Overview

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a military first-person shooter developed by Treyarch and published by Activision (Square Enix in Japan) for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC on November 13, 2012. It was later released as a launch title for the Wii U on November 18th, 2012.

The ninth official installment of the Call of Duty series (and the sequel to 2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops), the game shifts from the 1960's Cold War to near-future 2025, where military technology has advanced significantly and a new "Cold War" has arisen between the United States (with its Joint Special Operation Command, or JSOC) and China (with its Strategic Defense Coalition, or SDC).

In the main single-player campaign, players take the role of JSOC Lieutenant Commander (and DEVGRU operative) David Mason, son of Alex Mason (a CIA agent and the main protagonist of the game's predecessor). David (codenamed "Section") must investigate and stop the plans of Raul Menendez, a wealthy Nicaraguan narco-terrorist who is using cyberterrorism to fuel the new Cold War. As David puts the pieces together (both from playable 1980's flashbacks from his father's aging comrade-in-arms Frank Woods, and from infiltration missions with fellow DEVGRU operatives Mike Harper and Javier Salazar), he begins to draw a disturbing connection between Menendez and the two Masons.

Along with a main campaign that introduces branching storylines (with multiple endings), per-mission challenges, and custom mission weapon/gear loadouts to the franchise, the game introduces side-missions called "Strike Force", in which players must complete objectives as a soldier, a remote operator of a combat vehicle, or as a tactical commander (in a mode similar to real-time strategy games), switching between these modes at any time. Completing all available missions directly affect the main storyline (even affecting the game's ending), but each single-player campaign has a limited amount of retries ("strike forces") for all Strike Force missions.

Both Zombies and Multiplayer modes return, each with their own unique enhancements. For Zombies, the game adds a variety of new modes (including a large "open world" co-operative mode, a 4v4 competitive co-operative mode, and a duel mode in which one player tries to respawn by controlling the zombie horde). For Multiplayer, the game adds a unique "Ten Point" Create-a-Class system in which players can add and remove components of their class to shift priorities (sometimes breaking traditional Create-a-Class rules, such as adding a second Perk or replacing lethal grenades with another tactical grenade). Multiplayer mode also adds a new game mode (Hardpoint), enhanced Wager Matches (now Party Games) and Combat Training playlists (integrating them with the standard public playlist system, including granting experience points), a Weapon Prestige system (in which players can re-unlock attachments to grant new cosmetic perks), and enhanced social integration (including the ability to livestream via Twitch).

The main soundtrack was composed by Jack Wall (previously known for the first two Mass Effect soundtracks). The game's main theme ("Theme from Call of Duty: Black Ops II") was composed by Trent Reznor (front-man for Nine Inch Nails, whose previous video game soundtrack was Quake).

The campaign includes official appearances by comedian (and television host) Jimmy Kemmel and retired USMC Lieutenant Colonel (and political commentator) OIiver North. Rock/metal band Avenged Sevenfold appears in a post-credit "easter egg" music video. The campaign also includes characters based on former CIA director David Petraeus, former Panaman dictator Manuel Noriega, and former Angolan political leader Jonas Savimbi.

Campaign

The bulk of Call of Duty: Black Ops II's single-player campaign puts players as either main protagonist David Mason (in 2025) or his father Alex Mason (in the late 1980s, during flashback sequences from an aging Frank Woods). Other playable characters include Frank Woods himself (during one of his flashback sequences), Raul Menendez (the game's main antagonist), and "Farid" (an undercover CIA operative close to Menendez).

As JSOC Lieutenant Commander David Mason (codename "Section") investigates the backstory and plans of the wealthy narco-terrorist Raul Menendez, players will eventually come across parts of the plot that the player can directly (or indirectly) influence. By determining the fate of key characters and by choosing whether to accept certain side-missions, the outcome of major events in the game can change significantly (including the game's ending).

Loadouts

Prior to beginning a mission in the game, players have the option to customize their loadout, including their primary weapon (with up to three attachments), their secondary weapon (with up to two attachments), their grenades (both lethal and tactical), and Campaign Perk (giving the player a specific combat boost). Each weapon, attachment, grenade, Campaign Perk, and gun camo must be unlocked by completing certain parts of the campaign and completing challenges.

