Buried Review: Resolution 1295 - Call of Duty, Black Ops 2, Zombies

After Mob of the Dead gave us so many new features I fully expected Buried to be a disappointment. But, to my surprise Treyarch has outdone themselves again. Buried, Resolution 1295 has added loads of new features and items to the Call of Duty Zombie Universe. Some of the more exciting additions are Vulture-Aid, the Paralyzer, the Giant, the Ghosts, the Ray Gun Mark II, and the Head Chopper.

This map is more about survival than it is about running zombie trains. Most open areas have various obstetrical that cause even the best players to find themselves stuck. However, the available firepower gives the player more than a fighting chance. And if the firepower isn't enough, for the price of Candy you can get your own personal Giant bodyguard.

The four characters from Tranzit and Die Rise are back. The cut-scene at the beginning of the game gives us some additional information about Russman. Apparently he is more than just a bum with two mis-matched shoes.

The Voices have led the characters out of Die Rise and to an old western town buried underground. As they spawn into the map they first see what Russman calls the Rift. Flashback to the Cut-scene in Die Rise where we hear Maxus tell Stewlenger that he needs to fix the Rift.

The main focus of this map is to power the tower that is on top of the Rift. This would be the third map that focused on powering a tower. The question is, what is in store for these characters when the three towers are powered up and aligned.

We have two new 'characters' in this game. The first is a Giant that is afraid of his own shadow unless he is drunk off Booze or on a sugar high from eating Candy. The second is either a ghost that duplicates itself, or a gang of identical twin ghosts. Either way they take your money and hound you until you leave the house...so typical women that just happen to also be ghosts.

The Giant

The Giant has been called Sloth, the Gentile Giant, the Sweet Giant, Leroy, the big prisoner, and Tiny. I prefer Tiny because he reminds me of the character from The Devils Rejects. Call him what you will, because he will not talk back to you regardless. But he will perform several duties for you if you first give him Booze or Candy.

Give the Giant Booze and he will:

• Smash a Barricade out of your way.
• Kill any zombies or players in his path.

Give the Giant Candy and he will:

• Build an item for you.
• Pick up and hold a crawler.
• Defend you by killing any zombies that come close.

The Ghost(s)

The Ghost(s) can be found in the Haunted Mansion. If you look up at the windows of the mansion you will see her randomly appear. When you enter the Haunted Mansion they will attack you relentlessly and will not stop until you leave the Mansion. If they touch you they will take 2000 points, but if you make it outside and kill the last witch you will be awarded with a free perk. You must go through the Mansion in order to access the Pack-A-Punch machine.

There are various new weapons in Buried. Each has their own unique abilities. With these weapons you can shoot beams of energy, rain down death while flying above, or change the very fabric of time itself.

• The Paralyzer
• The Ray Gun Mach II
• Time Bomb
• Navy Revolver

There are seven perks available in Buried:

• Vulture-Aid
• Jugger-Nog
• Speed Cola
• Double Tap
• Quick Revive
• Mule Kick
• Stamina Up

Vulture-Aid is the newest addition to the Perk Family. It has quickly become a fan favorite, surpassing Explosive Cherry and Who's Who.

With Vulture-Aid you can:

• See locations of items through walls.
• Pick up extra ammo and points.
• Become invisible to zombies.

Training zombies is a staple of the Call of Duty Zombies franchise. For those that are not familiar with the concept. Training zombies is when you run in a circle or oval pattern in order to get a long line of zombies chasing you. This allows you shoot through multiple zombies at one time and decreases the change that you get trapped.

First the bad news: Buried gives only limited areas that are ideal for running a train. Most areas are too narrow or have too many obstacles, bottlenecks, and pinch points.

The silver lining: Vulture-Aid and the Paralyzer offer the players a chance to learn to train in a whole new way. Fly over obstacles with the Paralyzer or move into a green cloud of stink with Vulture-Aid to become invisible. It will be more difficult, but could be a lot of fun.

Sometimes, the hardest part of writing video game articles is having to put down the controller. This map is fun to play and should get even better after players master the new weapons. Most of the tedious tasks can be handled by the Giant, which gives players more time to let loose. I can see this quickly become my favorite Zombie map, and not just because it fits well with my gamer name, Doc Holiday.