SDCC 2015: Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s zombie mode detailed

Activision has taken the wraps off of the newest version of the popular zombie mode that figures into every Call of Duty release. Surprise, this one amps up the weird even more and has an all-star cast.

“Treyarch has crafted a totally unique and face-melting gameplay experience for our loyal Zombies community, with Call of Duty: Black Ops III: Zombies – Shadows of Evil” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head, Treyarch. “The development team has packed Shadows of Evil with more gameplay and fun than any other experience before it, and has an appropriately twisted and deep narrative, performed by fantastic acting talent, that will keep our fans spinning. “

Jeff Goldblum, Heather Graham, Neal McDonough, Ron Perlman and Robert Picardo all star in the new mode, which carries the title of Shadows of Evil. Activision promises an even bigger and deeper story this time around, as well as the “action-packed co-op survival experience” that fans have demanded since developer Treyarch started cracking on the undead-killing add-on.

Set in the 1940s, Shadows of Evil inserts the above actors into the roles of The Magician, The Femme-Fatale, The Cop and The Boxer, and pits them against an evil creep named The Shadow Man. Seems this mysterious mastermind is running the show this time around, and pulling the strings on the undead.

And while you can’t play the actual game till the Fall, you will be able to experience a little zombified terror if you’re at SDCC this week. You can attend a special panel for the game, hosted by Tom Cassell (AKA Syndicate), which will have CoD Zombies stars past and present as well as offer “exclusive giveaways, behind-the-scenes information and the world exclusive first look of Shadows of Evil gameplay”.

There’s a lot more too as fans can actually enter an “epic immersive experiential activity” center that’ll plop them right smack in the middle of a full-on, zombie horde. Yeah, the zombie walk at the con might be cancelled this year, but you can still get some undead fun in if you head to 450 Second ave. in San Diego, 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm today and Saturday.

And parked right outside of that Zombies Experience will be the PlayStation “Road to Greatness” tour bus. Why’s that extra-cool? Because you’ll actually get to play around with Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s multiplayer inside of it. Nifty.

Oh, and while we’re talking about the big Con, there’s some Call of Duty stuff that you can take home with you for free as well on the show floor. Well, if you can get to it before the stunningly massive crowds that is.

A mini-edition of that comic book that we told you about a while back (the one with Larry Hama) is free at the Dark Horse Comics booth (if you’re over 18) as a first-com-first-served, limited giveaway, and Mega Bloks has a special gold San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Zombies figurine for you if -once again- you can get one before they vanish.

As always with the giveaways though, GET THERE EARLY.