Call of Duty: Black Ops II exploded onto the gaming scene on Tuesday, with first-day sales estimated between 6.5 million and 7.2 million, according to Game Informer's Andrew Reiner. I am all but out of money for games right now, what with buying Assassin's Creed III, Halo 4, and the entire Wii U console already, so I am refraining from picking up Black Ops II until I can ascertain if it's something I'll play often. That means one thing: renting it and playing it non-stop for a week!
I haven't had the chance to dive into Black Ops II's single-player campaign yet--I like to play through Call of Duty campaigns in one long sitting, and I got home too late last night to start--but I was able to cut my teeth on multiplayer for a few hours. Treyarch has been upfront about making big changes to the Call of Duty formula that Infinity Ward first perfected five years ago with Modern Warfare, and the effort shows. There's an increased emphasis on organized play, with entire sections dedicated to so-called League Play and livestreaming content. For-fun modes like Gun Game and One in the Chamber are segregated to their own playlists, and Treyarch has drastically overhauled the options for class creations. It's a brave new world, or at least an unfamiliar one compared to last year's Modern Warfare 3, which was customary Call of Duty to a fault, and there's plenty of opportunities for thrills unique to Black Ops II.
I'm not sure if I'm having fun yet.
Let's back up and talk about what I played, first. I spent most of my time in Team Deathmatch and Kill Confirmed, my two staple modes from Modern Warfare 3. In retrospect, I should have hopped around to different modes, the better to sample the different flavors of Black Ops II, but I intended to play "a few quick matches" and ended up going until 1:30am. Take from that what you will.
Matches retain the usual Call of Duty feel: twitchy, fast combat where guns are deadly and split-second reactions triumph over raw fire power. Usually. Small tweaks exist, like a bump in player health or the return of the dive mechanic, but shooting guns, throwing grenades, and swearing at campers feels the same as it ever was. As it should be; when you have a franchise as financially successful as Call of Duty, you meddle with the formula at your own risk.
Black Ops II's biggest changes to multiplayer occur outside of the battlefield, in the Custom Class builder. Rather than choosing a loadout of predefined weapons, grenades, etc., Black Ops II implements a new "Pick 10" system, where each new gun, perk, and piece of equipment occupies one of ten slots that can be mixed and matched. Want two scopes on your rifle at the expense of one special grenade? Do it. Feel like you could own face if you had an extra Perk 2? Get it done. Black Ops II's Pick 10 system allows for an even greater level of flexibility than any Call of Duty before it, and the wide suite of options allows for making a personal touch of hot, lead-filled death. In fact, at times I felt buried under sheer volume of choices; I'll need to take time out after work tonight to tweak my class to my liking.
The downside of the Pick 10 system, which feels accentuated beyond past Call of Duty games, is how it puts newer players at a disadvantage. Dudes further along in their attempt to Prestige have access to more and better killstreaks/weapons/all of that than newbies with a fresh box copy. At least Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops had several powerful weapons and perks accessible right out of the gate; Black Ops II gates many of the better--like, clear-cut better--weapons behind later levels, and useful killstreaks, like the microwave-emitting Guardian, are locked down until, I dunno, later.
A few smaller gripes. Perks are diminished from usefulness compared to past Call of Duty games, replaced instead by attachments for individual weapons. For a dedicated Sleight of Hand-user like myself, that means grinding experience with guns I have only tertiary interest in using so that I can gain the privilege of faster reloads. Also, Scorestreaks, which predictably swap kills for points gained, are a welcome addition for objective-based modes, but most of the Streak benefits are more expensive than their corresponding rewards in previous Call of Dutys, leaving my four-kill-and-done self gazing longingly at rewards I can't earn against the uber-competitive crowd.
Actually, let's talk about that for a second. Call of Duty multiplayer can be the trickiest, most twitchy experience available online since Quake. Everything is fast, fast, fast, and split-second decisions about whom to shoot and from which direction a missed shot came from can and will wreck your win-lose record if you let them. Your wits and sharpened combat skills won't help one iota, though, if your internet connection is too slow. I currently pay for a low-price internet package, and I regularly see Kill Cams of dudes firing at me while I stand chump-like against a hail of bullets. I have no too-slow reactions in Halo 4, at least from what I've seen, and I can only point to Black Ops II's hyper-speed combat for my connection-related woes. Buyer beware.
I still want to dive back in and improve my character, if only to see if the experience gets better (something I used to justify watching four whole seasons of Heroes). The gunplay is fun, the action is fast, and progression still feels satisfying--that's enough to win over a few more hours. I'll also try out a few different game types; Hardpoint sounds like a fun take on King of the Hill, and I want to see if Demolition feels less, er, icky than in past games. If I can get behind Black Ops II's initial learning curve and small quirks, I could have another great multiplayer game on my hands, but at this point it's going to have to do a hell of a lot to wrest the crown away from Halo 4.
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