In (almost) every Call of Duty game, there is one thing players truly crave. It isn't the single player story mode, or the competitive multiplayer game modes, or even the more recently included battle royale modes, although these are all great fun. Instead, players are itching to try their hands at whatever the latest incarnation of Call of Duty Zombies is, and now that's coming to Call of Duty: Mobile.
The intuitive controls and nostalgic maps and characters combined with its portability and accessibility made for a great experience, but it was lacking one thing: zombies. Now, the developers have announced a release date for Call of Duty: Mobile Zombies, the dead will rise again tomorrow, Friday November 22nd.
For those unaware, Treyarch released Call of Duty: World at War in 2008, the first Call of Duty game to feature a Zombies mode. At the time, this was referred to as Nazi Zombies, and featured up to four players working cooperatively to survive wave after wave of zombies. After each wave, the zombies would get tougher until they eventually overwhelmed player. There was no narrative, no winning, simply survive for as long as possible. Ever since then, the Zombies mode has been a hallmark of Call of Duty games, with few exceptions. When Call of Duty: Mobile released October 1st of 2019, fans took heart in seeing a big "coming soon" placeholder for Call of Duty Zombies. Though the last month-and-a-half has felt like a year for some players, the wait is finally over.
Call of Duty: Mobile has a few features that makes it particularly unique compared to other Call of Duty games. Although hesitant at the thought of playing a mobile first person shooter game, many players found the controls to be surprisingly intuitive. Call of Duty: Mobile features two modes of fire: automatic fire in which the character will fire his gun anytime an enemy is within it's reticle, and manual, in which aiming and firing are separate buttons which the player must manually activate. Its automatic firing mode provides a good solution for players who are not quite as skilled or well-versed in Call of Duty or mobile first person shooters in general, while the manual fire mode rewards skilled players by giving them a leg up on the competition.
Being a mobile game which is constantly updated, Call of Duty: Mobile is able to give players many iconic Call of Duty weapons, game modes, and cosmetics which were not all available in any given main entry. Examples of this include cosmetic items based off playable characters from other Call of Duty games and unique game modes such as gun game, snipers only, and more. The game also features famous maps from across the series, such as Crossfire from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Firing Range, from Call of Duty: Black Ops, Hijacked, from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and yes, Nuketown of Black Ops fame.
The week leading up to Zombies also featured a host of new events for players to tackle, setting them up for this Friday. Players can complete challenges to unlock the molotov cocktail scorestreak, and tackling the weapon mastery event will net players a stained-glass variant of the M16. Both events end Sunday the 24th, so fans still have time to log on and knock them out.
Another exciting development is the end of the first Battle Pass. Purchasing the Battle Pass allows players to receive additional rewards upon leveling up or completing in-game goals, the first Battle Pass in particular was full of incredible loot, and fans were satisfied. Beginning November 25th, Battle Pass two will begin, and is sure to include more great rewards. On the Call of Duty: Mobile subreddit, it is said that Battle Pass will contain "new loot, new gear, and plenty of ways to stand-out, or blend in, on the battlefield."
Another much requested addition is the inclusion of controller support. Controllers are not currently supported on Call of Duty: Mobile, and fans have been eager to see this changed. It is nice to see the developers responding so quickly and adequately to their player base's desires. This may end up being a trait that keeps the game afloat longer than expected.
Concerning what this new Zombies mode will look like, there isn't much to go off, but if it's anything like previous games, teamwork will be paramount. Generally speaking, players begin the game with a simple side arm, and must kill zombies in order to gain the currency needed to upgrade their weapons and abilities. Sticking together, watching each other's backs, and not being greedy with money are all surefire ways to increase a player's chances of survival. Although some Call of Duty games feature to pseudo story within their Zombies mode, it's likely that Zombies in Call of Duty: Mobile will not, given that there is no story in any other aspect of the game.
That said, one precedent that Call of Duty: Mobile has set is its penchant for returning extremely popular and beloved maps, characters, and items. This means players will likely get the chance to blow out zombie brains on maps like Nacht der Untoten, the first ever Nazi Zombies map from Call of Duty: World at War, and Five, in which the players take control of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Fidel Castro, and Robert McNamara.
But this brings up an interesting question, most Call of Duty Zombies maps have a set of pre-made characters which the player controls, but in every game mode of Call of Duty: Mobile so far, the player controls a self created avatar. Will the new Zombies mode allow players to use their own avatars? And if so, will new zombies themed cosmetics come along with the game mode? There is still much to be learned about Call of Duty: Mobile's Zombies mode, but fans will undoubtedly uncover all there is to see come tomorrow's release.
Call of Duty: Mobile is out now for Android and iOS, and Zombies is releasing November 22nd.
Source: Call of Duty: Mobile/reddit