Following on the heels of Call of Duty: Black Ops’ previous map packs, First Strike, Escalation, and Annihilation, comes Rezurrection (did anyone else notice the first letters of the map pack titles spell out F.E.A.R?). For many, the sad news is that Rezurrection will be the final map pack released for Call of Duty: Black Ops, but the happy news is if you felt there weren’t enough zombie maps to play on before, this time around it’s all about zombies - Nazi Zombies, Hellhound Zombies, and now Phasing Zombies and Astronaut Zombies.

Rezurrection is made up of five zombie maps, including the first four maps from Call of Duty: World at War (Nacht der Untoten [‘Night’], Shi No Numa [‘Swamp’], Verruckt [‘Asylum’], Der ‘Riese [‘Factory’]) as well as an all new map called ‘Moon.’

Generally speaking there should be at least one or two zombie maps in this pack that will appeal to every zombie fan out there, so you won’t be disappointed. The remastered maps from World at War are exactly the same as before, except they now include a wider selection of weapons and a few graphical tweaks and features present in Black Ops.

Good night, sweet heart, it’s time to…BRRAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIINS

Nacht der Untoten (Night of the Undead) should hold a special place in everyone’s hearts since it is the first Nazi Zombies map ever released. The map remains the same as before - a run-down building with a number of windows that can be barricaded with wooden planks and only three rooms. The weapon selection from the Mystery Box now includes weapons from Black Ops such as the Thundergun and Cold War era guns.

The playable characters are no longer unknown US soldiers and are replaced by the characters Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki, and Doctor Richtofen. Apart from these tweaks the map still plays out just as well as before, but with a greater degree of satisfaction when you can lay waste to the undead with an M60. The nostalgia factor alone should keep this as one of your favourites.

Urgghhh…I hear voices in my head. Or maybe it’s the maggots in my brain?

Verruckt (Insane) takes place in the Wittenau Sanitorium in Berlin and originally debuted the Power Switch, Perk-a-Cola Machines, and Electro-Shock Defences. The map begins with the players separated from each other at two spawn points and requires the power to be activated to open the doorway separating the two groups. This is one of my favourite maps because of its symmetry, the unique separation of the team at the start, and the long corridors and various ambience effects. In this Black Ops version the Winter’s Howl Wonder Weapon is now available from the Mystery Box.

Sit Ubu, sit! Play undead! Good dog…

Shi No Numa (Swamp of Death) is set in a swamp somewhere in a Pacific jungle. It is also the only map to include Imperial Japanese Army Zombies and the first to introduce zombie dogs (Hellhounds). Swamp contains several open areas and boasts a zipline that can be activated to transport players from upstairs in the main hut to the Doctor’s Quarters. Swamp also introduced randomly spawning Perk-a-Cola machines.

Uuuurrrgh. I have a Giant, splitting headache.

Der Riese (German for ‘The Giant,’ but most commonly referred to as Factory) is a secret Nazi facility which originally debuted the teleporters, the Pack-a-Punch machine and the Bowie Knife. This level is set in several open areas and provides the ability for players to teleport form one area of the map to another. As with the other remastered levels, there are slight graphical improvements and modern weapons are available from the Mystery Box. This somewhat more complicated map takes more time to get used to because of the new features introduced, but is still a great one for larger groups.

In space, no-one will hear the zombies scream

The only entirely new map in the Rezurrection Map Pack, Moon, presents players with some new gameplay features set in zero gravity. Players begin in Area 51, where zombies first spawn slowly while the teleporter to the Moon is being prepared. During this brief period players have the opportunity to defeat as many zombies as they can to accumulate points before embarking on their one-way trip to Griffin Station.

Once the teleporter is ready a loud buzzer will alert players and all the zombies in Area 51 will suddenly become faster, stronger, and Hellhounds will spawn. At this point it’s a good idea to retreat to the teleportation pad and head off to the moon, otherwise you’ll probably be overwhelmed (unless you can miraculously survive long enough to afford the Pack-a-Punch or Cola power-ups).

Teleportation to the moon? Far out, man!

