It really takes three years to notice?

Jonas Savimbi played a pretty important role in Angola’s history. He regularly fought against the Portuguese, who had colonised the country, and then also fought against the new ruling political party, the MLPA, up until his death in 2002. I’m not an expert on Angolan politics or history, but his Wikipedia page is pretty dang interesting.

He was also featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 back in 2012, as part of the Pyrrhic Victory mission which saw the player character fight alongside him. Three? years later, Savimbi’s family has taken offense to the appearance, as they’re now suing Activision for 1 million euros.

In the suit, lawyer Carole Enfert explained that Savimbi was portrayed in the game as “a big halfwit who wants to kill everybody,” ignoring his history as a “political leader and strategist.” I’m struggling to think of a Call of Duty character who isn’t like that, to be fair.

In response, Activision claims that Savimbi is shown in the level to be a “good guy.” It has not commented on how it will be handling this case, however back in 2014 former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega sued the company? due to the game appare??ntly showing him commit “numerous fictional crimes.” Activision got that case thrown out, calling it “absurd,” so chances are the same will happen to this one.

We have approached Activision for comment, and will update should we hear back from it. In the meantime, why not watch Savimbi’s appearance in Black Ops 2 and come to your own conclusion?

Ca??ll of Duty maker sued by family of Angolan rebel l??eader [Eurogamer]

The post The family of an A?ngolan rebel is suing Activision fo?r Black Ops 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

Called to duty, never called home

Want to feel old? Call of Duty: Black Ops II is three years old. Want to feel, I don't know, surprised? Impressed? That "huh" feeling when you learn a moderately interesting but not too interesting or a??t all valuable piece of information?

Buried in Activision's earnings report and overshadowed by things like the company buying the Candy Crush developer for six god damn billion dollars, Call of Duty fan site Charlie Intel found the following:

"On November 6, 2015, Activision Publishing expects to release the highly anticipated Call of Duty: Black Ops III from its award-winning studio, Treyarch. Momentum ahead of launch has been strong and engagement for Call of Duty: Black Ops II grew quarter-over-quarter again to nearly 12 million MAUs, an unprecedented level for a game that is three years old and only availab??le on old-generation consoles."

No wonder Black Ops III is still coming to PS3 and Xbox 360 without the single-player. And that 12 million November is up from 11 million in August, so the upcoming Black Ops III is buil?ding even more hype for its 2012 predecessor.

Activision says Black Ops 2 has nea?rly 12 million monthly active users [Charlie Intel]

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Haha, what?

The Wii U often gets the shaft in terms of DLC. It either gets it late, not at all, or is left completely in the wind as to what the status is. Nearly every major publisher has pulled one of these moves, most notably Activision for its Call of Duty series.

But wait! There is light at the end of the tunnel, Wii U owners. Activision has graciously added the "Nuketown 2025" map to the Wii U version of Black Ops II this week. That's Black Ops II, not Ghosts -- the game that launch??ed on?? Wii U in November 2012.

The Wii U s?adly still does not have any real DLC for the game.

Wii U Owners Finally Get The? Nuketown 2025 Map For Call Of Duty: Black Ops II [Nintendo Life]

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Who does he think he is? Lindsay Lohan?

The videogames industry has seen its share of legal actions lately, but the most recent one comes from an unlikely source. Manuel Noriega, the dictator of Panama until 1989, has filed a lawsuit against Activision for appropriating his likeness and namesake without permission in 2012's Call of Duty: Black Ops II. 

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Noriega filed his Complaint on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. In it, Noriega alleges that Black Ops II portrayed him as “a kidnapper,?? murderer and enemy of the state” in an effort to "heighten realism," which led to "heightened sales." Of course, Noriega wants his cut and is looking for lost profits as well as damages.

There are a lot of interesting things going on here, namely that a public head of state is suing over a videogame. However, maybe most fascinating is that Noriega hasn't alleged some sort of defamation of character over being depicted as a murderer and kidnapper, but rather that it made Black Ops II more realis??tic. Sounds like he'?s probably a real stand-up guy.

Ex-dictator Manue?l Noriega sues Activision over 'Call of Duty' game [Los Angeles Times]

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The new Zombies map sounds pretty good

It's been a decent run for Call of Duty: Black Ops II's DLC, but all things must come to and end and the end is nigh. It's only fitting that Treyarch's fourth and final pack for the game is called Apocalypse. Releasing first for Xbox 360 on August 27, this DLC has four more multiplayer maps and a Zombies experience that you might have seen teased.

Set in a Dieselpunk World War I-era? France, Origins stars the familiar Tank, Nikolai, Takeo, and Rictofen as they fend off the undead nightmare in trenches. And attempt to take down a "1,000-foot-tall robot ab??omination." Great. You'll use period-appropriate weapons, including some that have a supernatural twist; a diesel drone; Mark IV tank; and a new perk machine.

As for the multiplayer maps, the list includes: Pod, a failed utopian community from the '70s that's on a Taiwanese cliffside; Frost, a frigid European city with a prominent bridge; Takeoff, a remake of the map Stadium from Black Ops; and Dig, a new take on World at War's Courtyard.

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Sure, why not?

We know this trailer is for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, but that's about it. Featuring the phrase "Every story has a beginning...and an end," the video seems to hint at a new Zombies map with a giant killer robot for reasons that do??n't need to be explained. Because, y'know, killer robot. My attention is all yours.

Whatever this content ends up being, I have to hand it to ?Treyarch for being unafraid to have a little fun with its games. It's ridiculous, and kind of dumb, but sometimes that's exact?ly what you need most. Nothing wrong with that.

The post Black Ops II ‘Origins’ trailer shows off giant robot appeared first on Destructoid.

Four multiplayer maps plus another zombies level

Call of Duty: Black Ops II owners on the Xbox 360 have had access to the Vengeance expansi??on for a couple of weeks now. So wha?t about PlayStation 3 and PC players? Your vengeance will be had starting on August 1.

The expansion includes four multiplayer maps, one of which is a re-imagined adaptation of the Summit map from the original Black Ops. Plus you'll get another zombies expansion, called Buried. Here players will find t?hemselves in an abandoned underground Old West mining town. You'll also get to use the new Ray Gun Mark ??II weapon.

All this will be yours for $14.99, and is included with the season pass. Find out what we thought of Vengeance in our official review.

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More like lukewarm revenge

If you're keeping score, Call of Duty: Black Ops II has offered up one so-so and one stellar map pack so far -- and now, we're on part three of the four-piece Season Pass, Vengeance. In typical Treyarch fashion, four maps are on the plate, alongside a ne?w zombies level that takes place in an old west setting.

All in all Vengeance gets the job done, and should scratch that itch until the arrival of Ghosts and next-gen consoles, even if it's ??far too safe for its own good.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II: Vengeance DLC (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [reviewed])
Developer: Treyarch Studios
Publisher: Activision
Released: July 2, 2013 (Xbox 360) / TBA (PC, PlayStation 3)
MSRP: $14.99 ($50 Season Pass for four packs)

As the most prominent of the four multiplayer offerings, Cove is a deceptive map. At first, it looks like a sprawling, snaking area with plenty of indoor portions, but in reality, it's a circular island. Initially, I recalled memories from the beach area in the Black Ops' Crisis, but ?the similarities end there. It's quite small, but it's well themed, aesthetically pleasing, and the layout is very well done.

