2012 video game
2012 video game
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch 🌛 and published by Activision. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 12, 2012, and 🌛 for the Wii U on November 18 in North America and November 30 in PAL regions.[1][2][3][4][5] Black Ops II is 🌛 the ninth game in the Call of Duty franchise of video games, a sequel to the 2010 game Call of 🌛 Duty: Black Ops and the first Call of Duty game for the Wii U. A corresponding game for the PlayStation 🌛 Vita, Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified, was developed by nStigate Games and also released on November 13.
The game's campaign 🌛 follows up the story of Black Ops and is set in the late 1980s and 2025. In the 1980s, the 🌛 player switches control between Alex Mason and Frank Woods, two of the protagonists from Black Ops, while in 2025, the 🌛 player assumes control of Mason's son, David (codenamed "Section"). Both time periods involve the characters pursuing Raul Menendez, a Nicaraguan 🌛 arms dealer and later terrorist, who is responsible for kidnapping David in the 80s and later sparking a Second Cold 🌛 War in 2025. The campaign features non-linear gameplay and has multiple endings.[6] Locations featured in the game include Angola, Myanmar, 🌛 Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Pakistan, the Cayman Islands, Panama, Yemen, the United States, and Haiti.
Development for the game began soon after the 🌛 release of Black Ops, with Activision promising that the follow-up would bring "meaningful innovation" to the Call of Duty franchise. 🌛 Black Ops II is the first game in the series to feature futuristic warfare technology and the first to present 🌛 branching storylines driven by player choice as well as selecting weapons before starting story mode missions. It also offers a 🌛 3D display option. The game was officially revealed on May 1, 2012, following a set of leaked information released during 🌛 the previous months.
Black Ops II received mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise for its gameplay, story, multiplayer, Zombies mode, 🌛 and villain, but its Strike Force missions had a mixed reception. The game was a commercial success; within 24 hours 🌛 of going on sale, the game grossed overR$500 million.[7] It had remained the largest entertainment launch of all time until 🌛 September 2013, when Take-Two Interactive announced that Grand Theft Auto V had grossedR$800 million in its first day of release.[8] 🌛 It went on to sell 7.5 million copies in the U.S. in November 2012, making it the highest-grossing game of 🌛 the month.[9] A sequel, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, was released in 2024.[10] Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold 🌛 War, set between Black Ops and Black Ops II, was released on November 13, 2024.[11][12]
Gameplay
Campaign
Tactical view in a Strike Force 🌛 mission
Black Ops II is the first Call of Duty video game to feature branching storylines, in which the player's choice 🌛 affects both the current mission and in turn, the overall course of the story. Known as "Strike Force missions", these 🌛 branching storylines appear during the 2025 storyline and feature permanent death. The success or failure of these missions can have 🌛 ramifications for the wider campaign storyline. Choosing one of the missions locks out the others unless the player begins a 🌛 fresh campaign.[13]
Strike Force missions allow the player to control a number of different war assets, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, 🌛 jet fighters and robots. If the player dies in a Strike Force mission, the campaign continues recording that loss, as 🌛 opposed to letting the player load a previously saved checkpoint. The player's progress in the Strike Force missions may go 🌛 on to change even the plans of the story's antagonist, Raul Menendez.[13] By the end of the game, the player 🌛 may have changed the results of the new Cold War.
Similarly, in the main story missions, there are certain points where 🌛 the player is given different choices and paths to progress, which could have an effect on the gameplay, as well 🌛 as the story. Black Ops II is also the first game in the series to allow the player to customize 🌛 their loadout before beginning a mission, creating freedom in choosing how to approach a mission.
Multiplayer
One of the biggest changes added 🌛 to multiplayer mode in Black Ops II is the introduction of Pick 10, a new system within the Create-a-Class menu. 🌛 Pick 10 gives the player a total of 10 allocation slots in a class, which are used for guns, perks, 🌛 and grenades. The player can customize the slot allocation, to either have more attachments for a gun, or more perks.
Killstreaks 🌛 from previous Call of Duty games are renamed as Scorestreaks, which are now earned by gaining points, rather than kills. 🌛 This allows the player to focus on objective modes, which also earn points towards Scorestreaks.
Unlike past games, weapons in Black 🌛 Ops II have a progression system, which is used to unlock weapon attachments. After maxing out a weapon's level, the 🌛 player can choose to "prestige" the gun, similar to how they can prestige the player level, and reset their attachment 🌛 progress. In exchange, the player can customize their weapons with custom clan tags and emblems.
