First Impression on Mob of the Dead/Alcatraz Island?

[zZPunisherZz]

No melee weapons? Bowie or Knucks?

[Gmoneyrocks]

I like it.

The map is huge and so many secrets to discover.

Definitely need a full team on this map if you wanna survive.

[perfectlemonade]

No melee weapons? Bowie or Knucks?

I'm holding onto hope that when you finish the EE there will be this huge room you can unlock with Semtex, Bowie, and Knuckles.

If only.

:lol:

[zZPunisherZz]

That just greatly decreased my excitement. I suppose as a PS3 transplant I should appreciate that though.

[Gaycandybacon]

I love this map! It's harder than you think.. It's challenging to get all the perks because you have to activate them and pay 2000 if Brutus hits them. Like others said this map looks beautiful.. The box looks amazing, and I surely screamed like a girl when I got the AK47, LSAT, AND Death machine out of the box on my first 3 hits. 8-)

So far I only got to like 13 or something like that, but I still need to do a lot more on this map. So SWHEET.

[zZPunisherZz]

Can anyone confirm the existence of the golden spork?

[minator177]

All I can say is thank you Treyarch! This is a great map, although it's not exactly my favorite.

What I am glad about is all the doors! In Die Rise, you could get to practically anywhere in the map just by opening 1 or 2 doors, which made the map feel too small.

This map feels very large and has much that I haven't even discovered yet!

The down side.. I can tell that a different team worked on it. The layout in some areas just feels wrong, and the afterlife feature takes away from the classic zombies feel.

Other than that, I am glad to have this new map! It's alot of fun. And the music is great!

[Megaton A]

Yeah, I think it's safe to say after playing it that another team did, indeed work on it. And all I can say is; Zombies team; take some notes!!

No waiting around for crap, TWO awesome secret songs, the Hellhounds are awesome and the reward is well worth the work, the bridge is a great location reminiscent of No Man's Land, the new perk is useful without feeling overpowered (though I'm sure someone will say it is... because... zombies community)... the atmosphere is spectacular and the ambient music adds a lot to the experience in a fitting, subtle way, the boss can seriously screw your day up without being ridiculously hard to kill... traps are back, I could just keep going on.

This map has restored my faith in CoD zombies. My only complaints are the ridiculously fast double-swiping zombies and the dying zombies and crawlers.... but that's the zombies team's awful programming and not the fault of the map creators.

I'm just really bummed that we're going to have to go back to Jimmy Z and the team's awful maps after this. Let me guess.... we're going to be able to go anywhere without buying any doors, but we'll have to wait for 15 minutes for a freakin' dog sled made of hellhounds to go anywhere... because standing around for long periods of time = excitement! Actually... I shouldn't say that. They might read this and get ideas.

[Toska]

I have to agree with Die Rise having not enough doors. This map actually feels quite challenging with a new need to save up and spend points on all the doors, unlocking things the boss has locked up, and buying ammo.

[XxJason LivesxX]

we're going to be able to go anywhere without buying any doors, but we'll have to wait for 15 minutes for a freakin' dog sled made of hellhounds to go anywhere... because standing around for long periods of time = excitement! Actually... I shouldn't say that.

Now you've done it, we're so screwed...

[Undead]

I'm REALLY digging the general environment of this map, the dead bodies, candles and skulls lining up a recipe for a demonic ritual really just give the map that darker atmosphere we haven't seen much of since Verruckt so, big props on that. Plus, Death Machine in the box?! Hell yes! I even had the honors of upgrading the blundergat during a session with Flammen and Grill last night and I must say, I dig its appearance and works like a MUCH stronger Olympia with four barrels. I'm really impressed with this map. The only complant I have that just goes with getting used to it is the layout, particularly in the cell blocks. I got lost way too easily XD

[The Clay Bird]

A couple of first impressions, which of course could be subject to change since i've only played it a couple of times.

Likes:

- The environment in general is awesome. the ambience, the demonic ritual symbols like skulls and candles, the rattling chains, the hanging bodies.. the feel of the map is better than any other in my opinion.

- Happy about deadshot daquiri being back, although I'm a little puzzled on why they chose this map specifically to bring it back... maybe to make it easier to kill brutus? either way im glad its back.

