Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Is One of the Best Told Stories in Videogames

Call of Duty is bad because it takes place in a corridor. Call of Duty is bad because there is little player choice. Call of Duty is bad because people buy it and they should know better. Black Ops 2 is a tired rehash of everything that came before and Activision should be ashamed.

These arguments float around the Internet every year, at about this time, because Call of Duty is an annualized franchise and this is also bad. Like social games, Call of Duty became very popular and so it became accepted knowledge that this was because it is terrible. I see where those arguments come from, but I just can’t get behind them – nearly every year, Call of Duty proves that it’s one of the only franchises that knows how to tell a tight, effective story on the level of more established media.

[Jinkies]

Yeah sure it is........Hilarious

Uncharted 2 is a example of a well told story with well developed charcters and gameplay. Black Ops 2 or COD in general is like the opposite of that

[hennessey86]

Even played it, the story is brilliantly told and acted, go troll some where else

[rajman]

Yeh I'll admit the single player campaign was pretty good, short...but that was obvious from the start. I found it more fun than other FPS single player campaigns such as MOH: Warfighter and BF3.

[Jinkies]

So pointing out that a games story is never good is trolling....

I understand if you had a ton of bubbles and were a well known, mature memeber of the site but a one bubble troll like yourself.....comment ignored.

[PhantomT1412]

Actually, I think the other way around : BO2 has an intersting story but the narrative is messy and confusing.

But I liked some things they did with narrative and level designing (even though I found the later quite messy overall).
At one point during a mission, you had a tower you could climb (or not) using a ladder. When you did that, Mason (your character) said "I'll cover you from the tower". It gave a feeling similar to the Stanley Parable mod of Half-Life 2. It's good they've come up with other things than big straight corridors in terms of level design to enhance the narrative (even though they still use that a lot).

[waljaber]

r u serious ? how old r u?

[MysticStrummer]

There's nothing brilliant about the story, the storytelling, or the acting. You must have really low standards in those departments to make that comment. The gameplay is Call of Duty, love it or hate it, but the story is nothing special at all. It's yet another game that makes Michael Bay movies look deep and meaningful.

[Winter47th]

It's a fucking awesome story and I swear to GOD you negative pricks will say that COD is more of the same even if it was a Japanese medieval RTS.

[Mykky]

I have not ever played a CoD game, but you can't mean it's on the same level as Heavy Rain, Kingdom Hearts, Mass Effect and Red Dead Redemption? If it is then I'm buying it instantly.

[Chris558]

It might be true what hennessey said he is uncharted fan so would make senae to be honest haters gonna hate broh cod is good

[MikeMyers]

Jinkies, you never even detailed as to why it wasn't a good story. So who's the actual troll, one making a generalization towards all Call of Duty games and not explaining why the story is so bad for Black Ops 2 while talking about Uncharted 2 instead, or someone who's asking if you've even played it and having you not answer?

Now that truly is hilarious.

[MysticStrummer]

It's a good story if you think Michael Bay movies are thought provoking, I guess.

[Norrison]

Sully is underdeveloped in UC2. That's my only complaint with it, half life got a better story tho

[iNMyFiN4LH0uR]

BS, Uncharted 2 isn't by any means known for its story; in fact the plot of U2 was very generic, full of cliches that simply held together well for a video game. Where the game excelled was presenting that story in a cinematic format which rivaled a hollywood movie (i mean besides its awesome scripted events).

In contrast, when it comes to story, Black Ops 2 blows it out of the water, afterall the story is penned by the co-writer of the Dark Knight Trilogy. COD has always had a negative connotation for its rehashed game engine and lack of innovation and in the process its well done campaigns have been overlooked far too often. Black Ops 2 is an awesome game from every aspect minus the bugs that plague its online component at the moment. Credit is due to Treyarch.

[Breadcrab]

Uncharted 2 is nothing more than a cliched and shallow action story with lazily written 'Joss Whedon' style characters, all of which is meant to create an excuse to string the set pieces together.

[deletingthis34675334]

Haha no it isn't. Uncharted 2's story is very generic, and it is virtually identical to the first game with a 'supernatural' twist which was ridiculous. The only thing good about it was the made for TV movie quality production values and sadly that wasn't enough to fix the unoriginal story told by Uncharted 2. Sorry, but I have seen WAAAAY better and way more original stories in video games than Uncharted 2. Perhaps you started gaming on a PS3.

