Editing Zombies

{{Status|Gameplay}}
{{Center|Were you looking for [[the Flood]], a zombie-like species inhabiting the Halos or [[Infection]], a multiplayer gametype starting in [[Halo 3]]?}}
{{Quote|Save this killer game type straight to your hard drive and load it right up in ''Halo 2''.|Official download descripion.{{Ref/Reuse|XBLdisc}}}}
'''Zombies''' is a gametype in ''[[Halo 2]]'' based on the [[Slayer]] gamemode. In the gametype, red players are cast as survivors, whereas green players are the titular zombies, who must hunt down and kill the remaining survivors, at which point those survivors become zombies themselves. The gametype relies on an [[Wikipedia:Honor system|honour system]]; players are expected to manually switch teams upon death, and to equip the appropriate weapon for their team upon spawning. Initially, the Zombies gametype was a fan-made variant, but it was later officially distributed in an [[Wikipedia:Official Xbox Magazine|Official Xbox Magazine]] demo disc, making for a rare piece of ''Halo 2'' [[downloadable content]] - though this is simply a repackaging of the fan-made gametype, and still relies on honour rules.

In ''[[Halo 3]]'', the Zombies gametype became its own dedicated gamemode: [[Infection]], wherein the rules of the mode are enforced by the game, rather than relying on an honour system. Infection (or the identical gamemode, [[Flood (gametype)|Flood]]) has since appeared in every subsequent first-person installment of the franchise with a player-versus-player [[multiplayer]], and has been cemented as one of the franchise's most popular modes.

==Overview==
The basic rules of Zombies involve two teams: a small starting green (or blue in some cases) team, who comprise the titular zombies, and a relatively large red team, the survivors. All players start with a [[Magnum]] and [[Energy Sword]], and there are no shields. Upon spawning, red team players must equip the Magnum, while green team uses the Sword. Whenever a red team member is killed, they must switch to the green team. The ultimate goal for the survivors on red team is to last as long as possible without getting killed by the zombies, while the zombies' goal is to infect all remaining humans.{{Ref/YouTube|Id=gameplay|Ohrvmx-QXPc|Channel=nightrale814|VidName=Halo 2 - Zombies (Origin of the Popular Gametype Infection)}}

==Production notes==
The mode originated in ''Halo 2'' [[custom game]]s as a player-made variant of the [[Slayer]] gametype. It was based on honour rules, meaning players were trusted to manually switch teams when they were killed. In [[2005#June|June 2005]], this variant was distributed officially, in Issue 45 of the ''Official Xbox Magazine''. The mode was included in a demo disc bundled with the magazine, and could be downloaded to the [[Xbox]]'s hard drive and then played in ''Halo 2'' as a game variant of Slayer, like any other.{{Ref/Mag|Id=OXM45|Magazine=Official Xbox Magazine|Year=2005|Month=June|Issue=45|Title=Disc and Challenges|Page=13|Archive=https://archive.org/stream/OXM_2005_06-web#page/n3/mode/2up}}{{Ref/YouTube|Id=XBLdisc|6ejbpsqj9dQ|Time=3120|Channel=Near Plays|VidName=Demo Reel 75 [Near Plays] - Official Xbox Magazine Demo Disc 45]|D=23|M=7|Y=2021}}

The mode was later brought into subsequent ''Halo'' games from ''[[Halo 3]]'' onwards as [[Infection]] (or [[Flood (gametype)|Flood]] in ''[[Halo 4]]'') as a staple gamemode.

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Gametype}}
{{Map pack}}
[[Category:Multiplayer gametypes]]
[[Category:Downloadable content]]
[[Category:Halo 2 gametypes]]