Before I get into this review I want to make something absolutely clear. I am not a HALO 4 fanboy, or a fanboy of any kind. My opinions, and facts are not biased in an shape, form, or fashion. When I pay $60 of my hard earned cash on a game that is sworn to be better than the previous titles in the series, and it turns out to be flawed in more ways than one you can bet your bottom dollar I will complain no matter what the game is. In fact I’ll go so far as to rant on all the social media sites if I deem it necessary. That’s just the way I roll, so you can get over it. with that being said though I will stick to mostly facts (less opinion), and not tell lies concerning the game even if I think it sucks. In the following review I hope to stay truthful while displaying some brutal honesty as this game definitely warrants it. What you as a reader can expect from the following review is a sectional description of the pros & cons I found during my partial playthrough of the game. I’ll also include some details on what the game offers the player. I’m not going to give any gun breakdowns, or hints on what the best class setup is. You can go to Youtube for that info. This review is simply to inform you (my reader) on what you’re getting yourself into if you choose to buy ‘Black Ops 2’, and nothing more. With all of that out of the way I do hope you enjoy the following review, and that it helps you better understand the latest addition to the ‘Call of Duty’ series.
Months before Treyarch released ‘Black Ops 2’ the internet was ablaze with all sorts of hype concerning the game. Some of this hype was passed on by individuals who were merely guessing as to what we could expect, and other hype was thrown out there by Treyarch themselves. As usual mindless morons such as myself fell for the hype head over heels. I was reluctant at first to even consider buying the game, because deep down I knew it would probably be just like the other screwed up ‘Call of Duty’ games. Unfortunately curiosity got the best of me, and I ended up pre-ordering the game. Being stuck with it I figured I’d best get my money’s worth out of it, and hopefully this review will help me make up for my loss in some small way.
CAMPAIGN
The ‘Campaign’ mode in ‘Black Ops 2’ is likely the best one to ever grace a ‘Call of Duty’ game. It obviously picks up where the other one left off, but it doesn’t linger to long in the past. When you start up ‘Campaign’ you will be greeted by the usual difficulty setting choices. There’s difficulty settings for every type of gamer ranging from easy to hardcore. Being the tried & true gamer that I am I opted to go for the ‘NORMAL’ difficulty setting. Aside from difficulty options this CoD campaign also allows the gamer to customize their loadout before facing the current mission. I noticed that there were some weapons unique to this mode that were not included in the ‘MULTIPLAYER’ portion of the game. This could possibly mean that gun dlc is on the way, or that Treyarch simply wanted the two modes to be different from one another. What ever the case may be there’s definitely a difference there.
Visually Black Ops 2’s ‘Campaign’ is leagues better than it’s multiplayer counterpart. There’s plenty of grisly war torn scenes that play out with high quality detail. Whether your trying to save Frank Woods from a torturous death in an enemy jungle, or para-gliding down a canyon in the rain you will experience visuals that are nothing short of breathtaking. The audio soundtrack that accompanies this larger than life tale of global war only enhances the experience even further. I have an HDtv, and after seeing the story play out before my own eyes I can honestly say that this is one of the best looking games this year. The bloody details on Frank Woods, and his life-like gasps for air only made the impending danger that much more realistic. The intensity is definitely more severe this time around as the soldiers interactions are more realistic than I’ve witnessed in past CoD titles. I should also mention that some well known, and well recognizable Hollywood actors make cameo appearances within ‘Campaign’. In fact one of the main support characters is such an actor.
ZOMBIES
Treyarch once again raises their fan favorite ‘Zombie’ mode from it’s resting place giving it revamped visuals, new locales, and even a new mode of gameplay. You’ll find your guilty pleasure comes in both offline, and online modes this time around. At the heart of either mode you’ll find that there are three locations available for group oriented zombie survival. The “Green Run Tranzit” features the infamous bus that was shown in the preview trailer. You’ll also find a rustic/rundown farm that looks oddly inspired by certain events in “The Walking Dead” video game. The “Green Run Town” on the other hand looks as if it were a locale that fell victim to more than just the zombie outbreak. Like other maps you’ll find that the ground is buckled up, and cracked beneath your feet, and that lava/flames are spouting out of the cracks. The attention to detail is notable, but the special effects (vision blurs, flame effects …) are overly applied making the tasks at hand more annoying than fun.