[ironcreed]

I was sick to death of COD, but took a chance after taking a break from it and am surprised by how good this is. The presentation has never been better, new pacing from going to the past and back to the future is extremely well done, some of the near-future weaponry is amazing and the smooth 60 FPS gameplay is a pleasure to play.

Again, I was as sick of COD as anyone, but I can't lie and say this is a bad game... because it's not. One of the best told stories? LOL, I would not say that, but it's a great game, all the same.

[BigBoss1964]

Oh god I can't breathe XD

[Tonester925]

Why do COD haters click on these articles?

[ape007]

to express their anger and frustration of CoD becoming once again the top game in sales and not their beloved franchise, simple.......lol

[GUYwhoPLAYSvideoGAME]

im usually a cod hater, but you have to be open minded, this might be the first cod i play since modern warfare 2

i've been watching some videos online and this isn't the usual cod, the story is actually pretty great

[ape007]

im a huge huge CoD fan and my fav CoD games ever are the original IW games, CoD 2( on its time), CoD 4 and MW2, i bought black ops2 and let me tell that it's the best CoD game since MW2, it feels like an upgrade

[andrewer]

I'm not a CoD hater, as I like very much MW series, but one of the best told stories in videogames is easily too much. In my opinion this title would go for Zelda; but I'm not saying that the story is bad. For example CoD is immensely better than Battlefield because of that (IMO). Although many people prefer Multiplayer experience, I'm a gamer who prefer story, plot, and because of that I think that CoD story is quite good but nood THAT thing.

[yaz288]

BO2 .. sp was fucking amazing!! the story (omg it was so good!) and the presentation were the key of its greatness .. my only complain was the combat, I guess after playing halo 4 and moh wf ( which was surprisingly good ) .. I found bo2 way to easy and the AI(really hated it).. and the level of killing was crazy .. ( the Mendiz going berserk level was ... was way too much for me tph .. thankfully the second half was way better and more relaxed )

mason ( really didn't see that one), Hudson, Farid ( new names to remember ) also mendiz and the annoying harbor ..

didn't touch the mp ..

[porkChop]

*Reads article*... makes no mention whatsoever of anything related to Black Ops 2's story... I don't understand the point of this, the headline and the content of the article don't even remotely line up. I mean it literally says "The content of the story is another matter, and the subject of another post." Uh, should this not have been THAT post to begin with?

[Lulz_Boat]

i liked more the Black Ops 1

[Der_Kommandant]

Just finished the game, the story is amazing and Sgt. Frank Woods is a legend

[Hazmat13]

the storyline is fantastic, well made and just a blast to play.

[faraany33k]

Everyone who says that BLOPS 2 story is weal is delusional or a hater. It had well developed characters, a likable villain with appropriate background and loads of story choices which heavily affect the ending.

And can you guys please give credit to such awesome voice acting. It is definitely the best COD out there SP wise.

[SOULJER]

Spec Ops the line story is really good.

[ajax17]

I'm sure it's the best in the COD series, but of all time... I don't think so.

[RickHiggity]

One of the best stories told in video games? I'll remain skeptical until I play it.

[Omnislash]

I HIGHLY doubt that.

As someone that holds video game stories to the highest regards and as someone that has played video games such as Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Heavy Rain etc.. I REALLY fail to believe that Black Ops 2 has a good story. Black Ops 1 had a forgettable generic campaign, the only thing I remember was shooting Fidel Castro in the face. Call of Duty doesnt revolve around the single player campaign, nobody cares what happens to the characters or whatever the hell is going in their generic tacked on campaigns...

[yaz288]

I definitely dont agree that bo2 had the best story ever .. but that doesn't change the fact that it was amazing! It definitely was one of the best that came this year.

And not just the story, but how they presented it .. the acting and the voice work is easily the best. And the way you look at the characters will change when you move thought the game .. you will grow to love them surprisingly even the minor ones.

[deletingthis34675334]

Probably the best in a Call of Duty/Activison game, but heavily doubt the best ever.

[sdplisken]

this guy obviously hasnt played many games lol