There's lots of open areas, as well as plenty of cover, chokepoints, and ambush spots, and despite the fact that it's entirely outdoors, it does a great job of accommodating all sorts of playstyles. Honestly, this ended up being my favorite map in Vengeance as I found myself voting for it consistently. Cove is pe?rfect for objective matches, especially Domination, and is the clear-cut best piece of the pack.

Treyarch loves occasionally goofy maps, and Rush is no exception. It takes place at a paintball joint, complete with an indoor and outdoor arena, as well as a smal??l shop with various paintball gear littered about. But while it's interesting in theory, the studio really could have gone a lot further with it, because once you get past the aesthetic gimmick there's not much substanc?e to it.

Rush simply exists, and won't really wow anyone out there. The indoor arena had the potential to be extremely cool, if fo??r example Treyarch added in castles, or forts to take in various gametypes. Instead, they played it too safe, and the barricades look very poorly de??signed and comes off as thrown together. While there are no inherent problems with Rush, it just feels like wasted potential at every turn.

Detour takes place in a giant suspension bridge, with room to navigate both above and below. In addition to having to keep tabs on multiple levels, there's also a few ledges with snaking pipes on outside, which always keep you guessing. In an interesting change of pace, it'll probably take you a while to learn the layout, which is a great thing for a Call of Duty game.

It feels somewhat like one of my favorite maps from World at War -- Battery -- but it's a lot less interesting. At this point, Treyarch would do well to remember World at War in general, as I thought it was some of their best work from a design standpoint. Like Rush, Detour simply would have been better as a bigger map with more?? nuances and alleyways.

In a move that will no doubt polarize much of the Call of Duty fanbase, Treyarch has opted to rehash (or remake, depending on how you feel about it) an old map with Uplink -- the fourth map in the Vengeance pack. Specifically, the source is Summit, a classic snow-themed arena in the original Black Ops.

Uplink is basically the same as you remember it, with a perfect mix of outdoor and indoor combat as well as a setting that feels remote, and unique. It's no secret that one of my favorite maps in the entire Call of Duty series is Kowloon (mostly due to the low visibility and rain effects), so the ne?w rain helps add character to? the map -- albeit not enough to really break free from Summit.

A remake isn't exactly a new thing for Black Ops II, as the Uprising pack also tackled the concept with Studio, but that was done so well that it felt like an entirely new experience. Here, you're basically getting Summit with rain and slightly improved visuals. Summit is a great classic map for sure, but it could have used ?more sprucing up if you're going to include it? in a $15 map pack.

Buried helps pick up the slack from a few of the missed opportunities in the core maps, as it offers a solid old-school zombie experience that feels closer to World at War and the original Black Ops. After an enthralling romp? through Alcatraz with Hollywood actors, it's back to basics with another map that continues the story of the new survivors. Buried has a western theme to it, and embraces it fully. To put it plainly, there's enough mineshafts throughout Buried to make Gus Chiggins green with envy.

The map is huge, and you pretty much get access to the central hub right away, which is a nice change of pace from the typically segmented first few rounds. There's a candy store, saloon, a bank, a jail, and pretty much everything you'd expect out of an old ??west town, so it embraces the theme quite well. From a design standpoint it mixes things up with vertical access to the mineshaft system, which helps add a new dimension to the already sprawling town.

While there isn't anything nearly as interesting as the "ghost" mechanic from Mob of the Dead, Buried does have a few tricks up its sleeve, in addition to a classic Easter Egg quest. There's a few new weapons and items like the Ray Gun Mark II (which is now basically a laser beam, and retroactively applies to all zombie maps), ??as well as its major gimmick -- a giant f??riendly NPC named Leroy.

Similar to the meandering Romero from the original Black Ops map Call of the Dead, once you free Leroy from jail, he'll wander around with you, allowing you to feed him candy to fight zombies, or alcohol to bust up barricades to enter new areas. You can also pick up "chalk" to place weapon spawns at various points of the map as well as use the cross-map fridges and deposit boxes which is neat. I'm not in love with Buried, but it's a very solid zombie map, and core fans won't be disap??pointed in the slightest.

In terms of the whole zombie experience, I really just wish Treyarch would dump this new Black Ops II cast, as they aren't nearly as enjoyable as the World at War/Black Ops c?rew. Hopefully, whatever game Treyarch works on next brings back the original cast or goes back to ??the drawing board, since I'm not feeling it.

In light of the announcement for Call of Duty: Ghosts' dynamic maps, Vengeance really doesn't feel like enough to justify a purchase on its own, even if core fans will find themselves satisf?ied, and it's not a bad way to supplement the Season Pass.

There's only one pack left, and after its release, I'll be able to decided whether or not to recommend picking up the rather expensive Season Pass. But for now, it's probably best to hold off or just buy the Uprising pack, because Treyarch really i??sn??'t making them like they used to.

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Not Double XP proper, which is confusing

Fresh off the Call of Duty: Uprising DLC release, Treyarch has announced a Double Weapon XP weekend for Black Ops II, which starts at 10AM PDT today (right around the time of this writing). Since we already had a real Double XP weekend last week, this time around, you'll only earn extra experience for your weapons, which now have the ability to prestige in Black Ops II.

Since most of you probably have maxed out weapons, feel free to prestige them and wrack up levels to your heart's content.? It may not be a big deal for most of you out there, but for those who care, you've been informed!

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Optional microtransactions invade Call of Duty

A new absurd trailer is out for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and it showcases some of the crazier microtransaction based content, like graffiti riot shields, bacon guns, and benjamin bling pistols. It's s??et to hit the PS3 and P?C platforms on April 12th.

As long as these don't start spilling over to new ?weapons that convey a pure gameplay advantage of other players, I'm pretty much fine with this. If you want to pay a few bucks to get a crazy bacon gun, considering the fact? that the game is already loaded with content and skins, I'm fine with it.

Sadly, pretty much any DLC for Black Ops II on the Wii U side of things is yet to be found. I really hope this isn't the gold standard for add-on content on the Wii U from third parties, as? they'll find their fans looking everywhere else as a result.

The post Bling out?? your guns with the Bla??ck Ops II Personal Pack appeared first on Destructoid.

Fee-to-pay extra coming tomorrow

If you were worried fee-to-pay microtransactions were going to become the norm ... prepare to be justified. Activision has announced it'll be jumping aboard the bandwagon tomorrow, introducing incremental buy-me-ups for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. 

The publisher promises its "Micro Items" won't affect gameplay and, in fair?ness, this appears to be true for the most part. Here are the thre??e things players will be able to purchase as of tomorrow:

• Personalization Pack: Each pack as a unique weapon camo, three targeting reticles, custom calling card. $2.00/160 MS Points. 
• Extra Slots Pack: 10 extra Create-a-Class loadout slots, plus room for 20 more emblems, 32 films, and 40 screenshots. $2.00/160 MS Points.
• Flags of the World Calling Card Pack: National flag themed calling cards. $1.00/80 MS Points.

