Call of Duty: Black Ops II: Preview
The series, which once brought shooters to a new level, has been marking time in one place for several years now. Next Call of Duty with subtitle Black Ops 2 is being developed Treyarch, the studio that created the previous Black Ops. What awaits us – fresh ideas and a global rethinking of the series or another clone of past parts on a moss-covered engine?
Back to the future
The game continues the story of the events that happened in Black Ops. We have two heroes at our disposal, on whose behalf we will watch the development of the plot. The first is Alex Mason, the second is his son David. Their destinies are separated by time, but at the same time tightly connected. Through Alex’s eyes we will be able to see the 80s of the 20th century, and his son will act in the 21st century, where the future is not as joyful and serene as some science fiction writers paint it. The war still claims lives, and heroes die on dirty streets amid the sound of guns.
Playing as Mason Sr., we Royal-vincit.co.uk will take part in the battles of the Cold War, and controlling David, we will be able to experience all the delights of technological progress in the service of the army. In this future, Raul Menendez, a once brave and loyal soldier, becomes bitterly disappointed and, having changed his views on the surrounding reality, becomes a dangerous terrorist. In 2025, he organizes a hacker attack on the Chinese stock exchange, a monopolist in the production of rare earth elements necessary for the creation of complex military equipment. As a result of this incident, the economies of many countries will suffer, and a new “cold war” will break out between the United States and China, which will gradually develop into a full-fledged armed conflict using advanced weapons.
Writes the game script David Goyer (David Goyer), who participated in the creation of the films “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight Rises”. In the plot Black Ops 2 the family relationships of the main characters will play an important role. In addition, for the first time in the history of the series, the game will give us some freedom of action and even several endings. During the campaign, the player will be asked to decide which battles he wants to participate in. The choice and outcome of the battle will affect the outcome of the entire game. Forks are also found in ordinary missions – they represent a rather banal choice between “cover the squad with a sniper rifle” or “take part in the assault”. But the developers promise that even such minor decisions will affect the ending, and will also determine whether the heroes will survive.
"War. War never changes…"
Despite the futuristic component of the new Call of Duty, There are no usual laser guns here. But the rifles are equipped with X-ray sights, and are also capable of breaking through concrete walls. The standard set has not gone away either – shotguns, grenades, light machine guns and other weapons that have already become familiar. In addition to opponents of flesh and blood, we have to fight with many drones that have suffered from the notorious hacker attack and have taken up arms against American citizens. And the giant robots, moving on four legs and shooting every living thing in their path with machine-gun bursts, have already become a kind of symbol Black Ops 2. In addition, in the world of the future we will see quadcopters – flying combat vehicles, apparently descended from the helicopters we are used to.
To create the game, the developers use the same good old IW 3.0 engine, updated with modifications that allow better use of DirectX 11 features. A separate team is working on adapting the game for PC, so we can hope for decent optimization. But don’t expect miracles from the graphics – the outdated engine cannot be hidden behind updates, and screenshots still look scary.
The network mode has undergone quite significant changes. The battles will take place in 2025, where players will have to fight using a large number of different equipment. Robots, drones, fantastic weapons – all this will be part of multiplayer matches. The Strike Force mode shown at E3 pleases with its thoughtfulness – tactics and strategy play an important role here. The player controls three units at once; you can command them remotely or take part in battles yourself. With the help of a number of commands and an interactive map, the game turns into a sort of tactical shooter. The popular zombie challenge hasn’t been deprived of updates either – it has now become fully multiplayer and has acquired new modes.
As always, the project seems ambitious, the videos are full of special effects and spectacular scenes, the authors praise their brainchild, and the gaming community is again choking on controversy. It is still unclear whether the series will get off the ground, but even minor innovations are good news.