Call of Duty Zombies Bracket Round 4!

[RadZakpak]

Hey everyone, this is Round 4 of the Call of Duty Zombies Map Tournament! For more info on the results of round 3, click here: 

 

So, time to vote on who proceeds through round 4! Just reply in this format:

1. [Your Pick]

2. [Your Pick]

3. [Your Pick]

...

15. [Your Pick]

 

On Friday April 26th at 11:59 AM CST, votes will not longer be accepted.

For those that can't view the image, here are the options: 

 

1. Shi No Numa vs Moon

3. Kino der Toten vs Der Riese

 

it's a strictly WaW/Black Ops competition now. Which maps were the peak of not only this era but all eras?

[jiipee95]

Moon - A lot better map for me, it's one of my favorites.

 

Kino Der Toten - Tough pick, but let the nostalgia for Kino take this round.

[RadZakpak]

1. Moon: My absolute favorite map, I'm predicting this will win overall. But only time will tell. Such a crazy and unique finale, unique features, cool easter egg, and the BO3 version is beautiful.

 

2. Der Riese: Very similar maps in terms of features, but Der Riese was certainly the bigger risk and set the precedent for so many maps to come after.

[Electric Jesus]

Moon.

 

Kino > Der Riese; Change my Mind.

[Schrödinger]

1. Moon : Much more epic than an old swamp.

3? Der Riese

[Lenne]

1. Moon NML>

2. Kino der Toten

[Electric Jesus]

I kinda feel like arguing a case for Kino. 

 

Der Riese gave us PaP, and with that it gave us the first PaP quest. 

 

So, in most zombies maps, accessing Pack a Punch done in one of two ways. Either you perform a series of steps that permanently unlock a new Pack area (ascension, shadows, origins) or you have to perform the same mini-ritual to re-access pack for a limited time each use (kino, moon, five).

 

Der Riese represents the former, as you open up the whole map and teleport, then PaP is open for good. On kino though, teleporting is free, but you can only access Pack for 30 seconds at a time. 

 

So, you can definitely prefer one of these over the other, and I can see the arguments for both. The polar extremes would probably be Shadows on one end, where you’ve got to endure a lot of scavenging and rituals to get to Pack but then it’s left open permanently, and on the other end maybe Buried, where you have to perform the same small-ish ritual each time you wanna pack. (Running through ghost-house.)

 

as a general matter, the style where it remains open permanently is probably way more convenient, particularly for high-round players, because in a long long game, that relatively lengthy PaP ritual isn’t as large of a percentage of your time spent playing. Alternately, if a new player hops on shadows, grinds out PaP rituals, and then only survives to round 15, they spent a larger total percentage of their playtime “getting set up,” So they might have a more sour opinion of the map overall. I think I prefer this style of PaP way more than the temporary-access way as a general rule though. 

 

HOWEVER, I gotta say, the teleporter / projection room on kino is one of the most iconic experiences. No other map has such a distinct “heart of the map” to me. So so so many rounds were started off with the entire squad stacked in the teleporter getting ready to go. It sorta invariably forced teamwork and coordination. Throwing grenades from the projector room is awesome. In effect, it’s the only map I can think of where Pack a Punching your gun is literally fun every time you do it. I think Kino has the perfect Pack mechanics, keeping you engaged and not taking PaP for granted, but still with easy / “peaceful” access when you need it. 

 

Also Kino has the Thundergun. 

[RadZakpak]

1 hour ago, Electric Jesus said:

I kinda feel like arguing a case for Kino. 

 

Der Riese gave us PaP, and with that it gave us the first PaP quest. 

 

So, in most zombies maps, accessing Pack a Punch done in one of two ways. Either you perform a series of steps that permanently unlock a new Pack area (ascension, shadows, origins) or you have to perform the same mini-ritual to re-access pack for a limited time each use (kino, moon, five).

 

Der Riese represents the former, as you open up the whole map and teleport, then PaP is open for good. On kino though, teleporting is free, but you can only access Pack for 30 seconds at a time. 

 

So, you can definitely prefer one of these over the other, and I can see the arguments for both. The polar extremes would probably be Shadows on one end, where you’ve got to endure a lot of scavenging and rituals to get to Pack but then it’s left open permanently, and on the other end maybe Buried, where you have to perform the same small-ish ritual each time you wanna pack. (Running through ghost-house.)

