Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Story

In Cold War era Nevada, a team of CDC workers investigate a nuclear test site called "Nuketown" where they are attacked by zombies. Dr. Edward Richtofen can be heard over a television carrying out his plan on the moon. Richtofen takes control of the zombies by entering the ether, but Dr. Ludvig Maxis works with his daughter Samantha and Richtofen's former allies Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski and Takeo Masakai to thwart him. To that end, Maxis launches three massive nuclear missiles filled with Element 115, the element responsible for reviving dead cells, at Earth and destroys them. One missile completely destroys Nuketown and everyone present. Years later, Earth is nothing but a decaying, hellish wasteland overrun by zombies. In this new world, four survivors - Samuel J. Stuhlinger, Abigail "Misty" Briarton, Marlton Johnson and Russman - have banded together to survive in Washington with the help of a bus piloted by a robot driver. The four are contacted by Maxis, now a digitized AI, who asks humanity for help against Richtofen. Maxis asks them to power a tower in a cornfield with the help of a zombie. However, Richtofen contacts Samuel, who is able to hear voices from the ether, and orders him to convince his friends to power up the tower in his favor. The player can choose whether to follow Maxi's or Richtofen's orders. In audio transmissions, it is revealed that survivors from all over the world have been contacted by both Maxis and Richtofen, although there are widespread conflicts between the followers of the two Germans; especially in a settlement called Jackass Flats, which was originally a safe haven and only fell victim to the zombies when the Maxis-Richtofen conflict engulfed it. Regardless of who they choose to help, the four are teleported to a crumbling skyline in Shanghai, China. Here, Richtofen orders Samuel to "mend the rift" and accept his fate as Richtofen's follower. He threatens to reveal his past as a member of a cannibalistic cult called The Flesh, which eats zombie flesh to survive. Richtofen revives the group every time they fall victim to the zombies until they follow his orders. Maxis, no longer hindered by electrical devices, again asks the group for help. The four learn of the Flesh through television sets scattered throughout the area, as well as the beginnings of a new airborne plague of Element 115, which revives dead cells and causes zombies. After the fighting in Shanghai, Russman leads the group across continents to a large hole in the ground known as "the Rift" in Africa, hoping to find answers to the unseen forces that command them. Maxis and Richtofen contact them again, more desperate than ever to achieve their goals. Both ask the group to strengthen the third and final tower in their favor. Maxis promises to heal Earth, and Richtofen promises to save it from Maxis. The four gain a new ally in the form of a mute, nameless giant in an underground western town and are hindered by a ghostly woman in a giant mansion. Depending on who the player helped in the story, there are two possible endings. If the player helped Richtofen, he gains unlimited power over the aether and the earth, killing Maxis and damning Samantha Maxis' soul to eternal damnation. As a reward for his help, he will then enter Samuel's body, but he will not be able to leave it and will be at the mercy of the zombies as before. Once the player has helped Maxis, he uses the power of the towers to enter the ether and take ultimate control, trapping Richtofen in the body of a zombie. The Earth begins to shake and Maxis explains to the four that he is beginning the destruction of Earth and humanity in order to reach Agartha, where he believes Samantha is. What everyone doesn't know is that Samantha is actually in Agartha (which her father ultimately can't enter), but she reaches her father in France in 1918 during World War I. Maxis is the leader of Group 935, which wants to ensure Germany's victory in the war. To this end, they have developed giant mechanical robots, armor and staffs that control the forces of the elements. Group 935 also comes across an ancient tomb believed to be from the Vrill, but this triggers the first known zombie outbreak in history. In order to stop Germany, Japan, Russia and the United States of America send Takeo, Nikolai and Dempsey to capture Richtofen, the mastermind behind the advanced technology. By this time, the agents of Group 935 have been wiped out and Maxis himself was lobotomized when he began to turn into a zombie. The group puts aside their nationalities to fight the undead and is contacted by Samantha, who asks to be freed from Agartha. Richtofen packs Maxis' brain into a flying drone and joins the fight against the zombies and for the liberation of Samantha. The group is finally successful, and while Maxis meets his daughter, they enter Agartha to be rewarded. A c