As a fan of the long running Call of Duty Zombies series, it was a pleasant surprise to hear that the original maps featuring the group of 935 (eight in all) would be getting a remastered. I really liked the maps that featured them and the hundreds of hours, all-nighters and good times I would spend soloing or with friends is still something I take to heart whenever I plastered a zombieAs a fan of the long running Call of Duty Zombies series, it was a pleasant surprise to hear that the original maps featuring the group of 935 (eight in all) would be getting a remastered. I really liked the maps that featured them and the hundreds of hours, all-nighters and good times I would spend soloing or with friends is still something I take to heart whenever I plastered a zombie skull with bullets. With Zombie Chronicles, there is indeed some carnage still to be had, but not quite the same. Let's start with the pros I can give the DLC first.
1) The HD update to the maps look very nice. I know COD has often been flakked by the community and onlookers for using crap textures and poor graphics, but I do generally like the redux vision of the originals so that mixing with Black Ops 3's style makes the terrain more interesting.
2) The zombie models fit the maps and their movements, noises and death cries are quite chilling and still as intimidating as ever. I appreciate even more the use of the original models (especially in Nacht Der Untoten).
3) Of the eight, I can say three are great and three are good. Nacht Der Untoten, Kino Der Toten and Origins are the best of the 8 and I can say in confidence that those will be the most played of them as well. Ascension, Shi No Numa and Moon are good as well but not as well thought out this time around.
4) The inclusion of gobblegum, Wunderfizz and custom classes really flesh out the diversity of builds and makes combat have many more options. I was initially skeptical of the idea, but it has grown on me and I really do like it. Expect to get to much higher rounds this time as well.
Now despite my praises, there are some problems with the pack as well.
1) Lack of cutscenes. If Black Ops 3 zombies have cutscenes of the group, then adding cutscenes to the originals seem like a no brainer. Unfortunately, COD slams the door of that idea in the face and only adds the original loading screens (with the exception of Origins and Nacht Der Untoten) in and not a pre-rendered cutscene that displays the graphical hike from the original. I know the story doesn't matter in zombies, but establishing some sort of beginning scene can at least give the player some goal beyond killing the undead.
2) The recycling of dialogue is very tiresome. I love Tank and his swearing, Nikolai and his love for vodka, Takeo and his Japanese philosophical expressions and Richtofen's insanity, but not only is it the original lines reused, but someone made the genius decision to repeat the newer dialogue pieces far too much to make have good banter done right. It feels like a half-measure taken that could have brought out far more banter and new lines that interact well with the situation.
3) Despite six of the eight maps being good on their own, two manage to sneak in and absolutely anger me. Verruckt and Shangri-La are cool concepts that were executed poorly on the player and it really brings down the overall package. You can argue that they aren't bad per se, but as a COD zombie player since 2008, I know crap when I see it, and both are no different.
4) Though it is a small gripe, I still feel the need to hammer away on the fact that the easter egg music in this has been dramatically toned down in terms of volume when killing the hordes on screen. The music plays far less powerfully than the original entries did. I know not many care, but I like Kevin Sherwood and Elena Siegman's work. The music mirrors the insanity of the mode and has some really good screamo/hevay metal thrown into make the mood better. Having loud zombies and not hear more of my favorite screaming lady really irks me.
5) The price is a bit concerning. At $30 dollars, it roughly equates each map to be almost $4 a piece. I would say (based on the two bad ones and what was rounded towards that estimated amount per map) that if it was released at $20 instead then it would be more forgiving. Nostalgia might be my calling for the maps, but I'm not blind that it's overpriced. Thankfully it is not $60, however it still feels a bit too much even for my taste.
Zombie Chronicles is a good DLC pack that includes enough variety and carnage to keep fans of the mode happy and relive the good old of zombies. I feel that more fans of the mode will buy it than those more interested in the competitive multiplayer. If you like or love COD zombies then I would recommend getting this. If you are not a fan or interested in zombies, you probably will hold off or not bother. It feels a bit unfinished and not well-polished, but in the cranium of a person who wants cathartic and stupid fun by killing loads of zombies it's probably not that big of deal.… Expand
Call of Duty: Black Ops III - Zombies ChroniclesYour Score0 out of 10User Score