The "M??icro Items" will be coming to the Xbox 360, with a release on other systems unconfirmed.

As our own C??hris Carter pointed out, the extra loadout slots could have a minor effect on gameplay, since players would be able to tailor any number of characters for a?ny given situation and switch them out on the fly, giving them a more nuanced advantage. A small point maybe, but one the hardest of the core may consider.

On the whole, this isn't terribly bad, and I'll give Activision its props for being one of the few big publishers to remain evil in good old fashioned ways rather than bite fully into some of the newer, more insidious ideas of the past few years. Nevertheless, this is a glimpse of an upcoming generation filled with more online requirements and microtransaction leanings than ever bef??ore, and I can't say it fills me w??ith glee. 

The suspense is terrible ... I hope it'll last.

The post Microtransactions coming to Call ??of Duty: Black O??ps II appeared first on Destructoid.

Friday to Monday starting at 10AM PST

Treyarch recently let the world know that there will be another Call of Duty: Black Ops II Double XP weekend happening, starting t??oday. The event is confirmed for all platforms, including the 360, PS3, PC, and Wii U.

As usual, it'll run from 10AM PST to 10AM PST from Friday to Monday. I actually still do these things, so maybe I'll see you on!

Otherwise, stick around for our Halo 4 event next Friday.

Treyarch [Twitter]

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Join the Revolution

Call of Duty: Black Ops II? Yeah, it was pretty great. Treyarch really brought it with their latest shooter, implementing a ton of new elements to make a Call of Duty title fresh again. And it looks like they're continuing to keep things fresh with their first downloadable content pack, Revolution.

Each of the ??new maps looks?? pretty unique, you're getting a brand new gun, and the additional zombie content looks fun. You get to be a zombie! What's not to like about that?

Revolution will be out for Xbox Live us??ers on January 29, with PlayStation 3 and PC owners gettin??g the content sometime down the line. 

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Celebration of the new DLC

Greetings fellow Call of Duty fans -- it appears as if Activision is launching yet another double XP weekend for all Black Ops II players. 

In typical COD fashion, the "swi?tch" for double XP should be flipped at approximately 1PM EST on Friday, until 1PM ES?T on Monday.

If you're excited for the upcoming DLC, set to drop on January 29th, check out the newest trailer, and some info on Revolution.

Treyarch Studios [Twitter]

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Five maps, a weapon, and a new Zombies mode

A leak late last month gave us the heads up on the Revolution map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, but now we have a video to go on alongside Treyarch's announcement of the first of four "DLC events" planned for the game. Unsurprisingly, Xbox 360 gamers will be getting Revolution first when it arrives on January 29, 2013.

Priced at $14.99 / 1200 Microsoft Points when purchased on its own, this DLC comes with four multiplayer maps -- "Downhill," "Hydro," "Mirage," and "Grind" -- plus the Peacekeeper SMG and a "Die Rise" Zombies map. Better yet, Revolution will introduce?? a new game mode called Turned in which you can play against others as a zombie. If yo??u take down a human player, you'll then respawn as them. That should be good fun.

The post ‘Revolution’ pack hits Black Ops II first on Xbox 360 appeared first on Destructoid.

Download one new zombies map

If you dropped the extra cash on the hardened or care package editions of Black Ops II, you received an extra zombie map for your troubles??.?? Now, Activision has made said map, called "Nuketown Zombies," available for everyone starting today, provided you own the Season Pass ($49.99).

Alongside of this map, you'll also get four more map packs with both multiplayer and zombie stages starting in 2013. There's no word on whether or not you'll be able to bu?y the map piecemeal, but I wouldn't count on an announcement anytime soon.

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Out now on PS3, coming to Xbox 360 this weekend

Call of Duty: Black Ops II has been patched to address a number of bal?anc??e issues, most notably the SMG.

The close-assault weapon class has been criticized for its powerful hip fire capabilities, and the latest patch, currently out for PS3??, adds greater recoil and spread when firing without sights, as well as reduced bullet penetration. The patch includes an increased scorestreak requirement for the UAV, now needing 425 points to use instead of 350, and provides a variety of tweaks to other weapons and streaks.

An Xbox 360 patch is coming this weekend, but there's no word on a Wii U update, because it'?s the Wii U or something. 

The full patch notes for the PS3 update?? are below, detailing all manner of tweaks and fixes.

New Features & Feature Improvements

• Added support for posting Live Stream URLs to Twitter.
• Improved audio/rumble responsiveness when hitting enemies with gunfire.
• Improved overall communication of Double XP when enabled.
• AAR better communicates how much XP was earned in each match.
• Added the ability to "View League Teams" from any player's Playercard.
• Added the ability to "View Playercard" from League solo leaderboards.
• Added a number of security system enhancements.
• Added Hardcore Kill Confirmed playlist to the Hardcore category

Issues Addressed 

• Fixed a rare hang ("Awaiting Textures") upon loading into maps when joining a session in progress after fresh boot.
• Game now resets the Care Package for a non-owner if the owner re-rolls the package using the Engineer perk.
• Players with Black Hat PDA can no longer hack a Care Package faster than the owner can capture it.
• Addressed an exploit where modified console hackers could maliciously spread infected films to other users.
• Added a fail-safe to prevent spawn trapping in CTF.
• Increased sight checks on turrets to improve spawning algorithms.
• Fixed a number of new UI error messages reported by users.
• Addressed a number of issues that would cause friendly/enemy color indicators on equipment and scorestreaks to display as the wrong team.
• Improved overall Theater and Live Streaming stability.
• Improved film rendering stability and made progression bar more accurate while rendering a film.
• Addressed issues which prevented some master challenges from being completed.
• Precision challenge "Wet Work" will now unlock with 10 kills.
• The wins challenge will now account for all FFA modes when ending a match with a tie (if you are in the top 3).
• Players that help with the "Synchronized Attack" challenge now get credit for it.
• Players will not be able to manually take control of their AGR if they die at the exact moment that their AGR deploys.
• Emblem Editor no longer closes the current emblem when discarding changes.
• Players using Ghost will no longer be invisible at all times in Custom Games with the mini-map option set to "constant".
• Players using Ghost and a Suppressor attachment will no longer appear on the enemy's minimap while shooting and moving while a UAV is up.
• The median for the K/D graph in the AAR is set to 1.0 instead of 0.0.
• Players can no longer get on top of the shrubs in Nuketown 2025.
• Thermal vision overlay no longer appears using the VTOL glitch.
• Kills from the explosion on the explosive crossbow bolt now count towards challenges.
• Counter UAV no longer remains for the rest of the game after a host migration.
• Clan tag is no longer locked immediately after prestige.
• Offline profiles can no longer be exploited to join online games when an online profile is also signed in.
• Multi-team games no longer count as a tie if an entire team quits.
• Fixed an area in Express where K9 Unit dogs could get stuck.
• EMP grenades no longer affect the CODcaster HUD.
• Party Privacy count no longer affects how many bots will spawn in Combat Training.
• Shadows seen through sniper scopes now render more correctly.
• Players can no longer stand on invisible collision in Carrier.
• "Drop Shot" medal is no longer awarded after standing back up.
• Players can now copy a custom class to the extra prestige slot.

