The Maps
There are already thousands of gamers playing the new maps, which include Banzai, Corrosion, and Sub Pens. Of the bunch, Corrosion has quickly become my favorite, but let’s take a closer look at each.
Banzai – Banzai takes place in a Japanese jungle, with the primary feature of being a large wooden bridge. Each side of the bridge has several huts that make for some tense CQB, and the bridge itself is littered with various objects to take cover behind, although no place is safe. You can take on enemies running below the bridge, but they can also very easily chuck a grenade your way too.
There are also several cave passageways and a waterfall that will keep your trigger finger itching. I played several rounds of War on this map and the Waterfall flag was a brutal hot spot as there are three or four points of entry into the confined area where the flag is. These passageways, which are on either side of the stream, have a few spots with “cut-outs” in the wall which make for a decent hiding place to catch someone who is blindly running forward through the passage.
Corrosion – My favorite of the new bunch, Corrosion takes place in a dilapidated Russian train yard. A fairly enclosed map, Corrosion will have players navigating the destroyed trainyard by running up and out of massive pipes, on the top of a train, and in compact hallways. I thought this map looked the best of the new ones and it plays very well, at least as good as the other two.
Sub Pens – In Sub Pens, players will get the chance to run about a tight-knit Japanese sub base. CQB is the point of this map that includes several idle planes, a couple of subs to run in and of, and some control offices above the subs to add some high-low combat action. This would be my least favorite of the new maps due to its small size, but it’s still pretty cool.
Revenge of the Zombies
If you’re up for challenge against the CPU, consider teaming up with up to three friends for some co-op zombie survival action. In Shi No Numa, players begin in a small hut near a nasty swamp and face a literally endless stream of zombies. Undead Japanese come knockin’ within seconds, ready to eat your heart out. Flaming Hell Dogs will arrive too, and it’s up to the player (ideally with the help of friends) to survive. You begin with just a pistol, but as you rack up the kills, you earn funds to purchase additional weapons and Perks, including the powerful new WunderWaffe (Wonder Gun) DG-2, which is a supped up STG-42. Players can also decide which paths within the hut to unlock (with points), adding an additional strategic element to the carnage.
Alone, this mode is tough, but addictive. I would have liked to have seen some kind of checkpoint or save system though (and maybe there is and I’m just dying too soon to take advantage), as restarting from Round 1 after dying is a real nuisance. If you enjoy Left 4 Dead, or the first zombie challenge from the original WAW Map Pack, you’ll like this mode quite a bit.
The ten new Trophies/Achievements are earned in this mode and include the secret Dead Air one, as well as these nine:
-Hammer Time – Repair 200 window boards.
-It’s a Trap! – Kill at least one zombie with three different traps in a single round.
-Weapon of Minor Destruction – Kill no more than one zombie with a nuke.
-Perk-a-Holic – Have all four perks simultaneously active in a game of Nazi Zombies.
-Fertilizer Man – Kill 200 zombies in a single game.
-Deadhead – Get 150 zombie headshots in a single game.
-Big Baller – Earn 75,000 points in a single Nazi Zombies game.
-Big Brawler – Get 10 consecutive zombie melee kills before Insta-Kill expires.
-Soul Survivor – Reach round 15 in Nazi Zombies without getting revived.
With tens of thousands of players regularly logged into WAW online, there’s little doubt this second Map Pack is going to take off like a MIG outta Germany. For $10, fans of the game will find a significant amount of content here to enjoy.