Hasta La Gadget!

It’s the end of the year, which means it’s time for the inevitable Call of Duty game. Treyarch has a lot to live up too after the reception and the success of the original Black Ops, and this time around, the studio is looking to expand upon some of the ideas laid down in the first game. Does it work, or does the latest Black Ops II installment fail to improve enough and ultimately fall flat? Read on to find out.

Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Version tested: Xbox 360

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is technically set in the not-so-distant future. I say “technically” because a good portion of the game’s campaign takes place in the mid-1980s, and the game switches between the past and the future (2025 to be exact) pretty frequently. Before we delve into too many specifics, however, I’ll say this: the story in Black Ops II is pretty ridiculous. You’ll have to suspend your disbelief often, as the story never seems too concerned with sticking within the bounds of realism. The technology the characters use in 2025 is quite a bit more advanced than the tech I think we’ll have in another 12 years, with things like cloaking devices that make humans as close to invisible as possible widely used. There are plenty of twists and turns, too, though those twists never felt as surprising as they should have.

That being said, it isn’t as if the campaign in Black Ops II is lacking charm. Players will chase the beyond evil Raul Menendez – who I must say makes a excellent villain – throughout the decades as he hatches a plan that would quite literally leave the world in shambles. The situations the characters get themselves into may not always seem plausible, but that does allow for some intense sequences and edge-of-your seat moments. Treyarch deserves a pat on the back for never being afraid to shake things up a bit as well – Black Ops II isn’t always about shooting. There will be times when you’re riding on horseback (while holding and shooting a rocket launcher, no less), jumping out of a plane to “parachute” into enemy territory, and flying a jet. Some of these sequences work better than others, but at least they all serve a purpose in giving you something different right when you need a break from the typical run and gun routine.

Alongside the regular campaign missions, you’ll have the opportunity to complete Strike Force missions. These add a little RTS flavor to the first person shooter genre, giving you areas to defend as enemies attack from all sides. You can zoom out to view an overhead map, which allows you to issue orders to multiple units at once. You can also control individual units and jump between them freely, giving you the chance to fight off enemies quickly in the places that need help the most. It’s a cool little mode, but things can get hectic at times, so I think it could prove to be a bit much for some players. If you want to get the best ending though, you’ll have to successfully complete these missions.

In fact, in order to get the best ending, you’ll have to do a lot of things. There are many moments in the game when the path forward is determined by player choice, which means that you’ll have a story with plenty of branching paths. That’s a pretty ambitious for a single-player FPS campaign, and there might even be a few forks in the road that have you hesitant to make a decision. Black Ops II features a total of three different endings, and I was actually surprised by how many variables there were when it came to which ending you see when you beat the game. At least one of those endings seems to leave the door open for a direct sequel, so don’t be surprised if we see a Black Ops III by this time in 2014.

The campaign is decent, but it isn’t going to win any awards. The character models are all pretty solid, though they do have a tendency to look a little wooden and the lip syncing isn’t the best. The environments can range from drab to beautiful, but more often than not the environments impress. There are some issues with textures, though, especially when you get up-close, so the engine that has been in use for years now is showing its age. There seem to be a few lingering bugs that need to be squashed too – for instance, I encountered a few NPCs that appeared to be glitching out and broken, and one instance where the game didn’t allow me to progress. It was at the very end of the game, leaving me with no way to advance or go back until I opened the menu, selected “restart mission,” decided I didn’t want to do that, and went back to the game. When I closed the menu, the way forward magically opened, letting me continue onto the end of the game. It isn’t the biggest problem in the world, but it sure was annoying at the time.

The campaign certainly makes some missteps, but that’s not the main feature of Black Ops II. Multiplayer is where it’s at for most, and that’s the mode that Treyarch really honed in on. Regular old multiplayer is getting a new feature in the way of the Pick 10 system, granting the player 10 points with which to build a load out. This, along with the Wildcard system, allows for a lot of customization between load outs, so you shouldn’t have a problem building one that is tailored to your play style.

