Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a first-person shooter for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U. It was developed by Treyarch.

One team and their sentry defending their flag from another team and their  unmanned drones.

Evil mastermind Raul Menendez hates the capitalist world and wants to destroy it, and US military guys Andrew Mason and Harper have to stop him. Unfortunately Menendez has unlimited resources, some sort of secret computer program that will ruin everything, the ability to win every fight he is in, and runs a movement called Corpus Die that is apparently comprised of everyone on the planet. There are also several flashbacks to when Andre’s father Alex Mason tried to stop Raul and failed.

There are three modes to Black Ops II: multiplayer, single-player, and zombie survival. The multiplayer has the most effort put into it. It has every possible multiplayer mode you can think of, team deathmatch, king of the hill, team deathmatch but you have to collect dog tags to actually score, set off two bombs while the opposing team tries to stop you, and a bunch of other ones. And there are harder versions that remove the mini-map, and versions you can play with bots.

There is an incredible amount of customization too. As you play you level up and unlock a lot of stuff. You mainly unlock weapons, or which there are a ton. Using weapons unlocks attachments for them. You can also unlock perks which enhance your character, and cosmetic changes for your weapons. The most destructive thing you can unlock are scorestreaks, which are special equipment or abilities, like ordering a bombing run or scrambling the minimap, that you can use when you do well in a game.

The big problem with the multiplayer is how overpowered unlocking everything makes someone, compared to people who have not unlocked everything. If you got Black Ops II when it came out and everyone was at the same level that was fine. Now though the multiplayer is filled with people who have unlocked everything and dominate any game they are in, blowing away everyone who has not unlocked everything. Learning the layout of maps is one thing, but it is silly when you and your team are running around with basic machine guns and the other team is picking you off with airstrikes and guns that can down you in two hits. And since you only get new stuff by doing well, it can be a long slow climb to being adequate in a fight. The only modes where I stood a chance were free-for-all and team deathmatch for some reason.

It is a real shame, because if the leveling system did not exist it would be perfect. Finding a game is fast a simple, and all the different modes and maps keeps matches exciting.

Also, there needs to be a way to get rid of sniper rifles. Too many people running around using those things like they are incredibly precise shotguns.

Going through the single-player campaign is a drag. Enemy soldiers can duck behind cover, but will also cluster together, stand out in the open, and run towards you when they should just shoot you. The only times I died were when cars and grenades exploded near me, or when I could not see where the shooter was. Your fellow soldiers are not helpful in a fight since their aim is terrible.

The story is terrible because it is just instance after instance of the US military being the biggest idiots ever. Mason, both of them, keep going after Menendez or someone affiliated with him, fail, and their targets escape. Menendez is an awful character, he always knows everything and gets away with everything to an absurd degree. The backstory is told in a clipped, rapid manner that does not explain things in detail, which makes a lot of the fights not compelling, most of the time I just wondered who these people were and why was I fighting them.

The only really cool part of the single-player campaign is the level design. The reasons for Mason and co. travelling all around the world are contrived, but at least the places they go to are fun to fight in. Places like a resort, a flooded Pakistan, and what would best be described as an underground supervillain lair in the middle of a jungle. The guns are really cool too; most of them do not look that realistic, but they are fun to use.

There are five side missions you can play where you complete objectives on a map under a time limit and direct groups of soldiers as well as controlling individual soldiers. These are more fun than the rest of the single-player because the objectives have more creativity than the other levels. The friendly AI is even worse though, they will often take the most dangerous route to a location unless you direct every single one of their steps, and they will often just stand still and get shot without fighting back.

Those little icons along the bottom are the soldiers you can order around.

In the zombie survival mode, you, or you and a group of people, are plopped down in some deserted area and have to fight off waves of zombies until you die. You start off with a pistol and limited ammo, but you can buy new weapons and ammo with the points you get from shooting zombies. You can also buy powerups with your points. Zombies can take several hits before they stop moving, while you can only be hit once or twice before you go down, though one of your teammates can revive you, and if one team member survives the round everyone is revived.

Zombie survival feels monotonous. If you suck at it you will quickly get overwhelmed, but if you are good at it you can fall into a never ending pattern of running around in circles, shooting zombies, and buying ammo. The only difference as the game goes on is that the number of zombies you fight increases and they start to run instead of walk. The levels barely change and you do not fight any new enemies. The worst thing is if you are on a team with one guy who is way better than everyone else, who keeps the game going long after the zombies have surpassed your skill level and interest, though you could just quit and abandon them.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II should only be played by the hardcore multiplayer crowd. The single-player sucks and zombie survival is boring, leaving the multiplayer for those who have an insane amount of time to invest in it.