One of the game's Campaign Perk, the Access Kit, is unlocked from the start and grants the player special access to special gear found throughout the campaign:

• Special melee weapons with improved traits. (Machete, Pulwar Sword, and Combat Suppression Knuckles)
• Special throwable/deployable explosives and traps that can be refilled at ammo crates. (Mortar Shells, Animal Traps, AT Mines, Molotov Cocktails, and Nightingales).
• Flak Jackets that increases resistance to explosive damage.
• Optical Camouflage Cloaks that reduces enemy accuracy towards the player.
• Friendly ASDs (Automated Sentry Drone) and MQ-27 Dragonfire drones.
• Increased functionality for friendly CLAWs (Cognitive Land Assault Weapon).

Strike Force

After completing the third mission in the main campaign, players have an option to participate in "Strike Force" missions, which gives the player various resources (including soldier squads, remotely-operated vehicles, and a tactical commander view) to perform specific objectives against swarms of enemies in small, open maps.

Most of the Strike Force missions involve heated conflicts between JSOC and SDC forces, as the JSOC are preventing the SDC from accumulating support from key countries near China. Players are given a limited amount of "strike forces" (overall mission attempts) per single-player campaign, after which they must either rewind the story back or continue with the outcome.

Prior to starting the first mission, players are given the option to play a small tutorial (set in the same area as "FOB Spectre") utilizing all the aspects of the mission, including setting waypoints and switching between units.

• FOB Spectre - Defend the FOB Spectre (a defense facility guarding the northern border of India) from SDC forces. The player is given SEALs, sentry turrets, and CLAWs. Uses the multiplayer map "Drone". Available after completing "Old Wounds". Must be completed before starting "Suffer With Me".
• Shipwreck - Disable the defense systems for a SDC freighter docked in a Singapore ship port (to prevent the SDC from threatening Iran). The player is given SEALs, ASDs, and CLAWs. Uses the multiplayer map "Cargo". Available after completing "Old Wounds". Must be completed before starting "Suffer With Me".
• I.E.D. - Escort a convoy of Afghan and Russian VIPs in Afghanistan. The player is given MQ-27 Dragonfires, ASDs, and a HAMP. Uses the campaign map "Old Wounds". Available after completing "Fallen Angel". Must be completed before starting "Suffer With Me".
• Dispatch - Assassinate the head of the SDC in Pakistan. The player is only given SEALs. Uses the multiplayer map "Overflow". Available after completing "FOB Spectre", "Shipwreck", "I.E.D.", and "Karma" missions (and the player must complete a certain objective in "Fallen Angel"). Must be completed before starting "Suffer With Me".
• Second Chance - Rescue a HVI (highly-valued individual) from terrorists in Yemen. The player is given SEALs and a VTOL gunner. Uses the multiplayer map "Yemen". Available after completing "Karma", but failing a certain objective. Must be completed before starting "Suffer With Me".

Main Missions

• Pyrrhic Victory (flashback, Alex Mason)
• Celerium (David Mason)
• Old Wounds (flashback, Alex Mason)
• Time And Fate (flashback, Alex Mason / Raul Menendez)
• Fallen Angel (David Mason)
• Karma (David Mason)
• Suffer With Me (flashback, Frank Woods)
• Archilles' Veil (David Mason / Farid)
• Odysseus (David Mason / Raul Menendez)
• Cordis Die (David Mason)
• Judgment Day (David Mason)

Multiplayer Mode

The Multiplayer mode takes place in 2025, introducing various futuristic weaponry and gear to the battlefield.

