Nacht Der Untoten was a surprisingly fun little addition added on to the end of the otherwise realistic and slightly unsettling Call of Duty: World At War.
In the console version of the online mini-game you and up to three others fight off a never-ending horde of Nazis. When it came time to try and bring World at War over to the iPhone, the developers made the right call: Zeroing in on the zombies rather than the World War II realism.
Let's see how they did.
Loved
Concept: The premise of Call of Duty: World at War Zombies seems a perfect match for the iPhone and iPod Touch. You are a Marine hiding out in a German barracks trying to stave off the ever-encroaching horde of ambling zombies. While the game may look like a traditional first-person shooter, the emphasis on resource management and guarding the boarded up windows creates a game vastly different than you'd expect to find in the genre.
In the iPhone game, as with the console game, you'll find yourself spending as much time running between windows to repair barricades as you do shooting zombies. This makes the game a more natural port to the iPhone than it would if it were a straight-up shooter.
Controls: While shooting zombies is an important part of the game, it's not the only thing you spend your time doing. That makes me OK with the developers' decision to essentially add auto-aim to the title. Sure, you can take the time to zoom in to snipe or even quickly adjust your aim as you walk, but if you start firing off shots with the crosshairs on a zombie it will lock on and let you keep firing. The game also has three control schemes, allowing you to use touch, digital dual analog sticks or tilt controls. My favorite is the dual sticks control.
Hated
Single Map: For $10, even with Wifi multiplayer for four, it would be nice if the game came with more than the single map. Sure you can play the hell out of it, and you will. But I'd like a bit more variety for so steep a price.
More maps are said to be coming for the game, including the zombie asylum, Verruckt, but you'll have to pay to get them.
Call of Duty: World at War Zombies is most favorite iPhone game at the moment, and I'm not the only one. The game has enjoyed three weeks at the top of our iPhone Charts list.
The combination of zombies, Nazis and, essentially, horde mode, is highly addictive and fun. Despite the pleasure I've gotten out of the game, the $10 price tag means you should maybe hold off a bit until the maps, and a likely price drop, hit.
Call of Duty: World at War Zombies developed by Ideaworks Game Sudio, and published by Activision for the iPod Touch and iPhone on Nov. 20. Retails for $9.99 USD. Code for the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played multiple matches alone and with one to three others.
NOTE: Throughout the month of December, Kotaku will review some of the games that we missed earlier in the year. We're catching up.
Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.