The Pentagon becomes a zombie-survival arena
In Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010), the Zombies map “Five” turns the Pentagon into a cooperative survival level. Players can take the roles of John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Robert McNamara, or Fidel Castro, then work together against waves of undead. The leaders are playable characters in an intentionally heightened game scenario—not participants in a historical episode.
The setting supplies the joke’s sharpest contrast: recognizable political figures, associated with serious decisions and world affairs, are suddenly scrambling through a familiar seat of government with automatic weapons. The game treats that collision as comic action rather than a realistic political story.
A different kind of Call of Duty mission
“Five” belongs to Zombies, a mode built around surviving increasingly difficult attacks, not advancing through the campaign’s military objectives. Players have to defend themselves, manage ammunition, and cooperate as the pressure grows. That repeatable survival structure gives the unlikely cast a practical purpose: the leaders are not just cameos on screen; they are the characters players control while trying to last longer.
The map also reflects how the series used bonus modes to make room for a different tone. The main campaign presents a Cold War story, while “Five” borrows its people and setting for an exaggerated undead crisis. The result is a strange but memorable reversal: instead of directing events from the Pentagon, the famous figures are fighting to stay alive inside it.
