As a 5th grader, I managed to get my hands on Call of Duty World at War, one of the goriest games I’ve ever played. The storyline was incredible; I fought my way through World War II as a solider in the U.S. army and eventually became a hero at the end of the plot. Sure, that was fun and all, but it was like a page straight out of the history books. What really sparked my interest was the bonus game that unlocked once the storyline was complete: Nazi Zombies.
Each player is stuck in an abandoned building and must survive as many waves of zombies as possible with limited weapons, ammo, and war perks. The game would start with an eerie screech in the distance, and as you waited for the zombies to start breaking in, you’d hear life-like grunts and growls. They’d begin breaking down the barriers and charging toward your character. It was creepy, and it seemed as if every time I turned my character around, there’d be a zombie right behind me, growling in my face and trying to kill me.
Certainly the fear aspect made me feel as if I was actually in a room full of the undead. It was tough to tell myself that it was just a game because I controlled the fate of my own character; if I did nothing, he got eaten alive, if I fought back, I lived to see another round of zombies. But that was the thing; the game never ended. Once I got past the 15th level, the zombies in the 16th level got stronger and harder to kill. This was a never-ending process, and it was that matter that got me so into the game. How far could I go? What level could I reach?
Once I managed to survive 45 levels of this game; to put this in perspective, the game ended up lasting somewhere between 4 and 5 hours. But no way would I ever stop knowing that I was breaking new ground with each new level. Coming “out” of that game, I had a headache and felt like I was still “in the game.” I’d close my eyes and see myself running around the map, killing zombies and fighting for my life. I definitely didn’t plan on playing for 4-5 hours, but I never would’ve stopped if I didn’t end up losing.