Gameplay Balancing:

Scorestreaks:

• UAV: cost increased from 350 to 425.
• Lightning Strike: added 750ms delay

Equipment/Grenades: 

• Bouncing Betty: increased the grace period between trigger and activation by 200ms.
• Sensor Grenade: increased the range (now 1000 units), frequency (now 800ms between pings), and amount of time (now 6s) that players appear after explosion.
• Concussion Grenade: decreased movement penalty and turn speed penalty when hit.

SMGs: 

• All: increased hip fire recoil.
• All: increased max hip fire spread from 4.75 to 5.
• All: reduced bullet penetration.
• MSMC: increased recoil slightly.
• PDW-57: increased recoil slightly.

Assault Rifles: 

• All: reduced idle sway for more reliable long-range aiming.
• XM8: reduced lethal range of 3-hit kills from 250 to 50 inches.
• XM8 + Select Fire: increased recoil.
• FAL OSW + Select Fire: increased recoil.
• SWAT-556 + Select Fire: increased recoil.
• MTAR: Made auto aim values consistent with all other assault rifles.

Sniper Rifles: 

• All: increased hip fire spread.
• All + Laser Sight: increased hip fire spread.
• XPR-50: increased recoil slightly.

Shotguns:

• R870: reduced one-hit kill range by 45 inches.

Pistols:

• B23R: reduced headshot multiplier from 1.4 to 1.
• KAP-40: reduced headshot multiplier from 1.4 to 1

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GamePad strangely excellent for FPS games

After spending the past two days with the Wii U version of Call of Duty: Black Ops II, I have found all my worries about the Ga??mePad's ability to handle fast-paced first-person shooters melt away. In fact, I may now consider the Wii U ??my go-to console for future FPS games ... when I'm not playing on PC. 

I was worried that the stiff analog sticks of the GamePad would make precision difficult, especially given that Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge felt somewhat unwieldy at times. After my first match, however, I was sold. The GamePad is excellent for first-person shooters, and I am actually finding myself enjoying Black Ops II more than I had before -- and I quite liked it already. 

[Note: Screenshots are just PR ones, not Wii U ones]

On the whole, Black Ops II doesn't differ too much from its other console alternatives. There's no extra touchscreen gameplay or gyroscopic aiming. Even the Strike Force stages are played traditionally, which does seem like a bit of a missed opportu?nity. However, I do appreciate? that extra controls weren't simply tossed into the game for the sake of it -- it's good to establish early that Wii U games can just be regular videogames if they want. 

When playing alone, the touchscreen is used for maps, mission details, and on-the-fly setting alterations. This last point, I found to be incredibly useful, as I was able to manually tweak the sensitivity of my aiming while playing the game, rather than having to pause and do it from a disconnected menu. The option to test sensitivity as I adjusted the slider allowed me to reach a level of personal precision I've never experienced on a console before. It's a little thing, on the face of it, but ?it's minor touches like this that can really make a difference.

There is a dual-screen mode allowing the entire game to be played on the Pad, and it looks pretty damn good, albeit w??ith the slightly drained color that comes with the deal. This option also opens the game up for local play, with one u??ser utilizing the Pro Controller and TV, and the other on the Pad. While the smaller screen will always be a bit disadvantageous in multiplayer, the option to have friends playing side-by-side is always going to be welcome. 

As s??tated, the GamePad is shockingly enjoyable to use for first-person shooting. The control scheme is at first a little confusing, since the face buttons have all been mapped to commands di??fferent from the Xbox 360 controller. Once that hump's been gotten over, however, I have to say I don't think I've enjoyed a console FPS this much in a long time. The large surface area of the Pad makes long-running online sessions comfortable, while the analog stick and trigger placement is almost perfect for the genre. After my initial fears of the GamePad's viability, I am more than pleased. 

Online activity is nowhere near as thriving as Xbox Live and PC, of course. There have been complaints that only Team Deathmatch is being played while many of the more obscure game types are out of commission due to lack of interest. As an almost exclusive player of Domination, I can't say I'm too displeased with the turnout, and I have to confess I'm enjoying the lack of assholes, not to mention the fact Xbox Live is full of people who play COD twelve hours a day and, ravage every game they're in. The Wii U experience is a lot less intense, and I think those who dip in and out of COD, rather than play it all year long, will gain ex?tra enjoyment from this version??, since the "pro" players are all on XBL doing their thing. 

Connection stability is decent, though not perfect. For the most part, matchmaking is fast, and games run smoothly. Every now and then, however, there will be connecti??on ?issues that get in the way. I wouldn't say it's much more intrusive than what you'd get on the Xbox Live version, but do be warned that you get every game running smoothly forever. 

The biggest complaint people have had with this version is its performance, with reports of framerate inconsistencies getting in the way of the action. In my time spent in the game, I'm yet to encounter anyt?hing as egregious as some have reported. Aside from one or two brief hiccups in the solo campaign, I've found the game running pretty fluidly with no major issu??es dampening my fun. That's not to say I couldn't be hit with an onslaught of framerate dips the next time I boot it up, but I can only report on what I've seen, and I've so far seen only very minor issues. 

At least when it comes to playing the game normally. Streaming the action to the GamePad appears to be putting some strain on ??the Wii U, strain I've not seen in ot?her titles. When playing with the two screens on, the framerate dips are certainly more noticeable. This is perhaps an issue developers will have to be conscious of in future. ;

The game mostly looks on par with the Xbox 360 version, albeit with the removal of dynamic shadows and a slight roughness to the edges of distant NPCs. It's certainly nothing like the awful jaggedness seen in Warriors Orochi 3, but it's definitely not what I'd call "dramatically better," as a certain beef-flavored Nintendo executive claims. 

I've not been this keen to play Call of Duty since Call of Duty 4, and that's not something I say lightly. Maybe it's just because of my massive fat hands, but using the GamePad has been a distinct joy, a feeling of finely tuned comfort that has caused me to reclaim some of the passion I'd lost for this series over the past year. Is everybody going to feel that way? Absolutely not, and I'm not about to tell you that, if you've gone off COD, this'll magically make you love it again. I will say, however, that this launch title bodes well for the GamePad's future in the FPS genre, and I'm not just excited to see what Aliens: Colonial Marines can do with it. 

With my enjoyment of Black Ops II on Wii U, my last residual skepticism pertaining to the GamePad has all but ero?ded. It works. It works well, in fact. 

And that works for me. 

The post Black Ops II Wii U: the prefe??rred console experience? appeared first on Destructoid.

I hope you like custom games

[Update: Treyarch has responded by creating a new playlist called Chaos Moshp?it that has Nuketown 2025 in its rotation. What a silly situation.]

