With 11 million copies sold in the first week, it is arguably one of the biggest games of all time.
Call of Duty Black Ops 2 is the most recent development in the Call of Duty franchise. As usual in the Call of Duty series, millions of lives are in your hands as you battle your way through countless hostiles and overwhelming odds to finally save the day.
But what makes this campaign different from previous installments? There are some more risks taken; normally in Call of Duty you spend your time running through levels with allies and killing everything, never learning too much about the characters emotional past beside the desire for revenge. However Black Ops 2 does take a new risk in this regard.
Alex Mason, one of the main characters, actually has a painful emotional relationship with his father, and Call of Duty’s attempt to make the viewer care more about his character is definitively a step in a different direction. But overall it still remains the classic “let’s kill some bad guys, oh wow an explosion!” kind of game.
Really, it’s the multi-player aspect that draws the crowds. How is Black Ops 2 multi-player different from previous Call of Dutys? The controls– pretty much the same. Mechanics– pretty much the same. Run sprint, jump, shoot, throw grenade, switch weapons– nothing new here. What makes it different is more subtle. In this game, a larger amount of actions, such as defending objectives and kill assists, contribute different point values towards your streak rewards, instead of just kills or objective based play. In addition, the new pick 10 system allows for soldier customization that is on a whole new level for Call of Duty players.
If, however, you are deciding whether or not to get Black Ops 2, then I suggest you look at a couple of things.
- Do you have the money to spend? The newest Call of Duty is often 50-60 bucks for months to come at local stores.
- Do you like playing with your friends? Since a new game is released every year, most people tend to play the most recent game for quite a while and it’s likely your friends will be playing this Call of Duty for quite a bit.
- Are you a bit tired of traditional Call of Duty?
If you have never played Call of Duty before but are interested in the series, I suggest you go pick up a previous game, one that is not as expensive. Chances are you will do better, because the better players tend to play the newest game.
I think this game did a great job of changing a lot of elements to the multi-player, encouraging more objective and team effort based play, and making score streaks harder to get, and take out.
If you are ready for a bit of a refreshing pace in Call of Duty, have the money, and like playing with people you know, Black Ops 2 is worth the money.
