Call of Duty Zombies is considered a staple side mode – the perfect accompaniment to the annual Call of Duty release, even if Zombies itself doesn’t surface every year. It’s a common enough sight these days, and since 2008’s World at War, it has been a fan-favourite game mode. During the COD NEXT showcase, we got our first in-depth look at the COD Zombies mode coming with the release of Modern Warfare 3 in November, and it looks fantastically unique.

It’s quite similar to Cold War’s Outbreak mode, but at the same time, it’s absolutely its own product. It’s so sizeable this year that it could probably be marketed as a standalone game – but it isn’t, it’s being bundled in with Modern Warfare 3 for no extra cost. This time around, COD Zombies will be an open-world, free-roam extraction shooter that’s built as a cooperative, player-versus-environment game… How’s that for innovation?

This Year’s COD Zombies Looks Fantastic

There’s a lot to take in about the all-new COD Zombies landing with Modern Warfare 3 on November 10th.

It’s now an extraction shooter, and players – or teams – must enter the enormous map of Urzikstan, fight the undead and complete tasks, and then successfully extract from the map. There’s an immersive story up for grabs that features some familiar Call of Duty-based faces, and the play environment is simply massive. It’s the new Warzone map that was just revealed today during the COD NEXT showcase, to put into perspective just how large this map will be.

But it’s well-populated, of course. From the legions of the undead to the AI-powered PMC enemies that stalk the map, there are plenty of opponents to scrap with. Also, when you’re exploring the zombified Urzikstan, you’ll find yourself teaming up with other players in their own teams – but there’s no harming each other, so don’t try it.

Related: New Warzone Map Revealed as Urzikstan

What Changes Are Coming?

There’s so much verticality and versatility in this COD Zombies experience. From the fast-moving vehicles scattered around the map to the tall skyscrapers that can be climbed, there’s no slowing down players in this iteration of COD Zombies. There are more ‘supersized’ enemies than ever before, and everything can be tackled at the player’s pace. If you want to just saunter around the map fighting zombies, then you’re more than welcome to.

Treyarch has explained that this year’s Call of Duty experience boasts a high replayability value, and essentially, you’re never going to have the same game twice. With all the classic staples from the Call of Duty Zombie series, like the Ray Gun, the Pack-a-Punch, and the power-up machines, it’s unequivocally a COD Zombies game. It’s just one with a lot of twists and amendments applied that are guaranteed to make it better than ever before.

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