GamersKinect

Gaming News & Updates

Pages

  • Home

Sunday, 19 August 2012

Call of Duty Black Ops 2

You might be forgiven for thinking that you don’t really need a preview of Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Isn’t it just the same old stuff as Black Ops and Modern Warfare 1 to 3, but with a soupcon of sci-fi twist? Well, from the footage shown at Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference, that was our first impression too: here’s another stroll through funnelled levels, popping bad guys at they stick their heads out of cover and watching as a lot of things explode with minimal levels of interaction.

Want heavily-orchestrated, cinematic firefights? You’ve got them. Want a turret section where you shoot at enemy drones? You’ve got it. Want a chance to deviate from the path that’s already been established, or a game where you’re not simply following some guy with a follow beacon attached? Sorry, we can’t help you here.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 3
However, with a bit more time behind closed doors at E3, that first impression is beginning to change. It’s not that Black Ops II is a vast departure from the Call of Duty formula, but it’s a game that shows an awareness of the criticisms of Black Ops and Modern Warfare 3, and a willingness to take a few risks this time around. Whisper it, but Black Ops II might be the most interesting Call of Duty since the first Modern Warfare appeared five years ago.

Dual Narratives
The interesting bits start with the plot. Black Ops II takes place over a period of fifty years, with two storylines that follow the genesis of a new villain during the 1970s and 1980s and his attempts to trigger a new world war in 2025. The hope is to make the narrative more engaging, and to make the antagonist, Raul Menandez, more than just another cackling terrorist to be gunned down.

While you might be horrified by what he does in the near-future sections of the game, you’ll at least understand why he does it, What’s more, the story branches. We’re given to understand that levels and outcomes will differ depending on your performance in certain scenarios, and on which characters you let get killed and which you save. We’re promised that these won’t be superficial changes, either, but changes that will affect the whole way you experience the game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 1
More importantly, though, this is a Call of Duty that wants to give the player a little more choice. We’ve seen two chapters of the game in action. In the first, David Mason, son of the Black Ops’s Alex Mason, is charged with getting the president to safety in the midst of an assault on downtown Los Angeles.

It’s typical, breathless Call of Duty stuff, with helicopters crashing everywhere, enemy troops spilling from trucks, ready to be gunned down, and the most interesting aspect the use of drones on the battlefield, both against you and under your control. One segment has you tackling stumpy, tank-like walkers with a grenade launcher, while another has you guiding tiny aerial drones with the aid of a wrist-mounted remote control.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
It’s spectacular, albeit predictable stuff, but even here there are signs of a desire to open out. At one point you have a choice between sniping at enemy troops from a damaged bridge or grapelling down to engage them at close quarters. Meanwhile, a section where you fly a futuristic VTOL fighter turns out not to be yet another turret sequence, but a proper flight sequence where you have a degree of freedom to zip around the Los Angeles sky. We’re told that you can fly anywhere you want within the confines of the area, though failing to focus on the objective at hand will lose you the mission.
Strikeforce Unveiled
It’s the second mission that proves really interesting, however. Named Strikeforce, it’s one of a selection of missions that will enable you to leave the game’s traditional first-person combat and take a more strategic overview of the battlefield. You have a time limit and a series of objectives, and it’s your job to make sure you complete them, in whatever order, before the time runs out, You can send in troops or drones using the overview UI and play the whole mission from that point of view, or switch instantly to any unit’s first-person view and lead the charge physically as you might in any regular Call of Duty scenario.

Or for those who really don’t want any strategy, you can play the whole mission as a straight FPS. We wait to see how these exercises in tactical action work out in the finished game, but they show a willingness to push the boundaries of what Call of Duty can do. Plus, you can actually fail these missions, leading to more of the branching that we spoke about earlier.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 2

It’s easy and not-a-little fashionable to be cynical about Call of Duty, and Modern Warfare 3 pushed the orchestration so hard that at times it felt barely interactive. With Black Ops 2, however, we have a Call of Duty that seems to want to push things further. We just hope the final game measures up.
Stuart Andrews
Posted by Estian at 07:51
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Labels: Games

No comments:

Post a Comment

Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
InSeconds by African Bank

Blog Archive

  • June (14)
  • August (40)
Bid Or Buy

Popular Posts

  • PS3 Vs. Xbox360
    Systems The Battle of the Consoles has been going on for years, ever since the old Super Nintendo.  Then PlayStat...
  • Grand Theft Auto 5 Review
      GTA 5 News With the first official teases about Grand Theft Auto 5 appearing online in the closing months of last year, the ...
  • Far Cry 3
    Far Cry 3: one for the brain The Far Cry series of  games  have no link between them other than the legendary CryEngine (a gr...
  • Call of Duty: Ghosts News, rumours, release date
      Call of Duty: Ghosts News Activision has officially confirmed that its next COD instalment will take the form of Call of Duty...
  • Saints Row The Third
    A video game's first responsibility -- arguably its only responsibility -- is to show the player a good time. To say that Saints Row...
  • Dishonoured
    Awds Gameplay Trailer More Photos   In case you don’t know much about Dishonored, it’s the kind of stealth-action-a...
  • New Gadgets For 2012
      TV, smartphone, gaming and tablet gadgets are heading our way before the end of 2012, but what is stirring the most news? With 2012 a...
  • (MOH) Medal Of Honor WarFighter
    The Game Developers Conference is all geared to become the plan where EA reveals its marquee first-person shooter of the year. Just last...
  • Wii U release date, news and rumors
    The new Wii is called the Wii U - and here's the controller As original Nintendo Wiis gathered dust in households across the UK, Nint...
  • Metro : Last Light
    Metro 2033 is a game so good, Destructoid reviewed it a year and a half after its release, finally giving it a scored assessment after the ...

Translate

Kaspersky
Sign up with EasyAds now and get 20% more visitors for your money on your first purchase. Click Here
Awesome Inc. theme. Powered by Blogger.