Black Ops II is also the 🌛 first Call of Duty game to include a competitive mode. Known as League Play, the mode allows players of similar 🌛 skill level to be matched together, and play according to the rules of Major League Gaming.
Zombies
Treyarch confirmed that the Zombies 🌛 mode would return for Black Ops II with new game modes. This is the third Call of Duty game to 🌛 feature a Zombies mode, following Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops, and the first 🌛 to have game modes other than the traditional Survival mode. Treyarch also confirmed that Zombies would run on the game's 🌛 multiplayer engine, allowing for a deeper community experience, along with new features. A new, 8 player co-op game called "Grief" 🌛 is also supported, featuring 2 teams of 4 players competing to survive, unlike the previous games which only supported 4 🌛 player online co-op. As with the previous installments, each Zombies map contains "Easter eggs" side quests, which is used to 🌛 progress the story. Another new mode, "Turned", is introduced with several downloadable content maps, in which one player attempts to 🌛 survive three player-controlled zombies who must turn the other player into a zombie.
Plot
Single-player campaign
Setting and characters
Raul Menendez, the main antagonist 🌛 of the game
The single-player campaign features two connected storylines, with the first set from 1986 to 1989 during the final 🌛 years of the First Cold War, and the other set in 2025 during a Second Cold War and rare earths 🌛 trade dispute[14] between the United States and China. The protagonist of Black Ops, Alex Mason (Sam Worthington) returns as the 🌛 protagonist in the First Cold War section, and chronicles the rise to infamy of the game's primary antagonist, Raul Menendez 🌛 (Kamar de los Reyes).[15]
The 2025 section of the game features Alex Mason's son David (codenamed Section) (Rich MacDonald) as the 🌛 protagonist, in which Menendez is plotting against the United States and China, with one of his ultimate goals being to 🌛 see the United States locked in a new Cold War with China, in revenge for his many misfortunes.[16] In this 🌛 era, wars are defined by robotics, cyberwarfare, unmanned vehicles, and other futuristic technology.[15][13]
Returning characters include Alex Mason's CIA SAD/SOG squadmates 🌛 Frank Woods (James C. Burns) and Jason Hudson (Michael Keaton), former Soviet Army Colonel Lev Kravchenko (Andrew Divoff), and disgraced 🌛 Red Army Captain Viktor Reznov (Gary Oldman). New characters include: Section's DEVGRU teammates Mike Harper (Michael Rooker) and Javier Salazar 🌛 (Celestino Cornielle), their commanding officer Admiral Tommy Briggs (Tony Todd), the CIA double agent Farid (Omid Abtahi), US President Marion 🌛 Bosworth (Cira Larkin), Strategic Defense Coalition leader General Tian Zhao (Byron Mann), Tacitus Corporation ex-employee Chloe Lynch (codenamed Karma) (Erin 🌛 Cahill). The game also features several historical and real-life characters, including: UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi (Robert Wisdom), Panamanian General Manuel 🌛 Noriega (Benito Martinez), Colonel Oliver North (voiced by himself), and former CIA Director David Petraeus (Jim Meskimen). Jimmy Kimmel cameos 🌛 as himself in one of the game's endings, while the rock band Avenged Sevenfold makes a non-canonical appearance at the 🌛 end of the game.
Story
In July 1986, Alex Mason, now retired from active duty, pursues an obscure life in Alaska with 🌛 his son, David. Their shaky relationship is further strained when Jason Hudson approaches Mason for an assignment in Angola—Frank Woods 🌛 and his team have disappeared while attempting to take out an arms smuggling ring; the CIA has already disavowed their 🌛 actions, but Hudson hopes to rescue any survivors. After aiding Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebels against Angola's Marxist government, Mason and 🌛 Hudson recover Woods from a barge on the Cubango River, subsequently encountering a Nicaraguan arms dealer named Raul Menendez among 🌛 a contingent of Cuban military advisers. After a lengthy firefight, the trio are rescued by Savimbi. It is revealed that 🌛 Menendez is responsible for holding Woods captive after torturing and killing his team.
The CIA later authorize a strike against Menendez, 🌛 now profiteering through the Soviet–Afghan War. In September 1986, the trio travel to Afghanistan and meet with Chinese intelligence operative 🌛 Tian Zhao to ally with the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviets. They capture Colonel Lev Kravchenko,[a] and interrogate him. Mason 🌛 becomes afflicted by his brainwashing once again, struggling to resist the urge to kill Kravchenko. If the player is successful, 🌛 Kravchenko discloses that Menendez has moles inside the CIA, before Woods executes him. The mujahideen then betray the Americans and 🌛 Zhao, leaving them to die in the desert until they are rescued by two civilians; Mason hallucinates that one of 🌛 them is Reznov.
