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Post by Steve Farrelly @ 06:01pm 13/11/12 | 65 Comments
Would you like more content with your game, sir?

Hopefully you can pick up the sarcasm in that rhetorical question, because as far as products go, you don't get too many as jam-packed with gameplay and features as you do Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.

Say what you will about the world's most popular modern gaming franchise, but I can tell you there is almost something for everyone in Black Ops 2, and if you were thinking this is just going to be more of the same, you're somewhat mistaken, because Treyarch has changed things up in ways that I hope will redirect the development of Call of Duty forever.

Whether it's the tightly balanced level-design in multiplayer or its game-changing new customisation angle in the Pick 10 Create-A-Class system or the expanded and more visceral than ever Zombies mode, Black Ops 2 will deliver. And if you're a story person, well, they've really changed that one up too with bigger, more expanded levels, a deeper and lightly dynamic story with multiple endings and arcs and an antagonist you're going to love to hate.

Click here for our in-depth review.



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Latest Comments
DeadlyDav0
Posted 06:06pm 13/11/12
9.4 hey, wow. I wonder what it would get if reviewed on PC.
rrrocket
Posted 06:31pm 13/11/12
This series is so ever rated. I cannot believe the hype that it even makes the local news.
Ice9ine
Posted 06:37pm 13/11/12
I nearly fell for the hype, very nearly. COD is fun on PC and I lost many, many hours on ops1 but its not until I got Halo4 last week that I realised what I was longing for in FPS games for so long. IMO the literally incredible campaign of Halo4 combined with its seamless and genuinely fun MP makes it the FPS game for me for a long time. COD is a great game, I'm just over it.
Steve Farrelly
Posted 06:39pm 13/11/12
Yeah I see a lot of people's fatigue, and went into this expecting to be met with the same formula, and while it is still definitely Call of Duty, there's a grande, mature expansion to design across all three modes which are almost full games in their own right.

It definitely changes a lot of what you think you know about CoD.
Sc00bs
Posted 06:39pm 13/11/12
how many months till the next ones due?

cant believe people actually buy and adore this game like there was no fps until cod came along
Eorl
Posted 07:00pm 13/11/12
I may get this. Though this will only be the case if I can find it dirt cheap, but I'm very wary as Modern Warfare 3 has a total of 2 hours played, however Black Ops has a total of 100+ hours played. I just think that these games are waning on their "creativity" in what they can offer next. Really it just keeps getting recycled over and over, however luckily Black Ops 2 is looking somewhat different like its original.

Nice review though Steve, explains why exactly you've enjoyed this title and certainly shows that it is at least offering something new.
tommoz
Posted 07:07pm 13/11/12
What a waste of money. Cod fans are almost blind slaves to activision, how sad
Steve Farrelly
Posted 07:29pm 13/11/12
I find it amazing how quick people are to judge a game, based on its name alone, without even playing it
PR3D470R
Posted 07:34pm 13/11/12
I agree with that Steve, obviously CoD wasn't the first FPS game, but people still play it today because it is a good game, and people aren't slaves to Activision, they are slaves to a fun FPS.
Ronnny
Posted 07:34pm 13/11/12
I find it amazing how you gave this s*** game a good review, again...
And yes I've played it, but no way payed for it.
fpot
Posted 07:35pm 13/11/12
I find it amazing how quick people are to judge a game, based on its name alone, without even playing it
This is what you said after that piece of trash MW3 got 9.6 :/
Naren
Posted 07:37pm 13/11/12
Just from playing the MP alone a fair bit I'm loving this game. There are definitely the familiar parts, which I love in a CoD MP, but this release has definitely added a new dynamic to a franchise I was pretty tired of.

Can't wait to play the campaign and month of the MP.
GarG
Posted 07:41pm 13/11/12
Whilst we as the public all enjoy an unbiased review Steve, if Black Ops 2 really is as impressive and refreshing as you say it is, i find it hard to believe it should score lower than Modern warfare 3 - The game that was touted as the battlefield 3 killer at the time, but failed miserably by attempting to copy Modern warfare 2's formula poorly at best.
Sc00bs
Posted 07:52pm 13/11/12
the fact that places like ausgamers are giving it such high reviews is what is a mystery..

its the same rehashed s*** over and over again....

you guys destroy other games for this but praise cod....
Whoop
Posted 07:53pm 13/11/12
after seeing the trailer for it, I want it. But I know it will be s*** like the last 2 modern warfare games, and will introduce DLC down the line that will break the game for those who don't want to pay $30 for a map and a couple of guns. So I still won't buy it.

