Call of Duty, Black Ops 2

I'm nearly 30 years old, and about to write a video game review.

I wasn't planning to buy Black Ops 2. But when you're making your daily pilgrimage to Starbucks in Target and they have a big convenient display right by the register it's just too easy (props to you Target for store layout and product placement). I enjoy me some running around and shooting video games, especially since I discovered Xbox Live and the potential of always having millions of other geeks peers to populate multiplayer games. I've never been overwhelmingly talented so there's been plenty of room for improvement in the older generation Call of Duty games.

My first experience with this franchise was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. For those not familiar that three titles previous to Black Ops 2, released in in 2009. The Call of Duty series releases a new title each year, but they have two different development teams. So the even-year releases are from one developer (Infinity Ward) and the odd-year releases are from the other (Treyarch). Don't quote me on this, I really don't know for sure how it all works.

At any rate, because my first experience was with and Infinity Ward game I tend to enjoy those titles better (Modern Warfare 2 and 3). It just seems like everything is faster. You move faster, the guns shoot faster... even turning your head to look around the map seems faster. My reactions always felt slow and sluggish in the original Black Ops game. My carrer average has always been one kill per 2-3 deaths. Like I said, plenty of room for improvement.

After about a month of Black Ops 2 I'm pleasantly surprised. Don't get me wrong, it still feels like I'm trying to run, jump and shoot in a giant bowl of oatmeal, but I'm having fun. Let me itemize the fun:

Maps
I never really noticed it before, but Treyarch really gets maps right. When you're plying a shooter game nothing is more annoying that having only one route to run when your enemies are positioned perfect to pick you off each time you try to escape. Treyarch always provides multiple routes, with an abundance of bypass routes, tunnels, trails and cubbies that allow you to disappear and reappear in places your opponent would never expect. I'll return to maps a little more in a minute.

The Pick-10 System
This addition to the standard Call of Duty format is pure genius. In the past you've been able to select from different categories of weapons, equipment and perks to create a specialized soldier for your style of play. For example, you could pick an assault rifle with some kind of attachement (a scope, grenade launcher or extended magazine) with a pistol as backup, a couple flash grenades, a lethal grenade and some bonuses (picking up ammo from dead enemies, being invisible to radar, running/reloading faster, etc.)

These options have always been confined to specific categories and you could only pick one item from each. You picked a primary weapon, a secondary weapon one perk from each of three categories and a couple pieces of equipment. In Black Ops 2 this process is turned on its ear. Instead of having categories you have 10 "points" to spend in any way you see fit... with some caveats. It still steers you toward a traditional setup. But if there are two perks from the same tier that you really love (For example: Lightweight, which makes you run faster, and Flack Jacket, which protects you against explosions) you can take both! You just have to use one of your points to unlock a "Wildcard" that makes this possible (so it costs you three points for two perks). There used to be a perk that allowed you to have two attachments on your gun. Now that's available by default. Each attachment just costs one of your points. Don't like any of the perks form a certain tier? Don't take any! Just apply that point to something else. This blows the game wide open for really tinkering and creating some amazing custom classes.

Skill-based Matchmaking(?)
Again, not 100% sure on this, but I believe Black Ops 2 is designed to place you in multiplayer games that are populated with players at a similar skill level. Whether or not this is true, I do know one thing. I am BEASTING compared to my previous experiences. I would say my average kill to death ratio is at or above 1:1, and I've had multiple games with ratios approaching 4. In one month I've probably had more of those monster games than the previous three years of playing combined. I haven't paid really close attention, but it seems like the player scores in my games have (generally) all been pretty close. I still haven't quite figured out how that can work when I have really good games, but it seems to somehow...

The Easiest Call of Duty Ever?
It's not just that I'm scoring better than in the past. It's how I'm getting those scores. In the past my class setups and play styles have been extremely predictable. I will spend my entire time using 3-4 guns (out of 20 or so) and try to stick to low-traffic areas where I might surprise someone up close. I've never been able to use the sniper rifles or shotguns, or pretty much any gun that's not fully automatic. My aim is questionable so I need to spray and pray to have any success.

Then comes Black Ops 2... I started out building my usual and comfortable classes, but then the Pick-10 system started calling to me. I decided to try a shotgun class just for fun. Surprise! I started dominating in close quarters. Turns out you just have to pair certain guns with certain portions of the map. And Treyarch's commitment to a labyrinth of passageways is perfect for a shotgun. Ok, how about a sniper rifle. Boom! Dancing from corner to corner, picking enemies off from the other side of the map. I think my first sniper game I went like 7 kills and 6 deaths (which is a really low score) and it's gone up from there. How about a class with lots of perks and no gun at all? WOW! This was really eye opening. When you start with no gun you have to move really tactically around the map. It also forces you to diversify your gameplay to best fit the discarded gun you're able to find for yourself. Last night I started a game with nothing but a pistol and ended up finishing at 18 kills and 8 deaths.  Instead of trying to outgun my opponents by being obvious and direct I'm relying on geography and physics to try and outsmart the other side... and it's working.

Turns out the reduced speed that I found so annoying is actually a benefit, since it's applied across the board. It makes me a more diverse and effective player in the game. It seems like every time a Call of Duty game comes out it's hailed as the greatest of all time. I'm definitely not willing to go that far. Each game is innovative in it's own way. I still like the combination of maps and gameplay from Modern Warfare 2 the best (other than the ridiculously overpowered grenade launchers). I'm actually among the few who really loved Modern Warfare 3 as well. My only knock there was that all the maps seemed very uninspired. Black Ops 2 is clearly worth the price of admission, but I'm actually hoping it ends up challenging me a bit more. Maybe that challenge will simply come from me experimenting with different configurations and playing the game in new and exciting ways.