Days of Future Past
Ryan Gilliam
The
Call of Duty franchise has evolved quite a bit since the first one
was released in
2003.
The series hit an all time high five years after, in 2007, when Call
of Duty 4:
Modern
Warfare was released. Modern Warfare redesigned and changed
multiplayer
games
forever, a feat rarely achieved and only with such games as Quake, Counterstrike, and the original Halo. Now that the series is in its ninth year, Call of Duty: Black
Ops II has been released,
and while it is solid, and a good Call of Duty game, it fails at its
major
marketing
push, change.
Black
Ops II is expansive and packs nearly three full games worth of
content into its tiny
little
box. For this reason, I have chosen to split this review up into
three separate parts,
each
detailing a specific mode.
Campaign:
To
be frank, there hasn't been a great Call of Duty campaign since Call
of Duty 4: Modern
Warfare. While Call of Duty: World at War, and Call of Duty: Black
Ops certainly had
some strong moments, nothing has really compared to getting hit by a
nuke or the glory
of sniping as your superior officer in “All Ghillied Up.”
Black
Ops II’s campaign is quite an interesting one. The missions take
place in both 2025,
and the 1980s. The 2025 missions are full of some neat future
gadgets, a surprisingly
interesting story, and fun new future weapons. It is partially for
this reason that
I found myself dreading all of the 80s missions, and partially
becauseI just didn't care
about anything that was happening. The old guns all feel the same and
the missions
just fell flat more often than not.
While
these missions “past missions” certainly bring forth important
story elements,
such
as the introduction to the grand villain of both past and future Raul
Menedez, they
are
generally little to no fun and often rely on lame set pieces and
generic
environments.
The
future missions, however, save this Call of Duty. The environments
and encounters
are
fun and varied. The “near future” gadgets and weaponry really
shine whether it be
wrist
launched grenades, flight suits, or Bond-like sticky gloves. The
future campaign
does
suffer from a few minor political hiccups however, such as the
mission aboard the
U.S.S.
Obama or the random female president. While these things are certainly
possible for
2025,
they feel forced in and too much attention is put on them to make it
seem organic.
Black
Ops II brings decision making to the usually straight forward Call of
Duty
campaigns.
Now, if you fail to stop a key target from being kidnapped, you lose
them,
and
could potentially change other missions. These “decisions,” or in
some cases
“failures,”
can change not only your ending, but cutscenes throughout the
campagin.
Choosing
who lives and who dies is nothing new to the video game world, but it
is a
welcome
addition to Call of Duty.
Keeping
in the vain of “choice,” players are also allowed to bring their
own custom
loadouts
into a campaign mission. This adds some fun replayability, as you will not be able
to
use all of the guns unless you complete mission specific challenges. While
this isn't reinventing the
wheel, being able to truly choose your play style in the campaign
make it a
hell
of a lot more fun.
Between
the missions, you will have an option to do “Strike Force
Missions.” In these
missions
you can switch from soldier, to turret, to giant
tank-bear-cannon-thing and
command
them all using a RTS like “god mode” to complete the objective.
Unfortunately,
unless
you are playing as one of these units directly, there is little hope
of accomplishing
your
mission since the AI is so unintelligent and weak. The missions are
occasionally
frustrating
and don't add very much of anything. The only bonus, is that strike
force
missions
will allow you to fix an outcome of a previous story mission, or add
something
entirely
different to your unique story.
The
story is fairly complex with a villain that actually has motivation
and may not truly
just
be “evil for evil’s sake.” I enjoyed the story and found it
interesting to have a picture painted
of 2025. It really embraces the idea of machinery dominating
everything in the future
and the dangers that potentially lie with complete automation.
While
most characters are voiced very well and written fine, nobody stands
out quite like
your
future military buddy Harper, brought to life by the forever awesome
Michael
Rooker.
Rooker constantly makes you feel like your roaming around with a
badass at
your
side.
Black
Ops II’s campaign has some great bits, mixed with an equal amount
mediocre
moments.
While this campaign isn't as good as Modern Warfare’s in 2007, it
is certainly
a
step in the right direction.
Multiplayer:
Multiplayer
has obviously been a crucial aspect to the Call of Duty franchise
since 2007.
This
time around, there are a few noticeable tweaks, but nothing really
life-changing
here.
All
of the fan favorite modes return in Black Ops II multiplayer. The
best additions, as far
as
playlists are concerned, come in two forms, the first old, the second
new.
First
off, party games like “Gun Game,” “One In the Chamber,” and
“Sticks and Stones,”
will
now grant you experience. This is a change from the original Black
Ops where you could
bet the Call of Duty currency on the outcome of the game, you didn't
earn any
experience,
and nobody cared. While it may seem small, this change is a great
incentive
to play these games. Not because they are experience boosters, but
because
hardcore
people who only care about ranking up will now get to enjoy these
without
feeling
as if they are wasting precious time.
