User Score
4.7 out of 10

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 597 Ratings

User score distribution:

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  1. Jan 15, 2013
    8
    I was incredibly surprised by Black Ops 2. I went into the campaign expecting a retread of the first game, or maybe a mindless popcorn movie style affair like the Modern Warfare games, but what I got was a game that hearkened back to an earlier era of FPS goodness. Every level felt unique, with some interesting locales on show; there are multiple paths you can take to reach your goal, and you have a veritable plethora of weapons to choose from at the beginning of each mission, some real, some fictional. Something else that stood out for me was the music; it actually felt like -shock horror- video game music! A far cry from the soulless, generic orchestras of Modern Warfare. There is one segment in particular - I won't spoil anything - that feels more like Doom than Call of Duty, and it's one of the best levels in the entire series.

    The story is above and beyond the normal Call of Duty fare. It explores the themes of over-reliance on technology, how blindly following orders can lead to tragedy, and the foolishness of disproportionate revenge. The main antagonist, Raul Menendez, is a genuinely sympathetic character, though it's clear he's gone off the deep end somewhere down the line. As a matter of fact, the entire cast is pretty colourful apart from one character; the main character, David Mason, is a bit of a milquetoast. It doesn't really feel like he has a personality beyond "Dad died, I'm sad now ;___;". During the course of the campaign the game offers you several choices, some of which aren't immediately apparent. This is an interesting experiment in FPS game design, and honestly it does this better than any "choice-based RPG" released in the past decade.

    I'm not going to talk about multiplayer and zombies much, because I think at it's core Black Ops 2 was intended as a single player game, but here goes. Multiplayer is fun, but it gets boring fast. The new Pick Ten system is a great addition, and League Play ups the ante as far as skill level goes, the new scorestreak system is a vast improvement, but apart from that you'll get what you'd expect from Call of Duty. Shootin' dudes. Zombies I feel lacks a sense of focus; Tranzit just isn't as fun as the previous maps, though Grief Mode is interesting. The new characters aren't as funny as the old cast, but maybe they'll develop them further somewhere down the line.

    To finish, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is an excellent game, if we're talking about the campaign. In all other ways it's quite mediocre. You'll get what you'd expect if you're a multiplayer guy, but don't expect anything revolutionary.
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  2. Feb 5, 2013
    4
    Black Ops 2 is a total disaster. The multiplayer is unbalanced and not addictive. The "zombies" is a mess, a complicated addition that used to be incredibly fun in the previous BO. And the single-player, while it has some worth additions, It's boring. And the graphics are outdated. Shortly, lets just say that It's the same game as the previous CODs. Unimpressed.
  3. Nov 27, 2012
    9
    I am a fan of Battlefield 3 and Gotham City imposterT.his is actually the great Call of Duty game. I played CoD 1 , Blops, and MW3. I love the map design in this game. I like the little tweak they made. I don't understand all the complaints. I actually feel like I am using my brain to play, unlike mw3.
  4. Apr 7, 2013
    8
    I do not like campaign mode of all COD games: but this is not a problem. So far I've spent more than 100 hours on this game and I've played offline 30 minutes the day my DSL was down. Multiplayer is fine: maps are well designed and allows different combat style graphic is clear and it allows to see distant enemies well enough to hit them good weapon choice ad smart experience system logo customization
    different game mode
    chat work well enough

    Multiplayer is not perfect
    with over than 600.000 players online sometimes ther's too much lag
    sometimes you can be kicked off a play without any reason
    the world league is only Base and not veteran

    It worth the money they ask ?

    It depends IF you like multiplayer YES

    Ps.
    Campaign mode it remembers me old laser disc games...
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  5. Nov 13, 2012
    9
    Done know why this always gets haters. Its a game that ALOT of people buy and enjoy. if you don't like it, don't buy it. I HATED MW# but this time Treyarch have done something innovative at least so its not the same ol same ol. Sound is great and there is enough variation to differ from MW3. Is it perfect? By no means, but its a good all round game and at least give high replay value unlike many other games out there. Expand
  6. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    This is the game we always get year by year... Just moves those furniture from there to there and that''s it... We got a new game... That same game over and over... I don't know why don't people realize there are plenty of better shooters there Halo, Killzone... to name a few... Get over it...
  7. Nov 18, 2012
    4
    At first, I gave this game a 7/10, but after spending a lot of time online this weekend, I can now say I was wrong. Sure the campaign is decent, and zombies is zombies, but right now multi-player is the most unbalanced in the series. The two major objective issues I have are lag compensation, and spawning

    As it stands, lag compensation favors players with poor internet, and also favor
    guns with high rate of fire (i.e. SMGs) since the lag compensation will likely make 60% of bullets you think hit, actually miss.

    The new spawn system was designed to avoid getting spawn camped... however the problem is now players will randomly spawn around you. It doesn't matter if your team locks down a corridor, or section of the map, the enemy will just appear right behind you since the game actively avoid forward spawns.

    Aside from those two problems, I have a personal problem with the map layouts... They are way to cluttered with obstacles. Therefore, shotguns and SMGs rule king. I have no problem with these guns, I just wish the 90% of the maps didn't favor them as I do enjoy AR's.

    It's sad to say that MW2 is still the best in series, and I'm sure many would still play it if it wasn't for all the hackers.
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  8. Nov 19, 2012
    2
    Coming this winter, from the folks who just can't take a hint, it's Call of Duty: Black Ops II! The multiplayer is exactly the same as before, yet somehow been made worse than before! The morons over at Activision and Treyarch have somehow taken the laziest kind of FPS on the market, and become the Beavis and Butthead of it. I'm sorry, but I'm tired of being handed the exact same thing every year that's somehow progressively worse each time. With Ghost only unlockable at the last level, it's frontline-on-frontline, with little or no chance of flanking or stealth. This is what happens when a game company caters to whiny little kids and those with an IQ lower than 40 who know nothing except the traditional Ulysses S. Grant cavalry charge that's been failing AI enemies since the 90's. But now it's somehow mandated. Run and gun, or die trying. There is no other option now. These are the same people who complain about campers, in a series that already has a wide array of tools for weeding out campers. Flashbangs, grenades, launchers of both kinds, and -- god forbid -- actually CHECKING your corners. I do it all the time. But now, those of us who genuinely want to use flanking and stealth just get left in the dust. The game also feels like it was geared only towards people who've been around long enough, so I can't see how anyone new to the FPS genre would enjoy this game. To its credit, the campaign is somewhat passable, as you can actually pick your loadout before each mission. But once again, the campaign was too short, and I beat it in under a day. This is a series where multiplayer is the main focus. Here's one player who's selling the game back for a full refund before the receipt expires, probably the last chance I'm giving Call of Duty. Whether they keep recycling the same crap every year is dependent on whether you guys finally stop falling for it. If you played this game, you've been had, badly. Expand
  9. Nov 16, 2012
    9
    Black Ops II was something I was really looking forward to delve into and explore. From the videos I had been watching to make sure it wasnt the same old formula, I felt I had a pretty good idea of what to expect and a healthy amount of curiosity for what had been supposedly changed.