 

as a general matter, the style where it remains open permanently is probably way more convenient, particularly for high-round players, because in a long long game, that relatively lengthy PaP ritual isn’t as large of a percentage of your time spent playing. Alternately, if a new player hops on shadows, grinds out PaP rituals, and then only survives to round 15, they spent a larger total percentage of their playtime “getting set up,” So they might have a more sour opinion of the map overall. I think I prefer this style of PaP way more than the temporary-access way as a general rule though. 

 

HOWEVER, I gotta say, the teleporter / projection room on kino is one of the most iconic experiences. No other map has such a distinct “heart of the map” to me. So so so many rounds were started off with the entire squad stacked in the teleporter getting ready to go. It sorta invariably forced teamwork and coordination. Throwing grenades from the projector room is awesome. In effect, it’s the only map I can think of where Pack a Punching your gun is literally fun every time you do it. I think Kino has the perfect Pack mechanics, keeping you engaged and not taking PaP for granted, but still with easy / “peaceful” access when you need it. 

 

Also Kino has the Thundergun. 

Some very good points! I agree Kino is superior to Der Riese for high rounds. The PaP teleporter provides an excellent reprieve from the endless hordes to take a bathroom break, get your bearings, or just goof around. Also the Thundergun is my second favorite wonder weapon behind the wave gun, so satisfying.

 

I think the beauty in the difference of opinions on Zombies maps really speaks to the unique flair every map has that sets it apart from another. Every player in every game values different portions of a game, from short-term gameplay, long-term gameplay, atmosphere, music, story, characters, graphics, replayability, etc. With all those elements there can be people who find Der Riese, Dead of the Night, Nuketown, TranZit, Ascension, Origins, etc. to be their favorite map. It's no wonder that Treyarch has started to call each release a "Zombies Experience" because really it is an experience that either connects with you or it doesn't, and that is what I think makes Zombies so unique as a mode and why it has lasted so long. You look at another series like Halo, for example, and a large majority of fans of that series will say that the best game is Halo 2 or 3. Many disagree, myself included, but there is a general consensus that that period of the franchise will always be the pinnacle. Meanwhile the Zombies community can rarely agree which era of zombies is the best, because if you look at the start, Nacht, and where we are now, Ancient Evil, they are so insanely different after 10 years of evolution.

 

Anyway, suffice to say, Der Riese got my pick over Kino because of its atmosphere, story/lore, and the short-term experience of unlocking the map, then PaP since these are things I value in a map. Kino I find somewhat lacking in the atmosphere department, and I feel it never really reached the full potential of its setting in the Cold War apart from a few nods. It feels a bit disjointed in the story as well since Ultimis apparently just... found a lander and went to the Soviet Union. And even that fact only came after 7 years. I will say, Kino is one of my favorite maps to open up and explore as the map's flow completely changes with the flip of a power switch, starting as a circular corridor map akin to Verruckt, before opening up and the nasty little crawlers begin to pour in from the roof.

 

[anonymous]

I'm going for Moon, of course (whilst SNN also gave us alot of neat stuff).

 

Next to that, I prefer Kino der Toten over Waffenfabrik Der Riese. Story-wise, I should totally go for Der Riese, but I can enjoy Kino so much more. In opposition to you, Rad, I find Kino having a better atmosphere than der Riese, and I think this might have something to do with the lacking of a real important story element here. I think the developers chose the location, a German cinema, purely for the atmosphere (most likely heavily influenced by movies like 'The Prestige' and 'Inglorious Basterds'), instead of having a good historically backstory (like der Riese). And I, oddly enough as a story person, actually like the lacking of the direct story here. Kino is just so mysterious: the time, the Illuminati, the fuseboxes, Nova-6, hell we even didn't knew about their voyage to Ascension up till the release of the Timeline. I like maps not making sense: Kino, a Nazi theatre in the middle of the Cold War, definately doesn't make sense. 

 

In theory, der Riese should be better. But I just like playing Kino more. For kinda the opposite reasons as I prefer Moon over Shi no Numa.

[RadZakpak]

Apologies for being late!

 

The winners of Round 4:

 

1. Moon (6) vs Shi No Numa (0): It's no contest, the epic space adventure wins again!

2. Kino der Toten (4) vs Der Riese (2): A battle between two nostalgic giants ends with the victory of the Black Ops 1 classic and centerpiece, Kino der Toten.

 

Time for the final round!