The origins of Menendez's anti-American sentiment are revealed—his sister Josefina was horrifically disfigured in a fire as part 🌛 of an insurance fraud committed by an American businessman. When an earthquake caused his family to become destitute, Menendez and 🌛 his father began running drugs, causing the CIA to assassinate the latter. Several weeks after their ordeal in Afghanistan, Mason, 🌛 Woods, Hudson, and Panamanian Defense Forces, led by General Manuel Noriega, raid Menendez's compound in Nicaragua. Woods, enraged and seeking 🌛 revenge, attempts to kill Menendez despite his orders being to capture the drug lord—in the chaos, he inadvertently kills Josefina 🌛 with a grenade, and Menendez is believed to be killed by the same explosion.
Menendez conspires with Noriega to fake his 🌛 demise. During the American invasion of Panama in December 1989, Menendez kidnaps David and uses him to coerce Hudson, his 🌛 mole in the CIA, into luring Mason and Woods into a trap. Menendez tricks Woods into shooting Mason before crippling 🌛 the former. He then murders Hudson, promising to return and complete his revenge against Woods at a later date.
In 2014, 🌛 a militant populist movement known as Cordis Die is founded, led by a mysterious but charismatic leader known as “Odysseus” 🌛 who is actually Menendez. In 2024, the organization stages a cyberattack that cripples the Chinese stock exchanges, forcing their government 🌛 to leverage its economic influence and sparking a Second Cold War between NATO and the Chinese-led Strategic Defense Coalition headed 🌛 by Zhao. By 2025, Cordis Die boasts an estimated two billion followers. David, now a DEVGRU Lieutenant Commander codenamed Section, 🌛 spearheads an effort by JSOC to neutralize Menendez. After raiding a Cordis Die compound in Myanmar, David’s team learns that 🌛 Menendez is planning a second cyberattack utilizing a new rare-earth element known as "celerium", which uses quantum entanglement and could 🌛 be converted into an extremely powerful computer virus. By spying on Menendez in Pakistan, the team learns that he has 🌛 designs on something known as "Karma", which is revealed to be an expert hacker named Chloe Lynch. David and his 🌛 team infiltrate an exotic floating city known as Colossus, where they either rescue Lynch and kill Menendez’s lieutenant, DeFalco; or 🌛 fail and allow her to be kidnapped.[b]
On Juneteenth, JSOC finally captures Menendez in Yemen with the assistance of undercover CIA 🌛 agent, Farid. However, before being apprehended, Menendez orders Farid to execute a captured Harper; Menendez will kill Farid if he 🌛 refuses. Menendez is taken aboard the aircraft carrier USS Barack Obama, commanded by Admiral Tommy Briggs. During an interrogation, Menendez 🌛 escapes with the aid of Nicaraguan-American DEVGRU operator Javier Salazar, revealed to be his mole inside JSOC. The precise consequences 🌛 of Salazar's betrayal are determined by the preceding fates of Lynch, Farid, and DeFalco.[c] After wounding or executing Briggs, Menendez 🌛 uses the Obama's terminal to hack into a military satellite via a celerium virus he smuggled aboard, seizing control of 🌛 the entire American drone fleet. The Obama survives the subsequent attack if the preceding Strike Force missions were completed, causing 🌛 China to send drones to assist, and if Briggs remains alive to activate the ship's defenses.
Regardless, Menendez uses the drones 🌛 to attack Los Angeles, among other major American and Chinese cities, during a meeting of G20 leaders, hoping to kill 🌛 them and foment widespread economic and civil chaos; Section escorts the US President to safety.[d] Menendez is tracked to Haiti 🌛 where JSOC raid the Cordis Die facility he is located inside. Section locates and attacks Menendez at a military checkpoint 🌛 and pins him down, now deciding whether he should execute or apprehend him.
Endings
The events of the player's ending are determined 🌛 on the fates of Menendez, Lynch, and Alex Mason, and whether the Strike Force missions were completed.
If Section executes Menendez, 🌛 a video is uploaded to YouTube in which Menendez commands Cordis Die to revolt. Cordis Die supporters launch a massive 🌛 global insurrection, resulting in the burning of the White House and widespread anarchy. This ending is canon and sets the 🌛 stage for Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
If Section reapprehends Menendez and Lynch survives, she will prevent Menendez's cyberattack, and 🌛 he will remain imprisoned, watching Lynch being interviewed on Jimmy Kimmel Live , where she insults Menendez as he rages 🌛 in his cell.