Everyone else will have that same edge too, so mulitplayer battles are always pretty intense. There’s something to be said for Call of Duty’s fast-paced gameplay where you can be dead in a second and kill even quicker, and in that respect, the multiplayer mode soars. The matches keep you on your toes, and that’s helped along by the quality of the maps. The maps give players plenty of little nooks and rooms to explore, making for an exciting experience where you never really know what’s waiting for you beyond the bend. I didn’t encounter a map that I didn’t like, though there are some that are clear favorites among the Call of Duty community. These ones are where the most intense battles go down, since each player is familiar with the map and won’t hesitate to use that knowledge to get a leg up on the competition.

Of course, you’re also gaining XP and increasing your rank along the way, unlocking a ton of new items as you do. There’s certainly enough unlockable content to keep you interested in playing and leveling up, which is where I think a game like Black Ops II has an advantage over something like Halo 4. In Halo 4, the number of new items you can unlock as you progress through the game feels a little limited, whereas there are plenty of new weapons and gear to unlock in Black Ops II. Not only do you get new stuff for leveling up yourself, but you’ll also unlock new attachments for individual weapons as you level those up too. It’s a great system, and it’s there for no other reason than to keep players addicted.

At the end of all, it seems pretty safe to say that if you like the multiplayer modes in other Call of Duty games, you’ll probably like this one just as much. You might even like it more, given that the Pick 10 and Wildcard systems add a very fun aspect to building a load out. Given that I was playing this during launch week, I ran into a few server problems, but those were surprisingly few and far between – I was only booted from a game once (though that may have been my fault) and for the most part, finding a match was pretty quick, even when I had my search settings set to “Best Connection.” Make no mistake, we’ll probably see Black Ops II dominating player number charts for months to come thanks to its addictive multiplayer mode that gamers will feel compelled to play.

Black Ops II‘s regular multiplayer mode might just end up taking a backseat to Zombies, however. After years and years of nothing but zombies, I feel pretty comfortable saying that I’m sick of fighting them. At least that’s what I thought before I checked out Zombies in Black Ops II. Zombies, as many of you already know, is a pretty straight forward mode: kill zombies, rack up points, unlock better guns to use, and see how many increasingly difficult waves you and your team mates can survive. In the beginning, you’ll be tricked into thinking that you’ve got everything under control, but once the zombies start coming in a seemingly endless stream, your cool and collected demeanor will rapidly devolve into a state of blubbering panic.

That’s what makes it so damn fun, and the urge to see if you can both make it further and beat your personal best scores will keep you playing Zombies over and over again. I think that Zombies might just be my favorite mode in Black Ops II, which is saying a lot when you consider how good regular multiplayer is.

Zombies mode is not flawless, however. Two new game modes are joining Survival in Black Ops II: Grief and Tranzit. In Grief, your team goes up against another team of four in a battle for survival, but you’re not allowed to actually harm the players on the other team. There are, however, plenty of ways to annoy players on the other team and make the task of killing zombies and staying alive a lot more difficult, hence the name. I like the idea behind Grief, but I’m not sure I like it more than regular Survival. It’s a mode that will need to be expanded upon in future releases (or with content patches) – I look forward to seeing what Treyarch does with Grief in the future, but for now, I think the majority of my Zombies playing will be in Survival mode.

Next we have Tranzit, which is an interesting new mode that’s best described as Survival mode in motion. Players will use a bus to go from hub to hub, fighting off zombie attacks while both stationary and in transit. There are items to collect and a crafting system to use, but if you didn’t know this going in, you’d assume that it’s just Survival mode on a larger scale. Tranzit is a lot like Grief in that I like the underlying idea, but Tranzit just kind of throws you in without indicating what it is you should be doing. Some of the waves you’ll encounter are already pretty vicious, which can make item collecting nigh-on impossible when things start to get really hairy and team mates start going down. It’s definitely an interesting take on Zombies mode, but sometimes Tranzit is guilty of piling on without making objectives clear. That’s bound to be a barrier for some players, which is unfortunate since Tranzit shows a lot of promise despite the fact that it’s a little rough around the edges at the moment.

