AI

The AI is a true mixed bag which could do with some improvements in general especially in Strike Force missions. When it works, it works really well, when it falls down then you’re going to be left in near-impossible odds without backup. We are pretty sure they’ll be AI fixes in a patch though – at least we hope there will be.

Sound

Good quality sound throughout with a nice level of audio mix, there are no issues with ambient audio whatsoever. Some of the weapon sounds could do with a little improvement but these are only minor niggles.

Music

Trent Reznor has done a few tracks for the soundtrack, and the rest is a pretty solid bunch of scores which evoke the various levels quite nicely. The music fits like a glove in many places and there’s just the right amount of drama for the various set pieces with some great crescendo pieces later on.

Voice

There are some good solid performances here and some which don’t quite gel. The main characters are all pretty good and some of the bit part actors are phoning their lines in. All in all though the voice work is decent.

Dialogue

There are some lines which are a little ott to say the least, some of the dialogue is written in a way which makes it come across as forced and a little more polish for the script/story would have gone a long way to making the game even better.

Multiplayer

This is where Treyarch have really pulled out all the stops, they’ve made a lot of changes – many of them too numerous to document here because it would take quite a few pages. There are now numerous ways to enjoy the multiplayer of the game, with ranked matches, skill levels based on wins/losses rather than kills/death ratios and a few other things.

The Perk system has been reworked, there are new toys to play with, new abilities to earn and everything just feels much better – it’s also far more geared to the team player than the lone wolf this time around, with you earning points just for helping out in minor ways. It is certainly the best iteration of multiplayer yet and takes the crown from Infinity Ward’s Modern Warfare series.

We really like the change to the loadout system, letting you craft your ultimate soldier by spending 10 points to stock up on weapons/perks/and so on. This system is one of the best we’ve seen in CoD yet.

Scorestreaks are better too, with the points powering them and even the weakest player will be able to get at least a few small streaks in a match.

The new tech which Black Ops 2 brings to the field is fun and easy to use, with some of the toys providing a distinct but never overpowered advantage to the player/team.

The usual game type suspects return, with a multi-team deathmatch, a mode called hardpoint which is basically King of the Hill with roaming territories to capture/hold. Then you have online matches, offline, split-screen and all of these can be played with bots so you can practice and team up with your friends against the AI if you’re looking for some compstomping action or you’re fedup of playing with human players.

Finding/creating/joining a mp game is quick and easy, there’s virtually no lag and the experience is definitely the best we’ve come across yet.

Then you have Zombies mode which has been changed a little to provide more fun for the players, with the game now having 4 separate modes.

The CodCaster lets you spectate/commentate on matches, great for clans and professional play. CoD Elite is now free, and easier to use than ever before. There’s even a better Theatre mode taking a leaf out of the Halo 4 playbook and allowing you to record your matches to share online and watch later for tactical reasons.

14 new maps with Nuketown 2025 coming as DLC…

The new maps have better lines of sight, great places for ambushes and tight action as well as some really nice long range engagements suited to HQ style play.

There’s just that much in multiplayer we can’t cover it all, but it makes this iteration of CoD the best multiplayer experience yet!

2025

For a series which is heading towards the stale territory, we think Black Ops 2 innovates just enough to make us interested in the franchise again and certainly provides enough meat to hang on the gameplay bones – Treyarch has done the franchise proud again and proven they have stepped up to the mark and beyond with this iteration.