CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS 2 for Xbox 360

Call of Duty seems to be the biggest game series on the planet. With Black Ops 2 the series is actually evolving. This is the first time since Call of Duty4 that the series is trying new things. Most of them work quite well, for now lets take look at the campaign. Spanning two time periods and multiple locales, Black Ops 2's storyline is quite strong. Thesis honestly the first truly engaging storyline that the series has offered.

The characters are memorable, well written, and the voice acting is of the finest quality. The missions feature a variety of objectives and large scale set pieces. During some of the new strike force missions, the game also has multiple outcomes. The strike force missions is the largest change in the series, these are somewhat real time strategy and combat oriented levels. There are interesting and can be failed.

 They offer a unique style of game play. However felt that while these missions were fun, they ultimately slowed the pace of the game. The main missions feature some great story and game play elements, high tech firefights, and epic scenes of combat on horseback. The campaign has a ton of great moments and has the makings of one of the best shooter son the market. However it suffers from one large problem, the gunplay is very weak.

 Weapons have no real weight or recoil when fired. For some this may not be a huge detractor. But for me, it made the frequent firefights somewhat dull. Granted the game does make up for the surprisingly weak gunplay with fantastically staged set pieces that are far more interactive than previous games. Luckily the game manages to overcome the rough gunplay. Thanks to the fast paced shootouts. Let me say that the combat is in no way bad. But for a flagship first person shooter,

I feel that it should have been far more satisfying. This is the best looking game in the franchise, textures are clean, and the world is full of detail and polish. The series has never been known for outstanding visuals; however that changes with this release. Moving onto the hallmark of the Black Ops series is Zombies. Yes zombies mode is back, with more levels weapons and the sense of humor that we have come to expect from the series.

Few things were changed while everything was tweaked and refined. Rounding out the package is the trademark multiplayer, firstly if you have never liked Call of Duty online Black Ops 2 will not change your mind. It’s more of the same. However it has been dialed in. Combat feels better here than in the campaign. There are plenty of weapons, modes, and maps. For the most part it's what we have come to expect. But one nice change and the most noticeable, is that there are larger maps.

 The levels are frankly far better made than ever before. Leveling up is still fun and rewarding, threes plenty of game play modes, and tons of weapons and content. Black Ops 2 is a great game and this is coming from someone that has a love hate relationship with the series.

It's a well made game and has some very high production values. Improvements were made were they were needed most. The campaign has been overhauled and is a rousing experience. Multiplayer is still fun and has some wonderful maps to play on. It’s not hard to say that this is the best game in the series since 4. It falls just short of being an incredible game. All the parts are there, however I could not help but feel blah about the combat. Still the game controls well and even though the combat was weak Black Ops 2 is still one hell of a game. I could pick the gunplay apart. But the end of the day, this was a very enjoyable experience.



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