Second,
League Play has been added into Black Ops II. Very similar to “The
Arena” in
Halo
Reach, League Play allows the player (and their friends) to play a
variety of
playlists
to rank up and be placed in a league. This will match the players
according to skill.
What makes it even better, is that everything unlocked, meaning everyone
is on equal ground. So whether you are a pro and want to tackle only
the best of
the best, or you have no idea what you are doing and you just want to
try out all the guns,
League Play really allows for the definitive Call of Duty experience.
Speaking
of leveling up and loadouts, that is the biggest change from previous
Call of
Duty
games. Black Ops brings the “Pick 10 System” forward. With “Pick
10,” players are
able
to completely customize a class, getting rid of secondary weapons in
favor of an
extra
perk. Everything is assigned one point, and you can add and remove up
to ten
points.
Don't want a pistol? Good, have a point back. Want an extra grenade?
Its gonna
cost
you a point.
It
is a system that, in theory, sounds revolutionary, in practice
however, it really doesn't
seem
to effect much. This isn't to say its bad. I think it will be
difficult to go back to the
very
firm, straight forward loadouts in other Call of Duty’s. Despite how
innovative this
system
seems, you will still mostly see the same classes, with a few extra
tweaks. If you
were
hoping this would change everything, keep hoping for a few more
years.
As
far as gun and map design are concerned, this multiplayer seems just
about “okay”. Very
few guns feel unique, and all the maps are just generally mediocre.
Like with every game,
there are certainly favorite and least favorite maps. In this case
however, I find my
“favorites” to just be the maps I don’t detest.
One
of the more annoying tweaks to Black Ops II, are the insanely quick
deaths. Where
as
in other Call of Duty games, I may escape from an encounter alive, in
Black Ops II, it
appears
to be “jump, or be jumped.” Rarely have I been attacked and
managed to get
away,
and the same is true for my victims. This can get tiresome in the
beginning when you
are unfamiliar with maps and common hiding places. Depending on how
tolerant
you’re
feeling that day, three instant deaths due to SMG could put you off
for some time.
While
this isn't the best Call of Duty multiplayer experience of late, it
is still a hell of a lot of
fun. With League Play and the “Pick 10 System,” I certainly think
other iterations could
learn from Black Ops II.
Conclusion:
When
it all comes down to it, Black Ops II is fun. It’s not too
innovative in most places
and
sure it’s more of the same, but is that really that bad? If you
cant get enough of
military
shooters, or have taken a break from them, and are interested in
getting back in,
consider
jumping into Black Ops II for a helluva good time.
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the
gameplay, the story, or even the incredible villain we see in Vaas,
what makes this start
so interesting is Jason Brody. Brody’s older brother is a veteran
and has seen plenty
of combat, Brody, however, has never hurt a fly and is so emotionally
torn up by witnessing
death and being forced to kill, that there is no possible way to go
but down into
the depths of his humanity. While the first half of Far Cry 3 is
seemingly about “saving
your friends” its more about a 20 something young man discovering
the
While
Jason is on the Rook islands, he comes in contact with the pirates
led by Vaas (and
Vaas’ boss Hoyt,) and the Rakyat warriors, a tribal group led by
Vaas’ sister Citra. The Rakyat welcomes Jason as one of their own, gives you some mystical tattoos,
and teaches you
to become a survivor. When the game begins and you are welcomed into
the Rakyat
family, you are treated as an equal, but as Jason becomes more of a
badass, the
power shifts, and suddenly there is a white man who is the only one
strong enough to
save these poor tribal losers. While it seems that in every game or
movie, the protagonist
is “The One” and the only hope for civilization, it does not
excuse the fact that you
are a blatantly white, rich, handsome American, riding in on your
white hoarse (or in this
case red hang-glider) to save the helpless, stupid, expendable
natives from
There
are several amazing characters here, but the best one by far is the
games posterchild, Vaas.
Vaas is more monster than man, and was obviously inspired by the
Joker. He
is insane, terrifying, and a delight to watch work. It is a shame,
that he sees so little screen
time, and that his climax is very...unfulfilling. 
To
be frank, there hasn't been a great Call of Duty campaign since Call
of Duty 4: Modern
Warfare. While Call of Duty: World at War, and Call of Duty: Black
Ops certainly had
some strong moments, nothing has really compared to getting hit by a
nuke or the glory
of sniping as your superior officer in “All Ghillied Up.”
While
these missions “past missions” certainly bring forth important
story elements,
campaigns.
Now, if you fail to stop a key target from being kidnapped, you lose
them,
missions
you can switch from soldier, to turret, to giant
tank-bear-cannon-thing and
entirely
different to your unique story.
Rooker.
Rooker constantly makes you feel like your roaming around with a
badass at
All
of the fan favorite modes return in Black Ops II multiplayer. The
best additions, as far
Second,
League Play has been added into Black Ops II. Very similar to “The
Arena” in
very
firm, straight forward loadouts in other Call of Duty’s. Despite how
innovative this
as
in other Call of Duty games, I may escape from an encounter alive, in
Black Ops II, it