Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Been there, done that"

Another year, another Call of Duty. While I feel that COD has been running out of steam since the first Black Ops came out, I cant help but find it tempting to review. I decided to give this one another go, I soon started to find out that its like the last couple of entries, the same old, same old. Black Ops 2 has a surprisingly different story this time around, while I still think its as far fetched as ever. Its still unique considering the different outcomes and choices you can make in the campaign, while this is a step forward for the series, games have had choice driven stories i.e Mass Effect series. I really don't want to go into detail about the campaign, but all you need to know is that BLOPS 2 is set in the not so far off future where a dictator called Menendez is using your own futuristic weapons against you. You play as David Mason, the son of Alex Mason, and you are tasked to bring down Menendez and his evil operation, its the same premise like every other COD, with the exception of story choices. Also I have a pet peeve with this series. I HATE the slow-mo, Michael Bay action scenes. I mean really 5 COD games after MW 1 and we are still doing the "close to danger, vehicle flying over me cinematic." In example, there is a scene in the game where Mason and his partner Harper are scaling a mountainside, its raining and lighting, but as they get to a flat area "lightning" strikes a tree trunk and the trunk is dragging the characters over the ledge of the mountain, only to be rescued by a fellow soldier. This sort of thing and the slow-mo sequence when your player gets up after being knocked out by a impact is ridiculous. Finally I am I guy who likes a challenge in a game, as I was playing this game on Veteran, I ended up beating it in know time, which really ticked me off. Especially after the first BLOPS, and how hard it was...Executive Order I'm talking to you.
The graphics are nothing spectacular, considering this series has been using the same engine since the first MW came out in 07'. It really took me out of the game considering how its supposed to be futuristic. Just to compare graphic quality, I played Red Dead Redemption the other day, and that game is three years old, and I wound up playing Red Dead again over BLOPS 2 because of the beautiful, vast open scale.
Now on to the multiplayer...its COD multiplayer, nothings changed, except the weapons and attachments. I came in expecting a cool new feel only to find myself being killed by a camper with C4, then thats when I realized, yep its COD.
There is also zombies but... its zombies. Watch a video on YouTube if you really want to.
Overall this is a typical run of the mill Call of Duty game, the only thing that really saves the game is the unique outcomes of your choices in the campaign. My only hope is that the developers take a couple of years off to really fine-tune the engine, story, and multiplayer, similar to the first Modern Warfare, I would recommend renting it before you buy it.