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Saying that a Call of Duty title is a contender for Shooter of the Year is almost clichéd but the truth is that Treyarch have taken a series that even staunch fans can’t fully deny was beginning to feel stale and rolled the dice – and not just with the multiplayer mode. Where Modern Warfare’s campaigns have become increasingly throwaway from game to game, Black Ops 2′s shapeable narrative changes the game and is hopefully portentous of the franchise’s future. This year has seen some great shooters in Halo 4, Borderlands 2, Spec Ops: The Line and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, and to say that Black Ops 2 surpasses them all would simply be untrue – but only just. Despite its quality, Treyarch’s campaign falls slightly short of Halo 4′s sandbox brilliance, and can’t match Spec Ops: The Line’s harrowing narrative. The multiplayer, on the other hand, remains peerless. Huge, deep, streamlined and varied, it raises the bar yet further for online shooters – especially with the new focus on eSports and CoD-casting. 343 Industries may run a very close second this year, but Call of Duty is still the boss on the battlefield.Read full review
I might as well admit that I'm a Call of Duty fan. But the series I am especially fond of is the Black Ops series. The first one was fun and that's how I feel about the second one. I'll make this quick so you're not sitting here all day reading omega long reviews: The campaign mode changes it up by allowing you to select your weapons in the beginning of each chapter. Pretty nifty. But the story just isn't as compelling as the first Black Ops storyline. It's very linear, like MW3's campaign...but unlike MW3 it differs from it's predecessor. When playing a campaign mode you need to feel the characters and feel like you're a part of the story. This game just doesn't measure up to that feel like it's predecessor. Campaign: 6.5/10 The zombies mode is a LOT more difficult than zombies from Black Ops (speaking on default maps). I find it pretty hard to even find where weapons are and it takes a little while to kill off zombies after the 5th wave if you don't have a Ray Gun or an LMG. It's really fun with the more people you play with though (on Live of course, local only supports 2 characters). Has the same replay feel as the first zombies, and I only play when I'm with friends. Zombies: 8/10 Ahh yes, the multiplayer. There seems to be a very evident feature in the game called "lag compensation". This basically permits players with lower levels of connectivity to get the advantage on those with the best connectivity. It's not based on player stats at all. Here's a scenario: You have 4 bars and the other player has 3. You run into him multiple times and he seems to always best you when you both lock eyes on each other. You get the first shot over him but he puts you down in one-two shots. You may say, damn he's good...but when you watch the killcam...you haven't even sent one bullet his way, or maybe you sent three or four bullets. You ask yourself "how is this happening when I emptied my whole clip into him?" That's lag compensation. The lower signal always wins in this scenario. It's the same for hit registry as well. Even if you're right up against them the game may not register the hit if they have a lower signal. Honestly this is the GAYEST feature in the game... but the best way to prevent it is to set your search preferences to "BEST" instead of "ANY" or "NORMAL". But the functionality of class building is amazing! I love the scorestreak system (where you get killstreaks based on your score). It makes players focus more on the objectives rather than rushing and killing to get their scorestreaks. Weapon levels make for exciting experimentation and customization of classes is completely up to you. You want to run around with no perks and a powered up weapon? Do It! All perks and one main gun? Do IT! An overpowered class with an assault rifle and shotgun like in MW2? DO IT!!! (That's what I do). So my advice to you if you get the game: Set the preferences to Best Beware of campers (there's quite a bit of em) Play in parties. The game is a lot easier when you're playing with buddies that you can communicate with. Trust me, the other team will do it and 9 times out of 10 that's the team that wins. Multiplayer: 7.5/10Read full review
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a fast paced first person shooter with enough variety to keep up with the best shooters out currently. I won't go into the story because if you're into the COD franchise, you probably know more than me. Let's just say the story takes place in the past as well as the future and the story arc is the most polished in all the COD titles. The action is non stop and full of great scenes. You'll ride in jets, futuristic transports and by golly, horses! Weapons are varied and each has a strength and weakness. As campaigns go, I think most shooter fans will embrace this game well. I have mixed feelings about the online play. It Feels similar to the past COD titles in some ways, and th futuristic weapons are a nice change of pace. The gameplay is fast paced and there's always people to play with. My main concern is that the visuals seemed to take a hit on this title. A number of maps like the "love boat", look very dated and comical in appearance. There's a couple of maps that give you that tight neighborhood feel and I wish there were more in that vein. After a while, I popped out Black Ops II and put in one of the older titles. Ahhhh, like a pair of comfortable shoes, I was "home" again.Read full review
Pros: Graphics, sound effects, new maps, new guns, new interface, new zombie mode, campaign, camping virtually impossible --- Pros for this game include improved graphics, as well as improved sound effects. The new maps are designed to make it fair regardless of your spawn. Their are old guns and new guns, but overall they are good weapons. There is a new interface for creating a class and for playing with friends. Zombie mode has been updated to not only allow for traditional play, but there is new game types and more then 4 players. Campaign mode is pretty fun, very intense at times and, although futuristic, still seems realistic. Camping in online gameplay has been become virtually impossible due to spawn changing. ~ Cons: Adjusting to gameplay, camping virtually impossible, spawn points not perfect, spawns flip frequently, always killed from behind. --- Cons for this game include trying to adjust to gameplay may take some time. Camping has been virtually stopped, whether good or bad, spawns sometimes cause spawn killing, spawns are flipped very easily and frequently, and being killed by an enemy from behind is extremely common. ~ Overall impression: at first, wanted to return it, but after I adjusted I now think it's the best CoD so far.Read full review
It's 2013... Who hasn't heard of Call of Duty by now? If you have any interest in gaming, you or someone you know has probably played a game in the series. The question remains... Is Black Ops II worth playing or picking up? Yes and yes. Single Player - I have played all of the other campaigns in the series. This one is by far the best. Call of Duty has never really blown me away by the campaigns. The linear style gameplay gets old after a while (Go this way, do this, do this). I found myself raising an eyebrow several times in regard to the reality factor as well (even taking into account that it's just a game). However, the stars have alligned and Activision has delivered a solid campaign experience worth embarking on. I won't dive into a lot of details, but you are actually involved in some decision-making finally giving the player some kind of control. The campaign is enjoyable and has some great moments. Graphics are really good as usual. Although you don't have complete control over everything, this campaign delivers a worth-while and more invloved-than-ever experience. Multiplayer - Changes to the online multiplayer layout allows for an exceptional multiplayer experience. You now create your class with the freedom to customize your character in a way that you couldn't before. Wants 3 weapon attachments and an extra lethal? Want a class built with extra perks only? Want multiple attachments on your secondary and extra tacticals? You can do all of these combinations and more. The multiplayer experience is fun, addicting, action-packed, and always full of tons of players. It's not perfect though. I only hope that if you are seriously interested in this game that you have the patience it takes to play it. Multiplayer can get very hectic and frusturating at times. "Spawn Killing" seems to be quite an issue at times as well. This is still one of the best multiplayer experiences out there. Zombies - Zombies is a blast... mostly if you have friends to play with. Solid game mode. Wave after wave of zombie infestation requires you to be on your toes. Just a few hits can knock you down to the ground. Make sure you have a mic if you play online. There are some people that get really irritated if you don't. Communication is very helpful though if you want to survive. I don't think this game is a perfect 5/5. However, I find it to be higher than a 4. :)Read full review
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