, where she insults Menendez as he rages in his cell. If Section reapprehends Menendez and Lynch was 🌛 killed or not rescued, Menendez's cyberattack will succeed, and he will break out of prison. He infiltrates the Vault and 🌛 kills Woods, then travels to his sister's grave, digs up her corpse, and lights himself on fire.
If Mason survives being 🌛 shot by Woods, he will reunite with him and Section. If he does not, David retires from the military after 🌛 visiting his father's grave.
If all of the Strike Force missions were completed, China and the United States will ally, ending 🌛 the Second Cold War. This is also considered canon for Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
A non-canon ending is unlocked 🌛 by completing the game, depicting Menendez and Woods performing at a concert with Synyster Gates and M. Shadows of Avenged 🌛 Sevenfold, with the rest of the characters from the game dancing, in a mid-credits scene; it acts as the game's 🌛 official music video.
Zombies
Characters and setting
Zombies takes place throughout various time periods, mostly focused during the modern time, in a post-apocalyptic 🌛 world, created as a result of the missile launch from the Moon striking the Earth. The majority of the story 🌛 follows four new characters: Samuel Stuhlinger (David Boat), Marlton Johnson (Scott Menville), Abigail "Misty" Briarton (Stephanie Lemelin) and Russman (Keith 🌛 Szarabajka). Dr. Edward Richtofen (Nolan North), one of the previous playable characters from the previous game, returns as the demonic 🌛 announcer, overseeing the four characters. Another returning character is Dr. Ludvig Maxis (Fred Tatasciore), who instructs the new group to 🌛 help him defeat Richtofen. Players can choose whether to help Maxis or Richtofen, which will have different results once the 🌛 story ends. The map "Mob of the Dead" features a new crew of characters: Albert "The Weasel" Arlington (Joe Pantoliano), 🌛 Billy Handsome (Ray Liotta), Michael "Finn" O'Leary (Michael Madsen), and Salvatore "Sal" DeLuca (Chazz Palminteri). The map "Origins" features an 🌛 alternate version of the original crew: Tank Dempsey (Steven Blum), Nikolai Belinski (also voiced by Tatasciore), Takeo Masaki (Tom Kane), 🌛 and Richtofen (Nolan North), as well as Maxis' daughter, Samantha (Julie Nathanson).
Story
In Nevada, a team of CIA and CDC operatives 🌛 investigate a nuclear testing site known as "Nuketown", where they are attacked by zombies. At the same time, Dr. Edward 🌛 Richtofen seizes control of the zombies by entering the Aether from Group 935's moon base. However, Dr. Ludvig Maxis joins 🌛 with his daughter Samantha and Richtofen's former allies, Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, and Takeo Masaki, to thwart him. To end 🌛 this, Maxis launches three massive nuclear missiles filled with Element 115, the element responsible for the reanimation of dead cells, 🌛 at the Earth, destroying its atmosphere. One missile completely destroys Nuketown and all present, except for one individual, Marlton Johnson, 🌛 who escapes after hiding out in the site's bunker.
Ten years later following the events on the Moon, Earth has been 🌛 reduced to a crumbling, hellish wasteland overrun by zombies. In this new world, four survivors - Samuel Stuhlinger, Abigail "Misty" 🌛 Briarton, Marlton, and Russman - have banded together to survive in Washington with the help of a bus driven by 🌛 a robotic driver. The four are contacted by both Richtofen and Maxis, who is now a digital artificial intelligence, for 🌛 aid against the other. Both former scientists request the four to assist them in powering up a tower within the 🌛 area to work in their favor. Once done, regardless of the path they choose, they are teleported by Richtofen to 🌛 a crumbling skyline in Shanghai, China. The four learn of The Flesh, a cannibalistic cult that chooses to eat zombie 🌛 meat, as well as the beginnings of a new airborne pandemic of Element 115. Stuhlinger is threatened by Richtofen, who 🌛 knows of his past as a member of The Flesh, which allows only him to hear Richtofen and not the 🌛 others. At the site, Maxis and Richtofen once again instruct the four to power up a second tower.
Following their battles 🌛 in Shanghai, Russman leads the group across the continents to a large hole in the ground known as The Rift 🌛 in Africa, hoping to find answers about the unseen forces commanding them. Richtofen commands Samuel to "mend the rift". The 🌛 four gain a new ally in the form of a mute giant (real name later known as Arthur) in a 🌛 Western town warped underground by temporal displacement, and are hampered by a ghostly woman in a massive mansion. In the 🌛 canonical ending, the group aids Maxis, allowing him to use the power from the towers to enter the Aether and 🌛 assume ultimate control, trapping Richtofen in a zombie's body. However, the Earth begins shaking, and Maxis explains to the four 🌛 that he is beginning the process of the destruction of the Earth and humanity to reach Agartha, where he believes 🌛 Samantha is; in the non-canon ending, the group aids Richtofen, letting him gain unlimited power over the Aether and the 🌛 Earth, allowing him to kill Maxis and condemn Samantha's soul to eternal damnation.
