Black Ops 2 Multiplayer First Impressions

Call of Duty (CoD) games are like a box of chocolates as Forrest Gump would say.  You never truly know what you’re gonna get until you begin.  Even after whole days of playing, the long-term function and enjoy-ability of the game won’t be known until after Christmas when the online community has learned the game and has decided how it wants to play it.  Is this the perfect Call of Duty game that gamers have been wanting?  No.  Will it be considered the best or one of the best?  Perhaps it will; but only time will tell.  This is what I have gathered so far:

Company Treyarch, who created the first Black Ops, is clearly trying to be its inferior Infinity Ward counterpart, who created Modern Warfare 3.  This game, in a nutshell, is what Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) should have been and does not feel like a true descendant of Black Ops.

Guns

The guns in this game kill quickly with sparse amounts of recoil.  While that is the favored style by most gamers, it requires less skill to manage recoil and creates a first-shot-wins sort of game where gunfights are too quick to be enjoyed.  Snipers have gone to a fully useful state as they are in MW3 and CoD 4, and that change is welcome.  Less recoil on most guns, however, makes the sniper rifles less useful because they have less of an advantage in long range gunfights.  Shotguns are functional in the correct short-range situation for them and are worthy guns to use as they were in MW2.  Light machine guns, however, are laughably terrible with increased muzzle flash and worse handling than ever before.  How some guns are just not useful is a pattern that unfortunately remains constant throughout CoD titles.  The knife is again a one-hit-kill and the lunge has been completely removed where the character no longer teleports slightly to achieve the kill.  However, the knife range has been increased to create a similar effective kill radius to previous CoD games.  When not electing to have a secondary weapon, the game equips the player with a knife at the ready instead and the knife is always selectable at any time no matter which weapon the player is holding.  Gamers knifing in a state of panic are less effective, but knifing overall remains a strong- if not an overly strong choice.

Pick 10

As all additions to the guns performance are attachments, this restricts the player’s ability to use less functional attachments in lieu of attachments that used to be perks such as Stalker, Sleight of Hand, and Quickdraw.  The pick 10 system in which customization of the character equipment before battle allows for 10 choices creates a vacuum of certain options.  Secondary weapons (except for launchers), secondary attachments, and tactical grenades cannot compete with other items and will only be used for classes that intend to utilize them fully in their selected play-style.  Customization has reached a new pinnacle, and it will lead to more specialization.  While that is good for some players wanting to break out of the norm, it leads to certain specializations that the game will be better left without.  With so many ways to find and destroy the enemy, it will be difficult to protect yourself from and death without making a mistake.  CoD players worry that the pick 10 system will break the game to become unplayable, but that is not the case.  What is unfortunate about it is that less powerful perks and items will go the way of extinction and less of the spectrum will be seen in the game.

Scorestreaks

The addition of rewarding gamers for objective play expands upon the first version of this idea seen in MW3.  It is more than welcome a change.  However, the player must keep in mind that merely playing the objective such as capturing a point of interest will not help.  Only successfully completing objectives and disrupting opponents will lead to any reward.  The game is merciless and only the best players will be able to gain scorestreak rewards.  In my opinion, the bar for earning the rewards is set way too high and is only reachable through using the Hardline Perk –or else forget about scorestreaks.  Additionally, the middle earnable rewards such as the Death Machine and Dragonfire are too weak for the amount of effort required to get them.  This will lead to a surplus of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) radar spam, leaving players exposed all too often.  This combined with the inability to choose which scorestreak to unlock next will leave players using the first one available, the UAV.  However, Treyarch delivers on the promise to make shooting down UAVs easier than ever.  UAVs are always visible if the player has an open sky above their head as most UAVs are directally vertical and they do not blend into the sky as they do in MW3.  The Ghost Perk hiding players from the radar when moving is unlocked at a very high rank, and with the extra incentives to go Prestige and restart from rank 1, Ghost will be less used than the previous two Call of Duty games.  The result should be high action with players finding each other often and some frustration with constantly being exposed.

Maps

Designed for fast combat, the spawn points and the maps are closer together than the previous Black Ops game.  Proposed to not lead to a quick death but not leave the player too far from the action, the first ends up happening.  The maps and spawns in BO2 are far worse than in the previous Black Ops though a slight improvement over MW3.  The spawn points clearly need adjusting from Treyarch.  The maps, however, cannot be adjusted and will persist as one of the worst things about BO2.  With such promise in the map design of Black Ops, the Treyarch team decided to mimic MW2 style maps with multiple stories and increased complexity.  It results in more camper friendly maps where players can stay still longer and gather easy kills cheaply.  The map design works better than objective play than Infinity Ward games, but leaves the gamer wanting Black Ops maps back.