    The game was always going to be a polished form of the previous iteration from a run and gun standpoint,
    bnut where Black Ops seperates itself from it's predecessors is in its sci-fi interpretaion of Military technology. Some of the most fun I have had with a Call of duty game to date and it makes me wonder why they hadn't thought of this before. The gunplay was never the complaint from me as far as Call of Duty goes, but rather the unimaginative level design and variety from a publisher who had the resources (and now more than ever before) to revolutionise gaming each consecutive year. And while I wont call Black Ops II a Revolution, it is undoubtedly in the right direction. Great work Treyarch Expand
  10. Nov 16, 2012
    9
    In my opinion (duh seeing as this is a review), most folks who get online to write a review of something usually don't do it unless they feel compelled to do it out of anger. They're so angry about their experience that they feel the need to vent by writing a scathing review as a form of catharsis. Critics are paid to review games. They don't get the luxury of writing a review only when they feel cheated. If they all had a positive experience, the consensus is mostly positive. that's just how it goes. When it comes to a game like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, gamer opinions cannot be more polarized.

    As a gamer, I can't make myself hate this game no matter how much the Internet tells me to hate it. I enjoy thought-provoking and story-driven games as much as the next person, but Call of Duty has always held a soft spot in my heart. i went to college and my best buddies went to other schools, but Call of Duty has always been there allowing us to hang out on the couch together via headset. To be honest, I bought the game mostly for the zombie mode. That has always been our bread and butter when we played online together, and Treyarch really improved on it with this iteration. It mixes it up with "Tranzit" and "Grief" by making it more open and adding in team-based competition while still retaining the parts that made it so fun to play with the classic "Survival" mode. We always joked around about our zombie strategies if the apocalypse ever happened and Black Ops 2 lets us put our strategies into practice. The single player campaign is also fun to play. The story in the Black Ops series has always been more interesting to me than the Modern Warfare series. Menendez, the primary antagonist, is probably one of the most layered villains of the series because you often empathize with him and hate him at the same time. The voice acting is great and the sound in general has improved since the last game and is almost on par with Battlefield in sound design. The graphics are pretty much the same as it's always been, which is fine. If it's not broken, don't fix it. However, if you have a 3D TV, I highly recommend playing it in 3D. It's a blast. The only problem I have with the campaign is the inclusion of the new "strike force" missions. Alternating between top-down RTS views and traditional first-person, it's drastically different than anything Call of Duty has done before. However, it's a bit spotty and your A.I. brethren aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. I found myself just running around killing everyone on my own instead of relying on my compatriots to do it. I appreciate Treyarch for wanting to try something new, but I don't think it was really necessary. Sure it helps influence the outcome of the story, but I felt it could have been handled better. This brings me to the multiplayer. I've never been a savant when it comes to playing online. I've always found it difficult to jump in and play with people who live and breathe Call of Duty. One of the cool features in Black Ops 2 is the "Combat Training" mode that allows you to play with players of equal skill and a few bots thrown in. It's a great way to get new players acclimated to the game and gives people who have played before a chance to brush up when they start back up again. You level up and gain XP, but it doesn't start counting against your combat record until after level 10. So, don't be afraid of dying because it's going to happen. The new "pick 10" approach to customization is refreshing as well. It allows you to really add what you want from the get-go giving you the freedom to really tailor your play style the way you like. Kill streaks have been replaced by score streaks, which gives you the opportunity to apply things like assists and captures to your streak rather than just kills. So, if you're more of a kamikaze fighter and enjoy sacrificing you life for the good of the team, you won't be forgotten with the new score streaks. The multiplayer is like gambling, if you go into it expecting to win, you're not going be able to enjoy the game and have a good time. Rather than getting on here to rant about Call of Duty, I decided to tell you about how fun it can be. If you don't like it, don't buy it. There are more things in life that are more deserving of your fiery rage. But if you're like me and enjoy video games for what they are, you'll have a lot of fun with Black Ops 2. It's not all just unsupervised 9-year-olds hurling racial slurs into your ear.
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  11. Nov 18, 2012
    1
    They cut out all the gore from the SP-campaign, the german sync is the worst I experienced for a long time (without being able to switch it to original in the AT-Version) and the graphics are incredibly poor for todays standards (Shadows are sometimes shown in big squares, grass looks poor, animations look strange etc). Story is boring as hell and in the end its just a playable multiplayer left with nothing more than a good class-editor. Damn, treyarch really messed up the sequel of the more atmospheric Black Ops 1. Update: I'm more ****** than before. Treyarch reset my online-stats with the latest patch, THX ALOT! Next thing is, that I finally ended the campaign-mode, started a new one and now I am not allowed to replay the all missions to get the missed trophies. This really makes me sick, I am going to resell it the next days. Has treyarch ever tested this game and thought: Oh no, this won't **** anyone off? Expand
  12. Nov 14, 2012
    5
    Let's be honest here. COD4: Modern Warfare was great, new, exciting, fun to play, etc... World at War was a nice attempt to stay in WW II. MW 2 started to become a copy with some extra's, but still ok and since then it all went down in a massive downfall. Come'on, what is the difference between CoD: MW 2, COD: BO, CoD MW 3 and apparently CoD BO II? Nothing, except the environment. They were allready re-using the same game for 3 years now....
    Seriously, anyone who bought the game and is complaining about it that it isn't new, should smack themselfs in the head. It's what was to be expected... What did you think? Quick cash for the developers and you just gave it to them. Probably half of the complainers now will be buying CoD MW 4 too :-)
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  13. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Poor attempt on Black Ops 2. I feel as if I have played this game before and then I remembered... it is exactly the same as the last 3 Call of Duty titles. The player base is still made up of 12 year old boys with squeaky voices. I want to smash my Playstation after only half an hour. And then there is the Xbox exclusive crap that PS3 and PC gamers have to deal with every month as exclusives are cruelly withheld from loyal and paying customers. I strongly recommend you look elsewhere for your FPS urges. If you are on PC, have a look into CS:GO or CoD4 as those two games still have that shine to them as aren't filled with BS gimmicks that are sure to make you smash your hard earned possessions. Expand
  14. Nov 14, 2012
    9
