Summary
Call of Duty’s Zombies mode has been one of the franchise’s biggest selling points ever since its debut all the way back in 2008’sCall of Duty: World at War. One of the biggest reasons behindCall of DutyZombies' wild successis just how intuitive and simple it is, with players of all skill levels being able to hop in and have fun for at least a few rounds. And from what fans have seen so far, it seems as thoughCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3is continuing that long-running franchise trend.
At its very surface level,Call of DutyZombies is an incredibly simple mode to understand. Hop into a match, shoot zombies, upgrade some weapons, and keep surviving for as long as possible, that’s all players need to know. Even on some of the morecomplicatedCall of DutyZombies maps, that core gameplay loop is still present, and players can get to grips with it pretty easily. But for dedicatedCall of DutyZombies fans, there’s a whole hidden layer of complex Easter eggs, most of which feed into a storyline that spans multiple timelines and casts of characters, and whileModern Warfare 3’s Zombies will probably be fun, it doesn’t look like it’ll hold a candle to its predecessors in this regard.
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Zombies Probably Won’t Have Much of a Story
Fans who have been playingCall of DutyZombies since the beginning will know just how deep the mode’s story actually goes, but those who have even missed a single Easter egg might not fully realize just how wild things get. Beginning as a simple wave-based game mode, the first hint of a story inCall of DutyZombies came with the third map inWorld at War, Shi No Numa, whereRichtofen, Dempsey, Nikolai, and Takeowere first introduced. InWorld at War, players could complete a handful of simple Easter eggs that would reward them with audio logs that would give some small lore tidbits about where the zombies came from.
Call of Duty: Black Opsis where things really start to spice up, however. After going through the teleporter on Der Riese, the crew finds themselves in the future, and things only start to spiral from there.Black Ops' Zombies storyline ends with the crew on the moon, and Richtofen transferring his soul into a little girl and blowing up the Earth with missiles. ThenCall of Duty: Black Ops 2’s Origins mapintroduces an alternate timeline version of the crew called Primis, and things only continue to escalate from there.
It’s completely absurd and over-the-top, but that’s exactly why fans loveCall of DutyZombies' story. Though it’s a pain to do some of the more convoluted Easter eggs, especially when alone, the wacky storyline and character dialogue would always act as a worthy reward for the player’s time and effort. But at the same time, if players wanted to completely avoidCall of DutyZombies' Easter eggsthen they could, with them being completely optional, and only the easy ones needing to be completed in order to earn the map’s Wonder Weapons.
From what fans have seen so far, it seems extremely unlikely thatCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3will carry over any story elements from the previous entries, and that’s likely going to be a big drawback for long-time fans. On top of that, it also doesn’t seem likeModern Warfare 3’s Zombies mode will feature any unique characters, with its most recent trailer seemingly depicting all 24 players as faceless, helmeted soldiers, presumably with real lines of dialogue coming from them all match. WhileModern Warfare 3’s Zombies mode is looking like a bold new step in many ways, a lack of story or characters could be a huge knock to it in the long run.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3launches on November 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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