Zadzooks: Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection review

It was not whether gamers needed another downloadable content pack to further their participation in the destruction of the zombie menace (they always want more) but rather how soon Treyarch could spit out one for its best-selling first-person shooter.

Apparently, the answer is a speedy two months with Call of Duty: Black Ops Rezurrection (Activision and Treyarch, reviewed for the Xbox 360, rated M for mature, 1,200 Microsoft Points equal to $15).

Although this release does not boast the star power of previous zombie action (I’ll miss Richard Nixon, Fidel Castro, Machete and evil George Romero)or any maps for the normal frag fest, the seeker of the macabre will not be disappointed.

Players focus entirely on the flesh eaters this time out, with four remastered maps from previously released undead Axis encounters in Call of Duty: World at War — Nacht der. Untoten (Night of the Undead), Verruckt (Crazy), Shi No Numa (Swamp of Death) and Der. Riese (the Giant) [-] and, most important, the brand-new zombie killing field — Moon.

True to the name, the outer-space hijinks stick up to four players (ethnically diverse Russian, German, American and Japanese warriors) on Earth’s favorite celestial mass and fill it up with some incredibly gross and dangerous creatures.

Start at a headquarters on good old terra firma (Area 51, to be precise) with zombies bumbling up through a mud pit; kill them with a pistol (look out for the hellhounds) and quickly jump on a teleportation device to travel to a base on the low-gravity confines of the moon.

Before the slaughter begins, a player needs to put on a PES (pressurized external suit) or suffocate before he even gets to appreciate his first crawler.

As in other maps, kill some zombies, accumulate cash for your efforts and then look around on walls for those familiar chalk outlines or a vaulted mystery box to purchase firepower of a higher caliber.

I loved the eerie setting of the moon base with lower levels of secret catacombs, jumping around with help from a lunar lift, and misty ravines covering the surface.

I hated the difficulty of the action. The heart-pounding rush of the attacks is smothering as zombies amass much faster than in previous maps.

However, curiosity and enthusiasm for my prey (or am I the prey?) made me continue to try to survive a deep challenge often complicated by spacesuited freaks falsely bearing my friends’ gamer tags and considering head-butting a hobby.

A mere pistol will not easily stop these faceless brutes, so, at the minimum, look to unload multiple shotgun blasts upon them and watch as they pop like balloons.

By the way, as zombies are eviscerated, they succumb completely to the low gravity and float away in pieces, like dancers in a slow-motion ballet.

Also, look out for phasing undead (still just a myth at my level) that pop around seeking human munchables.

Secret areas, a way to teleport back to Earth to buy a Mule Kick (add a gun slot) from the Perk-a-Cola drink machine and new weapons such as a Wave Gun (used to puff up and explode zombies)and an unpredictable Quantum Entanglement Device are just the tip of this addictive experience.

What’s the sweetest part of Rezurrection? Those veterans who already own the Prestige or Elite versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops don’t need to buy it. They already have the four older zombie maps and simply can download Moon (along with a zombie theme and Moon soundtrack) for free.

Yep, just a little gift to continue to whet the appetites for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which hits consoles and PCs in November.