Treyarch has removed the multiplayer playlist containing the Nuketown 2025 map that was used as a pre-order bonus for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. As a result, those who "own" the map and would like to play it will have to resort to running a custo??m game, meani??ng no public matchmaking with experience points.

Game design director David Vonderhaar announced the move, tweeting that "Double XP weekend is official over. That means Nuketown 2025 / 24-7 is as well. I know. RIGHT? Don't kill the messenger." Continuing in a second tweet: "Nuketown?? 2025 / 24-7 will be back for special events. You can always play it with your friends in Custom Games."

Understandably, some players feel misled -- rightfully so, in my opinion. I'm not entirely sure what Treyarch or Activision had to gain from this decision that was worth risking public outcry, even if only a minority of Black Ops II players become involved. Let's hope they add the map to a public playlist before long. That seems like a possibility.

Tr??eyarch pull Nuketown 2025 Playlist (pre-order bonus map) in? Black Ops 2 [NeoGAF]

The post Nuketown 2025 playlist pulled fr??om Black ?Ops II (Update) appeared first on Destructoid.

If you bought the game new

Just a friendly reminder: it looks like the first ever Call of Duty: Black Ops II Double XP weekend is underway for those of you ?who picked up the game? new.

Just unwrap your game, input the Nuketown 2025 code, and you should be good to go to earn Double XP from right now until Sunday night (or Monday morning d?epending on where you are).

Say what you will about the fa?lsification of skill and over abundance of prestige levels due to these events -- but the fact is, they happen, and some people enjoy them -- so don't shoot the messenger!

As for myself, I'm nearly ready to prestige for the first time, and I don't foresee a lot of playtime outside of that in?? the near future. For whatever reason, the level design isn't grabbing me like past games in ?the series -- hopefully the map packs can rectify that.

WePlayCoD [Twitter]

The post Ca?ll of Duty: Black Ops II Double XP weekend starts?? now appeared first on Destructoid.

Post-modern Warfare

Call of Duty has become the ultimate "no-win" situation for reviewers. What once may have been the biggest job of the game critic's year is now an annual exercise in being caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea. Love it or hate it, the outcome is never going to be p?retty. 

Ever since the intense backlash against Call of Duty last year, those who commit the crime of enjoying the series are subject to bitter value judgments and outrage, while those who dislike it are all too familiar with the army of COD fans who eviscerate any fools daring to reprimand ?their shooter of choice. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops II seeks to change many things. It adds a dash of sci-fi, a greatly expanded campaign, and all manner of fresh gadgets. It hopes to be a reinvention? of the franchise that hardcore gamers have clamored for. There i??s one thing, however, that it cannot alter ...

... The fact we're all screwed no matter what we think of it. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops II (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 [reviewed])
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Release: November 13, 2012
MSRP: $59.99

Call of Duty: Black Ops II follows on from 2010's Cold War misadventure, this time making a dramatic leap forward to the year 2025 and giving the series its first taste of post-modern warfare. The near-future setting gives Black Ops II a lot more creative freedom, while still tying it to familiar scenarios. While there are no jetpacks or excursions to the Moon, there are attack drones, wrist-mounted gren?ades, and cloaking devices?. Oh, and electric knuckle-dusters.  

The solo campaign is where these changes are most readily felt, and it's here that Treyarch has truly stepped out from under Infinity Ward's shadow to craft a COD that's all its own. BOII's story takes place ov??er two time periods, revolving around the search for a charismatic and dangerous enemy, the messianic Raul Menendez.? In flashbacks to the 1980s, players follow Alex Mason and Frank Woods as they pursue the villain across war-torn lands and learn of his motivations. In 2025, we play Alex's son David, as his team attempts to stop Menendez's plans to cripple the United States. 

Though starting haphazardly and doing little to make itself digestible, Black Ops II's story eventually calms down and settles into a genuinely enthralling tale of revenge (and an admiral who has a fascination with the word "cocksucker.") In Menendez, Treyarch has crafted a charismatic nemesis who remains difficult to dislike even in the face of his atrocities,? whil??e his plot to sow chaos across the world is gradually revealed with a fantastic sense of pacing and drama. Location variety is also a big part of the campaign, as players go from poverty-stricken countries to opulent cruise ships and urban cities, in a world more colorful and interesting than those of normal brown, dreary military shooters. 

While combat is still quite linear, the corridors and arenas have been expanded and come across as infinitely more energetic. Fighting doesn't simply consist of hiding behind crates and popping off enemies in the distance, nor is it a case of running from checkpoint to checkpoint. Enemy soldiers can flood in from any direction, on large fields of battle that will eventually start tossing up robotic CLAW units, armored Quad drones, and mercenaries in cloaking suits. During the course of the game, players may also access optional rooms with unique toys inside, such as their own cloaking suits, or animal traps. Personal loadouts can be created prior to each mission, giving one plenty of stuff to play with -- and that's before vehicular sections, horseback combat, and ?remote-controlled air missil??es come into play. 

During each mission, player actions can have an effect on the story, determining when certain characters live or die, and even leading to alternate endings. In one mission, for instance, you're driving with your partner while enemies are in hot pursuit. At a certain point, you speed under a burst gas pipe that's spewing flame -- whether or not you avoid the flame determines what happens to your partner's face, and whether he spends the rest of the game disfigured. That's just one small example, with more dramatic and spoiler-flavored choices available throughout the ga?me. 

As well as story levels, players can also take on opt?ional Strikeforce missio?ns revolving around a military group and its attempts to overthrow the Asian continent. Actions taken in Strikeforce can affect the Cold War between America and China, and determine whether or not the two nations with be allies or enemies. Choosing not to do them, or failing them entirely, can have a negative impact on the narrative, but failure does not equal death. There are no checkpoints in Strikeforce -- if you can't meet the objective, the game will continue and the results will be logged. 

Strikeforce is a very different beast from story missions, giving players command of a battlefield made up of multiple units, which can be ordered into position from above and directly controlled. Objectives range from attack and defense to assassination or rescue, and players can treat the mission like a real-time strategy game, a straight FPS challenge, or a mixture of both. As well as regular infantry, here players directly control CLAWs, Drones, and other machinery, hopping from unit to unit to fight where the action is fiercest. The action certainly does get fierce, with enemies pouring?? in aggressively and victory o??ften coming right down the wire as forces close in and threaten to destroy key objectives or repel your units without mercy. It's a hectic experience, but a thrilling one all the same. 

Strikeforce is fantastic, and my only complaint here is that there aren't many Strikeforce missions to complete. They certainly contribute to making Black Ops II's campaign one of the lengthiest and deepest in the series (and really, the whole military FPS genre at this stage), but I really wo??uld have loved more of it. 

One criticism of the campaign overall is the weirdly laggy loadout screen. For some reason, browsing new weapons, skins, and perks for the solo missions are excruciatingly slow at rand??om points, with item selection remaining smooth for a few moments before taking a large number of seconds (and multiple attempts) for the game to recognize your commands. The actual game itself runs perfectly smooth, but it got to the point where I was feeling discouraged from?? altering the preselected loadouts due to the hassle involved. 