Loadouts

Call of Duty: Black Ops II introduces a new version of the "Create-A-Class" player loadout system from previous Call of Duty games, dubbed the "Pick Ten" system. Each loadout has ten "points" which can be allocated to the following 20 class slots (six of which must be enabled by taking specific "wildcards"):

• Primary Weapon
• First Primary Attachment
• Secondary Primary Attachment
• Third Primary Attachment (enabled by wildcard)
• Secondary Weapon
• First Secondary Attachment
• Second Secondary Attachment (enabled by wildcard)
• First Perk 1
• Second Perk 1 (enabled by wildcard)
• First Perk 2
• Second Perk 2 (enabled by wildcard)
• First Perk 3
• Second Perk 3 (enabled by wildcard)
• Lethal Grenade
• Increased Lethal Capacity (enabled by wildcard)
• Tactical Grenade
• Increased Tactical Capacity
• Wildcard 1
• Wildcard 2
• Wildcard 3

Unlike previous Call of Duty games, players can use the "Pick Ten" system to shift priorities between weapons, perks, and grenades to cater to their play styles. For example, players can choose not to wield grenades and a secondary weapon, instead adding more perks and weapon attachments for the primary weapon. Players could even forego a primary weapon to focus on a secondary, or even run with only the tactical knife melee weapon. This can be done with "Wildcards", special loadout slots that count as one "point" that changes certain characteristics of the loadout:

• Perk 1 Greed - (Unlocked at level 4) Unlock the "Second Perk 1" slot, allowing the player to take a second Perk 1.
• Perk 2 Greed - (Unlocked at level 10) Unlock the "Second Perk 2" slot, allowing the player to take a second Perk 2.
• Perk 3 Greed - (Unlocked at level 13) Unlock the "Second Perk 3" slot, allowing the player to take a second Perk 3.
• Overkill - (Unlocked at level 18) Replace the "Secondary Weapon" slot with another "Primary Weapon" slot, so that the player can take two primary weapons.
• Primary Gunfighter - (Unlocked at level 22) Unlock the "Third Primary Attachment" slot, allowing the player to take a third attachment for the primary weapon.
• Secondary Gunfighter - (Unlocked at level 19) Unlock the "Second Secondary Attachment" slot, allowing the player to take a second attachment for the secondary weapon.
• Tactician - (Unlocked at level 25) Replace the "Lethal Grenade" slot with another "Tactical Grenade" slot, allowing players to use two types of tactical grenades. Cannot be used with the "Danger Close" wildcard.
• Danger Close - (Unlocked at level 28) Unlock the "Increased Lethal Capacity" slot, allowing the player to take two lethal grenades. Cannot be used with the "Tactician" wildcard.

Players do not need to use all ten points for the loadout, and can create personal handicaps by using less points. Lobby leaders in custom games can change the amount of points per class (up to 17).

Scorestreaks

Call of Duty: Black Ops II includes a new replacement for the Killstreak Reward system from the game's predecessors, called "Scorestreaks". Players still have up to three special rewards (including calling in UAVs, wielding miniguns, and calling in swarms of Hunter Killer drones) that they can use after earning them. However, it is now tied to the amount of score each player earns without dying (including kills, assists, and fulfilling gametype objectives).

Player can customize their Scorestreak queue, consisting of a combination of three unique rewards. Unlike the previous games with customizable combinations of rewards, there are no two rewards that share the same milestone, so players can use any combination of rewards. Rewards are locked by both the player's experience level and the requirement of Unlock Tokens.

Like all previous Call of Duty installments with customizable reward queues (with a certain exception in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3), the player's reward queue is stackable. Players can save their currently-earned Scorestreak for later (even after death and between rounds), and can switch between earned Scorestreaks (including a fourth option for the latest Scorestreak earned in a Care Package). Once players have reached their highest-milestone Scorestreak, their Scorestreak progress resets back to 0, allowing them to re-earn every used Scorestreak in their queue. Players cannot re-earn Scorestreaks that are unused.

Prestige System

The Prestige System (used in every major Call of Duty iteration since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) for multiplayer returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Once players reach the maximum experience points allowed (at the end of level 55), they have the option to proceed to the next "Prestige Level". Doing so will reset the player's experience back to zero (at the beginning of level 1), re-locking everything that is locked by experience (with the exception of those unlocked by Prestige Unlock Tokens). All regular Unlock Tokens are removed and must be re-earned, and players must use them again to re-unlock the same items. Weapon experience (including their camo progress) and challenge progress are not reset.