- love that the Blundergat can be upgraded basically multiple times as it can be PaP, Acid Gat, or both. Would love to have this option with more weapons i think that is a great idea.

- continuing to add new weapons like the uzi and ak47 and death machine. wish they had done that more in BLOPS 1.

- Return of traps and upgradeable traps is a super neat idea. havent used them much so idk how they may potentially be used for high round solo runs, but im sure we'll see soon enough.

Dislikes:

- Dislike forcing us to do a side quest just to do something basic like pack a punch. The thing I liked so much about black ops 1 side quests, was that you could play the game completely normally without them and still have access to everything that was intended, however if you took the time and effort to complete it you were very handsomely rewarded. They REALLY need to go back to this formula.

Final thoughts:

- New perk is cool looking, but i haven't experienced much benefit from it as it seems to not really have much effect on zombies past early rounds (maybe i'm not doing it right idk)

- Would have been a PERFECT map to appease the masses and bring back flopper but (or include it as a side quest reward) but didn't happen

- Afterlife is a cool concept and is certainly interesting, but I really hope that doesn't become the norm for zombie maps

Theres my 2 cents! :D

[83457]

we're going to be able to go anywhere without buying any doors, but we'll have to wait for 15 minutes for a freakin' dog sled made of hellhounds to go anywhere... because standing around for long periods of time = excitement! Actually... I shouldn't say that.

Now you've done it, we're so screwed...

While running through the Tranzit fog the other day, i thought 'wow, this actually better than waiting for an elevator'.

Love Tranzit, love Die Rise, enjoying this (but only did like 6 games so far).

I love figuring a new map out, love conquering it even more.

So far, fun map. Feeding the dog-heads is good times. The look is fantastic: spiky zombies, burning ?box....

[Tac]

So I just got to Round 3 haha, I'm not really understanding how this map works yet. Go down, go into afterlife, dying, it's all very confusing to this lad lol. It's definitely creepy, LOVE the writing on the walls. Everything is very narrow and it's hard to get used to, but I'm adapting. Afterlife is very different and I'm not sure if I like it, but I'm always the one asking "Why can this happen?" and "What permits this to actually occur?" so that's a possible reason for me being hesitant on it. I'll take another go on it and enter my thoughts.

Cool, so I made it to Round 5 this time, found the creepy dog who eats all the dead Zombies. Creepy and I don't get it, but AWESOME!

[Toska]

This map really brings back that disturbing Verruckt feel that was really missing from zombies.

[MikeDowgill]

I like the map alot. But i would agree with the post above about it being a little easy, I got to round 30 solo and i feel i could have gone a bit further if it wasn't 6am and i could be bothered to run down and get jug again.

The map itself is pretty easy to learn and has a proper zombies feel. Its scary (that jump scare, made me drop my controller) and i think the way they have done the background music is awesome! Fits in brilliantly with the game and the way it changes from room to room is pretty cooooool.

I personally would have like a few more wall weapons, even if they aren't great ones just so there was a bit more choice but its cool how you don't need to runn to the other end of the map to restock the Uzi and Remington.

Overall i think this map has decent replayability and could be considered to be the map of black ops 2. But lets see what the next packs are like before we decide that ;)

[ozmatz_buckshank]

I'm a little disappointed to be honest the new features are awsome but the angles of corners and the shapes of the playable area make it seem alot bigger than it actually is

[MysteryMachineX]

I'm a little disappointed to be honest the new features are awsome but the angles of corners and the shapes of the playable area make it seem alot bigger than it actually is

Well what is your definition of big? Atmosphere combined with light and large polygon counts of three-dimensional space? Or do you prefer the square footage of how far you can travel?

[jlarochegames]

I love this map! My favourite zombies map now. Really scary, and at first i thought it was so hard, but yesterday managed to get all the parts for the plane on round 19, but had the worst fail haha I ran into the fan trap (noob style). Which I am ashamed of! :oops: Lol. But anyway such a fun map and definitely gotta get to a high round soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGS4K7ya_Fo here's my first gameplay if you wanna check it out.

[ETEl2NAL407]

This map has really got me torn.

I love, love, love, the atmosphere. This is how a Zombie shoot 'em up should be. Dark, demonic looking zombies, skulls and satanic alters scattered throughout the map...The ambiance is right on.

