Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Never really been a fan of the recent Call of Duty games, but I'm excited to see a CoD game set in the (near) future. I've been wanting that since CoD 3 came out.
 
Pre-empting Battlefield 2143, I see. Looks shit to me. I'm sure multiplayer will be roses for CoD fans, though.
 
Psyched for implication of class system in multilayer, fixation on competitive 60fps play, and the fact that Treyarch as a predisposition for putting zombie shooters inside their Duty games.

Black-Ops, when I downloaded a proper MP config, was one of my favorite PC MP shooters in a proper long time. Treyarch is undoubtedly Activision's most talented studio working on the franchise right now--facing a gutted IW. This game has been cooking a couple years. Bring it on. Hopefully dedicated servers and gamble matches make the cut, loved it.
 
Oh they're going to have a Mammoth II tank.
 
LOL. Series has been proper silly since MW2, at least they're having fun with it now. No way in hell I'm touching it, though.

Edit: Why do near future shooters always have the ****ing XM8 or something suspiciously similar? It's such a shitty looking gun.
 
COD is fun as hell. Also Battlefield VS COD debates are retarded. Completely different gameplay.
 
I feel like Treyarch has a few liberties here given they're the spearhead of the remaining CoD talent. Not that Activision learned it's lesson, but they've got the series on the decline and this is the proper developer to add some comedy back into the mix.
 
Weren't Treyarch's games the worst of the series? I hear BLOPS was decent (as far as COD games go), but does one decent game after a series of shitty ones really make them a rallying post for your hopes BHC?
 
I'll wait for the January 2013 Call of Duty. Or maybe I'll pick the March one.
 
Krynn72 said:
Weren't Treyarch's games the worst of the series? I hear BLOPS was decent (as far as COD games go), but does one decent game after a series of shitty ones really make them a rallying post for your hopes BHC?
Click to expand...
Yeah the Treyarch titles are pretty much at the bottom of the pile although IW isn't much better these days after most of them left to found Respawn Entertainment. I couldn't possibly feel more meh about something than I do about this game announcement.

COD4 was the last game in the series that had any real merit to it... since then they have been increasingly absurd casual spamfests. Blops was the worst of them all in this regard (well, I didn't play MW3) so Blops 2 sounds crushingly mediocre to me.

I think a lot of it is just the basic difference between being a "modern" FPS gamer (where you consider pure FPS to be games like Battlefield or COD where skill factor is very strongly tempered by luck/chance and easy-to-abuse game mechanics) and being an early 2000s FPS gamer used to more skill and technique based games like Quake, Counterstrike, COD/COD2 etc.
 
If I remember correctly, Treyarch was responsible for CoD 3, CoD 5, Black Ops, and now this. From what I played, 3 was not very good at all, and neither was 5. Black Ops at least TRIED some new things like wager matches and some other game types, and had some interesting gadgets.

Would I buy this? Probably not, as CoDs gunplay just isnt my thing. If a friend brought this over for some laughs I would certainly play it.
 
So many things are wrong with this trailer and the actual game concept.

But I won't waste your time explaining them all, most people can tell. That ****ing voice acting sucks though, I'll say that much - worst I've heard in a long time.
 
How are the SP campaigns in MW3 and BO? All everyone talks about is the multiplayer, which I have no interest in.
 
Krynn72 said:
Weren't Treyarch's games the worst of the series? I hear BLOPS was decent (as far as COD games go), but does one decent game after a series of shitty ones really make them a rallying post for your hopes BHC?
Click to expand...
They're actually the best. IW's games after COD4 have been dog shit. BLOPS and WaW at least had an enjoyable campaign.

I'll be Gameflying this when it comes out. And as far as the inevitable "trying to beat 2143 to the punch" arguments go, this at least looks like it could be good. A Battlefield 2143 by current day Dice WILL be shit if BF3 is anything to go by.
 
Ennuı said:
Yeah the Treyarch titles are pretty much at the bottom of the pile although IW isn't much better these days after most of them left to found Respawn Entertainment. I couldn't possibly feel more meh about something than I do about this game announcement.
Click to expand...

Bless you if you read this article, I'd love to hear some proper feedback.

Firstly, I'm relieved to see a Call Of game that isn't marketed on sameness or building entirely upon its predecessors. Bear in mind the overwhelming relativity I speak from. Deviation from the Call of Duty formula was as simple as allowing us to buy Face Paint and design gun decals. Oh, and gamble away our money throwing hatchets at each other. Shit's fun. Have you tried it?