In addition to the opportunity to re-progress through the experience system, players also earn some rewards. After reaching Prestige Level 1, players unlock special challenges (relating to weapon attachment usage, lethal grenade usage, tactical grenade usage, perk usage, and wildcard usage), each with their own unique calling cards. The rank icon for each player who prestige is replaced by the player's Prestige Level icon, regardless of their experience. Also, once per Prestige Level, players can unlock one of the following Prestige Awards:

• Receive a refund for all regular Unlock Tokens used during the current Prestige Level. This is disabled at Prestige Level 10.
• Unlock an extra Create-A-Class slot (replacing one of the pre-made class slots). This is disabled once the player has five extra Create-A-Class slots.
• Reset ALL stats (including experience, Prestige Level, leaderboard stats, weapon experience, perk progress, unlocked calling cards, and unlocked emblem pieces). Created emblems, screenshots, game clips, custom games, and League Play stats are still kept. Players who endure this are given a special calling card background (representing a two-toned eraser).

New to the Call of Duty franchise is the concept of "Weapon Prestige", in which each weapon has their own experience system (each level granting an additional weapon attachment, with the exception of Launchers, the Ballistic Knife, and the Assault Shield). Once the weapon reaches the maximum experience, players can proceed to the next "Weapon Prestige Level", which resets the weapon experience (and re-locks all of that weapon's attachments) while granting a special cosmetic perk. There are two Weapon Prestige Levels, the first allowing the player to engrave their Clan Tag on it, the second allowing the player to print their current emblem on it.

Maps

• Aftermath - FBI vs. Mercs in the ruins of downtown Los Angeles
• Cargo - SEALs vs. SDC in the port of Singapore
• Carrier - SEALs vs. SDC on a Chinese aircraft carrier
• Drone - SEALs vs. SDC in a hidden facility in the deep jungle of Myanmar
• Express - FBI vs. Mercs in a bullet train terminal located in Los Angeles
• Hijacked - SEALs vs. Mercs on a large, abandoned yacht in international waters
• Meltdown - ISA vs. Militia in a nuclear power plant located in Pakistan
• Overflow - ISA vs. Militia in the ruined streets of Peshawar
• Plaza - ISA vs. Mercs on a floating resort in the middle of the Indian Ocean
• Raid - FBI vs. Mercs in a hillside mansion in Hollywood Hills, U.S.A.
• Slums - ISA vs. Mercs in the slums of Panama City
• Standoff - SEALs vs. Mercs in a small border town between China and Kyrgyzstan
• Turbine - SEALs vs. Militia in a wind farm in the steep hills of Yemen
• Yemen - ISA vs. Militia in the streets of a small city on Socotra Island
• Nuketown 2025 - A remake of the Nuketown Map from Call of Duty Black Ops, SEALs vs. Mercs set in a highly-stylized "model home of the future" display in Nevada, initially only available for those who purchased either a launch or limited-edition copy of the game, now available to all players
• Downhill - only available by purchasing the Revolution DLC
• Grind - only available by purcashing the Revolution DLC
• Hydro - only available by purchasing the Revolution DLC
• Mirage - only available by purchasing the Revolution DLC
• Studio - FBI Vs Mercs in a remake of Firing Range from Call of Duty: Black Ops as a movie set, only available in the Uprising DLC
• Vertigo - ISA vs Militia in a High Rise Building in Mumbai, only available in the Uprising DLC
• Encore - Seal Team Six vs Mercs in a Music festival in London only Available in the Uprising DLC
• Magma - Seal Team Six vs SDC in a magma-filled Kitakyushu city in Japan, found only in the Uprising DLC

Zombies Mode

Black Ops II includes the standard Survival Zombie mode and also introduces two more modes.

