Call of Duty meets Alien
- Extinction. To elaborate:
- Heading into this game mode and hearing this
. In the Extinction menu, you're treated to a simply wonderful close-up◊ of an enemy's face. - The Cryptids themselves. These creatures in this mode make the zombies in Zombie Mode look like kittens. Each creature offers their own unique brand of Nightmare Fuel:
- Scouts are the weakest, and rely on Zerg Rush tactics. This is problematic in that each one is about as big as you are. You may face as many as a dozen at one time, alongside other, more dangerous types.
- Scorpions. Much bigger than normal foes (thus, larger than you), and capable of shooting projectiles. They can shoot balls of acid that, on impact, create a small area that asphyxiates you when you walk through it.
- Hunters. Basically larger variants of the Scouts that can take more punishment, requiring something a bit more powerful than your starting pistol or a submachine gun.
- Seekers. They're deployed from a rock that falls from the sky, meaning they can spawn anywhere, at any time. They explode when they get close, and are completely silent. On Mayday their Nightmare Fuel is amplified by the fact that the map takes place on a ship meaning no meteors will fall from the sky, essentially forcing you to keep your eyes peeled more than ever.
- Rhinos. You will learn to hate and fear the distinctive appearance of a Rhino, as its melee attacks are peerless. One Rhino can easily take down a four-man team of well-equipped players, if they are not careful. Lord help you if you find more than one at a time.
- The new DLC pack "Onslaught" contains a new extinction map called "Nightfall". The setting is alot more eerie and they've included two new creatures. The first one is the Phantom that has the ability to turn invisible. The second creature, however is even worse as it's a massive beast called the "Breeder" which is even worse than the Rhinos. And the best thing? This is part of a five episode pack so expect even more alien horror!
- Second DLC pack "Devastation" provides a new Extinction map called "Mayday". Taking place on a military destroyer ransacked by Cryptids in the Tasman Sea. Like with Nightfall, a new Cryptid, the Seeder is introduced that spits out turrets as well as acid that can melt through your armor in seconds especially on Hardcore difficulty. If you thought Nightfall was creepy, wait till you experience this one.
- The Stormbreaker. Practically abandoned by the time you arrive there, it is devoid of any personnel other than David Archer. No corpses, no sign of any conflict; just the aftermath and the Cryptids that caused the ship go derelict in the first place. The name for the map couldn't be any more fitting.
- By collecting several pieces of intel, it is revealed what exactly happened on the ship; After the mess at the Nightfall facility, David Archer gathered the leftover Nightfall personnel on Stormbreaker and established a lab there. He also imprisoned paleontologist Dr. Samantha Cross into a Beacon Amplifier, that would allow Archer to discover the location of the next Ark. Due to a mimetic virus afflicting Cross' brain from the first Ark, it started to affect the entire crew of the ship to the point that one crew member attempted to kill Cross. Afterwards Cross had enough of psychological evaluations done by Dr. Kassar and her captivity, and released the Cryptids onto the Stormbreaker. In addition to the alien mooks, she brought in a guardian that protects the next Ark.
- Dr. Kassar's death at the hands of Cross. The latter feeds the former to the Cryptids and watches as he screams while being devoured by the Cryptids.
- In order to get to Cross and remove her head safely, CIF 1 is instructed to flood the room Cross is kept in with chlorine gas. What's creepy about this is that Cross is awake during this and unable to do anything as the laboratory is filled with gas. Though before she asphyxiates, something grabs her along with the Beacon Amplifier as she screams in terror.
- Wonder what took Cross? After breaching the room to investigate Cross' whereabouts, CIF 1 navigates down onto Stormbreaker's deck outside to encounter the Kraken, a huge aquatic Cryptid with several tentacles and an unsettling appearance. Did we mention that it can disable your abilites with its roar and whack you to near-death?
- "Godfather" Castle's response to the U.S President after being asked if he's afraid of the Cryptids:
"Godfather" Castle: "It isn't the Cryptids that give me the nightmares sir... it's the masters they serve." - Heading into this game mode and hearing this
- The environment is covered in Alien Kudzu, and you will have to use a drill to remove large chunks of it. The sign reading "SEND HELP" really drives home the point that shit has seriously hit the fan.
- Even worse, at various points you will need to call in a helicopter to remove large, obstructive "Barrier Hives".
- The fan-made Extinction album by Benn Down is either this, Tear Jerker, or both. The first song, Unstoppable, is a very upbeat song from the perspective of the humans, saying that they'll be able to win against the alien horde, and stuff. By the end, though...just listen to the last song...
- At one point during the campaign, you end up swimming through a school of sharks while trying to evade the Feds. So get too close to one, and you're fish food. More often than not, you won't even see one until it's jaws are around your belly, by which time, you can't escape...
- The introductory cutscene to "The Hunted". Showing Rorke in a hole, as black crystals erupt from his body... showing how he was changed from Ghost, to Ghost Killer.
- During the mission "Clockwork", you infiltrate a Federation base while wearing enemy uniforms. When the power cuts out, you immediately start shooting your way through and finally infiltrate a computer data center where a gigantic fight ensues. Upon escaping the battle, the Ghosts begin pretending they're injured Federation soldiers, and the trick works. As you exit the facility, you see numerous wounded enemies being treated by medics and dead bodies covered up: corpses that you created. It helps to humanize the Federation soldiers and really hammers home the damage that you just did.
- In "Homecoming", you search for Elias in a burning building, and when you go upstairs, a massive soldier with a gas mask will ambush you, pin you down to the floor and stab you. Hesh comes just as he is about to kill you and shots him.
- Baker and Mosley's death, specially for those who suffer of acrophobia. After destroying the satelite and causing it to fall into the Earth's atmosphere, they are unfortunately dragged along with it towards the planet. Mosley's last words are him acknowledging that they lost communication with Mission Control and the two proceed to burn up as they fall into the Earth. Truly an astronaut's worst nightmare.
- Possibly the biggest point of Nightmare Fuel is that because of the game's poor reception, the sequel was cancelled which leaves us with possibly one of, if not the biggest cliffhangers in Call Of Duty history! Not only do we not get to learn the fate of Logan or if the Ghosts actually managed to defeat the Federation, but many players who actually enjoyed its story will be left disappointed.