Following the canonical ending, Maxis then plucks Samantha's 🌛 soul from Richtofen's body on the Moon and forces her to join him in Agartha. Realizing her father has been 🌛 corrupted by the Aether, Samantha reaches out to an alternate version of him, who resides in Dimension 63. She ends 🌛 up in 1918 in France during World War I, where Group 935 was formed much earlier, with Maxis as one 🌛 of its leaders, operating to secure German victory in the war. Group 935 created mechanical robots, as well as staffs 🌛 that control the powers of the elements. Stumbling upon an ancient tomb believed to be of Vril origin, they accidentally 🌛 unleash the first known zombie outbreak in history. Aiming to stop Germany, Japan, Russia and the United States of America 🌛 send Takeo, Nikolai and Dempsey to capture Richtofen, the mastermind behind the advanced technology. By this time, Group 935's operatives 🌛 have been wiped out, and Maxis himself was lobotomized when he began to turn into a zombie. The group are 🌛 contacted by Samantha, who begs them to free her from Agartha. Richtofen puts Maxis' brain in a flying drone, and 🌛 he joins the fight against the zombies and to free Samantha. The group is eventually successful, and while Maxis meets 🌛 his daughter, they enter Agartha to be rewarded. A cutscene is played, showing Samantha with a boy named Eddie inside 🌛 a house playing with toys of the characters who have appeared in the Zombies game mode throughout all three games. 🌛 Air raid sirens are heard and the two children retreat to the basement with Maxis, with Samantha noting her father 🌛 has a plan to make the heroes of their games real.
A separate story, "Mob of the Dead", taking place also 🌛 in Dimension 63, focuses on four mobsters: Salvatore "Sal" DeLuca, Billy Handsome, Michael "Finn" O'Leary, and Albert "The Weasel" Arlington, 🌛 who are incarcerated at Alcatraz Island. On New Year's Eve 1933, the four attempt to escape the prison, using Weasel's 🌛 plan to build a makeshift airplane called Icarus. However, the prison becomes infested with zombies, and they are forced to 🌛 fight their way out. They succeed in building the airplane, but crash-land at the Golden Gate Bridge. They are then 🌛 teleported back to the prison, with no memories of their previous attempt (except Weasel, who keeps a journal of the 🌛 ongoing events). They continuously try to escape, but the result remains the same. After many failures, they discover that they 🌛 were actually stuck in Purgatory, constantly repeating a cycle as punishment for their past sins. In reality, the escape plan 🌛 never came to fruition, and Weasel was killed by the other three on New Year's Eve, while the rest were 🌛 given the death penalty weeks later. Having remembered the truth, Sal, Billy and Finn set out to kill Weasel once 🌛 again. Two possible endings can occur: if Weasel is killed, the cycle repeats once again; if Weasel lives and the 🌛 other three are killed, the cycle is broken, and he is finally freed of his punishment. The latter ending is 🌛 canonical.