That said, I'm fully confident that this is the very best Call of Duty solo experience on offer, and while many fans will write off the campaign and look solely to the multiplayer, I'd posit that doing so shall be a major disservice to all parties involved -- both player and developer alike. As well as crafting a genuinely intriguing story, Black Ops II provides elegantly paced action and the kind of sheer enthusiasm that has been missing from so many soulless shooting games of late. At its core, it provides the kind of COD action that will be instantly familiar, with a new injection of vitality that permeates the entire affair.??&nbs??p;

Similar efforts have been made with Treyarch's own unique contribution to the series, Call of Duty Zombies. This mode has been given a significant boost, with a campaign-like game more akin to Left 4 Dead. In Zombies' main mode, Tranzit, players build power sources and open doors to access a??n automated tour bus that takes them from location to location, eventually leading to an underground base and beyond. This attempt at a story mode is certainly interesting, ??and offers something that feels more dynamic, but I have to say I'm not overly fond of it. 

The largest problem is that weapons and ammo are severely limited. There are some areas of the Tranzit run that are completely bereft of weapons to buy, even if you're swimming in currency points that could be spent on crucial supplies. It's quite possible to get stuck in a dead end, as you find yourself out of bullets and trapped in a basement with no way to fight back. The zombies, as well as being incredibly durable to bullets from the start, take multiple ?melee attempts to put down, and the player feels helpless more often than not -- not in a fun, survival horror way. More of an annoying, time-wasting way.&nbs??p;

It's a shame that Tranzit is so disappointing, because I really appreciate what it tries to do, and I love the premise of a bus that trundles relentlessly through the wasteland, beset on all sides by the undead horde. It sometimes threatens to entertain, especially if you get a good team and happen to be lucky with Max Ammo item drops, but I fear this particular spin on Zombies is more meanly oppressive than gratifying.

Fortunately, this attempted campaign is not the only slice of zombie action on offer. Traditional survival modes are readily available, as are competitive "Grief" matches that have two teams compete to see who will be the last side standing. Both of these modes are far less frustrating, and prove themselves better able to give players the kind of undead-slaughtering joy they require. Grief's four vs. four dynamic is exactly the kind of shot in the arm Zombies needs, making the action more hectic than before, but?? nowhere near as overwhelming as Tranzit. The whole idea of having to choose between screwing over your opponents or working together to hold off the common enemy ??is a very nice touch, too. 

Finally, we have ourselves the competitive multiplayer, which I do have to confess is not quite as dramatic a change of pace as the campaign, and I must warn potential players that they will not get the fresh air they were hoping for if the online offerings are all they desire. This is not to say that the experience is identical to the last game -- there's a ton o?f new weapons, new maps, and overall new content to explore -- but the foundation is far more readily familiar than that found in solo play. 

All the obligatory game types are in place, with the expected Deathmatch, Domination, Kill Confirmed modes and more on offer. The biggest changes come as players level up and gain access to the theoretical near-future weaponry and attachments on offer. From sights that highlight your targets to scorestreak bonuses that include personal attack drones and lightning blasts, the additions are subtle overall but do give the game a different feel to Modern Warfare or the last Black Ops release. 

Class creation is more customizable, as players have an expanded pool of perks, attachments, weapons and wildcards to c??ombine. Perks themselves have taken a backseat to provide a greater focus on the guns and technological toys, which I feel is a pleasant move forward. Weapon attachments are definitely where the fun is, as players can make use of the new "Pick 10" system to mix any number of extra gadgets in their arsenal and essentially build their own weapons. If you want a suppressed target-finding assault rifle with a laser sight, you can have that. It certainly takes some work, and there's no denying that newcomers will be creamed by the experts who already have superior firepower, but the effort is worth it. Just give the pre-made starter cla??sses a spin and you'll see what I mean. 

Praises aside, I must confess that I'm somewhat "over" the core Call of Duty multiplayer experience at last. The bells and whistles are more than welcome, but this is Activision's sixth time at the rodeo since COD4 changed the market, and I'm ready for something more dramatic than this. That's not to say what Black Ops II does is bad -- it's not at all. In fact, Call of Duty still provides one of the very best online FPS products available. However, for all its new clothes, I have grown tired, and stand ready for something to truly disrupt the market in the same way Call of Duty 4 did. I have had fun with BOII's online mode, but it's no longer the kind of fun I see mys?elf obsessively enjoying months from now, as I have had with previous installments.  

It should also be noted that, five years into the series, the game's engine really can't do anything to hide its age anymore. Black Ops II is not an ugly game, but its textures and effects just aren't up to par with other major blockbusters, especially in a release period that's just given the world Halo 4. This is made up for considerably with a great art direction, especially since so much of the drabness of other military shooters has been replaced with all sorts of lush jungles and smooth, bright, futuristic compounds, and Treyarch has upped the scale for some of its huge battles against whole cadres of opponents. Nevertheless, I feel this is the last time a COD game can get aw?ay with simply modifying IW 3.0??. It's time to replace those innards. 

Call of Duty: Black Ops II isn't a game to be bought on the strength of one mode. This is, in essence, three games in one, and those who are playing for at least two of them are the ones who will ultimately get the most of out of it. If you're just in it for multiplayer or Zombies, you're likely to leave unfulfilled, while the campaign is? brilliant but perhaps not quite worth the price of entry on its own. Taken as a whole product, this is a robust and varied game that suffers mostly due to market saturation and growing exhaustion with military FPS releases. 

This is an exhaustion Treyarch was clearly sensitive to, and it's worked its ass off to counter it. It does not succeed completely, but it makes impressive strides with its effort. Black Ops II is not quite a "fresh new take" on the franchise, and it's not going to shake up the genre in? some rev?olutionary manner. However, it brings back a sense of vigor to the world of military shooters, and it's hard not to find that spirit infectious. As you're firing wrist-mounted grenades, shooting enemies through walls with heat-tracing penetrative weaponry, and making robots cut down entire squads, it's difficult to feel the fatigue that recent years have inspired. Released a year or two ago, this would have turned a lot of heads. In today's light, it's still an excellent shooter in many regards, but those who choose not to dive in can't really be blamed anymore. 

Love it or hate it, Call of Duty inspires strong emotions from those entrenched in the gamer community, and people on either side of the fence are regularly at odds with one another. It's seen as a mark of shame by many to love the series these days, and while the detractors may be looking forward to seeing their favorite target of hate critically decimated, I'm afraid that, once more, I cannot be the hitman you're after. I had a blast with Black Ops II, and I'm not sorry for that.

It's a great game from a studio that's done everything it can with the tools at its disposal to reinvigorate Call of Duty, even if it doesn't refashion the series completely. You won't appreciate that just by playing its online mode, and you will be disappointed if you're wanting?? the property to be turned inside out and spun on its head. Those that simply love to play military first-person shooters, and were looking for something that finds what life is left in the genre, however, should find themselves perfectl?y catered to.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II ??finds that life and holds onto it for all it's worth. Love it or hate it, you have to at least respect it.