Playlists

The new playlists of Multi-Team and Hardpoint work surprisingly well in BO2.  Multi-Team plays similar to a Free-For-All match with constant threat on any side with some objective play and teamwork involved.  Hardpoint was done very well except for the fact that the player does not continue to earn score while occupying the objective while it is absolutely necessary for the team to gain points.  That, like many things, needs to be adjusted when it comes to the worth of score for certain actions.  All of the other playlists seem to function well like the original Black Ops when taking into account map design flaws.

Functionality

The game even before public launch (with more available players) has a good connection between players.  Lag is still present but more hidden and jumping location is less common.  Hosts who quit the game still interrupt the game like any other Call of Duty with the lack of dedicated servers.  While not MW2 quality in connection properties, it is better than the last two games and perhaps can be improved upon.  It still utilizes the same Quake III engine for player mechanics that has been in use since 2005.  While heavily improved upon and tweaked, it means that “head-glitching”, where players can shoot behind cover with only the top of their heads exposed, is back in full force.

Presentation

The game’s sound is equipped with extraordinary brilliance.  A sound test shows the true extent of the game’s capabilities.  However, player footsteps are too quiet and ambient noise is increased.  While the original Black Ops had difficulty with direction of footsteps and sounds, BO2 intentionally makes the option of hearing the enemy a less viable one and leaves players more susceptible to surprise.  The graphics are a step up and prove that Treyarch put effort into this game, but still lag considerably behind other series like Halo and Assassin’s Creed.  Colors are extremely vivid and make it easier to pick out enemy players from the background than previous titles.  The presentation of the maps in more dramatic and the voice acting is as boring as they come.  Layout of the game is intuitive and easy to navigate.

Extras

When searching through the select screens, players will see more extra features than any other CoD game by far.  All stats are instantly searchable, theater mode (recorded games) is back, and there is a league option of play that will supposedly match players on skill as well.  Additionally, the CoD Elite application is easily accessible and there is an all new COD TV application that will highlight popular videos, screenshots, and clips of BO2.  Customization of emblems and guns has more variety than ever just like the classes and ways to play the game.

Overall

Black Ops 2 will not be bring back anyone jaded about Call of Duty games from being bored, but it will serve as a functional and fair game.  It gets a lot of things right, but will require some adjustments.  It does not feel like a Treyarch game and instead a spiritual melding of Modern Warfare 2, objective rewards, and balance.  That may be what many are looking for, but I personally disagree.

Halo 4 vs. Black Ops 2

Comparing Story, Campaign Experience, Multiplayer, and Other Game modes

This November 6^th you have an important decision to make.  Weigh the options and choose carefully.  Of course, I’m talking about whether you should buy Halo 4 or Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, though you could and should buy both if you are not strapped for cash.  For some, the choice is made with extreme fanboy prejudice and state how the other is trash.  Others figure their budget and free times are too short and are looking for the most efficient purchase.  Perhaps you might be deciding which one to give as a Christmas gift or which one you want to ask for this Christmas.  If you’re weighing your options, look no further for an objective view.

To judge these games before they come out, we must observe their predecessors and the expected divergences in these sequels.  Halo 4 is the 7^th Halo franchise video game and the 6^th first person shooter in the series (not counting Halo: Anniversary).  It follows the story where Halo 3 left off with main protagonist Master Chief John Spartan-117.  The latest Halo game before it is Halo: Reach.

Call of Duty (CoD): Black Ops 2 (BO2) is the 9^th Call of Duty game and is the 6^th what is referred to as “modern” Call of Duty in which the multiplayer engine, killstreaks, and player perks are present.  BO2 is a direct sequel to CoD: Black Ops made by Treyarch Studios.  The latest CoD game is Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) made by Infinity Ward.

SETTING & HISTORY:

The world of Halo spans the galaxy where humanity has colonized foreign planets to such a degree that few humans have been to or know someone from Earth.  Previous to the first game, prequel Halo: Reach began during the insurrection where colonies war for independence while the United Nations Space Corps (UNSC) maintained that cumulative resources are needed to support those colonies not self-sustaining.  To combat the insurrectionists, the central government created a super soldier “Spartan” program taking children and augmenting them for their cause.  However, the theocratic alien alliance known as the Covenant launched a surprise genocidal campaign against the humans declaring them an affront to their gods and obliterated humanity on planet Reach.

The first in the original trilogy of Halo games began after the fall of Reach when the Covenant discovered one of seven super weapons called “Halos” left over from a long extinct alien race known as the Forerunners.  The Covenant believed that activating the Halo would initiate “The Great Journey” to transcendence, when in reality its purpose is to wipe out all sentient life in order to extinguish an overwhelming alien parasite known as the Flood.  The last Spartan, Master Chief John-117, ended the war with the Covenant, destroyed a Halo installation, and exterminated the collective mind, or “Gravemind,” of the Flood at the end of Halo 3.  Severed from contact with all civilization, Master Chief froze himself in cryogenic suspended animation while his A.I. companion Cortana stands beside him with nothing to do but think as they float aimlessly through space.  When he wakes up 4 years later, Halo 4 begins.