What I loathe in this map is the functionality. Perks are a huge pain to acquire. I thought waiting on elevators was bad, but I had no idea what failarch had in store. Not only must players use their precious afterlife to power on the perk, but they can be locked down. Jugg is in a horrible place and it takes forever to get to it.

Next is the doors. I can see the reasoning behind having a TON of doors, this is a prison after all, but why are they so expensive?! I'm used to Z doors ranging from 750-1200, maybe occasionally a door for 1500, but in MotD they're 1000 or 2000! What's worse is there are lots and lots of these expensive doors. If you make a map with tons of doors, please make them cheaper.

Combine the high cost and high quantity of doors with the excessive effort required to acquire perks (and the horrible placement of the most vital perk) and functionality on this map is broken...Officially.

But that's not all.

There are also ZERO legitimate training spots. There are some areas that may work, Laundry Room, Acid Trap room, huge dock circuit, but compared to TranZit and Die Rise, the training spots are practically non-existant.

So, all in all, I have a map I love to see, but hate to play. It's as if trollarch has purposefully tried to eliminate the exploits we slayers have come to know and trust, not in an effort to make the map more fun and challenging, but to make it difficult and taxing. I feel like this is a slap in the face to the fans and furthermore I don't understand at all the need to make games overly difficult. I feel it's a superficial elitist thing to do, as if trollarch is sitting back while developing saying, "Oh no, that spot might work too well for training, let's add a few more spawn points to screw them up." or, "Geez, that's a lot of doors they have to open to get to Juggernog, let's make these doors more expensive than any other map and let's just throw an extra door they must open for good measure."

If Treyarch intends to make maps that fans want, focus on the ambiance, the quests, the guns, the perks...The TOYS. These are the things that give us pleasure when we get them, these are our toys. Buying doors is a chore, training is a chore...Those are challenges already, we don't need to make those harder and we definitely don't need our toys becoming harder to get.

Treyarch has taken 1 step forward, but 2 steps back with this map, IMO. Great job on level, character, and zombie design, quest items, hidden secrets, traps, etc.. but a huge fail on too many expensive doors, ridiculously difficult perk acquisition, and crazy spawns.

There is a way to fix it, or at least fix some of it. Treyarch, I implore you...Change the zombie spawns a bit with a patch. Allow me to train at the docks. And please make some doors 750 or just eliminate them altogether.

[P Diddily]

@ETEl2NAL407, If you leave the first room through the library and go all the way to the top of the first set of stairs to the 3rd floor of the cell block you can take the gondola down to Jug.

I usually grab an mP5 and the Wardens key from the cell block and then go straight down to jug.

[brk3485]

anyone griping about this map take your head out of your butt

There are lots of doors to make the map more challenging, having to save points to open the doors and strategically turn on the perks etc is only an attempt to not make this a turn on the electric switch and grab all the perks gag again. This is new, exciting, envigorating and creepy as hell. The songs are great but so is the general creepy background music and effects. This is the biggest win in any zombie map i've played and I hope the "new crew" works on all the map designs from here on out. It never fails people will complain about how they can't get jug at round 4 and have to actually work to stay alive and open the doors. and god forbid we can't run circles around the zombies to cheaply kill them. You run out of ammo picking them off one at a time? be skillfull, hit the box again, get something else, ride over and re-pap it and keep on trucking

[Skitelsz]

I feel like this map was good but i expected alot more, there was alot but they gave it all away in the trailers and what not.

if i didnt know about that plane when i built it for the first time i would have been blown away but they honestly just spoiled it with the trailers and advertisments this was overall a good map but i dont like that there arent alot of perks and what not but i can deal i hope they improve and fix there maps this map wasnt a

full dissapointment but i expected alot more and hopefully there are way more secrets in this map

[way2g00d]

This map has really got me torn.

I love, love, love, the atmosphere. This is how a Zombie shoot 'em up should be. Dark, demonic looking zombies, skulls and satanic alters scattered throughout the map...The ambiance is right on.

What I loathe in this map is the functionality. Perks are a huge pain to acquire. I thought waiting on elevators was bad, but I had no idea what failarch had in store. Not only must players use their precious afterlife to power on the perk, but they can be locked down. Jugg is in a horrible place and it takes forever to get to it.