Wrap-Up

Black Ops II is another solid entry in the Call of Duty series, but if you’ve not been tempted by the franchise before, this probably isn’t going to change anything. On the other hand, if you feel that the series has gotten a little stale in recent years, picking this up may not be a bad idea. Black Ops II is careful not to step too far outside familiar bounds, but there are some new features that make this entry worth checking out.

Of course, if you’re already a Call of Duty fan, you’ll almost certainly love Black Ops II. The campaign is a little weird in that it’s absolutely ridiculous, but there are some sequences that make the story worth playing through. Additionally, it’s one of the only FPS campaigns in recent memory that encourages multiple playthroughs, even if some of the choices feel a little shallow. Strike Force missionsares an excellent way to break things up, and hopefully the folks at both Treyarch and Infinity Ward will try to expand on this further in future games.

Finally, multiplayer is another winner with great maps, a great mechanic in the Pick 10 system, and fast-paced gameplay that will get your blood pumping. As far as I’m concerned, Survival matches in Zombies are excellent, though Grief and Tranzit mode could have both used some more time to simmer. At the end of everything, though, you have to give Treyarch some points for taking risks in a series that’s known for sticking to what works. Some of these risks don’t play out as well as Treyarch probably envisioned, but each one lays down a springboard that could ultimately make future installments better.

So no, Black Ops II is not a masterpiece. It isn’t the best FPS ever, and I doubt it will even be considered the best Call of Duty game. It’s too early to tell, but Black Ops II may just lead to some actual innovation within the series, and that alone is worth celebrating. If nothing else, it’s a very fun ride, so if you’re a fan of first person shooters, I have no problem recommending that you make space on your shelf for Black Ops II.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II Review is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Welcome to Friday evening everyone – the weekend is here again, but before we dive in, we need to recap the day’s news. First and foremost, our review of the HTC DROID DNA went live just a little while ago, so if you’ve been thinking of picking that phone up, be sure to have a look at our review to see what we think of it! We found out today that Apple and Samsung have been permitted to add new devices to their lawsuit, so expect Samsung to go after the iPhone 5 while Apple tries to collect damages on a number of Samsung devices. Speaking of Samsung, the company is rumored to show off a new handset with a 5-inch 1080p display at CES, so we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for that.

Not content with whispers of just one 1080p smartphone, the rumor mill churned out another concerning a 1080p device from LG, while today’s the day that the iPad mini LTE and 4th gen iPad went up for sale at AT&T and Verizon stores. We heard the good news that AT&T is hitting 4G LTE roll out milestones ahead of schedule, and Apple has been granted a rather controversial patent for page-tuning animation. The crew for the next Star Wars movie is beginning to assemble, while LucasFilm said that it will begin putting out 2-3 movies a year after the release of Episode VII.

We had a lot of video game news today, with Activision announcing that Black Ops II pulled in $500 million in sales on launch day, and Sony announcing that the PS3 has hit 70 million sales worldwide. Nintendo said it won’t have Nintendo TVii ready to go by the time the Wii U launches this weekend, and Hulu launched a brand new Games Hub which users can visit to check out new video game trailers. Nintendo launched a new Pokedex app on the Japanese iOS App Store today, while Microsoft and Sony both revealed the deals they have in store for Black Friday.

We found out that a poll which claimed lagging consumer interest in Windows 8 may not be entirely trustworthy, and a new Apple HDTV product was tipped for an incoming reveal. The Google Maps app for iOS is nearing the finishing touches stage of development according to a source close to the project, while Justin Timberlake showed off the new MySpace today. Apple is killing off the Messages beta for Lion users next month, and finally tonight, scientists have discovered that human ancestors were using spears as far back as 500,000 years ago. That does it for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up, we hope you enjoy the weekend folks!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: November 16, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II launched a few days ago, and we’re now seeing the sales numbers flow in. We already reported GameStop’s sales numbers for the new game, but as a whole, Treyarch and Activision have sold $500 million worth of copies around the world, making it the biggest entertainment launch in history.

