Call of Duty: Black Ops II – Game Analysis and Review
By Patrick Newman
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision, Square Enix (Japan)
Writer: David S. Goyer
Composers: Jack Wall, Trent Reznor
Engine: Black Ops II engine
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Wii U
Release Date: November 13, 2012
Genre: First-person shooter
Modes: Single-player, multiplayer, co-op
Rating: Mature
From the opening moments of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Treyarch advertises its intentions to not only bring a tweaked and updated iteration of their rip-roaring military action series into the fold, but to attempt to take the series to the next level. At once recognizable as a sequel to earlier Call of Duty titles and also a subversion of those very formulas, the minds behind Black Ops II have certainly put their backs into giving gamers something new. The multiple-choice narrative aspect of the game is key to its freshness, as player decisions made during gameplay can lead to several distinct, intriguing outcomes. Black Ops II is a flawed title, but a can’t miss for fans and worth a look for those gamers who shrug off the CoD franchise as the same flavor, new packaging every year these games hit the market.
Black Ops II’s story benefits from having a “Big Bad” in the person of Raul Menendez, a powerful corporate monarch hell-bent on revenge for the atrocities visited upon him and his family during Cold War politicking. As far as video game writing goes Menendez is an interestingly dimensional villain – there’s a nuance and humanity to his motives that set him apart from many a snarling FPS antagonist. The race to curb Menendez’ violence drives the game’s action and aligns the story’s forces of good in a manner not yet seen in the series, which typically features a more fractured and obscure collection of threats to the West.
An element of choice in the fate of the characters is what sets this game apart from anything the series has previously attempted. There truly is some complexity at play in the way taking out a target or locating assets (or not doing so) has significant bearing on how the story unfolds. If you fail a mission, instead of having to cut your losses and restart the level at square one, for example, the gameplay situation could escalate, and harder missions might appear on the roster to ratchet the tension up a notch.
The game’s Strike Force missions reinforce Black Ops II’s ambition to make the decision-making process of combat integral to the gameplay (and the mission outcomes), but falter in their attempt to bridge the gap between FPS and RTS genres. The lackluster AI, which in many instances forces players to single-handedly take on hordes of enemies while resources are allocated elsewhere, underwhelms on both a visceral shooter level and a tactical strategy level. Strike Force is an ambitious addition to the franchise, but one in need of some significant improvements.
With the exception of some cutscenes that lack the cinematic verve a game of this caliber requires, Black Ops II is visually fantastic, and undoubtedly the best this series has produced. The motion capture of the characters adds much-needed humanity to the performances, and the textures and animations are expectedly state-of-the-art. As the game’s narrative oscillates between 1986 and 2025, the gameplay appropriately follows suit by giving gamers a more low-tech combat and espionage-centered style of gameplay in the Central American sections, and a more futuristic style of man-on-man brutality in the Chinese missions.
I applaud Treyarch and Call of Duty: Black Ops II for trying something new, when it would have been just as easy for them to collect their dump truck full of money by giving us the same game in a new coat. Though it falls short in some areas, most notably the Strike Force missions, it also boasts new features that compensate (Zombies mode here is especially enjoyable), and emerges as being one of the year’s best shooters.
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