My Comments About the Black Ops 4 Reveal, and its Zombies.
You probably already know me as the moderator of this page, however, I do not believe that I have never formally introduced myself.
My name is James, and I have been a Call of Duty fan since the old school Call of Duty 4 days. I would consider myself a veteran of the series, and have stood by it through thick and thin as I developed a love of the staple Zombies mode that this community has come to know and love - Treyarch’s in particular - which is why I started this blog; to pay homage to the depth of Treyarch’s design, and bring together the Zombies fans of tumblr!
Time has passed, and I can honestly say that i no longer feel the same about the Call of Duty series as a whole. The repetition of the modes, the need for the franchise to throw us further and further into the future, and further from the core aspects that brought so many people to love the CoD games all together have driven me from the games for the past couple years. And yet, I still find myself going back time and time again to play the Treyarch installments of the Zombies gamemode.
If you haven’t guessed it already, I am not a fan of any takes on the Zombies mode that isn’t Treyarch, as I feel that they are simply Activision forcing the mode on to Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer to cater to the Zombies “hype”. But that is not what this post is about.
The reason why i have come forward to formally today is to discuss the mixed feelings that the community seems to be having about the Black Ops 4 take on the Zombies series, and share with you my personal opinion on what we have been shown thus far.
REMEMBER: THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION! IT IS OKAY IF WE DO NOT AGREE WITH EACH OTHER! :)
So, without further adieu, let’s get into it:
Today, as a Zombies community, we got a special treat when Jason Blundell took to the stage and gave us a plethora of information regarding the upcoming Zombies season. From a person who has stood by and waited extra months to hear any sort of Zombies info during past Treyarch reveals, I was happy to see that we were finally seen as a huge part of the Call of Duty franchise, and given a reveal of our own. Today, we received not one, not two, but three Zombies trailers! However, my joy quickly turned to dismay as Blundell gave the stage over to Craig Houston who informed us all that the Zombies series was taking a new and distinct narrative, complete with a new cast of characters.
And this, is where my major gripe lies.
I am all for trying new things, and all for random celebrity cameos like in Call of Dead or Shadows of Evil, however, Black Ops 4′s Zombies is being marketed, and was revealed as, a NEW AND DISTINCT NARRATIVE. From what we have seen, it looks nothing like Zombies that we have known. The characters are goofy looking and quirky. The trailers gave nothing to us in terms of relevance to story, no weapons, no perks, or (in the case of the “IX” trailer) a world that seems completely foreign to the Zombies we have come to know and love.
Now, we have seen this before, and a lot of people will say to support Treyarch, to trust them. However, we have seen this scenario before. We have seen a random, new cast of characters thrown into the spotlight, and it failed miserably. TranZit, Die Rise, and Buried were ultimately the WORST of the Treyarch Zombies timeline, and was only saved by Jason Blundell’s inclusion of them in the comic series, and the Origins timeline. I just do not think it will work. There is so much story left to tell. How does the Primis crew break the cycle? Can they? Hell, if they are taking us back to ancient Rome and the Colosseum, why couldn’t we follow Primis back to the 13th century where Monty dropped them? I just do not understand the thought behind this, and I personally will no support it.
I believe the only saving grace from the reveal was the inclusion of the Mob of the Dead remaster, dubbed “Blood of the Dead”, which takes place between Zetsubou no Shima and Gorod Krovi, where Primis travels to Alcatraz to recover their “insurance policy”. An insurance policy which didn’t work. Or did it? WE DON”T KNOW! And I feel that this would be the better route to explore with the upcoming BO4 DLC season.
As for the new maps, “IX” and “Voyage of Despair”, I will not be covering any information regarding it. I am sorry, but I do not support the direction that Treyarch is taking.
You can still expect to see the usual Zombies Facts pages here, as well as concept art, and even coverage regarding Blood of the Dead, but unfortunately you till have to look elsewhere for the new narrative coverage.
If you have read through this entire thing, i thank you, and hope that you find some common ground among my concerns for the future of the Treyarch Zombies narrative. Remember, this is just my opinion on the matter, and, if you are excited by the new narrative, then I am glad for you!
As a personal note, for whatever reason, if Treyarch is reading this, by any chance: please listen to the community, and be aware that a lot of dedicated players want the Primis crew. We want the depth. We want the clarification, and the continuity of the story-arch.
