Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Review | IGN

IGN - What if Call of Duty was different?

This appears to be the defining question informing the direction of developer Treyarch’s latest, Call of Duty: Black Ops II. While large portions of the design conform to the tenants established by prior iterations of the franchise, the unparalleled wealth of gameplay options and brilliant twists on the formula have shaped Black Ops II into the most ambitious and exciting Call of Duty ever made. It occasionally feels like the team might have strayed into territory they’re not quite masters of, but significant tweaks to the multiplayer loadout system, as well as the realization of player agency in the campaign, make this far more than “just another Call of Duty.” This is an evolution.

[Eyeco]

Given IGN's recent reviews i'm not sure wether to take this score seriously , Halo 4 got a 9.8 but it felt more like an 8.5 to me (still a great game) , one of the few times i actually agree with metacritic.

[x800]

recent reviews? this is been happening year after year.

[papashango]

Damn lol. Moh got ripped apart for being the same ol same ol. I'll just leave it at that

[Old McGroin]

So what if it's the same old same old? The argument that people (reviewers as well) seem to be rolling out for every sequel these days is that they should be marked down for being similiar to the last game in the series. Bullcr@p. What do these people expect? Call Of Duty Extreme Snowboarding? Halo Chess? Uncharted Football? It's a lazy argument. With pretty much every sequel you know what you are going to get, more of the same in different environments with little tweaks to gameplay. Why change the formula if that's what the actual fans enjoy? The previous games obviously sold well enough to warrant a sequel so why would the developers stray from said formula? When a person watches a football game do they complain that the rules haven't changed since the last match they watched? No. Get over it and stop acting so damn surprised that sequels are similiar to their predecessors, that argument is getting weary.

Anywho, I'm glad BLOPS2 seems to be getting high marks across the board, it's obviously a fun game that the fans enjoy and when it inevitably breaks more sales records it will yet again draw the worlds attention to the medium that we all love which can only be a good thing.

@ papashango

I'm not having a go at you by the way, I gave you an agree, I don't believe sequels should be ripped apart for being similiar to the games that came before them.

[EVILDEAD360]

IGN got Halo 4 100% correct and now Treyarch is getting love for pulling off for all of the dedication and hard work they put they into this MASSIVE series.

Despite the bitter online hate from people who don't play the game, this is the franchise that brings together the hardcore masses in a way no other has in ANY gen.

Treyach has always progressively gotten better with every year they had the keys to the car of this franchise. But, now they may have finally hit on all cylinders.

Either way, can't wait to play Zombies, which has always been my fave part of the Treyarch games and as fun a mode as any that has come in shooters this gen.

Evil

[extermin8or]

No really this game is good, I hated mw3, black ops was Meg and mw2 starteevthevbroken multiplayer trend, black ops returns the series towards COD4 quality and its multiplayer feels like COD yet mmbotblike COFmD and seems balanced

[Gazondaily]

I'm sorry but it looks like you started having a spasm after you typed "black OPS was".

Here's hoping you're okay. (I'm guessing you typed this on a phone).

[extermin8or]

oh wow that's messed up; yeah I was on my phone sometimes it's predictive text thing has a little fit and I don't notice; and did i really wirte "returns the series to COD 4 quality" what I meant was Black Ops 2 has a good single player that isn't OTT moment after OTT moment and is still fun; the multiplayer despite what sounds like it should become a totally unbalanced mess thanks to the pick 10 is quite to the contrary the most balanced COD i've played since COD4 infact it may even be more balanced. Kills are no longer solely down to who saw who first; I can get shot by someone from behind and assuming I react fast enough can still win the gunfight if my aim is better or I do something unexpected :) and then Zombie mode.... well it's bloody brilliant basically; and just to point out I have been fed up with COD since after MW2 however now I am fed up no longer-I look forward to Treyarchs next entry; hope they revist 2025 or something similar :P also the villain from what I've played of the single player seems jame Bond style influenced any one else agree?

[Thatguy-310]

Havent played the story but the multiplayer is fun. It isnt as fast pace as the previous COD which I like. Has a similar Modern Warfare feel which I missed on the previous installments. After getting used to the maps the game is enjoyable. Its pretty competitive though. Overall its a good game if I judge base off the multiplayer.

[Gazondaily]

Hold on a minute, when talking about the multiplayer they basically talk about the new load out system. I think they're forgetting something major.....its calmed GAMEPLAY. How does this play online and how is it better than the other COD games? How are the weapons balanced etc?

I think I'm going to wait for more reviews and the verdict of my friends before I take the plunge simply because COD games after MW2 have disappointed me so much even in light of receiving excellent reviews.

Now, with ign saying this is the best cod and shooter in a long time, I am intrigued but I won't bite the bullet just yet. Time will tell. You never know, this could actually be that good?

[shivvy24]

its ign what do u expect

[Swiggins]

I'll fill that in as best I can.

The gunplay is about the same as other titles, maybe a little better, I've only been playing for a couple of hours, but I haven't noticed any significant lag.

I only have access to the early weapons, so I can't attest to balance yet, but from what I've seen, everything functions as it should, AR's do pretty good at all ranges but will fail against an SMG at close range and a sniper at long. SMG's tear everything apart at short range but are useless outside of mid. The snipers feel excellent, lots of good sightlines to shoot from (unlike Blops and MW3) This also marks one of the only CoD's where I would actually use a shotty, the shotguns feel really powerful up close, but not overwhelmingly so.

The Killstreaks are a bit annoying, it's not as bad as MW2, but it's worse than Blops 1. So far the most common KS is probably the Hunter Killer drone, which is annoying, but also easy to counter with Flak Jacket.

I'd have to give the multiplayer more time before I could deliver a score, but so far, I'd say it's alright, much better than MW3, that's for sure.