For further analysis of the Original Halo Trilogy, see my article on Video Game Story Quality

The original Black Ops game took place during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States.  The main protagonist, covert black operative Alex Mason, fought through conflicts such as the Bay of Pigs and the Tet Offensive in Vietnam.  At the beginning of the game, he is strapped in a chair and interrogated to eventually discover that he has been brainwashed by the Soviets.   Numbers flash through his head and is repeatedly asked what the numbers mean.  Mason finally remembered what became planted in his head and uses it to stop a deadly chemical weapon known as Nova-6 being used against the USA.

Black Ops 2 takes place in the year 2025 aside from some flashbacks to the 1970s.  Frank Woods, a supporting protagonist in the original Black Ops, leads through the story of the 1970s while Alex Mason’s son faces the brave new world of near-future tech.  Drones led military presence, and as old Frank Woods suggests, the enemy steals the keys.

STORY (versus):

So what happens when the enemy does steal the keys?  David Goyer, best known as the cowriter of the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, gives us the answer in BO2.  While Goyer’s involvement is the #1 reason to anticipate a story to compete with Halo, his work on the first Black Ops is only okay.  However, the premise is stronger with more room for creativity and profound value.  A future setting implies a warning and contemporary elements such as YouTube and the 99% movement make this world more plausible.  Call of Duty games may not have a history of great storytelling, but they have been good enough in the past.  Expect BO2 to be the CoD’s strongest story yet at the hands of David Goyer.

To say that the company who began the Halo franchise back in 2001, Bungie, created the Star Wars of video games is an understatement.   With the next trilogy of Halo 4-7 (the Reclaimer Trilogy) in the hands of 343 industries, the question remains whether 343 will continue the tradition of masterful storytelling in their first original game after Bungie finished their involvement in the franchise with Halo: Reach.  The expectation is absolutely positive.  Microsoft created 343 solely for the purpose of caretaking the Halo franchise and the company has already proven itself in storytelling with the superb “Halo Legends” anime short collection and the New York Times Bestselling “Forerunner Trilogy” of books.  On top of it all, they won’t be starting something that was not meant to be made.  In Halo 3’s ending, Master Chief floats aimlessly in the ship Forward Unto Dawn when it ominously approaches what appears to be an artificial Forerunner planet.  The direction of the new trilogy will be focusing on Master Chief more as a character than an allegory and delves deep into his past becoming a Spartan super soldier and how it relates to the Forerunners’ legacy.  In previous Halo games, a machine left behind by the Forerunners known as 343 Guilty Spark constantly refers to Master Chief as the reclaimer of what the Forerunners left behind and even refers to him as a Forerunner.  As the made-for-internet series “Forward Unto Dawn” leads into the story of Halo 4, watch it and catch up on Halo fiction in order to receive a rich experience out of the game’s campaign.

SPECULATION: 67% Halo 4, 33% Black Ops 2

CAMPAIGN EXPERIENCE (versus):

Halo has had a consistent standard of campaign gameplay that differs little from game to game.  While adding features and new enemies, the practice has always been a linearly directed gunfight and clever outmaneuvering of your opponent while picking up weapons left by your fallen adversaries.  The campaign mode is fun and is open enough to let the players kill off their opponents their own way while having the option of playing with up to 3 other players.  The graphics have been some of the best this generation of consoles has seen, and the cinematography is breathtaking art.  The increased difficulty and options to modify gameplay after the player finds skulls in game account for most of its replay value.  For its music, art, and story, campaign mode is worth experiencing several times like a movie.

BO2 takes a hard turn away from the traditional Call of Duty experience while keeping the core of gameplay the same.  In recent CoDs, each game has been going for a larger shock factor than the other and has been underdeveloped –thought of as an attached obligation to have in the game rather than a key component.  With quick deaths in the game, play style is extremely rigid with trial-&-error being the main key to success.  Black Ops 2, however, differs in one significant way in being able to choose paths in a non-linear fashion with more choices allowing the player to game in the way they find the most fun.  This change will also radically increase replay value.  Distracting however, are the lackluster graphics which lag severely behind rival first person shooters (fps).  CoD’s campaign is often completely ignored by those who buy it for multiplayer alone.  Overall, expect BO2’s campaign experience to rival the fun of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare back when single player gameplay was still paid attention to.

