Trejo, Gellar, more star in Black Ops Escalation DLC

Activision revealed plans to bring Escalation to Call of Duty: Black Ops' online experience earlier this month, saying the downloadable add-on would feature four new maps and a mode called "Call of the Dead." The publisher has since been mysterious about what gamers can expect from the zombie-themed mode, and the reason for that secrecy is apparently because it contains a big surprise.

Today, Activision shined a light on the Call of the Dead mode, revealing that it will feature a storyline inspired by famed horror director George A. Romero. As seen in a trailer for Call of the Dead (below), the zombie-slaughtering co-op level features a '70s movie aesthetic that sees the four action stars fending off hordes of zombies on and around a ghost ship.

Dipping into the game's sizable budget, Activision and Treyarch have pulled out the stops with Call of the Dead's presentation, saying that action stars Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead), Danny Trejo (Machete), and Romero (Night of the Living Dead) himself have lent their voices and likenesses for use in the mode.

As with other Call of Duty map packs, the Escalation add-on will debut on Xbox Live, arriving for Microsoft's platform on May 3. Activision has not yet announced when the DLC will be released for other platforms.

For more information, check out GameSpot's review of Call of Duty: Black Ops.