Toxic reviews Black Ops 2

Last week i managed to play black ops 2 at my cousin, sadly i didn’t have xbox live so I played the multiplayer, campaign and zombies at his house.

Before I played it I was very skeptic and for a good reason. The military shooter genre is declining towards trash. After the mediocre Modern warfare 3 and the downright terrible MoH: Warfighter I highly doubted Black Ops 2 could do anything to safe it, but despite my hatred towards how call of duty has gotten I was surprised by this game. This game has evolved beyond the generic military shooter and did something no call of duty did since 4, giving it a worthy sequel that even call of duty haters might want to try out.



Graphics/Artstyle:

Now this is the thing that keeps Black Ops 2 from being the definitive version which is a really big shame. The graphics of this game can be explained with one word: Outdated.

The aging engine is clearly holding back call of duty’s potential, the textures are poor, the resolution is butchered down, there is little detail in the environment and there is nothing stunning, sure it still runs 60fps but it’s barely notable as it constantly jumps from 30 to 60.

This series clearly needs improvement graphical wise, we live in 2012 and yet it looks like a 2007 game. It’s not terrible but it’s a shame.

6.5/10


Gameplay:

Treyarch did not reinvent the wheel with this but it doesn’t have to. Despite the game rehashing sounds, engine and graphics it is still as satisfying as ever delivering a fast paced action oriented feel we are all used to.
What treyarch did to is bringing a whole new dymanic to the campaign. During each mission, player actions can have an effect on the story, determining when certain characters live or die, and even leading to alternate endings. For a Call of Duty game this brings a complete new depth and replay value towards the series like no other call of duty has done so far.

The sci-fi twist in call of duty also helps giving depth to the gameplay, instead of generic foot soldier you got claw units, drones, mercenaries in cloaking suits and they come from each direction in large scale battles. Making the campaign more energetic than ever.

While once again the outdated sounds and engine doesn’t make call of duty anything new and exciting like halo 4 delivers, they clearly changed up things and made the gameplay deeper than ever.

8.5/10


Storyline:

The storyline in this game blew me away and surprised me incredibly, well atleast for a call of duty game it did.
The story revolves around the enemy Raul Menendez who is pretty much the heart and main attraction of the story. The story takes place during two periods, during 2025 in which the protagonist has to stop Menendez from crippling America and 1980 where Alex Mason follows Menendez and you learn about his motivations.

This is a very impressive method to bring variety aswell as learning about Menendez his motivations in a natural way. Eventually you will learn that Menendez is a very charismatic villain who is without a doubt the most indepth and well executed character in the call of duty series so far.

However it’s not a perfect story, despite Menendez being a really great character this game still suffers from very cliché moments, poorly supporting character and generic set pieces. Still this storyline is very impressive for a call of duty game and probably the best one I’ve seen in the series.

8.5/10


Multiplayer:

Despite the singleplayer being a very unique fresh breath from the other games, the multiplayer offering fails to meet that expectation aswell. Already with the overused gameplay mechanics the multiplayer part does literally nothing to make itself stand out, there exact same problem the first black ops was being haunted with returns in black ops 2, the maps are nothing special and really the only change is the bigger and more interesting variety in futuric weapons, perks and scorestreaks.

The real multiplayer experience lies in zombies which is not only better and more engaging than ever but has brought a complete new way of replay value. The new addition to zombie mode is Tranzit a campaign-like mode exploration mode where players build power sources and open doors to access an automated tour bus that takes them from location to location, eventually leading to an underground base and beyond.
This gives a complete new dynamic in replay value, strategy and exploration as you will constantly explore new area’s, build new power sources and make more choices. Are you going to spend your point to open this area or are you rather go back to the bus to go to the next ones, these decisions constantly makes you come back to this mode and is a new fresh breath in the famous zombie mode.

While the multiplayer mode is very disappointing and does nothing new it is saved by the incredibly immersive and exciting tranzit mode in zombies.

8.0/10


Replay value:

Normally with call of duty games I had this typical pattern, beat the campaign in one day, play some multiplayer for a week and never play it again unless a friend wants to play. With this call of duty it’s different. This game has an incredible replay value that I’ve never seen before in a call of duty. The moral choices and alternate endings makes me want to play the campaign over again and there is so massive amounts to explore in tranzit that it just doesn’t get stale whatsoever.

