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It's November time again which means Movember along with Call of Duty November. Another year of killing mobs and crying in the corner as you get trashed. Well it's December, not November, but Black Ops 2 was released in November so the first line still holds true.
This year sees the 9th call of duty to hit the stores so does the cat only have nine lives? The answer is no, the franchise still has a lot left to give.

Treyarch this year has stepped up their game and taken over the task of controlling one of the most powerful franchises in gaming history. I went into this year's Call of Duty expecting the worse along with little to no hope after MW3. Happy to report that Treyarch has done wonderful things this year, truly outdone themselves, however I am a little disappointed they did not do more in some areas.

You also get a key insight into the design philosophy at Treyarch and Infinity Ward (IW). IW is arrogant and does things it defiantly won't change, Treyarch on the other hand listens and is willing to try new things.
Quite different companies at the core and it shows in the end product.

Single player

Let's be honest, here on NGU, not many people play CoD in the single player, it's not been a major part of the game for some time. More after thought for the people who connection dies or can't get online try some single player for a bit.

This year single player is worth playing and listening out for, by far the best single player we had in a very long time. The last single player I enjoyed from a CoD was COD4...Black Ops had it's moments but lacked brilliance well throughout moments which make a single player.

Single player in this age of modern military shooters is a lost art. This year Call of Duty surprised me in reversing the trend of fixing some of the mistakes most make. Black Ops 2 knows it's a silly game..... So takes it to 11 more gadgets, more stuff to kill, and more ways to do it.

Less linear Micheal bay cut scenes , Black Ops 2 lets you move the game forward. Although, there are still some moments which the game won't let you pass without AI help which is annoying, but a lot less compared to the past titles. The pace of the game keeps the gun pornography at an all time high compared to other titles at times it felt like being put on some rails with no input from you.

Vehicle sections feel less like it has to be done but more needed to move things along. It was only one vehicle section which handled poorly, the rest felt quite good in terms of controls. It's not all same old same old, Treyarch has done some neat things in the single player like strike missions which help add to the plot if you want to complete it. Maybe small changes but it pushes the story forward, also a nice touch you can skip it, you won't miss much from not doing it.

Strike missions are a cool idea but faulted by the teammate AI which is beyond worthless. The only bad thing in this almost is flawless single player. It's a shame that got past testing, I can see it being an issue on the higher difficulties on normal. It was a challenge getting the AI to work for you not against you
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Single player may be a linear maze but doesn't feel like a maze which the game is leading you through. Far too many modern shooters are just faint linear lines with set pieces in the way and not enough gun pornography. One of my biggest problems with the Battlefield 3 single player was that just too many set pieces, and not enough gun pornography.

In terms of plot it's one of best the Call of Duty series.. It keeps your interest and pretty easy to follow along with being brilliant in places. It's not too out of this world, so you can believe it would have helped along with the fantastic voice acting. "Hats off" to Treyarch for putting so much effort into this truly nice gem of a single player. It was a joy to play and something may go back and visit again.

Call of the Dead returns!! Well waves of zombies do.

Zombies return this year with Treyarch. Treyarch is putting focus on zombies by adding it to the title screen you can select online, single player, or zombies. They also dded some new game modes to zombies to help keep it fresh along with putting more things in the way to make it harder for most players. The end result is enough to keep the casual player happy but veterans of zombies may soon get bored. Without a complete upgrade of the AI system, it's still pretty easy to cheese your way forward in zombies, it's more of a case of "How long do I want my system on for?"

Part of me would like to see the story mode have an end, not just endless waves once you complete the Easter egg but it's a minor complaint from somebody who overplayed zombies. I still don't see what else Treyarch can do with zombies without a redesign of the whole AI system but the changes they have done are enough to warren a release. It picks up at the end of Blacks Ops 1 and carries it forward, also enough content to make it worth playing. It's defiantly worth putting some time into with some buds.

Let's shoot people! (AKA: Online Multiplayer)

Same old hat but new colors?
The formula of Call of Duty is based on easy to use guns an XP system and loads of challenges.
Black ops 2 does not change the formula too much apart from with the unlock system and perk system. In this game we get the pick 10 system which allows you to pick all the items in your load out you don't need to take nades (Grenades) or stuns if you won't use it. The result is you can come up with some pretty amazing custom builds which play to the strengths of each gun class. The Price? You only have 10 slots, so you need to pick what you take with care. The pick 10 system is a brilliant idea refreshes the old perk system, it brings a new taste to the online allows for more freedom.

