Call of Duty: Black Ops III - Zombies Chronicles

Hands down the best Black Ops III expansion and one of the best in the history of Call of Duty brings back classic maps (no Mob of the Dead though, which is a bummer) and lets you revive your memories online. [09/2017, p.67]

An impressive, albeit expensive, zombies package. This is more than just a new splash of paint. It’s a compilation of some of the great maps that makes the mode so popular today.

The visual upgrades for this DLC defy the bar set for most remasters. The majority of these classic Zombies maps offer the same addictive appeal of building strategies and loadouts through cohesive teamwork against the undead hordes, and with new life breathed into them with near-future weapons and features, we can attest that Zombies Chronicles is one killer collection you'll want to sink your teeth into – even if you only buy Black Ops III for it alone.

Zombies Chronicles takes a good combination of maps and upgrades them with great attention to detail. Newer Zombies features keep the collection modern, but its greatest strength is in the lighting and audio upgrades, which make the Zombies experience that many fans obsessed over before feel creepier, more tense, and more exhilarating than ever.

Zombies Chronicles aims for the nostalgia of Zombies fans, and for the most part serves it well. Some of the changes made for the sake of evolution may have been better left undone, but the most important elements of these classic maps are still intact.

More than a cynical cash-grab, Zombies Chronicles is a carefully remastered collection of the best of Call of Duty’s Zombies. With enhanced visuals, lighting and especially audio, it’s a must for Zombies fans.

While a standalone game that also offered “Extinction” (the short-lived alien variant) would be even better, Zombies Chronicles gets the job done and hits most of the high-notes the subseries has given us over the years. It’s going to be a little awkward if you sold your copy of Black Ops III, but otherwise, it’s worth booting up with some friends.

The remastered maps look great and really fit with the Black Ops III gameplay, but that doesn’t fully justify the price tag Activision is asking for this pack.

A great showcase of how a much beloved series has evolved over nearly a decade. It still has some great moments and can still feel fresh and exciting, but those moments cant hold back the slump into grinding repetition most matches end up being.

Eight maps for $29.99 might seem like a bit of a stretch, but for the quality of the remastering and the nostalgia that comes with playing the old maps over again, it’s hard not to pull the trigger. Even with some questionable design choices, it’s a solid pack of DLC that brings the total number of maps available in Black Ops III up to fifteen. It’s not worth buying Black Ops III for, but if you already have it and you have fond memories of the old zombie days, it’s a good chunk of content that breathes new life into the two-year-old game.