Though it’s understandable that not everyone will get the same replay value as you might be tired of the call of duty formula it’s still amazing how much content this game provides.

9.5/10


Overall:

It’s very understandable that after all these bland and generic call of duty sequels you might be sick of it, but with all these impressive changes that make this game much more dynamic than ever it’s probably the greatest call of duty since call of duty 4, to those who don’t like call of duty anymore I recommend to give it atleast a rent or try it at a friend and those who do like it probably already have it anyway.

Black Ops 2 gets a very solid:

8.5/10

i played some to.

you have to give it to treyarch. they know how to make a rehashed game good. atleast for a couple of months anyway

still wouldnt buy

To be honest, after Black Ops 2 I can't seem to say anything negative about Call of Duty anymore. I mean its not like each game gets worse and worse every year. Yes, Activision is milking the franchise to death, but who can blame them? If you're not into Call of Duty then just don't buy it. Plain and simple.

I broke and ended up buying this game for the PS3. I expected the worst but I was surprised that this managed to be Treyarch's smoothest running game on PS3. Visually the game does indeed look quite dated. Some parts are pretty impressive while others are just flat out ugly. The campaign was interesting and very different from any Call of Duty before it but damn I would be lying if I didn't find many cringe worthy moments in the cut scenes. What was with the admiral's obsession with the word "cocksucker"?

When it comes to multiplayer, I find it more enjoyable than MW3 and especially Black Ops 1... but the maps just don't feel special. Every single one of them reminded me of maps from previous games. Turbine reminded me of MW2's Afghan. Express reminded me of MW2's Airport. I found Black Ops 1's maps more unique. Plaza is cool but not big and too flat. It's all nothing but mazes and corridors. In my opinion World at War still has the best maps. Besides all of that, it's still fun. It's slightly more slower paced than the MW series and I absolutely fucking love Gun Game once again. Balancing is okay except for that GOD AWFUL BOUNCING BETTY. WORST FUCKING EQUIPMENT IN ANY CALL OF DUTY GAME. NERF THAT SHIT, TREYARCH.

Anyway, overall I would say it's an 8/10. Despite all the reports about the PS3 version sucking so much.. I really don't see that much of a problem with it. I even rented the 360 version and compared them. The campaign shows the biggest differences between the two with the 360 running smoother and looking a tad sharper but you'd be hard pressed to find any differences in multiplayer where both versions manages to run at a rock solid frame rate.

I would be lying if I said Black Ops 2 didn't have any problems on the PS3, but the reports are HIGHLY exaggerating about it. Its not like the game is unplayable or anything. Hell, this is probably the most polished Call of Duty game on PS3 compared to all the others.

Nah. I wouldn't say it's the most polished. Far from it actually. MW3 sucked but the PS3 version looked and performed just as good as the 360 version. MW2 looked even closer but performed a little worse on the PS3 during the campaign (multiplayer was rock solid though). For Treyarch, this is definitely their closest match between consoles but I wish they would ditch that post processing AA which blurs the image slightly. The dynamic resolution during the campaign also does quite a bit of harm to it. It still looks okay but when you REALLY look you may just notice that the PS3 is slightly blurrier even during multiplayer. Just really glad to know performance holds up very well either way. Even in the biggest of maps the PS3's frame rate refuses to drop a frame.

That's why I said compared to the others.

You know what? Fuck it. I think I'll pick this game up if I have enough Holiday money left over. Treyarch does seemed to have put more effort in this game, and it has enough change in it to warrant a purchase from me.

Gonna go pick it up today for zombies. I played TranZit and was hooked.

I might rent it to see if I like the zombies.

Mecha wrote:

That's why I said compared to the others.

Is that not exactly what I just did...? Compared to the other CoD games on PS3, this one could have turned out a little better.

I thought you said it was smoother than the other Call of Duty games?

I said it's TREYARCH's smoothest Call of Duty game. But image quality seems to have taken a hit in the process.

Lol I love how someone downvoted Toxic.