Development
Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick stated on November 8, 2011, that a new Call of Duty game was in development 🌛 for a 2012 release and would be the newest installment in the franchise.[17] The game was officially confirmed by Activision 🌛 during its fourth-quarter earnings call on February 9, 2012, who promised that it would feature "meaningful innovation" for the series.[18][19] 🌛 Oliver North, who was involved in the Iran–Contra affair was a consultant on the 1980s portion and helped promote the 🌛 game.[20] The author and defense expert Peter W. Singer served as a consultant on the 2025 storyline of the game.[21]
Internal 🌛 leaks
In February 2012, a product page for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 appeared on Amazon France and was quickly 🌛 taken down. No information had yet been released by Activision, but Gameblog claimed that Activision demanded the removal of its 🌛 original report too.[22] When it refused to do so, the publisher reportedly cut off Gameblog from ad support, review game 🌛 mailings, and future Activision events for refusing to comply.[23] Activision denied Gameblog's claims that it had been cut off.[24] Around 🌛 the same time, computer game artist Hugo Beyer also listed "Black Ops 2" as his current project in his LinkedIn 🌛 CV, then removed his LinkedIn page.[25] Beyer is an artist working for Nerve Software, "a Dallas-based independent developer" which has 🌛 "helped" with previous Activision games including Black Ops in 2010.[26] A "Black Ops 2" trademark by Activision was spotted January 🌛 2012.[27] Further, Black Ops 2 was listed by the France international entertainment retail chain Fnac in March 2012, which touted 🌛 a predictable November release date.[28]
On April 9, 2012, an image was leaked on the official Call of Duty website, which 🌛 leaked the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 logo, as well as a revealing date of April 28, 2012. The 🌛 URL was later removed.[29] On April 18, 2012, Kotaku received an image from "a retail source", which showed a teaser 🌛 poster that lacked a game title but had clear clues to Black Ops and a May 2 date that seemingly 🌛 points to an unveiling.[30] On April 27, 2012, an image containing two Target pre-order cards sent by IGN reader Richard 🌛 confirmed the game's title and release date. The cards clearly display the Call of Duty: Black Ops II logo, and 🌛 the release date November 13, 2012.[31][32]
Reveal
Call of Duty: Black Ops II advertisements at Gamescom 2012
On April 23, 2012, Activision redesigned 🌛 CallofDuty to announce that the game would be revealed on May 1, 2012, during the NBA playoffs on TNT.[33] The 🌛 art featured on the site matched up perfectly with the supposed retailer leak received by Kotaku.[34] However, parts of the 🌛 official website went live hours prior to the announcement, which revealed the title, confirmed the release date for PC, PlayStation 🌛 3 and Xbox 360, and the "21st Century Cold War" setting.[35] Activision had hinted that the game may eventually become 🌛 available for Nintendo's own consoles, although had no official announcements for the time being.[36] As promised by Activision, the preview 🌛 for the game was revealed in the form of a YouTube trailer that detailed the futuristic setting, the characters carried 🌛 over from the previous games, and the conflict.[37]
After the game was revealed, the preorder rates on the game set records 🌛 three times higher than for the preorders of the first Black Ops.[38] Critics have noted the trailer's similarities to that 🌛 of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.[39][40][41] On July 19, 2012, a second trailer was released by Treyarch, 🌛 offering insight into the game's narrative. The storyline was described by writer David S. Goyer as "better than a Hollywood 🌛 movie".[42]
Gameplay revisions
In developing Black Ops II, Treyarch introduced several revisions to the gameplay mechanics for online multiplayer that have been 🌛 a hallmark of the Call of Duty franchise. These include the introduction of "multi-team" games that allow matches to host 🌛 three or more teams of players, in contrast to the traditional two factions,[citation needed] and revisions to the "Create-A-Class" function 🌛 that allows users to select which guns, attachments, weapon camouflage and perks (additional bonuses that alter aspects of gameplay) to 🌛 use in multiplayer matches.[43] The "Kill Streak" function, which gives players in-game rewards for killing other players, was revised and 🌛 is now known as "Score Streaks".
Whereas players still receive in-game rewards, these are unlocked by performing certain actions – such 🌛 as killing other players, successfully capturing territory, and so on – rather than simply killing other players.[44][45] Furthermore, the "wager 🌛 matches" feature included in Call of Duty: Black Ops was removed.[43] These changes were introduced to shift the emphasis towards 🌛 objective-based gameplay, to reward players who work in teams and to make the game more accessible to new players.[44]
There is 🌛 also 3D support if players are playing with an HDMI cable on a 3D TV. Before entering multiplayer mode, there 🌛 is a 3D setting in the "options" menu.[46]
Japanese releases
Square Enix released the game for the Japanese market on November 22, 🌛 2012, as a subbed version. A Japanese voice-dubbed version was released separately on December 20, 2012. The script for this 🌛 version was translated by Zenigame Nakamoto. The translated version was criticized for its translation errors.[47] The Japanese release of the 🌛 Wii U port is only the dubbed version since the console was not available in Japan in November.[48]
Soundtrack
The game's soundtrack 🌛 was composed by Jack Wall,[49] with the main theme composed by Nine Inch Nails frontman and film score composer Trent 🌛 Reznor.[50] The soundtrack was released as a part of the Hardened Edition and Care Package releases, as well as on 🌛 iTunes and Amazon, with two supplemental tracks by Brian Tuey, as well as "Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K550 🌛 (Allegro Molto)" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Also, a version of the song "Try It Out" by Skrillex and Alvin Risk 🌛 is used in the game, but it is not present in the soundtrack album. When the Campaign is completed, after 🌛 the end credits, Woods and Menendez perform a concert with heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold on their song "Carry On", 🌛 with Woods on drums and Menendez on rhythm guitar. The band chose to use Woods as the drummer in the 🌛 game due to the loss of their original drummer The Rev, who died of a drug overdose on December 28, 🌛 2009. The band's song "Shepherd of Fire" is featured on the Zombie mode Origins. Additional artists include Sean Murray, Jimmy 🌛 Hinson, Sergio Jimenez Lacima, Kamar de los Reyes, Azam Ali, & Rudy Cardenas.[51] A war track pack containing a selection 🌛 of Black Ops II songs is featured in Black Ops Cold War's season two battle pass.[52]
The Replacers
To promote the release 🌛 of Black Ops II's DLC packs, Activision released a series of live-action shorts starring Peter Stormare as The Replacer, an 🌛 undercover agent sent to take the place of clients in their daily lives, while said clients can stay at home 🌛 and play Black Ops II's new content. After explaining his duties, Stormare is then shown in multiple situations where he 🌛 has taken over random people's jobs, such as masquerading as a pregnant lady's husband, working at an office, and enduring 🌛 a grandmother's endless talking, among other such scenarios.