The franchise’s previous record was when Modern Warfare 3 made $400 million in sales last year, which equates to 6.5 million copies sold in the US and UK. We weren’t given an exact figure as far as how many copies of Black Ops II were sold on the first day, but it’s obviously a lot more than 6.5 million.

Black Ops II moved 1 million copies at GameStop on the first day alone, while Amazon noted that the game became the site’s most pre-ordered game ever. Activision will no doubt announce the game’s five-day sales numbers, since it did the same with Modern Warfare 3 last year, which scrounged up $775 million in sales in the first five days.

Based on last year’s figures, we can only assume that Black Ops II will see an even bigger five-day sales number, which could possibly reach the $1 billion mark (yes, with a “B”). This launch marks the fourth consecutive year in which a Call of Duty game has eclipsed all previous entertainment launches of that particular year.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II brings in $500 million in first day sales is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Well this is something of a hairy situation: we’re getting reports that claim some Black Ops II PC discs actually contain data for Mass Effect 2 instead of, you know, the game advertised on the front of the box. One Redditor has compiled a list of links that all lead to complaints of these Mass Effect 2 discs in disguise, and YouTube zeroiez has captured the rather confusing mix up on video for the whole world to see. Sounds like someone made a pretty big mistake.

Specifically, it seems that disc 2 in some copies of Black Ops II actually house install data for Mass Effect 2. Luckily, physical copies of the PC version come with Steam codes, so those who ended up buying half of one game and half of another can redeem the codes and download a complete copy of Black Ops II. This is clearly a mistake in the manufacturing process, with someone labeling Mass Effect 2 discs as Black Ops II discs instead.

Of course, Mass Effect and Call of Duty have nothing to do with one another and are made by entirely different developers and publishers. Mass Effect is an Electronic Arts series while Call of Duty is an Activision series, and many of you know that Activision and EA have a rivalry that goes back years. Aside for the annoyance this is bound to cause PC players who opted for a physical copy of the game, the whole situation is quite funny. Check out the video below for evidence of the mixed up discs, but be warned that it contains some salty language.

At the moment, neither Activision nor Electronic Arts have commented on the mix up, though we’re pretty sure they’re just as confused as all the rest of us. In any case, if you were planning to pick up a physical copy of Black Ops II on PC today, it might be a better idea just to skip it and go through Steam since there’s a chance you’ll end up there anyway. Have any of you PC players found a Mass Effect 2 disc masquerading as Black Ops II, or was your copy good to go?

[via Joystiq]

Black Ops II PC discs surprise players with Mass Effect 2 data is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Back in May, the folks at Treyarch and Activision officially announced the release date for Call of Duty: Black Ops II as November 13, 2012. Honestly, that seemed like eons away at the time, but if there’s one thing that school taught you, it’s that the summer flies by extremely quickly, and just like that, today is November 13, 2012.

The Call of Duty series has been a huge hit ever since the original title was released back in 2003. Last year’s installment, Modern Warfare 3, saw $400 million in sales just on the first day alone, selling 6.5 million copies in North America and the UK. The first Black Ops title garnered $360 million in sales, while the previous title, Modern Warfare 2, earned $310 million.

Obviously, there’s an upward trend happening, and if history is any indication, Black Ops II will most likely shoot past $400 million within the first 24 hours of availability. People were lined up at GameStop hours before the game’s release at midnight, and IGN even conducted a poll that found that 26% of gamers planned on skipping work or school to play the new game.

Of course, any diehard Call of Duty fan has played hooky at least once during a launch day (myself included, back in the day), but 26% is a fairly high number today, especially for a game series that has seen a yearly launch for the past six years or so, proving that the series hasn’t died down just yet.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II now available is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.