Black Dawn

Story
The second instalment in the Endgame saga, Black Dawn takes place in zombie-infested Moscow shortly after the Rise, which has been quarantined by the remainder of the Russian army. However, a civilian plane flying over the ruined city was mysteriously struck from the sky by a mysterious glowing object, crashing near the Kremlin. Your commander has assigned you to investigate what took the plane out and find the rest of the civilians before it’s too late.

Features:
This is purely a prequel that partially leads up to the events of Asylum of the Dead. As such, the player will take on the form of one of four Russian Army personnel; a soldier, a medic, a commissar or a general. Like Nacht Der Untoten, they do not talk.

Where the Asylum had Australian/British weapons, this map has primarily Russian weapons, including the AK47. But the player cannot always rely on any weapon, because unlike the other maps, their guns can and will jam. Instead of fetching weapons from the wall, the player has to use their wits and skill to survive, and ammo is very scarce. Also, there are no Wonder Weapons, nor Perk-A-Colas, not even a Mystery Box, adding to the sense of realism offered in this map.

Location/Map
The player spawns in Red Square, where zombies will literally come at the player from all sides. But unlike the other maps, the player can literally go anywhere in the city, much like a sandbox FPS, for a more realistic approach. There are no wall-weapons, but rather the player can pick up weapons lying around or can use improvised weapons. Plus, the player can jumpstart a vehicle by gathering any scrap electronics or pieces of 115 lying around.

There are no barriers throughout the entire map, except perhaps for one place; the Orthodox Church. The closet thing even close to a Wonder Weapon in the entire map is the Finger of the Divine; a long dagger much like the Bowie Knife, but with the scabbard of a golden crucifix. Due to the Church’s holy presence, Angels will not attack you, demons cannot hurt the player, but the zombies remain unaffected; nonetheless, it is an excellent last stand for multiplayer.

However, if the player heads to the Kremlin (which contains the Pack-A-Punch as well as two World at War weapons; the Flamethrower and the PPSH-41) the player can activate it’s security system- meaning that the windows are blocked, the door is barred and the outside turrets are online. But this lasts for only one round, meaning that the player has to time it well, otherwise the player will be overwhelmed.

Enemies:
In addition to the zombified populace of Moscow (not only are there female zombies, but also child zombies, which take the place of the Warden where they will attack the player all at once. And are faster than their older kin), the player will also have to deal with another threat; unlike the previous map, zombies can actually bite as well as hit you. If a zombie bites the player, than the player's screen will start to flare up, taking damage as the player slowly dies, presumably becoming a zombie. Unlike hitting, bites can easily ignore perk-a-colas and can kill in one go, Juggernog or no Juggernog, Revive Soda or no Revive Soda, etc.



The Angels and Demons also appear in this game, but have their own rounds. The angels spawn every 5-10 rounds, and will come at the player from the sky, requiring the player to use caution and a steady aim to shoot one of these creatures down. Whilst the demons only appear in the later rounds from 11-onwards. The player is advised to stay alert, as they can appear from nowhere, immediately rally hundreds or more zombies to their side, are fast, and can kill the player in one hit.

Easter Egg:
There are no major easter eggs apart from two;

One of them is the musical easter egg, where the player has to gather three specific items; an old movie poster (Thundra Babes IV) located in a bathtub located on the second floor of a hotel just west of the Kremlin, a microphone which is located just resting on the remains of a former concert, and  finally a piece of the Tungaska meteorite located in a small musuem east of the Airport. When all three are collected and placed in front of the statue of Lenin, the music will play.thumb|258px|right

Whereas the second is called Escape from the Tarmac of the Damned. The player will pick up a signal radio on the player's handheld radio just as the game starts. It's a distress signal, and it's coming from an Airport not far from the spawning point. Going on foot is a bad idea, so the player is better off travelling in a vehicle, as it is faster and can kill any zombie in the way, though it requires a steady supply of Element 115 to run, especially if it's connected to the 115 generator (a tiny box resembling the power switch) located at a nearby bus stop. Anyway, the player is to head directly for the Airport. Don't worry about the entrance (arrivals); on this map, doors don't cost points, but require a key. And so finishes the first step.

The second is a puzzle-solving trick; instead of the front entrace opening, a ghostly voice gives the player a riddle: 'I am all-seeing, yet somehow blind. All-knowing, yet not enough to be a God.' From there, the player is to figure out the answer through the aquisition of three items; surgical tubing (located in the boot of a yellow taxi in the parking lot), the head of a zombie (find one, but do not shoot it in the head) and a jar (just outside the departure bay next to the entrance). Once collected, the player has to fuse the three objects together to create a brain in a jar. If successful, the door will open. If the player fails to put the items together precisely, it will stay locked until the player tries again.

Now Zombie fans should be familiar with this scenario; the Tarmac is guarded by a lone zombie. Not just any zombie, but a zombie templar. If not, then allow me to explain. This is the third step, the templar has to be defeated in order to gain the key to where the passengers are located (inside the Men's toilets). This boss is hard to kill, as it is not only faster than the player, but is armed with a sword that kills the player in two hits. However, the templar can only die when the player shoots him in the heart three times, which is where the key is located. Once defeated, the player can unlock the toilets and help the passengers escape the infested city. However, there are only three left because the rest either died at the crash or became infected.

Here is the final step; and also the hardest. Why? Because almost every zombie in the map will be after you and the passengers, sprint and are a lot stronger. And the only way out of the city is riddled with mines. The player has to drive the passengers towards the Military blockade, where they will be safe. However, the zombies will come at the player from every side, so caution is advised and speed is of the essence. Once the player reaches the blockade alive, the mission is completed and the player is given a chaingun as their secondary weapon.

Trivia:

 * The map's location is based on Metro 2033, whereas the title is an inversion of Red Dawn and the premise is a homage to Escape from New York.