The post Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops II appeared first on Destructoid.

Hope you like heavy metal!

At the end of the original Black Ops, you got a special bonus game of zombies where you could play as President Kennedy, President Nixon, and Fidel Castro. After the credits in Black Ops II, you get this.

Obviously major spoilers here, but for those of you that don't care, you get to witn?ess Avenged Sevenfold perform "Carry On" with the help of Frank Woods on drums and main villain Raul Menendez on guitar. In the audience are largely all? the characters you meet in the game, including the President shaking her booty.

I spoke with Treyarch not too long ago and found out that Avenged Sevenfold are huge fans of Black Ops. The band takes the game on tour with them, and sometimes the concerts are delayed beca??use they may or may not be too busy playing the game. Videogames!

The post Check out the ri?diculo?us bonus ending to Black Ops II appeared first on Destructoid.

Expanding beyond just the pro players

The Call of Duty series has a mass hardcore following, and experienced players know what to do the second they pop in the game disc. But there's still a percentage of players that have never really touched the multiplayer, largely due to fear of just getting rolled on no matter how hard they try. First??-person shooters don't need to be a purely hardcore experience, and that's a sentiment that design director David Vonderhaar shares.

With Black Ops II, there are now more tools than ever to help players learn the ropes instead of just going in blind. Combat training has been greatly expanded on, as it's part of the core progression system in multiplayer, and it also includes bots to give players a fighting chance. Then there's the livestreaming features which allow you to learn new tactics by watching the pros do it. Call of Duty Elite is again providing a ton of tips for every aspect of the game, and all of its features are free this time around.

"It's our responsibility as the developer of the game to put out what's out there so that people can have the experience," David told me. "You can't be the big online game if you don't?? do this thing. I think it's all about aspirational play. Watching other players, learning, and saying 'Okay, I see what he's doing and I can learn from that so I can get better myself.'

"We're doing a pretty good job creating a game for really good slayers. It's the guys who are getting crushed that need our help. We have all that stuff through all the skill bands, an?d it's hard to get right but we're going to keep chasing that."

These tools can only take a player so far, though. Eventually they'll hi??t a peak, "but you at least have to give them an opportunity to enjoy the game," says Da?vid.

This is where League Play comes into the equation. It's a skill-based matchmaking system that gives you a skill rating based on your performance, and from there places you in a division with? players at similar skill levels. The better you do, the higher you'll rank and move up in ladders, but if you find yourself plateauing you'll at least be setup against a constant stream of similar matched players.

It's not just completely new players David is tryin?g to reach out to. There's an older generation of players that still want to play, but may not necessarily be able to keep up with Activision's targeted demographic.

"This is maybe slightly personal, and kind of embarrassing, but, you know I'm coming up on 40," David explained. "When I was the age of the young men who are 22 playing this game, I was the slayer. I was the guy with the good Internet connection putting people down with my railgun in Quake 2 and my rocket launcher in Quake 1. I consider myself a hard??core gamer, but I can't compete against a guy 20 years younger than me with his reflexes. He's younger, has better reflexes and better eyesight (laughs).

"I was very lucky to be 20 years old when the first online shooters became available, I've grown up with? this and it's defined a big part of my life. So there's gotta be other dudes who are 35 that are getting their asses kicked by 22-year-olds who still ??want to enjoy their shooters the way I do. I don't want to quit playing shooters just because I'm 40.

"The passion for me is making sure that there's environments [such as League Play], because I know there's a lot of 22-year-old guys playing every day, but I know it's not the only people playing the game. There's a big group of people who are gamers and a big group of people play first-person shooters. I don't want it to be just for 22-year-olds. That would be kind of sad for me as a guy who used to be 22 playing shooters. I want everyone to enjoy the game. I want that 22-year-old guy to enjoy the game, that perfect [demographic] that people talk about. But I also want guys who played Quake with me when I was 22 to enjoy this one too."

The post Treyarch on keeping Black Ops II open for all appeared first on Destructoid.

Zombies map included in special edition no less special as a result

If you decided to try and save a few clams by skipping out on the collector's edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 but lament missing out on the included Nuketown Zombies map, you're going to get a second stab at it. Activision announced today that the additional map will be made available to purchasers of the Black Ops II&nb??sp;season pass in December (on Xbox 360; other platforms to follow)?.

The season p??ass, which also includes fo??ur planned map packs, will sell for $49.99.

Our review of Black Ops II hits in the wee hours of the morning. Try to tear yours??elf away from getting ?your l33t headshots and your "coffee-sacking" rituals long enough to read that.

The post Nuketown added to Call?? of Duty Black Ops II seas??on pass appeared first on Destructoid.

Anything from pirating to boosting

Ah, the modern gaming era. Day one patches, online passes, and of course, permabans on consoles. As we're nearing the launch of the sure to be mega-hit Black Ops II, Treyarch has layed out a few ground rules.

Most of it is common sense, but it's probably a good idea to read it anyway, as the ruleset defines how you can get banned for "unauthorized live streams"; which is kind of a big part of the game given the new YouTube functionality.

"Offensive cont??ent" includes foul language (well f*ck, there goes my chances of streaming anything), and obvious things like racism and nudity. The other usual rules apply, like no hacking, boosting, glitching, modding, or making offensive emblems. I'm interested in seeing how often the streaming regulations are enforced.

Security & Enforcement Policy [COD]

The post Find out how you can get banned from Black Ops II appeared first on Destructoid.

Back in Black, baby

We're less than a month away from Call of Duty: Black Ops II hitting store shelves now! The launch trailer has just been released, and it shows? off a ton of things you can expect to do in the single-player campa??ign. Grappling hooks! Wing suits! ROBOT BUGS!

I've played through Black Ops II a lot this past year. Check out my multiplayer impressions, eSports overview, zombies preview and much more content that you can check out on our Black Ops II page.

The post Black Ops II launch trailer has robot bugs! appeared first on Destructoid.

Plus create-a-class in the campaign!

The 3D fad has more or less died, but that's not stopping Treyarch from including 3D support in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. They've even partnered up with LG Electronics to offer a discount for those that buy the game and one of LG's Cinema 3D TVs from retailers during November 13 ?to November 21.

Additionally, you'll ??be able to take advantage of the dual play feature from LG TVs which projects to 2D images simultaneously. This makes it so two people playing locally won't have to share one screen. You will need to buy Dual Pla?y glasses in order to take advantage of this feature though.

The latest GameTrailers TV episode also revealed some new info on Black Ops II. Expect a version of create-a-class for the campaign, and theater features for Zombies mode.

The post Black Ops II will have 3D and dual play options appeared first on Destructoid.

So we gave you a pretty extended detail look at Black Ops II's multiplayer not too long ago. It was a lot to take in, but guess what? There's more. So much more. In fact, Treyarch had us out for another visit just to se?e the rest of the multiplayer content.

There's going to be a ton of game modes, for the hardcore players to the more casual ones. Most importantly, Treyarch is looking to capture the segment of people who don't touch multiplayer at all by giv??ing "ways for players to pl?ay who are intimidated, or maybe uninitiated," game design director David Vonderhaar told us.

