Nothing relieves the stress of a long day like video games. Hundreds of thousands of video games to choose from across several different consoles. I have been playing video games since I could spell (it has been a fun year). Just kidding, lol. Anyways, when I was a small grade-schooler, I would beg my older brother to watch him and his friends play Call of Duty Black Ops 2, otherwise known as “BO2”.
BO2 is a first-person-shooter (FPS) video game that allows the player to battle other players online, enemies in Campaign Mode, and even zombies. For my brothers and I, eliminating zombies was the best part of BO2. A player could choose from a variety of different locations to play at, and in-game purchases offer special maps that are much different from the default ones. In every map, the objective is to last as many rounds as possible, with the waves of zombies growing bigger and faster as the rounds progress. Every zombie eliminated gives the player points, in which he can spend on new weapons, barriers to expand the area of play, and “perks”, which are power-ups to help the player survive longer.
A map that I immediately fell in love with was called Buried. Buried is a map that takes place in a Western town that was, well you know, buried. It is actually one of the first zombie maps to be almost completely underground. I was introduced to Buried by my brother, who had purchased the map as soon as it came out. I felt honored when he would let me watch him and friends play, and when he let me play I took full advantage of it. It was like clockwork for my brother and his friends. They were unbelievable at this game, and every time I witnessed them, I watched in shock and awe.
Buried is a specialty pack, which means it comes with additional rare guns to add to the thrill of playing. For this pack, a recreation of the 0riginal ray gun, the Ray Gun Mark II, imposes its mark on the success of taking out zombies. The Ray Gun Mark II shoots three consecutive rays at a time, imitating a burst- assault rifle. This rare gun allows for maximum damage with its sleek and dynamic design.
The witches house is probably the most challenging part of Buried. Once the barrier is open, witches attack the player as he or she maneuvers throughout the house. If the witches get close enough, they are capable of consuming the players points, and even causing damage to the players health. Once the house is safely behind the player, the player must navigate through a maze while witches chase them to be able to get to the PACK-A-PUNCH, which is a machine that upgrades weapons.
Around the map are different work stations deployed to build traps. These said traps can be placed down to help the player survive bigger, stronger waves of zombies. Various traps have various different functions. For example, the trample steam, is a spring-loaded platform that launches zombies into the air and sends them back into the ground where they came from.
The time came when I was old enough, and I was ready to pick up the controller. Initially, I was not that good. In my early years of playing the game I became my own teacher, learning how to shoot, run, and reload on my own. As time passed, I transformed into a BO2 gamer/creature not of this planet. Zombie after zombie, I would get better and better.
When I started to play with friends is when the REAL fun began. Hours spent in a basement with snacks and drinks surviving round after round are hours well spent. It’s ironic because when my friends and I would play together, we would quite literally become zombies. No blinking. No talking. The only thing moving were fingers on a controller. When the TV would turn off, my eyes would be released from a heinous strain as they slowly welled with tears. Noticing the small glimpses of light from outside was suddenly like looking directly into the sun. Let’s just say, a significant amount of my childhood consisted of playing outside, school, and mastering BO2.
To this day, I still play from time to time. Just recently, my friend and I reached our new high score, round 44, both averaging over 1,000 kills! Instead of being a clueless grade-schooler not knowing my way around a video game controller, I’m now a BO2 master who knows every strategy and easter egg, which are secrets embedded into the game that the company leaves for its players to reveal. What’s your favorite video game?