    3...2...1... and breathe............ so many angry negative people on here ! Let's be honest, Call of Duty is what it is. You know what you're going to get on release day. A different story, slightly improved graphics, tweaked MP. I personally got tired of COD etc.. a couple of years ago after hammering it day in day out. I had a break and now im back and you know what... i'm happy it hasn't changed too much. It is the best (I also like BF equally I might add) beyond all recognition but it has changed enough to make it feel fresh for me. I think a 9 is fully justified. It is the best in it's field in my opinion, as is Fifa, Dishonoured, Uncharted 3 etc... It feels like a premium title, it plays like one. If you give this game lower than a 7 then it is not honest opinion, it is to try and make a statement. Grow up... get a life. Why do you care if it sells well or not? Ridiculous. The game currently sits at a user score of 3.9 on this site which is quite frankly, a joke. Bet you all still bought it though right ?? ha ha Expand
  15. Nov 17, 2012
    10
    I give this game a flat ZERO because it does NOT work on PS3, actually the constant hard freezings may permanently damage your console.
  16. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Well, I guess most people buy this game are for the multiplayer not the campaign, so I will review this by my multiplayer experience. There is only one word to describe it: HORRIBLE. First of all, the numbers of maps are limited. Secondly, the map layouts are simple and repetitive. Once you get familiar with it, you can expect what is coming at you. This leads to the biggest disappointment of this game--way to camper friendly. As i mentioned earlier, once you get familiar with the maps, you know where people come from because the simple and predictable layout of the maps. And then, people camp all the time. And also, the guns do not have much recoil, you do not have to adjust your shooting style with different guns which makes the game very noob friendly too. The kill streak system is worse than MW3, and some are overpowered. So if you are looking for a fast paced and competitive multiplayer gaming experience which requires some skill levels, then this is not your game. BO2 is for noobs and campers. Hiding in the corner, waiting for some powerful kill streak rewards are what you gonna see most of the time in this game. BTW, once Amazon accepts BO2 trade in, i will send it back without any hesitation. Expand
  17. Nov 15, 2012
    3
    Total disappointment. First of all, way to test guys. You can't even connect half the time and the multiplayer is a mess. Takes me several attempts to even log in to get online with it and then several more to get a game going. More to the point however - I was a big fan of Black Ops I and COD in general. I appreciate the variations and the distinctions that have come along with the MW versions and thought the Black Ops twist in BOI was great. This game however, BO2, is junk. Total junk. The inescapable streak rewards are ridiculous. Missiles just raining down from everywhere, bots and drones everywhere. Total junk. It's totally weak. My friends (who all have played mostly to top level prestige so they've logged serious hours on the past games) all think the same. This game scuks. Totally. We are going back to MW3 and BO1. Big thumbs down Treyarch and Activision. This thing is garbage. Expand
  18. Nov 15, 2012
    9
    Why are "professional" critics so much harder on Treyarch than Infinity Ward? COD:BO2 is a MUCH more well-rounded game than previous versions. More importantly, the story of the main game is the first in ANY call of duty that has kept me engaged. If this game is a 8.2, than MW3 should have been a 7. It's harder and harder to take reviews serious anymore. 9/10
  19. Dec 27, 2012
    5
    The Single player is decent with the storyline decisions and the zombie mode is still fun but the worst feature in black ops 2 is just plain boring and repetitive. All the gun attachments are the same and the pick 10 system doesn't change much. The maps are boring and the scorestreaks I find are still overpowered. I do not like how Call of duty is an annual release.
  20. Jan 4, 2013
    8
    The campaign of this game its average.The gameplay was easy even in the highest difficulty possible but the story is well written and scriped it can be a little boring in some levels but overall i give the campaign a 5.5/10. The Multiplayer is the best part of this game.Its fun there are loads of weapons lots of party games etc...I give the multiplayer 8/10.The zombies in my opinion is the most disapointing thing in this game.It gets boring fast if you are in single-player and the atmosphere is much worse than in BO1,if you play zombies in multiplayer it is fun.I give the zombies a 4.5/10.The Graphics,music and sound effects in this game are pretty good not to blow you away but they are good.My rating for the graphics and sounds a 5/10.If you want to play a good campaign you should buy this game if you find it cheap (25$ or less) if you want a good and fun mutiplayer you definetely buy this game and if you enjoy zombies only if you find this game very cheap (10$ or less). Expand
  21. Jan 11, 2013
    10
    I loved call of duty black ops II. well, in general i like the call of duty franchise. But i will admit the multiplayer was disappointing. very good campaign. i give it a 10
  22. Apr 8, 2013
    3
    I am not saying this is a bad game because I enjoyed it, but due to unknown reasons, this game has become unplayable. It freezes every time I load it up, the disc is fine, I even took apart my PlayStation to clean the Blu-Ray Lens. Quite pissed off really, considering how ridiculously overpriced these games are, they've produced a game that has just stopped working. I know I'm not the only one with this problem. Expand
  23. Nov 15, 2012
    0
    This is the same game and I am dumb and mad. Here's why: 1) Its on the same systems, why not put in on a new system... it's like they aren't even trying. 2) The same guns, come on, can you make up some new guns that fire things like homing needles? 3) The maps are small, I want 1vs1 on a 25 square mile map 4) Team deathmatch feels like some crappy deathmatch with no skill, they should add a hardcore search and destroy mode or something. 5) The other human AI people are too hard, I get shot, and blame it on something other than me. 6) The graphics look horrible. It cant be my TV, I got it at Circuit City in 1991... not even 25 years old yet. 7) The sound is horrible. Like I said my TV is from 1991 for ***** sake, it has speakers that make my Jerry Springer VHS tapes sound amazing. 8) They made me buy it and I didn't want to, but I did and now I am mad... I really thought this one was going to be different. I thought it might be a puzzle game or a new kart racing game. 9)They should have made it like Halo. Halo is so amazing. They changed so much, its like a whole new game.10) I lag on my blazing fast 56k AOL dial-up. Come on, this is 2012 and I don't think there is any excuse for lag. ----- In closing I will buy the next Call of Duty expecting a turn based football game with cell shaded alien flowers. I will then write a review on metacritic giving it 0/10 because it wasn't. I dont understand what a 0 means anyway. I gave superman 64 a 2/10. This is better than that of course, but it's still a 0/10. Math is hard. Jerry, Jerry, Jerry! Expand
  24. Nov 18, 2012
    8
    It irks me to see all the dumb asses giving this game a zero. And then you look at all of the reviews they have given, and they are always a zero. Why bother? What are you achieving? you just look like a ****
    Anyway.... being someone who has actually played the game (unlike the aforementioned toss bags), I have to say I find it highly entertaining. I knew what I was buying into because...
    shock horror, I read about the game before buying it. And.... shock horror again... I enjoy the COD style games. If you have brought a COD game in the past and disliked it, why would you buy another one? Are you just stupid?

    It's not the most ground breaking game out there, but if you like the COD style of game play then this is your type of game. Hours of fun to be had in the multi player, the the pick 10 system is great to play around with.

    Can't wait to unlock more of the equipment to play around with.

    Get over it whiners and haters.
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  25. Nov 13, 2012
    9
    PPl, please, COD is a multiplier francise, dont buy for campaign or zombies (though zombies is generally good). I played multiplayer last night until i was level 18. The gameplay is the same as MW2, MW3, and Black ops mixed in. Blops 1 was my favorite and this is a nice refresh. Overall its the same gameplay as usual. I dont understand why people want to fix something that isnt broken, if you want something different buy battlefield 3. I also didnt try nuketown 2025 yet, but Ill assume if its the same map as before, I will spend countless hours on nuketown with new killstreaks and better graphics and faster gameplay as compared to blops1. On to review points:

    Similar to other MWs/blops: Fast Gameplay, similar graphics to MW3 though slightly more blurry to me, great framerate, You have to earn tokens at each level to unlock new stuff and also have to acheive a level to unlock certain equipment

    Differences: . You can only carry 10 total items on you, including perks and attachments to weapons. This makes things more strategic, do you want light weight and hardline, or do you want a concussion grenade or two. I really enjoyed this as you need to plan for maps and gameplay style. Perks also dont seem to be as dominating (cant see how to get unlimited running or hardline pro). When getting points in mulitplayer for killstreak rewards you get 100 for each direct kill, 10 for each time your teamates kill a guy when you have an AUV up, 25/50 or others based on assits, and killstreak reward kills give you points but not always a lot. This makes it more challanging that MW3 and getting 4 kills, then a missle strike, then a couple more and a gunship, requires much more careful play to get as many kills as in blops1/MW3. In Blops 1 I rule with ak74, rapid fire, unlimited sprinting, and everything else doesnt matter. In Blops 2 things are a bit different as the perks and load out stops you from making an all around domination character. If you want all around great character you will lose your grenades and flashbangs to use more perks to "run and gun more".

    There are also more attachments to guns, and around 22 killstreaks, which are similar and new at the same time. I was using the quadracopter, which I liked, airstrikes are standard but you can choose 3 locations, and I also got a grenade laucher that I took out about 5 guys with, also unllike blops 1 when you die you can reuse your deployed killstreak reward (like the minigun in blops1 which you would lose if you died), I also got some guided drone, throw it in the air and when it finds someone its an instant kill.

    Mics for the guy you killed send you what they say when they die, hahaha, I was having fun last night at the people wondering how they died. Most people last night were levels 1-20, and one guy who was 37...no idea how that happened.

    Anyway all in all I rate it a 9 for not fixing something that isnt broken, while adding a few new features to an existing great game style.
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  26. Nov 14, 2012
    0
    There is absolutely nothing new or innovative about this game, if you've played MW2. Then you've pretty much played Black Ops, MW3 and Black Ops 2. It is absolutely mind boggling to be how this game with the exact same engine, graphics, guns, perks still manages to sell mass copies. Its sad they charge 60$ NOT EVEN INCLUDING THE FUTURE DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT(an extra 15 dollars, by the way all these maps are already in the game once it comes out, the developers just choose to release it later to maximize profits). This game and all previous CoDs are just a glorified map pack and it is disgusting how they pass it off as a new game each year.

    It also disgusts me how this game runs on player to player connection and not actual server. This is the type of game where timing and good connection is the difference between dying or living. A person with 3 bar connection opposed to 4, is at a HUGE disadvantage. And it is all to save costs on the game. They put as little money into the game as possible(because all the pretenses are there from the previous CoD, just o maximize absolute profit). This is the definition of milking it dry. By the way this is the same company that owns World of Warcraft, which has been milking the game to the max, and as well as Diablo 3, that butchered that game thanks to REAL MONEY AUCTION HOUSE, which also sucks the money dry out of their players(its a pretty much pay to win type of game, with no real objectives).

    So all and all Black Ops 2 is just a MW3 glorified map pack with different menus, and this is the reason why each year their sales have been going down. People are catching on and tired of paying 3-4 times to play the same game.

    It is just gross what they are doing.
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  27. Jan 4, 2013
    4
    There are a lot of things to like about this game, but the negatives outweigh the positives. Let's start with the positives: the score-streak setup they implement in this game is awesome. In addition to getting kills, you are rewarded for playing the objective and being a team player. I am also glad to see that the support strike package from MW3 and death-streaks are NOT in this game, so no more free stealth bombers and EMPs, and no more last/final stand, second chance, or dead man's hand. The way they have divided up the perks is superb as well, with no single perk being overpowered. Similar to the perks in this game, you will find that the guns are well-balanced also.

    Unfortunately, even with these great features, the online multiplayer experience can be horrible at times. The lag compensation and hit detection in this game are worse than any of the three previous Call of Duty games (MW2, Black Ops 1, and MW3). It can be extremely frustrating to lose a gunfight to someone when, on your screen, you clearly should have come out on top. They have also taken away the ability to tie score-streaks to your custom classes, so if you find yourself struggling to win a gunfight due to lag or any other reason, you are stuck with the 3 score-streaks you chose and cannot switch to lower ones during a match. In addition to having horrible lag compensation and hit detection, the developers have implemented skill-based matchmaking, so even though the game has connection issues, players are not always placed in lobbies with the best ping. Often, players will be placed in games with worse connections in order to go up against players of similar skill level.

    TL;DR: the connection issues in this game have absolutely ruined it. Though they have implemented some nice new features, the online multiplayer experience can be utterly frustrating.
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  28. Dec 9, 2012
    3
    More of the same, now with a futuristic skin. Im done with COD, ive been playing since COD1 and after 6 years of Activision Milking my pocket releasing the exact same game over and over again, i decided to give the franchise a last chance with blackops 2 and i ended up selling my copy. Whats really sad is that i'm not even disappointed, because i wasn't expecting much anyway. I was gonna give it a 2, gave it a 3 because at least is better than **** warfare 3 Expand
  29. Nov 17, 2012
    9
    Well done Treyarch for serving this years dish on a silver platter. Campaign is solid and gives you a reason to play it more than once, multiplayer is better than ever, giving you more choices, from equipment to perks and introducing the new wild cards, and the zombie survival making a stunning return ready to place you back to the edge of your seat. Keep at it and can't wait for more DLC maps for both zombies and multiplayer.
    P.S. Go home trolls. You are drunk.
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  30. Nov 17, 2012
    10
    I see a 4.2 rating with 146 people saying its terrible, but me personally I really like it. I thought the new guns were pretty good and a hour in on campaign it's also really good, multiplayer and the new maps are also really cool but the zombie maps do suck and are small. And trust me it takes so much to please me I barley ever give a 10 rating, I buy just about every new release that's is suppose to be good and I was very disappointed with madden 13, NHL 13, resident evil 6 and even pretty disappointed with assassins creed 3 also because of the slow start so when I played BO 2 I was kinda like about time a good game came out this year, now maybe it's not wat ppl expected I don't know, I think cuz mw3 and blacks ops was so good they expected something amazing but overall I give it a 8-9 on the game itself not wat u expected. Buy some new releases there's been so many terrible games this year it's not funny, I actually feel ripped off after playing certain games there so terrible so when I play a game like this I'm very pleased. Btw I been a COD fan since day one Ive owned and played every COD game from ps1 to Ps3 and I'm not disappointed in BO2 at all I recommend it to any one Expand
  31. Nov 14, 2012
    9
    Tbh, Activision and Treyarch won't care about all the people putting 0/10 on their ratings, they'll be happy that game critics, who aren't just trolling and make the user score as low as possible, like this game. Either way, I will be playing many hours on this game, as will a lot of the people who have put 0/10 on their review, I can guarantee it . This for me is an upgraded, enjoyable futuristic cod with brand new maps, guns and an awesome layout which, unlike what many people are saying, took a lot of effort in to make. Zombies is also sweet, great to see it back, with upgrades! Awesome. Expand
  32. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Once again, we have been fed the same repetitive, outdated, low-tech rubbish Activision feed us every year. During gameplay, we're introduced to a few characters of whom I couldn't care less about as well as the now boring COD:MP. Let this franchise did already Acti.
  33. Nov 14, 2012
    10
    This Game deserves a 9 over 10 but because of all the improper, false, unrealistic, nooby made reviews i hade to give it a 10 to boost the overall all score. Black ops 2 is by far the second best call of duty since Call of duty 4: modern warfare. Single player offers so much as well as the multiplayer. Zombie mode has modes in them which gives it a much more lasting appeal. The game gives so much variety and fun. I undoubtedly recommend this game to any True FPS Fan. This Game Is truly what the fans asked for and Treyarch has given it to us. I was always an infinity ward fan but since West and Zampella left Mw3 sucked and Mw2 was a nice arcade style shooter But To Date COD4 Is still and most probably be The best call of duty in the series (especially on pc cuz of the mods:P) Expand
  34. Nov 17, 2012
    9
    Really was the only CoD game I liked. Black Ops 2 deserves recognition for trying a change. Campaign is badass and multiplayer I actually liked. The zombies is awe, just when I lost hope in CoD Treyarch restored it. I should change my name shouldn't I? Great game. Deserves a 9/10. David Mason is the MAN!
  35. Nov 24, 2012
    6
    How should I put this, Black Ops II is a true sequel to the original but changes what we know and love about the franchise. The campaign has been overhauled, zombies is still zombies and the multiplayer brings some new initiatives that were greatly needed. Its just that overall, Black Ops II does not deliver.
  36. Dec 23, 2012
    9
    This is by far, the best Call Of Duty game since World at War, Black ops 1 was great, MW3 sucked dick but this one is amazing!, great story line and amazing multiplayer and amazing zombies
  37. Dec 27, 2012
    6
    Black ops 2 did what it did to make me enjoy it, but the freezing in zombies just turns me off from it. The game was probably rushed (just like all games now). Some the maps in multiplayer (nuketown 2025 for one) allow people to go prone in spawn and kill you from a distance because you cant see them because of the map layout. I wished that treyarch fixed their game because it unbearable to play on PS3 and just turns me off when im trying to play zombies. The lag in multiplayer doesnt help either, I never had lag in black ops before but this game im shooting their head and no hit makers. it could be lag or either the reticule is off on the gun but it does not please me. I just cant enjoy the game for the state it is in. It allows for no fun and im forced to play a different game after the games freeze because it is irritating. No game should have game breaking bugs when it is released Expand
  38. Feb 19, 2013
    2
    Lag Compensation kills Multiplayer. If you havent heard of it its the framerate/timeframe when your shooting enemies it gives them a chance to kill you even if you have already been shooting them.
  39. Feb 13, 2013
    4
    Campaign is alright but nothing special. Multiplayer is complete garbage, often leaving me in disbelief of how I had just died. Hunter killers? Really? How the hell are we supposed to see that garbage coming? BO1 was good, but this game is complete garbage. Don't waste your time, money, or your longevity of your life (it will raise your blood pressure through the roof).
  40. Mar 3, 2013
    7
    I do like this game, but the only thing keeping it alive is its on line Multiplayer experience. The campaign didn't excite me as such and the zombies well I can say that there is an improvement. Overall the game is not as bad as most people exaggerate.
  41. Apr 9, 2013
    5
    Considering the millions of pounds the Call of Duty franchise brings in every year, i'm really not surprised on how little has changed since the last. The multiplayer is a nice pass time in some areas but you can tell the maps and spawn locations have been rushed resulting in regular outbursts of frustration. The reason i didn't rate this game below five was it has a slightly above average campaign bringing in old favorite's such as ,'Mason, Woods and Reznov' The campaign still feels very linear at times though with piles of cars creating the route or invisible walls. Overall verdict is that it's blatantly obvious that this game has been rushed and i don't see much improvement coming for the next one. Expand
  42. Apr 25, 2013
    5
    "All in all it's just another brick in the wall..."
  43. Dec 8, 2012
    2
    I was expecting some improvement in the multiplayer. Nope. After playing Halo I, thought MW2's multiplayer was bad because of lag. Now I see that MW2 handles the best of the entire COD series. Treyarch/Black Ops has always been worse...from World at War, Black Ops and now Black Ops 2. They've done nothing to improve the way their system handles network lag and hit detection. The game is an exercise in frustration. Time to sell the game and buy a cinder block for me to beat my head against, I'll get a similar level of enjoyment and have $50. Expand
  44. Nov 15, 2012
    0
    I loved World at War, I was addicted to Modern Warfare, I LIVED on MW2, I liked Black Ops, I raised an eyebrow at Modern Warfare 3.....and now I've hit rock-bottom with Black Ops II. Worst of all, I'm ashamed of myself for buying into it. Anyone who says otherwise is in denial; too stubborn to take liability for their stupidity and admit that this game was - in fact - a...complete....waste...of...money! Be that as it may, it'll be the best selling game of next year too, no doubt...and the year after...and so on. All 'coz the people encourage the COD franchise to not lift a finger when, in reality, it could be so much more! Expand
  45. Nov 15, 2012
    9
    Wasn't sure how Black Ops 2 was going to turn out and I almost had decided that I didn't want it. I ended up receiving it as a gift and was hesitant to distract myself from other games I had been playing and try it out. I sat down with it and was very impressed by the storyline, it's as intense and action-packed as Call of Duty games should be and it has ascended to a new peak in story-telling in CoD games with the multiple endings and decision making. There are some things I didn't like a lot, like the strikeforce missions. They were too difficult and I just ended up not playing any of them, but other than that I love the single player and plan to play it again to get the rest of the endings. I just barely scraped multiplayer this morning but it seems to be the same fast-paced frag fest that we all know and love from the CoD series, except with its own revamped spin on things. I love everything about Black Ops 2 so far, and I feel like it's the CoD game we deserved last year instead of Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer's failure. I am still extremely impressed at how Treyarch can continue to surprise and impress me while still using the same old engine they have been. I can't imagine them being able to do so for many more games, though. Anyway, I think Black Ops 2 is a fantastic game even if it's the same formula as it has been for the past few years. I recommend you pick it up if you liked Black Ops 1. Expand
  46. Nov 13, 2012
    5
    The game is good, it's beatiful to see 3 modes in a single game but the maps are too small especially the zombie maps, also there are many bugs in ps3 version and graphics is crappy compared to the 360 version
  47. Nov 21, 2012
    7
    I was pleasantly surprised, most of all with the story. Written by David Goyer, one of the screenwriters of The Dark Knight Rises, it makes a nice change for the laughable cliche-ridden plots of the Modern Warfare games that feels ripped from a Michael Bay movie. With Black Ops II's campaign, the story takes us into the future where the US is heavily reliant on robotic technology to defend themselves. The villain inevitably takes control of the technology and turns it against them, and while this might not seem like a completely original story, the characters and exciting plot moments make up for it. Raul Menendez is a very cool, memorable villain and the soldiers have more personality. There are choices that change the course of the story which are pretty cool, making you more than just a triggerman saving the world. There are challenges now that add longevity to the short campaign. Multiplayer is almost identical to the other Call of Duty games, so don't expect to be enthralled by it if your not already a fan. Tranzit is basically an updated Zombies mode with more objectives than just surviving waves of zombies, making it more fun to play. All in all Call of Duty: Black Ops II is refreshing. Treyarch are trying new things here with what was becoming a very monotonous franchise and making it fun to play again. Despite this, the length of the campaign leaves more to be desired and the multiplayer is largely the same so Black Ops probably won't convert new fans, but it will change the way Call Of Duty games are made and has restored hope for this annualised franchise that was quite frankly outstaying its welcome in my book. Expand
  48. Dec 29, 2012
    0
    do not get this game they keep going on about how they will improve online play but it is just as bad as mw3 in short the people that made this game do not care about what the people think if you want a good fps online shooter go for a game other than black ops two or any other than call of duty
  49. Jan 6, 2013
    2
    I'm going to be honest, do not buy this game unless you pay £10, its good for a tenner but other than that it
  50. Nov 13, 2012
    10
    Don't see why all the hate. If you haven't honestly played it, don't add a bad review to it. Love the new zombie mode and the new gameplay mechanics on multiplayer with the pick ten. Feel like it will be implemented soon in other FPS games.
  51. Nov 15, 2012
    2
    Can't believe I fell for it again... I really thought treyarch would put out a new game with up to date graphics but apparently they're not interested. I think this is a game I would have loved 5 years ago, but not today, not with other fps games that are 10x more graphically advanced.
  52. Jan 2, 2013
    2
    This game gets a 2/10 because is unplayable, why you ask? well 1 simple answer for 1 simple question... LAG! horrible, game breaking LAG! I jump to the COD wagon (MP wise) with MW2, had some fun so decided to buy BO1, because hey the first one was really entertaining so why not this one, so BO1 still a fun game, some LAG issues here and there but my friends were playing it so what the hell, MW3 I wited until the honeymoon ended to see that hooker's real face and it was ugly as hell, so awful I jumped to BF3 and didn't look back, now we had this so called "NEW GAME" and F*CK is as awful as the other ones. You can think anything you want, but truth be told I gave that abomination a chance, and had the worst day playing of my life, I started to scream at the TV so loud the neighbors thought I was killing someone. finally that same day I played Zombies for a change and got disconnected 2 times just a couple of minutes after entering into the lobby, the third time I finally got a party to play with and played for about 20 mins, you know why I didn't continue playing after that? because it disconnected me again, because the HOST LEFT! that's right NO DEDICATED SERVERS! So no COD for me EVER AGAIN! I'm glad I borrowed from a friend and not bought it like the rest. No SP review here just played like 40 min of it and decided that doing anything else was more worthwhile, like taking a nap or cutting my toe nails. Expand
  53. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    The game doesn't improve on its predecessor at all, the singleplayer campaign is short and just casual friendly, the multpiplayer doesn't reward the players for their skill, instead it promotest a mindless frag race without any teamwork whatsoever. Just avoid this game and save your money for something better.
  54. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    The game doesn't improve on its previous game at all, singleplayer is short and just disappointing, the multpiplayer doesn't reward player skill at all, it's just a mindless frag chase and noob-tubing without any support for team work whatsoever. This game is a complete waste of money.
  55. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Спят усталые геймпады, кинцо спит,
    Под подушкой сонибоя пиэстри,
    Т
    олько фану вот не спится,
    Ему дрейк в бельишке снится.

    Глазки закрывай,
    Мыло смывай.

    Сонибою нынче грустно, игр нет.
    Просто PS3 SOSNOLEY - вот ответ.
    За кинцо отдал две триста.
    Перестал быть оптимистом.

    Баттхерт усмиряй.
    Баю-бай.

    С дрейком можно подружиться,
    Если ты совсем тупица.

    Плойку выключай.
    Баю-бай.

    Он кинцо тебе покажет,
    Мылом глазки он помажет.

    Плойку выключай.
    Баю-бай.
    Expand
  56. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    same engine. same graphics..animation..... Only reskin which is different. Better story than last but it's still very boring and repetitive. I would not recommend this game to anyone. ALSO it's full of 12 year olds playing this game.
  57. Nov 13, 2012
    10
    Don't listen to the haters, this is definitely the best COD game. Treyarch has done an amazing job! Don't listen to the haters, give it a rent and try it out you'll love it!
  58. Nov 13, 2012
    8
    Another Year, another call of duty and another boat load of whiney people. When you play call of duty, you should know what your getting into. Yes the game plays just like previous versions but there are tons of small improvements that make the game better than previous versions such as color, sounds, lobby connections and even custom classes. People who judge the game for using the same engine obviously are not real gamers. Gamers do not care about grapgics, yes its a nice touch but overall its not that important, I still see people playing NES games in this day of age, and we all know how terrible 8 bit games look, give your head a shake people, graphics is not the importance of all games. The fact that this series gets trolled because of repeation, I am sorry but there are very few games that stand out . There is always a game that you can compare to another game for rip offs. Besides, mario games and zelda games tend to be the same almost every time a new one is released but those continue to recieve 9 or 10 from critics and fans. if you enjoy a series, enjoy it. Dont bash them because you "Feel" That its the same game, trust me, I have eyes and can clearly see the amount of changes this game has to offer. This cod is already better then any other cods I have played, mostly because of the lack of online issues and overall smoothness of the menus. There in all honesty would have been nothing that could have been done to make these Trollers happy. Black ops 2 is a big step from the crap that was mw3. If anyone who was actually a cod fan, they knew what they were getting into. Giving this game a 0 is basically riding the troll train to loser ville. Stop bashing a game that is actually a decent time to play, dont like it? Give valid reasons instead of repeating the same thing over the last 4 games. No one seems to complain that there is a new NFL, NHL or FIFA game. Talk about using the same engine in a game yet no one bashes it. The verdict is that cod is the cool thing to troll so whatever. If you want a honest opinion from someone who has been gaming since 3 years of age . This game is good and doesnt deserve the amount of **** it gets on this site. Expand
  59. Nov 14, 2012
    0
    I feel it important to say first and foremost that i have never enjoyed the multiplayer of COD. The spawning is stupid, the fighting erratic and importantly the variety non existent. What mildly intelligent person actually cares about the relentless barrage of trophies and medals which remain as completely useless mementos locked away in the dark quarters of your console. Receiving a trophy does not make a game fun. Playing the game should be all the fun needed. COD is not fun. I started up the single player campaign to be blown away by the complete lack of 3D during cinematics. To clarify i have just finished AC3 in 3D and the 3D was awesome, the game, so so. Then the game finally started, thought id get my kill on. Instead i was left feeling sick by the poorly programmed 3D in the game. OK, i'll play without 3D then (dissapointing since 3D games are few and far between). I thought maybe i would stop feeling sick now. I was wrong. The urge to bring up breakfast, lunch and possibly dinner from the night before was simply to great. You see i am a sympathetic vomiter, i see vomit, i vomit. What was being served up on my beautiful 1080P 63" 3D TV was indeed vomit. The graphics are worse than bad. I can hear all you braindead fanboys now, "it runs at 60fps...how can it be bad when so many people buy it?..." Well first of all, in case you hadnt noticed, nobody cares about 60fps, as long as it can hold a steady frame rate of say 30fps and not stutter it is perfectly acceptable even imperceptible, ie BF3 which incidentally craps all over CODBO1 & 2. "Why do so many people buy it?" Easy. People are idiots! One need only walk down the street and witness a slew of teenage boys wearing their little sisters jeans with hair that must having taken all morning to style to understand this. More evidence you ask. Look at those that sit atop society in any region of the world, they are always a minority, why you ask again. Because people are overwhelmingly idiots. Back to COD. I am not a hater, honestly i want all games to be fun. I've been gaming for like 25 years, i do not discriminate. So where did my CODBO2 story end?? I was so disillusioned with gaming after just 10 mins of CODBO2 ( I know your thinking, "well you didn't even play it, you missed the options and story line blah blah blah zombies blah blah") I didn't and wont miss anything. If i want to be bored and have options that lead to different endings i'll read one of my old chose your own adventure novels. If i want zombies I'll watch The Walking Dead (which is awesome BTW). So... I digress. After attempting to play and ending up heaving in the toilet i was depressed. I thought to myself i cant wait until the end of the month for Far Cry 3 or more importantly the end of the year for more expansions for BF3. I need to have my new found hatred of games quashed. Now i must tell you that i have never owned an XBOX always PC games and Playstations. I did the only thing i could. I bought a XBOX and Halo 4 and whilst is very far from the greatest game ive played, it has all but erased the sour taste left by CODBO2. Shame on you Treyarch for dishing up such a pile of steaming hot turd when you have the resources and fan base to do something truly revolutionary. Shame on you, you masses of idiots out there who will buy and love this game for no apparent reason other than you liked the one before it and before that and so on. Shame on you professional critics for giving this game such a high score. I have never posted anything online before, not a blog, not a tweet nothing. This game has brought out the entitled **** in me that so many of you had embraced so long ago. I feel that what i have to say is important enough that the world need access it. Shame on you CODBO2 for making me an internet posting geek who thinks that people care what i have to say. Please stop buying this dribble. Please start thinking for yourselves. I gave it a zero because im sure i played this already...in the '80's. Expand
  60. Nov 14, 2012
    9
    Ok. If you all hate Call Of Duty so much why do you by the frickin game then. It's a brilliant new direction for the series and if you hate it then don't play it. Its fun and exciting.It is the best COD to date
  61. Nov 16, 2012
    8
    Listen...if you actually played this game before reviewing it, you know that's it's either really good or just not your style of FPS. If you're a whiny little crybaby or a hardcore BF3 fanboy, then you already gave this game a 0 because you just hate Call Of Duty. Good single player, great multiplayer, EXCELLENT ZOMBIES MODE! Fans of fun, fast paced shooting games should pick this one up. And the haters? Keep on hating! Your inane reviews are a great source of entertainment. Answer the Call of Duty my friends! Expand
  62. Nov 18, 2012
    2
    I bought this game hoping it would impress me but I had a other feeling that I new it was going to be like the first one. The zombies is OK but i don't get the storyline. Also they jumped the gun all the way to 2025.
    Thats a little far fetched to me. What im trying to say is it is the same thing every year. I will be honest I don't think call of duty is going to last much longer. I'm n
    ot impressed by this game and I got caught in there scam of the same thing every year. Expand
  63. Nov 29, 2012
    6
    Game is same as black opps 1, NO MAJOR CHANGES, i think the only thing that makes me ok with it, is the zombie play, other than that its a waste of a disc and your better off with black opps 1
  64. Nov 30, 2012
    2
    WARNING! SAME OLE GARBAGE! I bought black ops 2 hardened edition, damn did I waste my money. Returned within a week and picked up Far Cry 3 which is exceptionally AMAZING!!! Yes there are new weapons, so what? that doesn't make up for the lack of creativity. Most of the time, it felt like the game was playing itself. It's ok when CoD uses quicktime events but Medal of Honor can't. Clearly the reviews were biased toward CoD. The graphics on zombies for PS3, are terrible! to say the least. The campaign looks better, the story is interesting but the game play has no imagination. It linear in every way possible. You'll have options in 2 to 3 missions but the rest just plays out how the developer planned it. Expand
  65. Dec 4, 2012
    9