When arriving at the Moon the first challenge facing the players is the vacuum of space. With only limited time you need to grab onto a nearby P.E.S. (spacesuit) or risk an uncomfortable death (zombie purists may argue that death-by-zombie is a little more uncomfortable than having your lungs implode, but we digress). Once power is restored to the compound oxygen will be freely available unless the compound is later breached by excavators or by breaking windows in the rooms.

Along with the whole Vader’esque breathing challenge is the challenge of movement in low gravity. In a vacuum, everyone moves slower than normal and jumps a bit higher and further than on Earth. Moving about in space with these new physics will take a bit of adjustment for the player, but not for the zombies. They seem to take to outer space like a dead fish out of water: they’ll slowly (and formidably gracefully) drift and hop towards you.

It’s important to observe that what most people fail to realise about a zombie apocalypse is that much of the harm inflicted upon survivors isn’t necessarily physical but psychological, and I can attest that when you’re shambling about the moon compound in the loneliness of space the sight of a silent horde of zombies drifting towards you is enough to make you need a change of space suit.

Speaking of silent, a really nice touch to the whole spacewalk experience is the slightly blurred vision from the breathing mask and the dreadful muffled sounds. Observing your team-mates firing noiselessly into a pack of brain-mongers will unnerve even the most stalwart of soldiers. The worst part about the silence is you can’t hear your team-mates scream or, even more terrifying, the zombies floating up behind you!

There’s nothing cheesy about the surface of the moon

The level itself is well designed and quickly rekindles the emotions inspired by classic space horror movies such as Alien or Ghosts of Mars. The areas are open enough to give you some ‘space’ to maneuver, but this is often simply a false sense of security because your limited ability to move in a vacuum promptly, and painfully, becomes apparent when you are swarmed.

Once opened up, Griffin Station offers a variety of environments ranging from the darkness of the Receiving Bay, to claustrophobic Tunnels, to an eerily barren Biodome. All of these areas - in my opinion - are masterfully done to create an unnerving and daunting sense of doom. Of all the zombie maps I’ve played, Moon is by far the most stressful, and it’s probably due in no small part to the sense of disorientation experienced from being isolated in space.

On the zombie side, there are two new zombies: Phasing Zombies, which essentially are Crawler Zombies that teleport and release Nova gas upon death; and Astronaut Zombies, a spacesuit-clad zombie unaffected by zero-G that resembles other players with the ability of subduing and teleporting unfortunate victims. The Moon map also offers a new Perk-a-Cola: Mule Kick, which provides a third weapon slot, as well as two new Wonder Weapons.

It’s too big to be just a Map Pack…

Rezurrection Map Pack is not only a map pack. Included in the download is a Zombie Moon theme for Xbox Dashboard and a downloadable soundtrack, both of which, along with the Moon map, are also available for free to owners of Black Ops Hardened or Prestige Editions.

I would have liked to see Activision extend their kindness to members of the public that purchased the original maps for World at War, but this is not to be. If you’ve already purchased these maps previously for World at War you will have to pay full price for them again, and I can understand why anyone in that group would feel jilted by this latest map pack. Moon is a great map, but even bundled with a soundtrack and theme it most certainly is not worth the hefty price tag of 1200 Microsoft Points effectively on its own.

If you were hoping for more multiplayer maps to test your mettle in deathmatch or other such ‘realism’ modes then this map pack is a definite no-go for you: it adds as much value to your Black Ops collection as there is gravity on the moon. Despite it being a must-avoid for realism fans, it is a must-have for zombie fans who don’t already own the World at War series of maps. Apart from the great value of the four other zombie maps, Moon on its own is a fantastic remodelling of zombie horror and is bound to keep you enthralled (and afraid) for hours. As far as zombie fans are concerned, Rezurrection is one small step for a map pack, one giant leap for zombie fans. Grab them all now before they all grab you!

The Good: Plenty of value for zombie fans; Moon is freaking scary; Moonraker with zombies - what’s not to love??

The Bad: Not good value for World at War map pack owners; only for zombie fans

Purchase: