Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Xbox 360

Black Ops II Uprising Map Pack and Mob of the Dead Out Today

2013-04-16T16:56:00Z

The highly anticipated Black Ops II DLC, which adds four new multiplayer maps and a new zombie mode, is out today on Xbox Live. To celebrate, Activision has released a huge batch of new screens.

The four new maps are Magma, Encore, Vertigo, and Studio (a retooled version of the original Black Ops map Firing Range). The DLC pack also includes a new zombie mode entitled Mob of the Dead, which casts Hollywood tough guys Chazz Palminteri, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Madsen, and Ray Liotta as four mobster attempting to survive a zombie attack on the infamous Alcatraz prison in San Francisco.

Uprising is available now on Xbox Live, and retails for 1200 Microsoft Points. As always, if you bought a Black Ops II Season Pass, you can download the DLC for free within the game. Check out the new screens and a previous released trailer for Mob of the Dead below.

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Treyarch Offers FPS Fans A Mixed Bag

2012-11-13T08:01:00Z

Call of Duty 2 kicked off this console generation when it released alongside the Xbox 360, and the series has been an annual juggernaut ever since. This sustained popularity has put the series in a tough spot creatively, as drastic changes to the formula might turn off longtime fans. With the first Black Ops, Treyarch demonstrated it was willing to take risks by shaking up numerous multiplayer conventions. Fans loved the new features, and the developer has shifted its focus to campaign changes for Black Ops II. Some of these risks pay off, and others are faulty despite their ambition.

One of the most frequent critiques of the series’ campaigns revolves around their restricting linearity. Treyarch has countered this in two ways with Black Ops II: presenting the player with narrative-changing decisions (both obvious and subtle), and adding the new sandbox Strike Force missions.

During my six hours with the campaign, I sometimes didn’t even realize how my actions had shaped the situations. You are occasionally presented with immediate choices like, “Do you want to kill this guy or not?” but others aren’t as overt. As you enter one area near the middle of the campaign, your enemies are desperately attempting to burn evidence of some sort. Depending on how quickly you kill them, you might gain some information that will assist the overall war effort. These decisions don’t affect the grand scheme of things, but many cutscenes and in-game scenarios can be altered based on your actions. The weight of your decisions isn’t on the level of a game like Heavy Rain, but the system had me talking to others about their experiences in a way I had never done before with this series.

Interspersed between the story’s chapters are the new Strike Force missions. These are undoubtedly the weakest part of the single-player component. The idea of integrating sandbox stages with light RTS elements could have been a great way to shake up the standard gameplay. Instead, these stages are a full of frustration as you attempt to control your AI teammates. Ordering my squads around via the overhead tactical view proved to be a fruitless effort, as they rarely reacted to my commands. At one point late in the game, I even had to restart an entire Strike Force mission because of a glitch that wouldn’t allow me to perform the final required action.

Strike Force missions are a pain, and though they are not required for progression, they have a major impact on your ending. If you take them out of the equation, The Black Ops II campaign is on par with previous entries. Hopping between the 1980s and 2025, it tells the story of the original game’s Alex Mason and his son David. The plot quickly gets convoluted, but the main threads are easy to follow and are ultimately rewarding. Everything moves along at a breakneck pace, big set piece moments punctuate the action, and Raul Menendez proves to be one of the best antagonists in the series.

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Above: Our recent Test Chamber episode, featuring Black Ops II

With such a focus on introducing new elements to the campaign, it seems that multiplayer was approached with more of an “if it ain’t broke…” mentality. Treyrach made one big tweak when it comes to loadouts: the new Pick 10 system, which allows for increased customization options. Players are allowed to hit the battlefield with 10 points in their loadout. Gun attachments, perks, grenade types, secondary weapons, and new wild card bonuses each take up a point. If you want to take the fight to your enemy with a decked-out LMG, you can equip up to three attachments with the use of a wild card bonus. If you’d rather create an ultra-speedy class for capture the flag matches, you can activate wild cards that allow for two perks in each slot. With those active, you’re free to head into battle with six speed-oriented perks. The system is interesting, but I ultimately found it less exciting than the currency system and contracts introduced in the original Black Ops and scrapped for this sequel.

Ever since World at War, Treyarch’s zombie modes have gained a devoted following. Black Ops II offers plenty to keep those fans coming back in, with a massive (and secret-filled) Tranzit mode that shuttles players across a zombie-infested town on a bus. It appears to be another horde mode clone on the surface, but fans of the previous offerings know that the bevy of Easter eggs in zombie mode offers a surprising amount of replayability.

Black Ops II gives multiplayer fans countless tweaks and changes to the formula to keep them occupied until next year’s inevitable installment. New league matches are tailored to the e-sports community, and these open up every unlockable from the start in the interest of fairness. They also eliminate random elements from maps, such as moving environmental objects. Stat-tracking elements of Call of Duty Elite are now free, so everyone who owns the game has access to heat maps and extensive records.

For shooter fans that don’t require as deep of a dive, Black Ops II’s multiplayer may feel like more of the same. No significant new match types are present, and the Pick 10 system doesn’t drastically change the gameplay experience. Most of the changes to the Call of Duty formula come in campaign mode, and they are executed with mixed results. Despite some frustrations, Black Ops II is yet another massive, polished, finely tuned entry in a series that shows no signs of slowing down. Even if Treyarch misses the mark on occasion, I respect the developer for taking chances with a series that would sell just fine if it stuck with the status quo.

Watch Your Back In This Call Of Duty: Black Ops II Trailer

2012-10-29T14:22:40Z

There's always a bigger fish, as they say, and this new live-action trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II proves you're never alone.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II comes out November 13 for Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3, and the Wii U edition hits with the system on November 18.

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Check out the launch trailer if you like.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II Launch Trailer

2012-10-16T20:22:03Z

Need even more hype for the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops II next month? Activision released an action-packed launch trailer for the game. Call of Duty: Black Ops II arrives on November 13 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. A Wii U version is available at the console's launch on November 18.

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Call Of Duty: Black Ops II Zombies Debut Trailer

2012-09-26T17:18:00Z

Activision release the debut trailer for its Zombie mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Hope you like Avenged Sevenfold. The game is due out on November 13 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U.

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Call Of Duty: Black Ops II Gets More Flexible Loadouts And Leveling

2012-08-14T06:00:00Z

Call of Duty’s create-a-class system has allowed players to tweak loadouts in a variety of ways, but the new Pick 10 system takes things even further. Everyone gets 10 points to distribute however they’d like. This includes enough to choose the standard primary and secondary weapons, attachments, perks, and grenades. Now you have the option to cut out any and all of these to free up points to devote elsewhere. New wildcards take up a point as well, but they enable powerful new options like adding additional attachments to guns, allowing more perks,equipping two primary weapons, and carrying more grenade types. One guy at the multiplayer event in Cologne cleared out all his weapons and loaded up on six different perks counting on guns lying around the environment to get him through. It wasn’t the most viable strategy, but it shows how absolutely flexible the new system can be. We’re looking forward to seeing what other wild combinations people will come up with once the game’s out on the wild.

As always, players will need to level up in multiplayer to unlock more of these loadout items. Instead of relying solely on kill streaks, however, Black Ops II now focuses on score streaks. This still includes kill streaks under its umbrella, but it also adds weight to performing well in objective-based modes. Now you’ll get points for nabbing the flag and you’ll earn double points for any kills made while holding it. Basically, as long as you’re helping your team win at the designated mode, you’ll earn more experience. Developer Treyarch dubs the core of the score streak system “rewarding desirable gameplay.”

Players can level up to 55 and prestige 10 times. Treyarch is promising over 100 different unlocks so it’ll take quite a while to get everything.

For more on Call of Duty: Black Ops II’s multiplayer, be sure to check out our hands-on preview and our look at the new e-sports support.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops II Multiplayer Trailer Showcases New Gadgets

2012-08-07T17:32:00Z

The wait is finally over for Black Ops II multiplayer details. Activision and Treyarch released a trailer showcasing some of the new futuristic weaponry being introduced by the latest installment of Call of Duty.

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As you can see in the trailer, Treyarch is adding several interesting killstreak perks and gadgets to the fragfests, including mechs, suicide drones, shock charges, sonic turrets that slow enemy movement. The end of the trailer highlights some live commentary functionality as well, which could be used to broadcast tournaments.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II ships for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on November 13. To find out more information on the multiplayer, stay tuned to our Gamescom coverage next week.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II Villain Trailer

2012-07-10T17:00:00Z

Activision released a new trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The video gives you a sense of all the awesome stuff you'll be doing.

The game is out November 13, 2012.

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Go Behind The Scenes Of The Making Of Call of Duty: Black Ops II

2012-06-06T20:47:55Z

The team at Treyarch gives you an in-depth look into the creation of Activision's next blockbuster shooter. This behind-the-scenes video is over five minutes long, and features tons of footage from the game.