• Tranzit: Players start out at the bus station and can move to various areas of the map by riding a bus. Each area contains unique weapons and features, such as a power station that allows players to turn on the electricity to other parts of the map. The bus remains at each destination for a random period of time and will leave to the next area after honking the horn to warn the players of its departure. During bus rides, zombies will attempt to board. Players can create various equipment, including a turbine that opens unpowered doors and a zombie shield that protects against attacks from behind (when unequipped). Players can also find bus upgrades in the environment, including a ladder to the roof of the bus and a plough that goes on the front, preventing zombies from climbing through the windshielf.
• Grief: This is a new competitive mode for Zombies. Two teams of four attempt to outlast each other on a Survival map. Players can interfere with opponents by knifing them, which briefly stuns them and knocks them back. This can be used to prevent opponents from reviving their teammates, for example.

In zombie maps, the player starts the game with an M1911 and must fight off zombies in rounds in order to gain points. They can use the points to buy weapons, perks and unlock doors. Players can also use items they find around the map and build them to make different items such as power generators to operate doors and machines, deployable shields and other attributes (Tranzit only). Zombie mode uses a combination of the weapons and power-ups from Black Ops as well as the future weapons from Black Ops II with the addition of new "Wonder Weapons.” New to Zombies is the ability to "save" progress in the unlocking of secrets and building certain items. Also, it is now possible, by the use of a "bank system", to store points for a small fee, and then use them in later games. Weapons can also be stored and kept across games by this manner.

Zombies are able to jump, climb, and will pursue the player incessantly. New creatures added include a fog monster, which latches onto the player and reduces their vision. They are found in the hazy areas between each section of the map. Another new addition is of an electric being who randomly spawns and attacks the player with electricity, and can only be defeated by melee attacks. Certain hidden areas are located in the areas off the standard map areas, and are important for completing the missions given to the player.

Players will also increase in rank while they play, changing their emblem in the process. Zombies mode also tracks statistics across all games.

In the Revolution DLC, the Map Die Rise takes place in China, using the same characters as in Tranzit, in collapsed skyscrapers. the players must deal with the issue of pitfalls that can cause instant death.

In Uprising DLC, The Mob of the Dead takes place on the prison island of Alcatraz during the Prohibition Era, taking control of 4 incarcerated gangsters named Finn O'Leary, Arthur Arlington, Salvatore DeLuca and Billy Handsome , who are trying to escape prison when the undead breaks out. This map introduces a boss zombie, and more side-quests into the map, and introduces a Purgatory mode, where after a character is killed, they can still fight against zombies as a ghost, and aid their allies with being able to see through walls and activate perk machines, all while still trying to escape the island.

Modes

• Survival - original zombies mode from the first two games. players try to survie as long as possible on a map to gain a high score.
• Tranzit - they player is plaeced in a large overworld with different areas that they can move across by bus or on foot. mission lines are present in this mode.
• Greif - two teams can either work together or against each other in fighting off zombies.
• Turned - Part of the Revolution DLC, one human player is pitted against a horde of zombies which for the first time in COD Zombies, is controlled by the player. the zombies must kill the player in order to spawn as the player, and must defend themselves from them.

Maps

all the maps to date are available in the tranzit overworld, but can be played individually in survival mode.

• Bus Stop
• Farm
• Diner
• Power Plant
• City
• Nuketown Zombies (not in tranzit)
• Die Rise (Revolution DLC)
• Mob Of The Dead (Uprising DLC)
• Buried (Revengance DLC)
• Origins (Apocolypse DLC)

Special Weapons

• Ray Gun
• Galvaknuckles - replaces the knife, allows the player to punch and stun zombies, does more damage than the knife
• Bowie Knife - replaces the knife, does more damage than the knife.
• Jet Gun
• Zombie Shield - A build-able riot shield at the diner. it protects the user from damage, and kills zombies in one hit. however, you do not get points for kills, and it can be destroyed after taking enough damage.
• Sliquifier - a special gun that fires a purple liquid that dissolves zombies and places a slippery liquid on the floor.
• Trampol-steam - a steam powered springboard that can fling a zombie that stand on it as well as players.
• Tomahawk Boomerang - Found in Mob of the Dead, this weapon can be thrown, cutting through multiple zombies and returns to the user.
• BlunderGat - a combination between a Gatling Gun and a blunderbuss, that seems to be a machine gun shotgun.
• Paralyzer - a ray gun machine with infinite ammo and a cooldown that fires a ray that freezes an enemy and damages them.
• Remington New model Army - a Revolver similar to the Python.
• Ray Gun Mark II - A new version of the Ray gun that fires lasers.
• Time Bomb - a new type of bomb that reverses time when detonated.
• Mauser C96 - Replacement for the M1911 starter pistol in Origins