I'm done with the call of duty line.
twenty1
Posted 08:44pm 13/11/12
Played the campaign for about 15 minutes and even though i'm willing to overlook that fact that its still the same on rails MMS, i just couldn't get past being dropped down to 30fps when aiming down sights. Might try multiplayer tomorrow if i can be bothered to see if it happens there or just wait it out and see if its an issue with an upcoming fix. I'm also pretty sure its not my PC, it's well equipped to deal with a s***** looking CoD game and even if its just some options that need to be turned off i really cant be bothered going through that much troubleshooting to play a CoD game.
BladeRunner
Posted 09:23pm 13/11/12
Anyone got links to buy this for cheap? non-Russian game keys?

I want it just for something to do, mindless shooting and camping.
Enska
Posted 09:31pm 13/11/12
I grabbed it for 60 bucks from cdkeysdirect.com
I had a go before, pretty basic old CoD for the most part, just with all game modes etc from previous ones chucked together really. Is fun though, much better than mw3 or blops imo.
mteejay
Posted 09:47pm 13/11/12
Looks good, love the package that trearc have put together, burbon + blops, cant go wrong!
ravn0s
Posted 10:03pm 13/11/12
heh apparently people with the PC version are getting a mass effect 2 disc read error. wtf.
BladeRunner
Posted 10:19pm 13/11/12
Thanks for the tip Enska, I will cancell my Hitman pre-order and get this.
DeadlyDav0
Posted 10:46pm 13/11/12
http://cdkeyprices.com/product/Call-of-Duty-Black-Ops-2-CD-Key-Steam.html/

Compares prices from various sites. Looks like $55 is cheapest. Pretty pricey for the MP which is pretty much what i would buy it for, especially considering it will be only a matter of time til rip-off DLC is released and splits gamers (as already mentioned).

Need to check out some gameplay vids and try planetside beta before im gunna commit to this one.
Python
Posted 11:00pm 13/11/12
Khel
Posted 12:00am 14/11/12
How does that even happen when Mass Effect 2 is an EA game and CoD is Activision?
badfunkstripe
Posted 12:23am 14/11/12
I've played some of it MP and SP on PC.

The graphics are COD but they are the best of any COD so far. So far I am not finding them distractedly bad like I did in MW3. I think the better animation and lighting makes a difference.

MP has been a lag fest all day. Stuttery and slow for everyone. Some matches are better than others. Many have been unplayable. Even the best matches I got tonight were still laggy, but running smooth.

Also what happened to dedicated servers on PC? I can't find the option. I definitely read them say this would have a server browser.

There also are already hackers. No joke. Saw a guy literally running around head shotting with a sniper rifle. Running through nuke town getting about 6 head shots in the few seconds of replay of my death. Also saw a few suss ones. Sniped through objects where on kill cam I wasn't visible. People running around corners pre firing. When you could seat the start of the replay they were no where they could have seen you go there.

Can't really judge MP until it's running smoothly. However I still enjoy this laggy version better than MW3 MP. Which I couldn't stand.

So far if they get their act together and get it running smooth. It should be the good COD distraction from BF3 that I want for the time being.
Khel
Posted 12:48am 14/11/12
How gumby or difficult is this to actually play on console? Not really looking at getting it for now cos I've got too much to play already, was just curious, cos if the PC version costs around $60, can get an XBox version for about the same price and a lot of people have said the cheating on console is way less.

On the one hand I'd imagine it'd be more gumby than playing on PC, but then on the other hand I figure everyone else would be more gumby too, so maybe it just evens out.
csirac
Posted 02:05am 14/11/12
That logic will not go well for you. You will get curbstomped so hard by console veterans as they really arent that gumby with the controller compared to a pc gamer that casually plays fps on consoles.
DeadlyDav0
Posted 02:32am 14/11/12
Khel, Im pretty good at FPS on PC (have played them regularly since quake 3 and UT days) but have next-to-no experience with consoles. I played a mate 1v1 on his console and despite him only being a casual console gamer for approx 2 years, he kicked my ass.

I dont see why you would throw away PC experience for console gameplay just to avoid cheating which im not convinced is actually a problem for PC gamers. You could always get that xim3 thing then dominate the console kiddies, that would be lols.
qmass
Posted 09:17am 14/11/12
F*** the haters. It is easily the best COD since number 4 and as long as you don't take yourself too seriously its good mindless fun.

PLUS the shotguns are friggen awesome



last edited by Eorl at 09:17:11 14/Nov/12
breno
Posted 05:37am 14/11/12
s*** graphics and bad AI = 9.4? Thats rich
Sc00bs
Posted 06:43am 14/11/12
f***chops
Posted 09:13am 14/11/12
Experienced firsthand the s***tastic lag and stuttering badfunkstripe mentioned above. Its goddamn awful and hopefully it's fixed asap.
Mordecai
Posted 09:46am 14/11/12
How does that even happen when Mass Effect 2 is an EA game and CoD is Activision?