Black Ops did so much right. I saw that Treyarch Spiderman'ish charm injected into: the zombie mode, the standard MP, the cash based meta game, the server browser, the comedic negligence of history and allowing the backbone to fix their rushed MP. Such graces were left out of the likes of MW2/3. These were liberties Activision foolishly slashed from a studio treated unfairly.

So in my dreams Treyarch is the unlikely hero and heir to an uneasy throne. Luckily they're veterans of disguised off-color, occasionally fun negligence of the rubric so crassly handed their way.

"Hardcore" (my definition of hardcore is different than yours, deal w/it) gamers resented more CoD of any kind, and the "casuals" saw the Treyarch games as comedic relief between titanic episodes of unabashed humorless war-porn.

Then Black Ops happened.

"Hardcores" remained behind tunnel vision of franchise hate besides the occasional insightful critic. The public at large, in the meantime, had a ****ing blast. The series made its way to being a talking point on Jon Stewart.

Yet Franchise dogmatism and fancied replication seems refreshingly circumnavigated by today's Treyarch.

Here's a ridiculously hyperbolic press statement made shortly after the official announcement. Yet I still see a Truth in the tone of Eric's voice. BO2 will be a labor of love, no matter how tragic the outcome may be.

Activision, and Treyarch as the obvious blabbering digit here, realize that something has been growing out of the Treyarch take on CoD. Something more marketable to the public at large than MW. A game for the jaded folk whom still enjoy the comfortable rubric of CoD sounds exquisite to me.

Perhaps this entry will reimagine the series enough to see a blooming, fascist, undead flower of a game. Ideally we would forget the prefix altogether, with fingers crossed I look forward to what Black Ops should be, an independent franchise--one without its damning label. That's also just not the way shit works, to my perpetual disappointment.

Let me preface with saying Treyarch went from a studio limited to forgotten gems like Die by Sword, and porting Tony Hawk (quite properly) to Dreamcast--to what is now multi-million dollar projects with, relatively speaking, quite a bit of artistic liberty.

İ completely dısagree wıth your comments on MW beıng the last CoD possessıng merıt. İ wıll go out on a lımb here and ask ıf you played Black Ops MP at all for more than a few moments or played zombıes as Nıxon and Kennedy etc--have you? It ıs quıte charmıng fun.

MW was ındeed the catalyst-but wıth vanılla settıngs ıs poorly balanced ıt ıs also a spray fest akın to ıts successors-ıt ıs just the stadard IW set--a standard pervasıve ın seemıngly the most dıstant of FPS tıtles. Ironıcally MW2 and furthermore black ops adressed ımbalanced gameplay mechanıcs such as dolphın dıvıng and adjusted the dıffıculty of quıck scopıng--when the game was played ın properly sızed servers--for a franchıse junkıe thıngs were better than ever. Excuse my grammar Im typıng on a Turkısh keyboard.

I humbly disagree with you on the trackrecord of Treyarch from World at War and onward. I think they remained the more interesting entries with features like Nazi Zombies, hound kill streaks, vehicle experimentation. Of course, much of this is horribly implemented and it's not going to hit the competitive shooter scene anytime soon--but that doesn't change the fact that sometimes it's just a whole lot of dumb fun. Dumb fun that IW deviated from starting with the departure of its most mindful developers.

Treyarch was, and is, a developer with godawful time constraints--forced to do ports, adaptations and tie-ins to stay afloat. That being said, particularly as console developers, I think they're a studio lingering in the shadow of an imposed Pedigree. My statistics don't exist, their budgets are not made public, but these are guys and gals who fall in love with titles they care about.

Spiderman 2 is exemplary, it stands as proof that given the time and budget Treyarch is an inspirational and often innovative studio. Of course this comes at the sacrifice of PC QA, oft rushed projects and the clear as daylight slavery to Activision and their rigid and limiting dev cycles.

Of course I'll be chewed out for this but I think the Treyarch's position in the FPS genre is not so unlike that of Obsidian's within the RPG world. The talent is there, the resources are not. Horrific shit like Dungeon Siege III comes to follow New Vegas in hopes of securing any financial foothold--QA spotty throughout time spent with big-name contractors and dreadful stragglers like Atari and Lucas. The difference of course being that Treyarch is wholly owned by its masters.

Of course, the downside of remaining a separate entity was tragic for Obsidian. This is one of the sad realities of AAA games and resource allocation. Alien RPG, Alpha Protocol, Sith Lords--games capable of so much, completely flushed without the backing of a company as financially robust as ActiBlizz. Obsidian, not unlike so many studios before it, remains a shell after layoffs and willful departure.