"Call of Duty is a very popular online game. But we know?? for a fact that there are still people that don't play multiplayer. I want them. I want them to come play, and I want to do stuff to make? sure that happens."

Call of Duty: Black Ops II (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U)
Developer: Treyarch
Publisher: Activision
Release: November 13, 2012

First, let's focus on the core traditional expe??rience. You can expect these game modes: Team Deathmatch, Free-for-all, Domination, Demolition, Kill Confirmed, Hardpoint, Headquarters, Capture the Flag, and Search & Destroy.

Hardpoint is the newest mode to be introduced into Call of Duty, and it's inspired by King of the Hill modes. It's a super fast gametype that will see players capturing a location for as long? as possible before the location moves to a new ??area of the map.

Then there's Multi-team, which is supported in T??eam Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, and Hardpoint. Public matchmaking-wise, there will be a max o??f three teams of three, or three teams of four. Otherwise, you can do up to six teams on the custom games side.

Something I loved about the original Black Ops that I sunk more hours into than anything else from the game was Wager Matches. They're back with a new na?me: Party Games. You can expect Gun Game, One in the Chamber, Sharpshooter, and ??Sticks and Stones to return.

Treyarch is working on more g??ametypes for Party Games, and they're all designed just for players to have fun with. These modes blow up the traditional game rules, toss the create-a-class stuff to the side, and bend the score-streak system to maximize player enjoyment. You're still earning experience, leveling up your weapons and rank, and there is public matchmaking as well.

And yes, this means the cros??sbow and ballistic knife are back. The crossbow can be fitte??d with attachments like the reflex, ACOG, zoom, and dual-band scopes now. You can even fit it to fire three bolts at once.

Now these are modes best suited for the experienced players, so what about the players that are too intimated lik??e David was talking about? That's where Combat Training comes in, broken up into three aspects, all of which are still tied into the core experience.

First there's Bootcamp, a mode where two teams will face off against each other in Team Deathmatch, with each team made up of three human players and three AI bots. You?? can rank up, and earn full experience points anywhere between levels one and ten. After you've reached level 11 you can no longer access Bootcamp.

Then there's Objective, where you ca??n play if you're past level 10, but you only get half the experience points you normally would. Otherwise it's the same setup as Bootcamp with the human/bot team mix, just set on objective game modes like Capture the Flag.

Lastly there's Bot Stomp, where a team of six human players will be goi??ng up against a team of six AI bot players. You earn no experience points at all, and it really serves to let players experience the high-end game without the typical stress you'd get in a real match. It's a great way to practice on a Team Deathmatch and Objective-type modes. Plus, as David put it, "bots do not ??yell at you if you don't perform well. They don't get upset, and they're not racists."

If none of these public-style matches appeal to you, don't worry, custom games are back in a big way. "Quite honestly, custom games have haunted me since we put them in Black Ops," Davi??d told us. "Th??ey've haunted me because I've always wanted to -- and we finally did -- make sure every game mode can be customized in some really meaningful ways."

You can build the default classes, add in bots, restrict content, starts at 150% health -- everything can be changed in whatever crazy way you want. You can even alter the pick-10 system, limiting it down to just pick-3, or eve??n go??ing to the maximum number of items a player can carry with pick-17.

There's lots of ways to play, but ?you players looking to stick with just the public, official gametypes can finally rest easy as Treyarch detailed how Prestige will work. There's 55 levels, and ten levels of Prestige. Typically when you've hit the max level and be?en given the choice to Prestige, all your stats get reset.

Now when you level up to a Prestige opportunity, everything gets reset except for your weapon experience points, and your challenge progress. So now you can pick up your weapon progress ??from where you last left off and continue to raise its stats.

Additionally, you'll get a Prestige-specific unlock token, which you can use?? to unlock an item permanently so you don't need to grind to reacquire something you really like again, have ex?tra create-a-class slots (up to five more), reset all your stats to start fresh, or get a refund of all your standard unlock tokens.

Each time you level up, you are given an unlock token that you can use to unlock a gun, or items for your custom class. With the refund option, you could be at level 24, decide you hat?e your entire setup, and use refund to get all 24 tokens back to unlock different content instead.

So what happens whe??n you hit the max level of Prestige? You become a Prestige Master, and it opens up all the content. So there's a real solid reaso??n to Prestige beyond simply bragging rights.

??For those of you who do enjoy bragging like crazy, that's where Challenges come in. There are over 1,000 Challenges to do, and completing them gives you XP bonuses and a ton of cosmetic unlocks. 

Now you can get camouflage for every single weapon -- even knifes, shields, and rocket launchers. There's more camo options too, even stuff that out-blings the gold skin. There'?s a bunch of optic choices now, from standard stuff to funny choices, such as a curly mustache reticule called "The Steve," based on the mustache of the lighting director for the game. There's even a cool-looking Eotech zombie reticule, which you can apply to the actual Eotech scope featured in the game.

And what's Black Ops without the Playercard customization? T?he emblem editor is even more robust, featuring 32 layers and tools that let you copy, paste, flip, move, rotate, and scale objects. There's an RGB color mixer, transparency options, over 150 backgrounds, an?d over 150 shapes to to use too. And I know what you're thinking, but know that you can disable user-created content if you'd rather not be subjugated to all the penises and other lewd content.

Still with me? Good, because there's one last thing to talk about and that's Theater mode. Now, anyone can make a movie with just the push of one butto?n with Highlight Reel. This feature will automatically? create an edited film from the best moments of your last match. Once the reel is completed, you can go in to edit it or just upload it online immediately.

Your films can also use up to 20 clips now, up from 10 in the last game. Plus, you can merge your clip of 20 down to one, then add in more clips. You can merge a number of clips together, which allows you to make even better-quality videos now. Another new feature is the ability to attach your camera to an object and follow its path. So you can place the camera onto something like the D?ragonfire -- or even a missile flying towards a target -- for ?better camera angles.

There's going to be a lot of social features as well. You can bookmark your last match with the press of a button to easily pull up the video footage without having to dig it up, there is ?a community section where you can see videos from the entire community or just your friends, and you'll have the opti?on to up- or downvote videos.

Needless to say, there's absolutely a ton of content in the Black Ops II package. You'd need to have a screw loose not to see just how much Treyarch is putting into the game. They've completely overhauled the multiplayer features, and that's just one part of it. You have the single-player that will change based on your actions, the whole livestreaming initiative, and the Zombies mode, which very well could have been its own separate game. This is a real sequel in every conceiva??ble way.

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Activision and Treyarch are continuing to draw this whole Zombies thing out for Call of Duty: Black Ops II?. Today, it's a teaser video that ends with?? a snippet of gameplay footage.

Okay, I'm intrigued. What the hell is up with that bus? Presumably, you'll be able to ride it while defending against the undead, if those boarded-up windows are any indication. We'll find out what the deal is on Wednesday, September 26. Sadly, I have to assume this isn't a zombie-themed take on Speed.

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