Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies 2 Review: More of the Same, but that’s not a Bad Thing

App Name:	Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies II
Platforms:	iPhone/iPod Touch
Publisher(s):	Activision
Version Reviewed:	1.4.1
Genre(s):	FPS

I subtitled my review of the first COD: Zombies with these words: “Nearly Perfect.” Luckily, that hasn’t changed, but it’s safe to say the charm is beginning to wear off. At this point, we’ve played a lot of first-person shooters on the iPhone, and they continue their steady improvement. Dual-stick controls continue to get better, and developers are taking big steps in trying to combine story, action, and gameplay to deliver an experience akin to what we expect on console shooters. While this add-on to COD: Zombies hits many of the right notes once again, it falls a little short of warranting its price tag. I still give it a solid recommendation for any fan of the series, but a reinvention of the genre it is not.

The foundations of the first COD: Zombies remain in place. Essentially, this sequel is nothing more than a new map that can be played solo, or with all the same multiplayer features as the first. The location is presumably somewhere in a Japanese swampland. You start out in an expansive wooden hut of sorts, complete with several stories and adjoining rooms. Sound like a great place for an exotic vacation? It could be if it weren’t for the hellhounds. They come from everywhere with increasing intensity. This sequel’s difficulty is noticeably higher than the previous version, possibly because Activision is expecting that most users are familiar with the controls and can last longer against the hordes. In solo or multiplayer, death will find you early and often, and maybe it’s just me, but Zombies II comes dangerously close to being too difficult, which can be a critical fault when FPS games on the iPhone already struggle with avoiding frustration and ease-of-play.

Your goals when fighting through this fog-covered swampland also remain the same. You start with a pistol and must kill zombies and repair barriers to earn money, get new guns, and unlock new parts of the map. All the while, waves of zombies will continue to advance, and once you die you’ll find out how many waves you survived . . . The dual-stick controls are true to the original. Their sensitivity and responsiveness continue to set the standard for other FPS games. The tilt controls are also still around, and I recommend giving them a try for no other reason than at least mixing things up. You probably won’t stay alive as long, but it’s a unique way to play the game, and getting kills in this mode is quite rewarding.

It’s easy to assume that Activision is marketing this as a “sequel” with hopes of duping those who already have the first installment into paying the full $10 price, even though this new map is available as a $5 upgrade. But who are we to question the motives of a great developer who keeps giving us solid games? Let’s just call their marketing tactics “fishy at best” and move on. COD: WAW: Zombies II doesn’t throw any curveballs. If you’re hooked on the first one (and it’s place on the iTunes charts suggests that you probably are) then this expansion pack offers a fresh challenge you won’t want to miss. Sick of taking down Nazis? Perfect. Retrain your sights on undead soldiers arising from the Imperial Army of Japan, and show the Axis powers what’s up yet again.

Our Score:  3/5

Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies II is available in the App Store for $9.99 at the time of this review.  If you already have the original Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies, I can be downloaded at $4.99.

Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies II App Store Link.

About the Author

Devin Wieland

 

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