Next is the doors. I can see the reasoning behind having a TON of doors, this is a prison after all, but why are they so expensive?! I'm used to Z doors ranging from 750-1200, maybe occasionally a door for 1500, but in MotD they're 1000 or 2000! What's worse is there are lots and lots of these expensive doors. If you make a map with tons of doors, please make them cheaper.

Combine the high cost and high quantity of doors with the excessive effort required to acquire perks (and the horrible placement of the most vital perk) and functionality on this map is broken...Officially.

But that's not all.

There are also ZERO legitimate training spots. There are some areas that may work, Laundry Room, Acid Trap room, huge dock circuit, but compared to TranZit and Die Rise, the training spots are practically non-existant.

So, all in all, I have a map I love to see, but hate to play. It's as if trollarch has purposefully tried to eliminate the exploits we slayers have come to know and trust, not in an effort to make the map more fun and challenging, but to make it difficult and taxing. I feel like this is a slap in the face to the fans and furthermore I don't understand at all the need to make games overly difficult. I feel it's a superficial elitist thing to do, as if trollarch is sitting back while developing saying, "Oh no, that spot might work too well for training, let's add a few more spawn points to screw them up." or, "Geez, that's a lot of doors they have to open to get to Juggernog, let's make these doors more expensive than any other map and let's just throw an extra door they must open for good measure."

If Treyarch intends to make maps that fans want, focus on the ambiance, the quests, the guns, the perks...The TOYS. These are the things that give us pleasure when we get them, these are our toys. Buying doors is a chore, training is a chore...Those are challenges already, we don't need to make those harder and we definitely don't need our toys becoming harder to get.

Treyarch has taken 1 step forward, but 2 steps back with this map, IMO. Great job on level, character, and zombie design, quest items, hidden secrets, traps, etc.. but a huge fail on too many expensive doors, ridiculously difficult perk acquisition, and crazy spawns.

There is a way to fix it, or at least fix some of it. Treyarch, I implore you...Change the zombie spawns a bit with a patch. Allow me to train at the docks. And please make some doors 750 or just eliminate them altogether.

I agree with most of what you said and I can relate to this. I just want old styled maps. Zombies has changed drastically.

[InfestLithium]

To those who are saying that training is impossible: so then it was easy to train in Verruckt?

This map is NOT made to be easy, that is for sure. You have to do what you would normally do in a zombie outbreak - hold out and survive. Sure, you can run the thinnest loops known to slayerkind, but that's not fun whatsoever. There are multiple areas the hold out at:

[*:20ijs82w] The Warden's Office is a great place to hold out. Infinite Uzi ammo awaits you, and you'll have a possible Mystery Chest spawn with a guaranteed Speed Cola. There are approximately four windows, and you have a terrific trap at your disposal.
[*:20ijs82w] If you haven't opened the door near Double Tap II, you'll be in good standing since there are very few spawns for zombies. There is also a Remington nearby, and an Uzi down the circular stairway if you really want to obtain it.
[*:20ijs82w] The gate right before Juggernog is probably my biggest area that I love to hold out for those few extra points. If you only open the way through the generator room, you can achieve your Juggernog and Tommy Gun. There is a ton of space to do a few loops near the gate just in case you really need to train. It's such a long strip of ground with the spawns in the far back.
[*:20ijs82w] Everyone is favoriting the Gondola, but did you know that it makes a great tool for reaching those high rounds? Sure, you may be blazing through a ton of your ammo, but it may be worth it if you have a powerful weapon on hand and the Hell's Retriever.

When on the Docks level, have one teammate face the back and the other face forward. When things are going harsh on you, take the Gondola up and holdout in there while aiming straight ahead for zombies. The Electric Cherry perk machine is close by, so utilize that to your advantage.
[*:20ijs82w] The Docks themselves are sustainable for holding out. You have a possible Mystery Chest spawn with an upgradable Sniper Tower and the Tommy Gun also nearby for that infinite ammo possibility. It gets crowded quick, so you'll need some sharpshooters if you plan on making it out alive.

There are so many possibilities in this map. After playing it more than 50 times now, I absolutely love it. The ambiance is perfect for Zombies, we have a new selection of weaponry, our traps and buildables come to join forces, and we have a new way of accessing the Pack-a-Punch machine that really makes it a challenge. Blundergat, Blundergat, Blundergat!