Call Of Duty: Black Ops 2

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has now been announced to the public and might be the most frightening take on the future that we’ve seen in years. Instead of clichés like space travel and aliens, Treyarch have decided to present a world that completely different yet totally viable. The things about Black Ops 2 is that the future on show doesn’t differ too much from where we are now.

Some of the campaign takes place in the 80’s but the main hub of the story is set in 2025 where you’ll assume the role of Black Ops protagonist Alex Mason’s son, David. China have unsurprisingly risen to become a global power and are embroiled in a modern cold war with the United States over the most previous resources our planet has to offer.

The realism in the story is realistic due to how accurate the actually problem with natural resources is at the moment.  All major electronic products use these elements in their construction which is currently being mined primarily by China. News story after news story invokes the mind into the likelihood that rare earth elements are a future point of contention for many different nations. See, for instance, President Obama's recent speech regarding China's hold on these precious materials.

Treyarch still wants Black Ops 2 to deliver the over-the-top visual spectacle that people have come to expect from their AAA series. Expect the combat to follow the same fast paced routine of the previous games with many gadgets and gizmo’s to use along the way. Expect to be pitted against drones, soldiers and vehicles as you make you way through a variety of locations. The standard of the visuals and sounds have also been improved to bring with it a more viable and believable battlefield from the not so distant future.

The phrase "cinematic experience" gets tossed around a lot when discussing what it means to make a Call of Duty campaign, leading many people to (justifiably) associate the series with heavily scripted and linear single player stories. Treyarch wants to change those expectations with Black Ops 2 but crafting a story with branching paths to increase replayability.

The additional gameplay elements for this new Call of Duty outtin comes in the form of ‘Strike Force’ missions that allow players to go through levels as part of a black ops group choosing levels based on threats during your current playthrough. These missions then tie back to the main game depending on success or failure much like the Galaxy at War mode of Mass Effect 3. These missions will be co-operative and feature small but sandbox like areas with multiple objectives.

For years people have been speculating when the Call of Duty franchise would try using the future as a story driver and it looks like this might be the first of many games going down this route. Presumably the success of this title will be down to the AAA standards as well as the games title which is sure to help it sell well and no doubt obtain another sequel.