The modes in the online/offline portions of ‘Zombies’ contains the usual co-op, survival, and even a new mode called “Grief”. Fans of the original Black Ops zombies mode will be familiar with the co-op, and survival modes. They are exactly as the name/title suggests. In co-op you can join in a party of up to 4 players as you try to survive wave after wave of zombie attacks. Boarding up windows, and collecting new guns/weapons is a must if you hope to survive for the long haul. When it comes to the ‘Survival’ mode there’s little difference to co-op. The goal is fairly much the same, but if I remember correctly the player limit is different. Grief is a different story all together though. In ‘Grief’ you take on the role of either the FBI, CIA or CDC. Both teams are split up accordingly, and the goal is to outlast the other team as a relentless wave of zombies attacks everyone. In this mode you cannot kill opposing players directly, but can (“supposedly”) find meat that you can throw at the opposing players in order to attract zombies to them. The key to long term survival in ‘Grief’ is staying in close groups. Reviving downed comrades is also a must if you hope to outlast your opponents.
My opinion of ‘Zombies’ is somewhat pessimistic. I found that the maps were really small for the most part, and that they paled in comparison to what the original game type offered. As for the graphics are concerned they’re alright. I wouldn’t go so far as to say they looked as good as they did in the original Black Ops though. Some of the things that really bothered me when it cme to the graphic presentation were the massive amount of flames applied to the Town level in ‘Grief’, or other levels in ‘Zombie’. The flames really obstructed your view of the level, and figuring out who was a friend or foe was unnecessarily made difficult as a result. The constantly blurred vision caused by the flames really made things worse. I would have loved to have seen the level in it’s entirety without being plagued by constantly impaired character vision. As far as the modes in ‘Zombies’ go ‘Grief’ was definitely an awesome addition to the series. I actually liked the competitive aspect of it. I only wish that direct player to player killing was allowed, as it would have made for a more fun experience.
MULTIPLAYER
Multiplayer has always been the core reason as to why CoD fans flock to the series. The arcade style gameplay definitely gives it a feel that no other FPS game developer has really been able to duplicate. I myself have often times been mesmerized by the game series’ online multiplayer offerings. In Black Ops 2 the arcade style gameplay continues on, but in a somewhat altered state. What you’ll find in Black Ops 2 multiplayer is the usual array of modes, an emblem editor, and a slew of new weapons that have yet to be seen in the CoD franchise. The class setup this time around has also been altered significantly allowing players to have only 10 items per class. This means you will have to sacrifice some things in order to achieve a setup that works best for your playing style. This time around perks, attachments, lethal, tactical, and wildcards play a huge role in making the perfect class. The wildcards in particular are a new set of class add-ons that act somewhat like perks giving the player the opportunity to add things like more slots to their perks, or even their weapons. Balancing your needs, and wants in the class setup will definitely take some thinking this time.
When it comes to online gameplay the quality that ‘Black Ops 2’ offers is severely lacking. I found that a lot of the maps are small in size, and that the attention to detail is less than it has been in previous CoD titles. Often times when peering through one of your gun scopes you’ll notice that outlines are pixelated giving the game a more unpolished appearance. The gameplay itself is also flawed. I recall someone stating before the game’s release that there would be no lag compensation involved in ‘Black Ops 2’, but I quickly found out otherwise when playing online against random players. The infamous “Wanted (Movie Reference)” bullets have returned in their full glory making for some really cheap deaths/kills. I have found myself dying many times by gun shots after I was around a corner, and seemingly out of harm’s way. Another thing that plagues the game is hacking, and ragequitting. Yesterday while playing ‘Black Ops 2’ someone actually fooled with my character controls via a hack. It was like me trying to take control of my own controls. I also encountered a player who was forcing host migration in order to end up on the winning team. As far as ragequitting is concerned it is an all-out epidemic, and happens frequently during online gaming sessions. I blame spoiled a** brats for this tomfoolery, but that of course is my opinion. Whichever way you look at it though this latest addition to the CoD franchise is by far worse than any of the previous releases. There is no doubt in my mind that things will only get worse as time goes on.
VERDICT
How can I say this, and be polite about it? Stay the hell away from this game folks!!! It’s a waste of money, and is just another example of greed by video game developers. As long as Treyarch, or Infinity Ward believe they can make money off of people with a poorly executed products they will do so. It would only take one failed game release to make them realize that they have to produce something of quality to make the profits they have made in the past. Believe me when I tell you that the game developers behind the CoD franchise have more than enough money to make a noteworthy game. I’m just wondering what their excuse is!? HALO 4 for example was released without any notable issues. The game is still going strong, and is most definitely worth the $60 asking price. In fact I’d recommend ‘HALO 4’ over ‘Black Ops 2’ any day, and that is not a fanboy remark my friends. In closing, “Please do not fall for the promises of another CoD game, I beg you!!!”. As for me I will definitely not be buying another Call of Duty game.
– Brad (OtakuDante) –