Same production plant probably prints both games so someone there royally screwed the pooch.
Reverend Evil™
Posted 10:07am 14/11/12
He probably put the disc into another drive to make it look like he was trying to load it
badfunkstripe
Posted 12:21pm 14/11/12
Lag, stuttering or whatever the issue is still there today. Honestly they'd be better off just taking the entire PC MP offline until they get it fixed.

It's not acceptable. I can't seem to find any official response to it. The game is unplayable.
Randy Cambell
Posted 12:34pm 14/11/12
Thats why we should buy games online, because by the time you get it for a cheap price the game will be patched ready to go! release dates theys days are a waste of time there are allways day 1 patches and problems with all games.
Sc00bs
Posted 12:36pm 14/11/12
that shotgun sounds like a pop gun

and it looks EXACTLY the f***** same as the previous games
kappa
Posted 12:41pm 14/11/12
You get use to it khel. Just takes time.

You can always play bots or play through the SP before jumping into MP to get familiar with the sticks.
BladeRunner
Posted 12:53pm 14/11/12
I finished downloading it off steam this morning. Had a go at multiplayer and i got 50+ FPS but it lagged a lot and was stuttering. I checked for a new nvidia driver but there was not a new one out, they sometime put a new driver out for a new game. Just have to wait for a new patch and maybe a new driver with optimisations.
f***chops
Posted 01:06pm 14/11/12
I'm pretty sure its the s***** Gameserver.com servers being raped as they are the only australian host atm
ravn0s
Posted 01:09pm 14/11/12
they are the only australian ISP that will be hosting servers.
The GuVna
Posted 01:33pm 14/11/12
For the record i have not experienced any lag whatsoever on the PC, 4 green bars constantly. Just been doing TDM & Ground War game modes tho, so try those game types if the others are laggy for you guys.
Drollzy
Posted 02:10pm 14/11/12
This series is so ever rated. I cannot believe the hype that it even makes the local news.


It can't be over rated if it breaks more sales records bro... Over rated would be all this media attention and then it flops in sales.
MW3 made more money in a week than Avatar the movie did, cant remember the exact figures but it was in the billions and BLOPS2 is supposed to surpass that.

It gets the 'hype' because never in our history has so many people spent so much money on a game. Hype would be all this media attention and no one lining up at the media launches.

Love it or Hate it mate but as Farrelley so eloquently put it "the world's most popular modern gaming franchise"
Majority Rules bruv its societies rule not mine so dont hate me for stating the obvious ;)

I dont mind a bash at the analogue sticks every now and then and afetr a few games last night thought it was ok

But lets get one thing straight.... COD aint got s*** on BF3 and BF3 could be considered an old game now.... So disappointed in MOH Warfighter... how could they luanch such a s*** game after BF3??? its just astounding!
badfunkstripe
Posted 02:40pm 14/11/12
Latest issue i'm having on PC is often being kicked from matches the second I join. No idea why.
Drollzy
Posted 03:05pm 14/11/12
Latest issue i'm having on PC is often being kicked from matches the second I join. No idea why.


Does BLOPS 2 (PC) run on PB? if so you may need to reinstall it - just guessing

Is it only happening with MP or campaign as well?
TicMan
Posted 03:13pm 14/11/12
carl-of-duty-19908-1284594825-6.jpg
Drollzy
Posted 03:24pm 14/11/12
Latest issue i'm having on PC is often being kicked from matches the second I join. No idea why.


Hey bro apparently tons of people world wide experiencing the same issue.
Here is a link to a few possible fixes.... looks like a steam issue?
http://steamcommunity.com/app/202990/discussions/0/864951475476432014/
badfunkstripe
Posted 03:24pm 14/11/12
Apparently the being kicked is a common error people are having. Not PB or anything.
Drollzy
Posted 03:51pm 14/11/12
Apparently the being kicked is a common error people are having. Not PB or anything.


Yeah just posted a possible fix above...
The GuVna
Posted 04:51pm 14/11/12
Crap, looks like I jinxed myself, now I get the kick error too. Well, "Prior" to this I had no issues with BO2 at all :P

That fix doesn't work sadly, that's just a troubleshoot in case people skipped the install process :(
boba
Posted 05:42pm 14/11/12
All games I've played have been stuttering/lagging except one. And that ganesh was quite fun.
qmass
Posted 06:27pm 14/11/12
Rdizz
Posted 06:37pm 14/11/12
just watched lcg's video review of black ops 2 mp.. looks alright but reminds me of cs 1.6, I dunno it just doesn't really bring anything new to the table, kind of like iphones.
badfunkstripe
Posted 10:25pm 14/11/12
Had some smooth rounds tonight. However there's still lag issues.

