Treyarch Call of Duty – Black Ops 2
Ever since 2007 when Infinity Ward brought CoD shooting and screaming it’s way into modern times, CoD’s been nothing short of a growing phenomenon year after record-breaking year. But after so long, the consumer has felt a little stuck in the mud in terms of the franchise progressing. The truth is, Call of Duty desperately needs to change.
Despite a consistently entertaining and superbly paced campaign, and highly polished multiplayer matches the host tens of thousands of players on a nightly basis while still running at an impressive 60 frames-per-second. What’s left after the smoke clears and the umpteenth helicopter killstreak has flown away? Treyarch Call of Duty Black Ops 2 is the first game in half a decade to answer this call.
Following a mysterious cyberattack on their stock exchange, China bans the export of rare earth elements. Material used in laser-guidence systems, nuclear batteries and phosphors. The year is 2025 and it’s a Cold War for a colder age. War is now defined by robotics, drones and cyber sabotage, packing a far more devastating punch than regular fleshy grunts. But what happen’s when the enemy steals the keys and this unmanned technology turns against the very side it was built to protect?
You’d be forgiven for thinking it all sounds a bit… robotic. But there’ll definitely be men and they’ll definitely have guns. Some of them will be pretty old, Black Ops stalwarts Alex Mason (no word yet if Sam Worthington reprises his role) and Viktor Reznov (same for Gary Oldman) playable in 80’s-set sections.
Later, in 2025, you’ll take control of Mason’s son David, while a now 95-year old Frank Woods narrates. Even though this is a future tale, Treyarch are definitely looking to build on the story already established.
Throughout the branching story (another CoD first) you’ll get access to several ‘Strike Force’ missions, and these affect the overall plotting. Die and the game incorporates it into the narrative, eventually impacting the entire Cold War – they require intelligence and planning. You’ll control war assets such as aerial vehicles (unmanned), jet fighters (actually manned, by you) and robots in a massive, open battlefield where threats can come from anywhere – no quitting, no reloading to an earlier save. Luckily these are completely optional, but when they’re among Black Ops 2’s best new feature, you’d do well not to pass them up.
And then there’s the highly anticipated Zombie Mode. It’ll be longer, promoted from a handful of stages to a full-length campaign, and doubles the co-op count from four to eight. Like last time, famous faces are bound to drop in. Expect the likes of J.F.K., Nixon, and Fox News political commentator (and, controversially, dealer of illegal weapons to Iran in the 80’s) Oliver North. And possibly Danny Trejo.
Black Ops 2 is the hottest, freshest, most dissimilar Call of Duty in years. It’s a new dawn for a franchise patently aware it needs to change. And it has, in typically kick-ass fashion.
