Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 fans will be getting their first chance to try Zombies once the beta begins in October, though it won’t have all the bells and whistles that the full release will be making available to the community. For instance, Ashes of the Damned, the full-fledged survival map, will be off limits. Instead, players will get to experience a smaller Survival map, which restricts them to the Farm portion of Ashes. This experience can be best compared to Town from Black Ops 2, so while there won’t be any Easter eggs in sight, players should get a great idea of the core gameplay loop. They also shouldn’t expect much storytelling due to the choice of Operators that Treyarch is making available to the community.
While Black Ops 7 fans can expect a few dozen Operators to pick from in the full game, the beta version will only have the following characters to choose:
- 50/50
- Falkner
- Jurado
- Kagan
- Mason
- Vermaak
- Wei Lin
- Zaveri
CoD Zombies players will instantly notice that neither the Terminus crew nor the new versions of the classic characters are present on this list, meaning that there will be no conversations or lore-heavy dialogue to be found. While this is a bummer for fans of the ongoing CoD Zombies storyline, at least it’s going to preserve some surprises for Black Ops 7’s full release. Additionally, come launch, one character could turn out to be a must-play Operator in Zombies despite not being a proper part of the Dedicated cast: Michael Rooker’s Mike Harper.
Black Ops 7’s Harper is Played By CoD Zombies Alumnus Michael Rooker
Mike Harper was a key character in Black Ops 2’s campaign, and he can best be described as the Frank Woods equivalent for David Mason. A bit unprofessional and sarcastic in his mannerisms, but highly-skilled and passionate about his job, Harper is the ideal sidekick for Call of Duty’s action hero protagonists. It’s for this reason that campaign enjoyers were pleased to see him accompanying David Mason on his latest adventure, and given how beloved Michael Rooker is, even multiplayer-only fans who know nothing of Harper will likely appreciate his dialogue. However, he could be extra special to the CoD Zombies community if Treyarch goes above and beyond with his dialogue.
Unfortunately, Harper is not a part of the Black Ops 7 beta either, so players will have to wait until launch to see if he shines as brightly in CoD Zombies as he should.
See, Mike Harper isn’t the only Call of Duty role that Michael Rooker has had, as the beloved actor also played himself in the iconic Black Ops Zombies map Call of the Dead. Said map has only grown more popular with time, as fans look back fondly on the snowy setting, humorous main quest, and even the frustrating presence of the George Romero mini-boss. The celebrity cast Rooker was a part of was key to the map’s “movie set-turned real horror” vibes, and Treyarch shouldn’t miss the chance to honor Rooker’s first CoD appearance.
While the CoD Zombies fan base has honored Call of the Dead through a faithful custom Zombies remake on PC, and Treyarch itself showed its love for it via the BO4 re-imagining Tag Der Toten, Michael Rooker being an Operator opens the door for some awesome tributes to Call of the Dead. The most obvious opportunity is a Black Ops 7 bundle for Harper that makes him look just like Rooker did on Call of the Dead, with said pack even including a sawed-off shotgun blueprint to mimic his signature weapon from the intro cutscene. Even more importantly, Treyarch could have Rooker re-record standout voice lines that he first uttered on Call of the Dead, as well as dozens of other Zombies-specific voice lines. Even without conversations with the rest of the cast, he could effectively feel like an extra cast member if he had tons to say while slaying the undead.
Black Ops 6 Already Set a Precedent For Certain Operators Getting Special Attention in Zombies
It may be more likely for Harper to just have the usual selection of generic voice lines given to Operators in Call of Duty Zombies, but thanks to Black Ops 6’s efforts with Samuels, there’s good reason to hope for something better. While the level 1000 reward Operator for BO7 initially lacked special lines for CoD Zombies, a later patch eventually gave him some really entertaining lines that made him worth using in the mode. Considering Michael Rooker’s history with CoD Zombies, hopefully Treyarch has considered how longtime fans would be interested in using him alongside the Dedicated characters. If it did think to give him special dialogue, and there’s enough of it to really make him stand out, then he could show up in as many Black Ops 7 lobbies as Richtofen, Weaver, and the rest of the gang.