World Wide Zombies: Zombies amble further onto the main stage in Call of Duty: Black Ops II

What started off as an Easter egg add-on tacked to the end of the campaign in Call of Duty: World at War has become one of the main draws to the Call of Duty series. Zombies have been a part of the franchise for several years now, and their unique and slightly campy levels have featured characters like JFK and Fidel Castro while taking players to places as far away as the moon.

The change of pace was welcomed into the world of Call of Duty, long ready to add some lighter-hearted content to its games. After appearances in four straight games in the series, the mode was ready for an update in Black Ops 2. Brand new player characters feature for the first time, and in addition to new weapons it seemed from early screen shots that zombie mode was simply getting a cosmetic makeover. It turns out that the developers were up to much more than just tweaking.

Treyarch have gone above and beyond their call by throwing three different game modes into the zombie element of the new game, including a full-fledged campaign for players who love doing battle with the undead. It’s essentially an entire second game.

Tranzit mode serves as the Zombie campaign and is designed for up to four players. With a large sandbox-style environment, it feels nothing like a traditional Call of Duty campaign. Players have to traverse through the enormous world – with zombies springing up all over the place – on foot or in a bus, which is upgradable. Players can try their luck on their feet, but teamwork and getting the bus to deflect as many attacks as possible will provide for easier going in the huge world.

Up to eight players can play in a round on Grief, another new mode that features two teams of humans facing off against each other as well as the zombies. Combining the best features of the industry-leading multiplayer action with the best that Zombie mode has to offer, Grief is a great mash-up of ideas.

Survival mode might seem familiar, and it should. Basically a new way to play the classic Zombie mode, Survival has players teaming up to hold ground against waves of the undead. New weapons will undoubtedly be of much help to players trying to stay alive. For players simply looking for the classic Zombie experience, premium editions of Black Ops 2 include the Nuketown map from the original Black Ops. Players can also wait until the December DLC pack to acquire the map.

With so many new features and additions, Zombie mode is bigger and better than it ever has been before. Thanks to the new campaign in Tranzit, Zombies could even stand out as their own game. As it is, the size and scope of it all makes Zombies perhaps the biggest alternate mode in any video game franchise.