For Black Ops II's second DLC, entitled "Uprising", comedian J.B. Smoove joined Stormare 🌛 in the second production of The Replacers, in which the two maintain a haphazard relationship. Stormare normally acts as a 🌛 mentor to the new replacer Smoove by pointing out his various quirks while doing his job, such as his poor 🌛 performance defending his client while he replaces a lawyer, admitting that he might be guilty.
Downloadable content
A Black Ops II Season 🌛 Pass was released by Treyarch with the release of the game. On December 12, 2012, all Xbox 360 Season Pass 🌛 holders received access to the Nuketown Zombies map, with PC holders following on January 17, and PlayStation 3 holders on 🌛 January 19, having been delayed two days due to PSN technical issues.[53][54] It was later released as an individual download 🌛 for PC on April 13, 2013.[55]
The first major DLC pack is called Revolution. It was announced on January 8, 2013, 🌛 and released for Xbox 360 on January 29 and PC and PS3 on February 28[56] The pack contained four new 🌛 multiplayer maps: Downhill, Hydro, Mirage and Grind; and two new Zombies modes: Turned and Die Rise. Also included was the 🌛 first DLC weapon: the Peacekeeper. Turned occurs in the Diner segment of the TranZit map from the original release, and 🌛 allows up to four players to fight each other in two teams – one human against three zombies. The Die 🌛 Rise map is a larger zombies survival map taking place in two semi-destroyed skyscrapers in Shanghai, where one to four 🌛 players use elevators to travel between floors.[57]
Personalization pack microtransactions for the game were released for Xbox 360 on March 12, 🌛 2013, and PC and PS3 on April 12. These allow the player to make small aesthetic changes to the multiplayer 🌛 functionality of the game, like adding the flag of their country to the kill notification box, adding new weapon skins 🌛 and allowing the player to use more Create-a-Class slots.[58][59]
The second major DLC pack is known as Uprising. It was released 🌛 for Xbox 360 on April 16, 2013, and came out for PC and PS3 players on 16 May.[60] It includes 🌛 the new zombies map Mob of the Dead as well as new multiplayer maps Magma, Vertigo, Encore, and a re-imagining 🌛 of fan-favorite from previous installment Black Ops Firing Range, known as Studio.[61]
The third major DLC pack is called Vengeance. It 🌛 was released for Xbox 360 on July 2, 2013, and for PC and PS3 on August 1. It includes new 🌛 zombies map Buried as well as new multiplayer maps Cove, Detour, Rush and a remake of the popular map Summit 🌛 from Black Ops: Uplink.[62]
The fourth and final major DLC pack is called Apocalypse. It was released for Xbox 360 on 🌛 August 27, 2013, and PC and PS3 on September 26. It includes new zombies map Origins back to the old 🌛 characters (Takeo, Nikolai, Richtofen and Dempsey), as well as new multiplayer maps Pod, Frost and two remakes of popular maps 🌛 Courtyard and Stadium of Call of Duty: World at War and Black Ops: First Strike DLC.[63]
On August 7, 2014, Activision 🌛 released Nuketown 2025 for the Wii U Version.[64] None of the DLC packs released for the Xbox 360, PS3, and 🌛 PC were released for Wii U.
Reception
Critical reception
Call of Duty: Black Ops II received "generally positive" reviews for the PlayStation 3, 🌛 Xbox 360, and Wii U versions, but "mixed or average" reviews for the PC version, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[65][66][67][68] 🌛 IGN editor Anthony Gallegos describes the game as "a good example of how to evolve an annualized franchise".[74] Gallegos praised 🌛 the game for telling a story was genuinely interesting and creating a villain that he empathised with to the point 🌛 of questioning his own actions over the course of the story. Gallegos directed criticisms at the artificial intelligence of allies 🌛 in Strike Force mode and at the ending of the campaign, which he felt was disappointing even though he was 🌛 aware that the outcome was directly influenced by the choices he made.