Also wtf is up with aiming? I think it's lag compensation. It's terrible you aim right at people and miss. I'm excellent at FPS like BF3 with aim. In this I aim and completely miss. Players still sometimes skip around the screen making it impossible.
FSCB
Posted 12:30am 15/11/12
Yeah 9.6 is an interesting score. I used to look at Ausgamers as having critical but fair scoring. A game that scored 9s on Ausgamers was truly a great game.
But over the last 2 or 3 years I have seen quite a few of these high 9s for games that definitely, in my opinion, did not deserve this kind of high score; not technically, not SP gameplay wise, not for AI and not for MP.
MW3 was such a game. 9.6.
BF3 Armored Kill 9.0.
FIFA13 9.0.

This brings into doubt the usefulness of Ausgamers reviewers' current scoring methods. Are the scores arbitrary? Is it a gut feel of the game? Or is it a technical- and evidence-backed score that takes into account the efforts of other contemporary games?
If MW3, BF3AK and FIFA13 score 9+s, does a 9.4 for BLOPS2 really mean 9.4?
Rdizz
Posted 01:09am 15/11/12
yeah i kind of have to agree with this ^
BladeRunner
Posted 02:39am 15/11/12
I had another go of Blops this afternoon, no problems at all. The only thing I did different was take off V-sync and put a FPS limit of 45. I also forwarded ports and have all green bars. Now I just have to learn how to play again.
csirac
Posted 03:14am 15/11/12
ill preface this by saying i havent played blops2. but i remember turning off vsync and the input lag went away. is that hte sort of lag people are talking about? (as well as server lag)
BladeRunner
Posted 03:23am 15/11/12
When i played MP for the first time it was weird, I was getting 60 FPS but it was acting visually choppy. All good now though.
maRtz
Posted 06:21am 15/11/12
qmass'a video looked s***.. looks like a 10+ year old game...
qmass
Posted 06:40am 15/11/12
something f***ed up in the render and its very distorted below 720p

Although its a relatively blocky game compared to other modern engines, it runs at a high framerate and no other shooter in recent memory (especially BF3 and its children) has nearly as tight controls. The iceskating, rock sticking and floatyness of all the frostbite engined games is as bad as their sound engine is good.
badfunkstripe
Posted 10:02am 15/11/12
Still have similar problems on PC MP today.

I also had a frustrating crash during SP. Nothing makes you more annoyed at scripted moments and scenes when you have to replay them a couple times in a row because the game is crashing.

I ended up getting to right before it crashed. Quit so it'd remember checkpoints. Went in lowered settings. Got past it, then put them up again and it was fine.
Drollzy
Posted 10:27am 15/11/12
I had a proper go at it last night till fricken 3.30am.... Not going to get much done at work today :)

I have to say it for me to play a solid 2+ hours after midnight means it was pretty dam good.

Having said that it might just be the novelty and no doubt will probably find myself migrating back to the PC and BF3.

Xbox has been gathering a lot of dust since the PC upgrade and BF3...

Juries still out on this one for me...
badfunkstripe
Posted 05:07pm 15/11/12
Ok now after playing some seemingly normal matches. I just have to ask. WTF is up with COD MP?

Firstly what is with the aim, you can be dead on someone and missing. Aiming like I do in every other FPS including the SP of BO2. Yet in MP i'm forever missing. God help it if they are moving at any speed. I jumped into Blops 1 and I was dead on accurate. BO2 I see someone I aim I fire like in every other FPS and miss. When they're moving this is impossible. I guess I have to learn to always aim at where I think someone is about to be. Not actually at them.

This mechanic is terrible. I though BF3's netcode was terrible. This is just insane.

Often you're firing straight at someone. Yet on the kill cam of them shooting you, you're firing about 45 degrees away from them.

What you see on the kill cam is rarely how it appeared on your end. You see someone pop around a corner shooting instantly. Yet on their screen they walk around, you're visible for a while then they shoot.

Enemies are seemingly right next to you and you can't see them. Even sometimes apparently in front of you and you don't see them. You just die.

When someone opens fire on you, you're basically screwed and rarely can run away, jump to cover.

Also on Kill cam's, it seems everyone is dead on with their aim. I guess this is just an artifact of lag compensation? Which isn't there in the replay. I am also constantly being killed by people who know where I am before I am visible. This is to a ridiculous level as well.

I must say, I actually preferred the MP when it was laggy. Now that it's not, it's a total WTF is this. How can anyone play a FPS like this. It's just bizaar. You're so disconnected from the action and the game.
Drollzy
Posted 10:35am 16/11/12
Ok now after playing some seemingly normal matches. I just have to ask. WTF is up with COD MP?

Wow that sounds all sorts of f***ed up...Not getting any of those problems on Xbox.
The only problem I have is whether to play BF3 for the double xperience or play BLOPS2 for the $90 I wasted on an xbox game :P

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