis where something epic can someday be built.
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