Perks

• Quick Revive - reduces time taken to revive a partner in multilplayer, and allows for self-reviving in single player in last stand with a Mustang and Sally.
• Jugger-nog - Increases health by allowing the player to take up to 5 hits by a zombie
• Speed Cola - Increases reload speed.
• Double Tap Soda 2.0 - Increases the weapon fire rate for all weapons, fires two bullets at once.
• Tombstone Doda - allows the player to get back their weapons and perks after they die by a Tombstone.
• Mule Kick (Die Rise only) - allow the player to carry 3 weapons.
• Who's Who (Die Rise only) - when the player is downed, a copy of that player will spawn with no perks and only the starting M1911. They will be able to revive themselves, buy perks and weapons and gain points. If the original player is not revived in time, the player will remain as the copy, but lose the perks and weapons of the original.
• PHD Flopper (Origins Only) - Creates an explosion in the radius of the player whenever they dive to prone.
• Vulture-Aid (Buried Only) - Allows the player to see through walls to see gun, perk and Mystery Box locations. Zombie's eyes are brighter, and drop points and small ammo packs.
• Electric Cherry - Creates an electric burst when the player reloads.

Semi-Permanent perks

These perks are obtained by completing certain conditions in Zombie Mode matches, and remain with your character, even across matches. They are not taken up by a perk slot, but can be lost. These perks have been shown to have a stacked effect in Die Rise allowing for enhanced abilites.

• Quick Revive - the player can revive allies faster.
• Flopper P.H.D. - the player can dive to prone to cause an explosion that injures nearby zombies.
• Deadshot Daiquiri - the player will snap to the head while aiming down the sights.
• Steel barricades - not a permenant perk, but is present for the remainder of the match it is unlocked for. allows for rebuilding barricades with steel, making it harder for the zombies to destroy them.
• Enhanced Juggernaut (Die Rise) - if the player has the semi-permenant perk unlocked in Tranzit, the player will start Die Rise with increased health without taking up a perk slot.
• Enhanced insta-kill - The base of this ability can be unlocked by going though an insta-kill round without killing any zombies. with the ability unlocked, when the player receives an insta-kill powerup, they can kill zombies by simply touchign them, as denoted by a red skull above the insta-kill emblem.

Powerups

• Double Points - the player gains double points for all point gaining actions for 30 seconds.
• Insta-kill - all zombies are killable in 1 attack for 30 seconds.
• Nuke - all spawned zombies are killed, and the player gains 400 points.
• Max Ammo - The player's reseve ammo slots are filled.
• Carpenter - all barricades are rebuilt.
• Points - found in the bank when transactions are made, gives the player receiving 1000 points.
• Fire Sale - all random weapon box locations spawn a box for 30 seconds that costs 10 points to use.

Weapons

Handguns

Shotguns

Submachine Guns

Assault Rifles

Sniper Rifles

Light Machine Guns

Launchers

Special Weapons

Tactical Equipment

Lethal Equipment

Perks

ESRB

The ESRB rated the game Mature for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, and Use of Drugs.

System Requirements

Minimum

• OS: Windows Vista Sp2 or Windows 7
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHz or AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHz
• Memory: 2GB for 32-bit OS or 4GB for 64-bit OS
• Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512 MB or ATI Radeon HD 3870 512 MB

Recommended

• CPU: 2.4 GHz quad core Intel or AMD processor, Core i5 or Phenom X4 or equivalent
• Video Card: DirectX 10 or DX11 compatible card with 1GB of video memroy, Nvidia 400-series or AMD 5000-series or better