Unbelievably, this is awesome the news from treyarch studio about Zombies mode Call Of Duty black ops are the biggest news maybe for the last few years at least. They said that very soon a new ‘Cursed’ game-mode will come out to everyone as soon as somebody completes the Ashes of the Damned Main Quest. Unlock, across the whole planet. Duh! One player does the Easter egg and all the others have access to it. This is truly a very big change for the Call of Duty franchise.
What is then Cursed game mode made of? Reading between the lines, the new game mode sounds like a pretty drastic switch back to the original Zombies experience that the hard-core fans have been begging for. Loadout weapons are not at all sharable and you have to explore the map starting from zero just like in the good old times. A minimap is not available either, so good luck with navigating those pitch-dark corridors. Also, the classic points system with BlackOps3’s features is coming back, which honestly? That was when Zombies reached its peak as a genre.
And the community’s response has been, not to mention, mixed. Some players are totally taking the new idea on board. The User @thdankknight put forward that it would be fantastic if all the new modes became default, which I can certainly relate to. On the contrary, @DukePureEgg foretold that “It’ll be complete within 2 hours max I’m calling it”, and therefore he is probably correct as he has been through the same with other hard-to-find Easter eggs, and the Zombies community is quicker at breaking them than I am at finishing a bag of chips.
But still, not everyone is thrilled with it. The tweet from @prominent_dex says, “So one player unlocks it for everyone? I am not a big fan of zombies but that’s pretty….underwhelming…..” It is a fair comment but what would you like to do in such a case? Would you do the Easter egg yourself? That is the other choice, which may prove to be very difficult for casual players.
The whole dilemma around armor. Again, it came up in the replies. I bet it was going to be that way. @ijustbeenrich came up with the easiest solution: “What? Is it a problem that people wear armor? Come on, just don’t wear it and that’s it. 😭😭😭😭😭😭” But some others were debating whether or not it would be still possible to do the whole classic without armor difficulty or simply impossible. @graphe_t said “Going no armor isn’t going to replicate BO2’s difficulty, it’ll be 10x worse than that.” And to tell the truth? They could be right. It is that the balance of the game has shifted quite a lot since the BO2 days.
But the most shocking thing is that this whole situation pushes the players to form a worldwide community with a shared goal. The entire Zombies player base is at the mercy of the developers and hardcore Easter egg hunters for the unlock content. It is kind of like having that super intelligent friend who is great at puzzles do all the work while you just enjoy the benefits. Not that I would know anything about that… wait what was I saying?
There have been differing opinions on whether or not this should be the only way to play Zombies default setting. Perhaps the vintage experience is what people actually want instead of the modern mechanics. @AWildReen presented some balance tweaks that would make the zombie mode more without armor, such as capping zombie speed at round 25 and lessening hit speeds. Which, honestly, sounds like an excellent suggestion indeed.
Also, the whole thing about how fast this will unlock is present. We are probably talking hours after launch, not days. The Zombies community is incredible when it comes to deciphering the mysteries of these Easter eggs. Don’t you remember how quickly the industry experts solved the Origins mystery? Like in a day? These guys are serious and not playing around.
Moreover, remember that this is old-school Treyarch who prefers to accept the reality of different caliber players rather than to experiment with the classic Zombies modes again. Casual gamers’ basic need will always be to shoot and stay alive while hardcores derive their enjoyment from such intricate and challenging quests. The new system kind of finds the middle ground between the two—the veterans demonstrate their abilities and the rest of the players get to share in the sweet aftertaste of the victory.
However, the no minimap rule is going to be strict. I can hardly imagine how many times I have lost my way in Kino der Toten and I estimate I have played that map at least seven billion times. However, maybe that’s exactly the point? The excitement of being lost, the fear of the zombies finding you while you’re trying to locate the next door to open—that’s what classic Zombies is all about, isn’t it?
Besides, isn’t it nice that the Black Ops 3 points system is back? The current economies have been… Okay, I guess? But there was nothing like the BO3 economy when it comes to user gratification. Everything just felt right, do you not agree?
Some players jokingly suggested that the avatars of those players who are talking should be made invisible; it is such an odd point to raise but it is also quite valid? Do we really want the faces of our big friends on the screen? Maybe just their names would suffice.
In the end, it is quite an intelligent way to handle Zombies’ difficulty selections without actually categorizing them as such. Instead of easy/medium/hard, the players would have the traditional experience and then a hardcore that is released only through the community’s combined effort. It fosters this vibe of collective triumph even if you have not personally accomplished the Easter egg.
Nothing more but the Black Ops 3’s legacy as the best Zombies ever in that aspect is my main reason for diving. If you had to point at Zombies’ peak, it would probably be excellent maps, flawless mechanics, and difficult but fair. So if the Cursed mode can absorb even half of that magic, it will be worth waiting for. But how long that wait will be, no one can tell, which, let’s be honest probably won’t be very long at all, considering how crazy the Easter egg hunting community is.
Thus, Black Ops 7 Zombies has just gained a whole new layer of intrigue. Whether you are a casual shooter or a hardcore enthusiast who is always seeking challenges, there is something for you and that is actually the best part of all—being in it together like a llama waiting for that one team to solve the riddle? That is indeed very cool.
Plants vs. Zombies fans might find this interesting too. The game is also available on PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