[Gazondaily]

Cheers rainbow- that was actually quite helpful. I'm glad to hear they have rectified many problems such as:

* Snipers- the map designs were horrible in Blops and MW3 and never accomodated sniping. IS quick-scoping back in this? Please say no!

* Weapon balance- dual smg's firing at a rate of a million bullets a second and killing across the map is hardly fun. I'm glad they've gone some way in sorting that out.

What are the maps like? The map designs were horrendously unremarkable and poor in Blops and MW3. Are they actually memorable this time round?

[Swiggins]

Quick Scoping is...Kinda back.

You can't instantly pull up the scope halfway and fire and expect it to kill the guy, there's also no quickdraw handle for Snipers so theirs no way to increase ADS Time.

If you can pull up your scope though, you can pull off a snapshot, unlike in Blops 1, where they threw off your aim for a few miliseconds after you scoped in. So quickscoping, No, Snap scoping, yes.

Maps are...ok, this time around. Carrier is a lot of fun and so is Hijack, but the game currently lacks a stand out classic, like CoD4's Crash or MW2's Terminal. Overall though, they're pretty good.

[Eyeco]

Honestly Septic from what i've seen, read and heard the gameplay is pretty much unchanged, remember there are several ways to cook an egg but at the end of the day it's still and egg, But one thing i can assure you is that every online multiplayer suffers from this, and online game is only ever gonna be as good as the people that play it, I'm picking the game up in a few hours so only know then

[Thatguy-310]

Think of Modern warfare with high tech weapons. It isnt as fast pace as the other COD's. I hardly enjoy COD games but I truly see myself investing more time into this installment because of how similar it feels to COD4. Plus to top it off it has zombies too which is fun too. My verdict is that if you like COD4 you should like this game.

[Blastoise]

Awesome. Knew this was gonna be a big hitter.

Where are all the haters?

Too busy playing online after picking it up last night I imagine ;)

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

Lol They probably all queued up for the midnight launch just after whining on the internet and making rehashed jokes about COD being rehashed to be cool and get loads of agrees.
We all know you'll play it eventually ;D

[ape007]

those guys are such sheep

[Jinkies]

What gives you the right to question what people do

I hate it but I've never bought it once....so your little theory has been debunked.

[Blastoise]

See you online Jinkies!

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

Yeah jinkies send me your PSN or LIVE name we'll have some good matches and some laughs :D

[Jinkies]

Obviously...other games which are average but still good by taking creative risks 4-7 out of 10.....the same old COD, 9/10....10/10

Review sites never fail

[CommonSense]

Still just looks kind of boring to me. Extra zombie modes doesn't make for a "new" experience.

[pandehz]

This video shows the whole campaign lmao

[spirited]

So this game does not have mindless explosions,shoot every

thing which moves and has one of the best Ai,animations,

graphics and has innovated in someways then it is a fair score and justified otherwise bribery is

not uncommon in a business of billions of dollars.

[Ninjamonkey82]

Once again all other bplatforms lacking a review. Due to the game being held back looks like everyone else is getting shafted.

[Stoppokingme]

"People love to criticize the length of Call of Duty games, and if Black Ops II were only a campaign that might make sense."

So in other words the SP is short. I'm shocked.

I think i'll give it a miss. After all Far Cry 3 is a few weeks away. Bring on Novemver 29!!!

[pompombrum]

Lol this is funny, Halo gets a 9.8 and everyone goes nuts calling it GOTY, praises 343 as the industry saviors and almost nobody questions the authenticity of the review. Then comes cod and everyone is back to the whole IGNorant jokes again.

I love how the review starts with "THIS IS NOT THE SHOOTER YOU EXPECTED." which is hilarious seeing as it's exactly the shooter what EVERYONE was expecting. Not going to hate on it but bleeding heck, that's a serious PR statement right there for a series everyone knows what to expect.

Haven't played the game yet so will reserve judgement but like the Halo review, this seems extremely lacking in reviewing the MP proportion which I think is wrong. Als

[Gazondaily]

"Nobody questions the autenticity of the review"

Really? Because it looked like a quite a few people were ranting on about how they were paid off. Remeber how Uncharted 3 got a perfect score? All of a sudden IGN became the most credible site on N4G.

Now look at the sentiments of people on here regarding Uncharted 3.

Either way, I agree that MP portions of both games were scarcely reviewed. As it turns out, having played Halo 4 comprehensively- it MP turned out to be absolutely brilliant. If COD BO 2's turns out to be that then, I'll be buying it for sure. However, I'll reserve judgement like you.

[Thatguy-310]

Havent played halo 4 so can judge but after seeing how ign gave uncharted 3 a 10 I dont see how ppl can make them credible. It was an ok game when compared to the previous one. The aiming was way off when it released and the story was lackluster so I truly dont see what got it perfect score. That being said im about to go to bed after playing blackops 2 and I can guarantee its an enjoyable game if your looking to invest in the multiplayer. Havent tried the campaign but the multiplayer is a lot of fun after getting to know the maps and all that. I would recommend it.

[Jek_Porkins]

Nice review, I knew it'd be pretty good. I went to the midnight launch and I'm liking the campaign so far. Treyarch has obviously become the best COD developer and they took quite a few risks with the game. I'd say this is the riskiest COD since COD4 and it looks and plays great so far.

[Der_Kommandant]

It looks ok, but nothing out of this world.

[CrazyRap]

lol it's ign.

[ambientFLIER]

Is it too much to ask for a mention of graphics and sound in a review of one of the biggest games of the year????? Even if they are about the same, just say so...this is why the new review format pisses me off. At least in the past they would HAVE to mention those things in the breakdown.