SPECULATION: 57% Halo 4, 43% Black Ops 2

MULTIPLAYER (versus):

Like single player campaign, Treyarch changes 5 years of stasis with Black Ops 2’s changes to multiplayer.  “Modern” CoDs have given the player 3 special abilities called “perks” giving the choice between a certain set within each slot with a primary and secondary weapon, a grenade, and a tactical grenade such as a flashbang.  BO2 changes that with its “pick 10” system allowing more customization than ever before while letting the player make cost/benefit analysis.  BO2 changes the endgame from previous CoD games from (sort of) impressing other players with earned rank and camouflage to having complete free range in customizability.  BO2 also changes killstreaks (rewards to players for kills in a row) to “score-streaks” rewarding objective play.  Most importantly, BO2 has removed all elements in the game that reward players for being bad at the game such as deathstreaks and perks that only activate after the player should have died.  Until now, Call of Duty has been comparable to college football without a playoff: loved but hated for being so imperfect.  Treyarch is out to make BO2 the most competitive CoD yet with skill and good decision deciding the winner in matches.  To reflect this attitude, BO2 is introducing the new “call-cast” feature and makes watching professional and otherwise competitive matches more fun than ever.  There will, however, likely be overpowered weapons and setups which dominate game lobbies with homologous, cheap characters.  The technical prowess of the series has not improved and has in fact declined.  The original Black Ops and MW3 boast some of the worst online connections in video games; however BO2’s connection cannot be accurately predicted at this time.  This game will undoubtedly be better than MW3 and has a chance to be the best CoD multiplayer yet, though without a beta there is still a significant chance BO2 will disappoint.

Halo 4 is evolving its multiplayer system rather than revolutionizing it.  Halo’s online gaming atmosphere is more casual than CoD’s and is more fun to some with better connections and less cheap, game-breaking elements.  343 is attempting to adapt some elements of Call of Duty into its game which gamers often find lacking in Halo.  It will increase the pace of the game with sprinting being an inherit ability in each player and will reward players for score-streaks with airdropped ordinance.  The types of vehicles will be expanded upon, and like before is apt to only enhance the online experience.  With Halo’s online gaming community being more focused on fun rather than frustration, Halo’s multiplayer is the clear choice for causal gamers while appealing to hardcore gamers alike.

SPECULATION: 58% Black Ops 2, 42% Halo 4

Other Game Modes (versus):

Spartan Ops is a new game mode that is essentially online multiplayer with a story.  Following the end of the campaign, a new breed of Spartans spars aboard the UNSC Infinity Spaceship and arrive at the Forerunner planet where the main story takes place.  The story of Spartan Ops will progress in free weekly episode downloads like a television show.  This is a grand evolution not just in Halo, but gaming in general for its production value, story in multiplayer, and price.

Zombie mode is an incredibly popular game-type Treyarch introduced in CoD: World at War with “Nazi Zombies.”  Its appeal is mainly conceptual and aesthetic gaining a following in a similar way to cult films.  To some, it has been second only to multiplayer mode, while others find the experience completely boring and appealing only as a gimmick.  Zombies mode has been expanded in BO2 with somewhat of an open world story mode, the traditional survival mode, and a new versus type where players on opposing teams try to screw over and outlast each other.  While Zombies mode would capably be competing with the survival-type mode of “Firefight” in Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach, it instead is up against a grand new multiplayer story mode.

SPECULATION: 60% Halo 4, 40% Black Ops 2

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is the most ambitious Call of Duty game to date as company Treyarch attempts to revitalize a creatively dying franchise.  Halo 4 is 343 Industries’ move to evolve the Halo franchise more than any of its predecessors.  Halo 4 will be a fantastic game with solid game mechanics, a deep and complex story while adding to what is already great.  Black Ops 2, while ambitious, is still a bit of a question mark whether the problems of past CoD games will plague it or if it will be the game that players have wanted the franchise to become since the first modern Call of Duty.  What is known for sure is Halo 4’s higher production value and artistic advantage as well as CoD’s addicting online juggernaut of a presence whether the game is good or bad.

The choice between the two should be determined by the type of gamer you are.  If you have no online connection with Xbox Live service, then the lack of Spartan Ops may tip you in the direction of BO2 if you enjoy the Zombie mode.  If you are new to first person shooters and lack skill in gaming, the online gaming community of Halo may be the friendlier option.  If you are an art and story appreciator, Halo 4 is your choice.  If you are into highly competitive gaming with your friends, BO2 is more your style.  All things being equal, Halo 4 is likely to be a better game, but both are worthy choices.

Continue following Leather Wing Media at leatherwingmedia.wordpress.com &/or follow the twitter handle @JBryanJones for post-launch coverage of Halo 4 and Black Ops 2.  Expect a review of Halo 4’s story and a first impressions article on Black Ops 2’s multiplayer.