Sony does a surprisingly good job with owned studios like Naughty Dog, Insomniac and SCE Santa Monica Studio. Smart games occasionally come from wholly owned studios.

I'm doing my thing and giving Treyarch the benefit of the doubt here. Those comparisons are far-fetched. Though Insom and Naughty haven't released anything I've found particularly profound since the first Drake/Ratchet.

Treyarch has a firm seat among the topsaying Activision studios right now because it ****ing has to be. They have no saving grace in the form of Infinity. They'll become a more important studio to Activision as they rightfully should.

Even my bro-brah friends tire of the numbered Modern Wars. Kotick is a numbers guy, and a predictable one. Trey is a safe studio.

I can't overstate the amount of fun and silliness that comes through when they're allowed creative liberties. Spiderman 2 set a high bar for Super Hero games--undeniable critical and commercial success. Nazi Zombies is fun as hell--for every bit that it lacks innovation it adds flavor, humor and atmosphere. I quite prefer the atmosphere of Trey's Zombie Mode the entire likes of the Left 4 Dead franchise, something I'll always take flak for around this crowd.

Black Ops single player is a sadly daft affair complicated by oversimplification of things like torture and rely on cringe-worthy and tired FPS gimmicks like on-rails escape scenes, etc--but the game shines in Multiplayer. Particularly on the console with a good group of mates.

I think my purchase of BO2 will depend on the presence of a "just for fun" gametype like Zombies or gamble matches like the original handled so brilliantly. Oh, and the customization. MW3 is a thorough step backwards from Black Ops in this MW MP fan. I really think they've come a long way in developing the franchise and having their fun too.

Spiderman 2 stands strong on my top games list. Those guys can do well. MW before WaW? Perhaps not exciting, it's not a Treyarch I know--but I think that's when they got interesting in the Call of Duty franchise, as a purely multiplayer CoD guy.

They give less of a ****. I think Treyarch is a brilliant little studio given their limitations thus far. I just hope Activision continues to allow them Black Ops level silliness.

I'd like to think Acti has moved beyond putting them face first into rubbish like the unfortunate Quantum of Solace tie-in. They're actively hiring QA folks and strayed industry talent.

Treyarch is now in the fortunate position of being growth studio with a solid, yet grossly refrained infrastructure, within Activision. They're a dev house I remain vigilant with. I become cautiously excited about their upcoming releases.

Will this be Call of Duty? Of course. Overpriced rubbish in most VT reader's eyes.
To me, I get MP mania, LAN zombie awesomeness and a less serious take on an FPS standby that brings comfort in its sameness.

With any luck, we'll get dedicated servers, gamble/GG matches and the meta-game which made Black-Ops a genuinely great game.

Treyarch is well capable, perhaps they'll see the level of TLC they deserve PC side. They remain relatively unscathed by the IW drama--resulting in the most underwhelming entry in the series since it became brotacular.

I want my annual bout of wonky, off-kilter CoD with awkward ultra-violence. Three (four if you include Raven) studios couldn't salvage the wreckage of the blatantly neutered MW3. I think the budget and QA is up, BO was a larger financial success and I don't attribute that entirely to its place in the timeline of CoD hype. I think the public at large fancied, and fancies the idea of a Black Ops franchise.

Did I mention Spiderman 2 yet? Because it's a bloody awesome testament to the brilliance possessed by Treyarch when they're granted liberties akin to those budding from the Black Ops buzz.

While they're certainly not miracle workers, underestimating Treyarch is a rightful mistake. Diamond in the rough and what have you. Please disagree. Though I fear I've closed another thread with a piece of misplaced journalism in a rather comfortable discussion.

I don't understand the hate. You know I never have. "Gee willikers, it's Call of Duty! Time to discuss how meritless and droll this next one will be."Pretentiously uninterested safe words, defensive comment(s), slanderous randoms who loathe the very idea of a series so dead to 20/30someting PC loyalists stop by to drop a few hateful words. **** it all.

The Call of Duty generation is, believe it or not, appearing to display a shift in taste. A safe maturation. Games do not belong to us. The forward and sideways movement of innovation, goof and comfort is as dynamic as cinema or literature taste.

I'd like to ask those FPS players so heavily apathetic towards this project exactly why they hold disdain other than the spotty history of a series so bipolar in quality. Why is Black Ops 2 boring when CS:GO, BF3 or your shooter of choice so provocative? I am a lover of all these things, I'm genuinely curious, I cannot comprehend the paradigm here.
 
I'll contınue to edıt the artıcle to enhance clarıty once I have access to somethıng that ısn't thıs lovely Turkısh Compaq netbook.