Marty Sliva of 1UP gave the game a B+ 🌛 while praising it's freedom of choice in game modes and gameplay variety: "I was surprised with the risks that Treyarch 🌛 took in the name of delivering a unique and creative experience. Not all of them paid off, but knowing that 🌛 the team was willing to eschew the safe route helped ward off any stagnation that may have begun to creep 🌛 into the series as of late."[69]
Dan Ryckert of Game Informer was also critical of the artificial intelligence of Strike Force 🌛 mode, and was unimpressed by the "Pick Ten" system introduced to multiplayer modes, noting that it was "interesting, but ultimately 🌛 less exciting" than the system used in previous Call of Duty titles.[71] Like Gallegos, Ryckert praised the narrative and structure 🌛 of the single-player campaign, introducing changes that he felt were overdue and noting that the branching storylines "had me talking 🌛 to others about their experiences in a way I had never done before with this [Call of Duty] series".
Steven O'Donnell 🌛 and Stephanie Bendixsen, of Australian video game talk show Good Game, both gave the game an 8.5 out of 10, 🌛 praising the gameplay multiplayer and zombies mode, but were critical of the campaign's confusing narrative and Strike Force missions.[79] In 🌛 particular to the narrative, Good Game was critical of the opening battle where the player guns down fleeing African rebels, 🌛 feeling that it was added purely for shock value and commenting that:
The landscape of shooters is changing somewhat. The fact 🌛 is that everyone loves playing military shooters, but we're also realising that we don't want to glorify aimless killings. A 🌛 lot of games are trying to make you feel that conflict and even make you feel bad about what you're 🌛 doing. But I don't think it's been handled very well here.[79]
Frederick Charles Fripp of IT News Africa gave it a 🌛 final score of 9.2/10 and wrote that "BO2 is a non-stop action-packed shooter that will keep gamers on their toes 🌛 and on the edge of their seats. It has everything a player could want in a game: great graphics, a 🌛 good story, easy controls and superb acting."[80]
During the 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated 🌛 Black Ops II for outstanding achievements in "Connectivity", "Online Gameplay" and "Visual Engineering".[81]
Sales and revenue
Activision reported Black Ops II grossed 🌛 overR$500 million in its first 24 hours, making it the biggest entertainment launch of all time until the record was 🌛 surpassed by Grand Theft Auto V in September 2013. It is the fourth year in a row that the Call 🌛 of Duty series has broken the same record. 2011's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 grossedR$400 million on one full 🌛 day; 2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops grossedR$360 million on day one; in 2009, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 🌛 brought inR$310 million.[7] By November 24, 2012, it had sold more than 7.5 million copies in the United States.[9]
Black Ops 🌛 II went on to grossR$1 billion in the first 15 days of availability, beating Modern Warfare 3's record of the 🌛 first 16 days.[82] On November 5, 2013, IGN confirmed that the game sold 24.2 million copies,[83] making it the third 🌛 highest-selling game in the series, behind 2010's Black Ops, and 2011's Modern Warfare 3.
Lawsuit
In July 2014, Manuel Noriega sued Activision 🌛 for lost profits from the use of his likeness in the game. He also claims that his inclusion translated to 🌛 higher sales of Black Ops II.[84] Noriega makes an appearance in the Cold War portions of the game and aids 🌛 the primary antagonist. The suit sought compensation for lost profits and damages for his depiction as a "kidnapper, murderer, and 🌛 enemy of the state" in the game.[85] On October 28, the Los Angeles court dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that Noriega's 🌛 inclusion was protected under free speech laws.
The publisher, Activision, was also sued in a French court by family members of 🌛 Jonas Savimbi, who thought his portrayal in the game was inaccurate, saying he was portrayed as a "barbarian". Three of 🌛 his children wanted 1 million euros for damages.[86] The French court dismissed the case in 2024.[87]
Notes
^ as depicted in the 🌛 first game ^ The "Strike Force" mission "Second Chance" must be completed to rescue Lynch if the latter occurs, but 🌛 can also be failed. ^ If Lynch was rescued and Farid is alive, he will die either shielding her from 🌛 Salazar or killing DeFalco (if the latter is alive); if Farid is dead, Lynch will be killed by Salazar or 🌛 DeFalco. ^ The President of France will also be killed depending on the player's actions.
