Hello and welcome to one of the scariest experiences of my childhood: Call of Duty’s Mob of the Dead. Black Ops 2 (2012) treated us to some of the most iconic Zombie maps ever created. From TranZit to Origins, we were blessed with being zombie-crazed lunatics for a whole year.
The best of the bunch was Mob of the Dead. Trying to survive in Alcatraz Prison was difficult enough. Yet, with Zombies swarming on all sides, it would be impossible to kill them all. Your only hope was to find a way of escaping. So, let’s see if there is a way out, and along the way, we can ask ourselves if Mob of the Dead is the best Call of Duty Zombies map ever made.
Let’s Go Back in Time
Back in early 2013, I remember being shown the trailer for a new Zombie map. Johnny Cash’s ‘Rusty Cage’ was blaring in the background as some of the coolest characters I’d ever seen tried to fight off a horde of flesh-eating infected. Eventually, they all succumbed to the overwhelming number of Zombies who had penetrated the walls of Alcatraz prison. I was in awe as the title of the map appeared at the end of the video: Mob of the Dead.
I just loved the idea of trying to escape a prison full of Zombies and counted down the days until the map’s release. My friends and I spent months playing Mob of the Dead, and I still have the piece of paper which detailed the steps of the ‘Easter Egg’ somewhere in my house. That reminds me, I really should frame it.
Blowing the dust off my PlayStation 3 today, I inserted the Black Ops 2 disc and was immediately thrust into a world of problems. The game kept crashing, and I wasn’t really sure if I had downloaded the correct DLC. After hours of fighting with technology, I finally found myself back in the prison I’ve always worked so hard to escape.
It was time to see if Mob of the Dead was as good as I remembered it being.
Surviving the Onslaught of the Mob of the Dead
My ears were immediately blessed with the epic soundtrack to Zombies, and my childhood. It feels like a lifetime ago since I was boarding up windows to keep the zombies out. The setting for Mob of the Dead is mortifying. There is so much gore and blood smeared all over the prison that your senses are heightened to an extreme level. So much so that it’s perfectly natural to let out a small scream without feeling ashamed.
You start the first round in the afterlife. As a ghost, you can zap electrical components to open doors to access perks like Double Points or the Warden’s key. Unfortunately, I was starting to get used to being in the afterlife because I kept getting knocked down. Ammo was difficult to come by. Two hits by a zombie and you’re dead. I must admit that I was surprised by the brutality of the game. I’d become pretty desperate. With no bullets and only one life left, I tried to blow up the zombies with grenades. This backfired miserably, and after only six rounds, I had lost.
My woes continued because I felt lost, but my memories were starting to come back to me. You earn points by killing zombies, which allow you to open doors and buy guns from the wall. Much to the bewilderment of my character. I then managed to find the plane while exploring the roof. You are required to find five parts to build the plane, so that’s exactly what I set off to do.
Have a Death Machine for Your Troubles
Eventually, I managed to find the mystery box. You can be given some crazy weapons if your luck is in. Mine wasn’t to begin with. 950 points earns you a spin for a gun, and I ended up with some poor options. The shooting feels clunky and awkward at times, but when you have a decent gun, it makes all the difference. After many spins, I was gifted the Death Machine. A monumental gun in itself, but the issue is that you can’t move with it. Sprinting is as easy as I find it in real life: impossible.
There are some interesting activities to solve before you can acquire the parts. First, I only needed the Warden’s key, but then things got interesting. One required me to count numbers in the afterlife before zapping them into the machine. Another could only be retrieved if I survived a swarm of zombies while a washing machine cleaned some robes. To open an electric door, I had to zap some more electronics in the afterlife. Thankfully, the last part was easy to access. I just had to open a gate, and there it was.
It’s best to leave one crazed zombie alive when working on other activities. I forgot to do that and had to fight my way back up to the roof.
Come Fly with Me. Let’s Fly, Let’s Fly Away
Waiting for the plane to be built was torturous, but once completed, I finally climbed on board. The journey into the sky was exhilarating until I saw the bridge approaching. Then I came crashing down. Being stranded on the bridge was a ridiculous experience.
Out of nowhere, my screen started shaking as if an earthquake was tearing America apart. Then I remembered the most difficult aspect of Mob of the Dead: The Warden called Brutus. A giant and armoured zombie, it’s almost impossible to kill him. That’s what my Death Machine is for. After I’d gained enough points, I Pack-a-Punched that bad boy, which gave me a movement boost and stronger bullets.
Even multiple Brutuses didn’t stand a chance. I rode my luck until there were too many zombies to fight before climbing into an electric chair, and I found myself back in Alcatraz prison. The electric chair created so many questions, and I could only conclude that the story was a metaphor for the never-ending loop of being stuck in prison.
There was nothing else to do other than try to survive as many rounds as possible. After some searching, I found Juggernog for a boost of health, Speed Cola to reload faster, and Double Tap II. I needed a shorter ranged gun, so I attempted to access the legendary Ray-Gun from the mystery box. All I managed to find was the dreaded padlock, which meant that the box would transport to one of its other locations.
Unequipped, I survived to round 15 before succumbing to the Mob of the Dead.
So, is Mob of the Dead the Best Zombies Map Ever Made?
Mob of the Dead is just so much more than the classic round-based Zombies idea. From all of the activities required to build the plane to being able to actually escape the map, there is just so much to do. I haven’t even mentioned the ‘Easter Egg’ in this video. It is unique in Black Ops Zombies to have a deeper meaning to the story of the game: The depressing message of feeling trapped in incarceration.
In terms of the best, it’s certainly my favourite. Almost all Zombies maps have flaws. You could argue that Kino der Toten is more iconic, of course, but it became very repetitive after a while. Moon had the wild jumping element, and Origins had giant robots walking around. Call of the Dead was another personal favourite of mine.
There are just so many to choose from. Yet none of them come close to Mob of the Dead, a map full of horror and anguish, a deeper meaning, an escape, and, most importantly, endless fun.
Verdict
My overall rating for Call of Duty’s Mob of the Dead is 9/10.
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