I mıss cs:go and usıng my Steam accnt dammıt.

ğüöçö.öğpüöülğüğ.,qııııı ****ıng Cem and hıs junkıe lıttle college apmnt
 
I'm not ****ing reading that but I've found that Treyarch's contributions, in general, have been worse. CoD 3 had a boring campaign and horrifically balanced multi. WaW had a boring and also dumb campaign and decent multi, but still not a scratch on 1/2's. Black Ops had a campaign so boring I gave up halfway through (and which I'm led to believe is also super dumb), and actually pretty good multi which was only mostly marred by it's horrible PC optimization... for some. Unfortunately I was one of those some so they can go **** theyselves as far as I'm concerned.

1, 2 and 4 remain the best, but I honestly still enjoyed MW2 more than any of Trey's contributions.
 
İ haven't done a sıngle player CoD sınce the fırst two. So no ıdea where you're comıng from there, but I'm sure you're somewhere between rıght and bıtter.

1 and 2 I'm not even puttıng ın the same league here. Speakıng strıctly about the happenıngs after the serıes entered modern... uh.. times

And I completely understand that. I certaınly have more hours logged ınto mw2 than any other ıteratıon--but found my tıme ın Black Ops more fun and versatıle--between awesome gamblıng matches and rıdıculous customızatıon and zombıes ıt became a game I have better memorıes of. Even ıf İ'm basıng that entırely on zombıe co-op wıth my compadres.
 
Oh yeah you just reminded me of the other thing that pissed me off about BLOPS on PC - the gimped as all **** gambling. Fun game modes but betting 500 monies or whatever was so pointless.
 
ríomhaire said:
How are the SP campaigns in MW3 and BO? All everyone talks about is the multiplayer, which I have no interest in.
Click to expand...
Black Ops was fine until the ending. (MERICUUUHHHHH) Didn't bother with MW3, except for a bit of mp at a friends house.
 
To be fai 'MURCAH is the best. I just always hate the ****ing to xyz place to receive lame new scripted order stuff.

I don't remember of the first two were like that, but I think the objectives and scale were at least more interesting.
 
I didn't mind MW2's campaign so much, at least it allowed you a bit of freedom, whereas the campaign in black ops seemed to keep you on a literal rail the whole game. I mean, there was absolutely no diverging from the path the game set.

Like in MW2 on the brazil level, there were a few ways you could go through the favelas, and even that was pretty limited, but BO's was just laughable. Maybe it would have helped if BO's story was actually interesting.
 
I think the core point of BHC's post was that Treyarch isn't afforded the resources (and possibly the extra engine/game programmer) they need to properly pull off their vision for each COD game. IW set a certain benchmark with 4, but Treyarch - while they haven't maintained IW's consistency of quality and theme - are the ones who are pushing the limits of the franchise. COD3 introduced much larger maps, class-based teamplay, and vehicles. WaW introduced the ever-popular Zombies mode. Blops expanded on Zombies, broadened the scope and style of narrative, and introduced more interactive killstreak rewards and somewhat refactored balance in multiplayer. IW, while they have polished their MW subfranchise to a shine, have done nothing original of note since COD4.

(I believe this is Activision's fault, as I imagine they were strapped more harshly than Treyarch during the parallel development cycles of 4 and WaW, since 4 was to be released earlier. I believe this generated harsher employee resentment in IW and its later semi-dissolution followed by the creation of Respawn Entertainment, and afforded Treyarch the time to develop their game more creatively - the success of both games leading Activision to stick each developer with trying to repeat their approach and their goal in every dev cycle since.)

If Treyarch and IW were funded dollar-for-content, I'm pretty sure Treyarch's games would come out on top.
 
You know what would really impress me? A ****ing engine update.
 
I think ButtHat means a completely new engine. Something that isn't a slightly bloomier version of id Tech 3 each year.
 
There's no real reason for it though. Source engine is still working in-house as well. They've got a stable Quake based framework--just like half the other FPS out there.

That and Funreal
 
Yeah it's still "stable" great slap that on the box and see how long it stays on the shelves. I mean granted half the problem is a little thing I like to call THE CONSOLE GENERATION THAT WOULDN'T DIE but at least with other engines like Source they actually make an attempt to stay up to date. Look at Portal 2 alongside Black Ops and tell me with a straight face that they're comparable. There's a reason CoD runs at a (usually) flawless 60fps and it ain't got shit to do with optimization.
 
I think it has a little to do with optimization. :V You crotchety old man you.
 
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