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First Campaign Details Of Black Ops II’s Move To The Future

2012-05-02T04:01:00Z

After developing two by-the-book Call of Duty entries set in World War II, Treyarch finally flexed its creative muscles with Black Ops. That installment introduced a new Cold War setting, a more focused narrative, and a well-received currency system for multiplayer. These alterations to the series formula worked, and Black Ops set sales records upon its release. After this massive success, Activision seems comfortable with letting Treyarch take much bigger risks with Black Ops II. A near-future setting and significant changes to the campaign experience are just two of the factors that make this sequel the biggest shake-up in the series since Call of Duty 4.

In a move that few saw coming, Black Ops II primarily takes place in 2025. Players assume the role of David Mason, the son of the first game’s protagonist. This won’t be the only Mason you control, however, as his father Alex appears in flashback sequences set in the 1980s. As a direct sequel to Black Ops, Treyarch promises the return of familiar faces, including Frank Woods, who was presumed dead. The grizzled veteran accompanies Alex during a flashback sequence in Afghanistan. Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia tells me he appears as a “very old man” in 2025 as well.

As expected, the world of Black Ops II is in rough shape. In researching the future of global conflict, Treyarch reached out to military expert Peter Singer (author of Wired For War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century) to explore the factors that may likely lead to future wars. Treyarch learned that the resources most likely to cause tension are called rare earth elements, a theory that is backed up by a recent speech by U.S President Barack Obama on the subject. These rare metals are vital for the production of personal electronics (iPhones, televisions), alternate energy resources (wind turbines, hybrid cars), and advanced military technology (missile guidance systems, stealth bombers). In real-world 2012, China is the supplier of 95-percent of these elements. In the narrative of Black Ops II, the demand for these materials is the basis of a new Cold War.

With tension between the United States and China at an all-time high, it’s the perfect time for a sinister opportunist to make his move. Raul Menendez serves as your primary foe throughout the game, but game director Dave Anthony is hesitant to reveal many details about the Nicaraguan militant. A comparison was made to Tony Soprano, with Anthony saying “He’s the main character of [The Sopranos], but he’s essentially a villain. He’s a murderer, he’s cold-blooded, he’s ruthless...but he’s somebody you understand as a human being. You’ll find yourself understanding him as a human being and empathizing, but in the next moment, you’ll see him do something utterly outside the realm of anything you could contemplate doing.”

Throughout the story of Black Ops II, Menendez uses near-future technology to cause further unrest in the unstable geopolitical climate. One late-game mission sees the antagonist using an armada of unmanned drone aircraft to attack the G-20 summit in downtown Los Angeles. The Chinese know they didn’t send the drones, and their confusion is amplified when U.S. drones are sent to attack their homeland. We don’t yet know Menendez’s motives, but the mission we saw made his destructive capabilities more than apparent.

With half of L.A. in flames, the mission begins with David Mason protecting the female President of the United States in the back of a transport vehicle. Treyarch wants the future in Black Ops II to seem plausible, so the skyline resembles modern-day Los Angeles far more than the kind of futuristic cityscape you’d see in The Fifth Element. The scene on the streets makes Michael Bay movies seem subtle, with dozens of aircraft, numerous armed vehicles, and countless foot soldiers contributing to the overwhelming chaos. Mason’s vehicle narrowly avoids numerous explosions and crashes on its way to the city, but eventually finds itself in a nasty collision. Crawling out of the wreckage, Mason spots an AA gun on top of an army vehicle that’s perilously perched over a hole in the highway. He mounts the gun, locks on to seven enemy drones at once, and shoots them out of the sky. Mason repeats this process for several other groups of drones before it becomes clear that the vehicle he’s on top of is about to plunge through the highway to the ground below. After leaping to safety, our protagonist grabs his electrically charged (as opposed to gunpowder-based) assault rifle and prepares to take on Menendez’s ground forces.

Watch The World Premiere Black Ops II Trailer

2012-05-02T00:00:00Z

Earlier today, Activision confirmed what many gamers have assumed for quite some time -- this year's Call of Duty title will be Black Ops II. Moving quickly with their media campaign, the publisher has released the game's debut trailer on the same day.

Watch below for the first look at Call of Duty: Black Ops II, which takes place in the year 2025. You'll see an elderly Frank Woods, a war-torn Los Angeles, and plenty of futuristic weaponry.

I had a chance to visit Treyarch last week and got a first-hand look at the changes in store for the series. Be sure to check in tonight at 12:01am Eastern/9:01pm Central for detailed impressions and big news regarding Treyarch's upcoming juggernaut.

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