Good afternoon everyone! I hope all of you Call of Duty fans are getting ready for Black Ops II coming out this November because today we’ve got a ton of new intel that will make your palms sweat in anticipation along with a little trailer for all you hardcore fans.
Black Ops II Multiplayer: Create-A-Class
One of the biggest tweaks we’ll be dying to see is the Create-a-Class system as it’s been rebuilt to bring the player a more personalized experience. As the player, we’ll now have the ability to take control of how we want to play the game. But with great freedom as such comes a great sacrifice, as players will have to consider what is valued most. The biggest question you’ll have to ask yourself on November 13th is, “How will I customize my setup?”
Now, we know that any Call of Duty has it’s perks that just make you want to pull your hair out when you’re getting torn up on the battlefield and then there’s those same perks that make you feel unstoppable. In creating a “Pick-10” point system where everything’s worth one point it makes you take on a whole different approach when creating your class. Things start to get real interesting when you implement the “Wild Cards” or “rule breakers” in Create-a-Class. These “Wild Cards” cost one point each but allow the players additional slots for things like second perks, additional lethals, tacticals and/or more attachments. You want a perk from the first tier? Select Perk 1 Greed to double-up on abilities. Want to lug around three attachments on your primary gun? Equip Primary Gunfighter to slap on that grenade launcher and start blowing away your enemies! With over half a million different load outs, the options and versatility is just amazing.
The perks themselves have been completely refined, becoming simple enhancements to give you that edge that was intended. Gone, however, are Pro Perks. All Perks can now be strengthened or weakened, which will allow us to make sure one Perk doesn’t dominate over another. Diversity is key here.
All in all, I’m very excited to see the changes and how they’ll effect in game play when it comes to multiplayer.
Enough about multiplayer (Yeah, I went there).
Change Your Story
One of the biggest questions asked to Treyarch was, “Can you change the storyline based on the choices that you make in Black Ops II?”
In short – yes. There will be choice events that take place throughout the campaign that will effect how the story plays out. One way this is being done is through Strike Force levels which are new to Call of Duty and also introduce non-linear/sandbox-style gameplay to the single player story. They work through several ways in which the head of Special Forces contacts you and addresses situations that arise (a war within the main story line for example). Once you chose which mission you want to undertake, the player is thrown into the action and is required to achieve several objectives before completing the sandbox map. While playing, you’ll be able to assume direct control Assuming Direct Control! of any member, robot, or even drones from your squad. Overwatch Mode adds a nice touch allowing one to zoom out and play from a distant view. All the toys are thrown into the bucket — play how you want and do whatever it is you need to do to advance and complete each level. Controlling your team seems easy as well with the ability to set waypoints, issue comands to your squad as well. Doing whatever you want seems to be the route that this is going, don’t you think?
Here’s where it gets a little tricky. Whether or not your succeed or fail a mission, either way, the game and the story continues on and the impact of your Strike Force accomplishments will determine the outcome of the geo-political story arc of the single-player experience.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II will drop in stores on November 13th, 2012. If you pre-order now you’ll receive the bonus map, Nuketown 2025!
Enjoy!
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