At the same time when you prestige, you are given a limited number of tokens per prestige to pick what you want to use and reward for prestiging this year is pretty big, you get to carry on one item. It can be anything and you can get an extra class slot or token reset or full stats reset.

Don't think you can get to 1st prestige and have all the unlocks, no, not enough tokens until you hit the limit to do that so the system rewards you for going all the way. One of the things which disappointed me was the fact even with this system we are still level gated in what we can unlock. Could we have not been given all the tokens to start with and decide near the start of the prestige what to unlock over it being level gated out? I guess doing that would sort of ruin the prestige system but still a minor thing which annoys me.

In terms of map design it the same old idea 3 lanes of traffic.
Latency problems are still around but appear to have been improved and always improving as they hot fix the game.

Black Ops 2 is a fun game, it's by far the most fun Call of Duty yet however it's still no Call of Duty 4. A new vision for Call of Duty still follows the same old vision set out by old IW. Another way of looking at it “if it isn't broke don't fix it” I do have a fear that this series won't be given the freedom in the end to move onward to a new vision going to die as a result, which would be a great shame it still has a lot to give and people behind it are willing to come up with new ideas just look at the single player.

I'm going to throw Treyarch a bone, they have done enough to move the formula sort of forward I hope it carries on with the next game.


Ending thoughts

Treyarch this year has worked hard, and added some new things with the single player, but online they don't appear to be willing to be as crazy. This game is one of the bright stars in the gaming you get your bang for buck you also get quite a fun game anybody can enjoy.

It may not be breaking new ground on all fronts, but you get enough time out of it worth the price tag.
If you enjoy Call of Duty, not bored of the formula, pick up the game.
It's a real shame that Treyarch was given a degree of freedom along with willing to take risks, could break into new ground and look at the core of Call of Duty not just the surface. Allot of the sacred cows is still in the game Treyarch have showed off with the single player. They are willing to break away from the sacred cows but online wise they are unwilling or can't.

Enjoyed this game it's very good and flawless in some respects. It's worth a buy, you get your moneys worth out of it even if you camp in a corner of the online.

By Resist The Sun

This is the first game by Treyarch that I have enjoyed multiplayer. I didn't like the WaW multiplayer or Black ops 1 multiplayer, I did like the ideas they had in Black ops 1 but I just didn't like the feel of the game, I was bored of it with in a week. This game though I am enjoying quite alot, the pick 10 for example, I have found myself creating a class for 10-15 minutes because I can't decide what to go with and what to sacrifice.

I don't see myself getting bored anytime soon, I think they have made a great game. They took a gamble with really listening to the community and giving us something new and IMO it has worked brilliantly.

Great review and 100% agree.

Nice review bro! ^_^

Very good, thorough review.

I will say that when the multiplayer is not super laggy this game is amazing. It has minimal nooby things besides Hunter Killer, Millimeter Scanner and the worst of all: TARGET FINDER. The map design choices are always an issue. Maps need to be realistic so they need windows and things in order to cover objectives as well as make the sniper rifles and LMGs useful. As much as we moan we wouldn't want a game with maps that are basically just a football field and hockey field.

The game has things that campers can use but in no way does this game favor campers AT ALL. It rewards aggressive play. I think it's a slippery slope to try and force people to rush though. This is because people seem to think rushing makes you good when in reality being a good team player and capable of getting kills without dying a ton is what makes people good. Obviously you don't want people camping but there are guys who'll go 10-30 who think they are good simply because they rush. Which is like saying you're a ladies man just because you hit on 20+ girls at the bar even if they don't give you their number.

MW3 people argued favored campers but in reality aggressive players always come out on top. MW3 favored noobs way more than BO2. I loved MW3 but Support and Deathstreaks didn't require anyone to actually be good. I think people rage quit in BO2 more because if you have a good team there is almost no chance for the enemy once you start getting VSAT, Lodestars, etc. In MW3 they could just EMP you or at least bank on getting 1 or 2 Stealth Bombers whether they went 25-10 or 10-25. In BO2 if you go 10-25 the only thing you might get is a UAV and Hunter Killer.

Zombies are just fun party games with friends on a rainy night for me. Campaign mode is fun but I normally play it in maybe February after I'm already pretty used to spawns, maps, guns and generally know the multiplayer well. Pick 10 system and camo system is great. All weapon classes have a purpose, it's just that SMGs are the dominant class like AR rifles used to be besides in MW3 where you could do very well with AR or SMGs equally.

Very good review! Well worth the time you spent writing it!