    Personally I am loving this new Call of duty. I am not going to review this COD on its history but for what it actually is. The campaign was all out spectacular and really isn't like other call of duties because if a certain character dies, it doesn't matter, you just keep going. It gets people wanting to go back to singleplayer to see different endings. Multiplayer is new with its "pick 10" system which revolutionises the new create-a-class system. Diving is back but I found it useful in hardly many situations. Almost all the maps are balanced and suited for each gamemode and run-and-gun won't always work. There is an issue with crashing but that's probably just me playing 3 straight hours. And finally zombies. Zombies for me treyarch worked hard in this one, adding the new "Grief" 4v4 gamemode, and the "TranZit" gamemode, it's all perfected with the TranZit characters comical attitude, it makes the perfect comical stress relief from multiplayer. All together there is just so much to do in Black ops 2 that it suprises me this is even a Call of Duty game. Expand
  66. Jan 12, 2013
    7
    Well, I'm giving this 7. Why? Because the singleplayer is good in everything, including storyline. The multiplayer isn't unbalanced at all, you can't say it because you don't know how hard it should be to create a Shooter and balance its weapons in the first day. Treyarch is sending patches and they're working. But it's more of the old COD style, just from COD4, they can't make anything really look like different in this game. I liked 85% of the maps, like Standoff and Carrier. People don't camp in this game AS THEY USED TO in MW3 or even in MW2. But Zombie mode is fantastic. If you find a good lobby on Tranzit, you will LOVE it. Survival really disappointed me. That's why. More than the enough. Expand
  67. Jan 15, 2013
    2
    Don't get me wrong it's playable, but this game just is not worth 89 dollars. The campaign still has the same problems as the last games, full of action movie cliches, boring set pieces and forgettable characters. The only real reason to buy this game would be if you had friends that play it online, even though the fanbase is full of mic spamming underage kidss. But that reason alone does not make it worth 89 dollars, or 160 if you get the season pass. Do not buy this game if you do not have friends that play it or you do not have a good online connection. Expand
  68. Jan 22, 2013
    9
    So,I definitely like this game.The campaign is awesome,multiplayer is really balanced,there's no SUPREME WEAPON(S).I'm not a rally big fan of zombies,but I think that's good too.I give this game a 9 because of the moments when i join games in multiplayer where a team is dominating and the other team is just...3-20...
  69. Jan 28, 2013
    3
    First of all, i must say that i had all the call of duty's so far, and i never gave a damn about single player, i always play the multiplayer for the online experience!!! i bought this game since day one but i couldn't play it for 2 days because it couldn't CONNECT to the online services! Great work treyarch, thank you! Only chuck norris was online those days! When the miracle happend and i connected thankfully i noticed some things that i didn't like! The knife didn't work properly like the other call of duty's, a lot of lagging, a GLINCH that give noobs access to master all the prestiges, which is inacceptable and the guns especially the smg's are super weapons, they can hit you from miles away! Ok i said, its a new game these problems will be fixed in a future update and it will work properly! There were a lots of updates since then but nothing was fixed, it getting even worst and worst! Not to mention that i have see the famous message ''call of duty : black ops 2 server is not available at this time'' every time there is double xp! So imagine how many times i couldn't play the game since its release! Just imagine! Don't fix treyarch any problem of the game, don't fix the servers, don't fix anything,just release a dlc and make it worst! Great idea! i'm wondering though, the new gun in dlc, the smg, who's smg is gonna be? Kratos smg? John Rambo's smg? Treyarch, this was the last time i bought a game with your name on, i would never gonna buy again! And i know that you don;t care about one customer, but please, don't dissolve the series! You are losing the average players! FIX THE SERVERS! Expand
  70. Feb 1, 2013
    1
    Since COD4 I have been complaining about all the COD's I have bought. However, no matter how much I complained, these games were all still playable. This is the first COD that I can't enjoy. The only fun part for me was Tranzit. Yet, once you figure it out and have to kill yourself to end the game it is rather boring. I thought maybe setting a goal like getting to the final prestige or getting diamond weapons would make it more fun. Unfortunately, a bunch of little kids hacked the game to get all these and Treyarch did nothing about it. So....waste of 60 bucks Expand
  71. Feb 23, 2013
    10
    Let tthe haters hate, cause probably they are all noobs. I love this game, its addictive BUT quickscoping isnt as fun anymore. And host migrations damn it.
  72. Mar 28, 2013
    0
    I am giving this game a zero because multiplayer is unplayable due to lag comp and matchmaking issues at least 80% of the time. People with decent internet are penalized by their horrible lag comp coding. Most of the time what you see in the killcam is not what you saw on your screen. In this game you shoot first and die first. The players are not in sync. Almost every game there is someone running around with one or two bar connection who is indestructible and posting a ridiculous score. Map design is horrible and there are serious flaws in the spawn system. Most maps are tailor made for spawn killing and other cheap tactics. The dlc maps weren't any better. I don't know why I keep giving Activision my money. Every game since MW2 has gotten progressively worse. This one is definitely the worst with lag and hit detection. The community on this game is equally horrible and consists mainly of foul mouthed 8-12 year olds. I don't know what kind of stupid parent would buy their preteen this game and a mic. Treyarch has been nonresponsive when it comes to complaints about the game and has done nothing to fix the issues. Since release this game has caused the ps3 to freeze periodically during gameplay and there is an annoying sound glitch. We continue to have these problems (among others) after several patches. There is also the issue of probation. If you quit too many matches you get a five minute timeout before you can join a game and I think these can add/stack up. After a game session were this shoddy game caused my system to freeze 3 times I received a probation. I don't quit games, but Treyarch wants to take punitive action against me because their lousy game decides to take a dump.
    I made the mistake of buying the first dlc pack, but I won't be buying any more for this game. If you haven't purchased this game do yourself a favor and stay away.
    Expand
  73. Mar 29, 2013
    8
    As a newer fan of the COD series, I am not really in tune with this series so I don't know a lot about it. But what I will say is that it could be a lot worse here people, it could. I have no complaints with the campaign or with zombies, but the problem is really with the multiplayer. I have had several instances were I was in the middle of a game and wound up losing connection and getting kicked out of games. Another problem I have with it is that I would try to join a friend and could rarely join them in a lobby(if at all!) and would have to have them leave the lobby and then join them. Overall, I give it an 8/10 because it has problems with the multiplayer but it could be much, much, worse. Expand
  74. Apr 8, 2013
    3
    It seems Activision is still trying to milk the COD franchise sending out another piece of poo in the form of Black Ops 2 which is again only slightly different from past games.

    The single player is pure boredom. Spending hours on end shooting without anything to bring some flavour to this bland generic shoot is both repetitive and tedious, coupled with a narrative taken from a low budg
    et action flick a half-arsed choice system and a main character who I would rather was mute makes a single player experience that should go in the bargain bin.

    The most celebrated part of this game is however the multiplayer. I will say the multiplayer is solid and balanced, but very boring and buggy. You would think after COD's expansive history of games there would be more weapons than the measly roster.

    Do not buy this game!!!!
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  75. Nov 14, 2012
    0
    I will give this a 0 just because i cant put it in minus figures biggest pile of rubbish ive ever played and i didnt think things could get any worse than mw3
  76. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Singleplayer: short, very predictable, has no interesting plot what so ever. Multiplayer & zombies: Same as former CoD's. A new UI, some new weapons and perks and voila, Activision got herself a brand new game!
  77. Nov 30, 2012
    7
    This was a classic case of "damned if you do damned if you don't" for treyarch. the cod series has needed a change for a while now, but if you change it too much you anger your core fan base and lose money. Black Ops II does a good but not great job at finding the middle between these two. Though it is nice to be able to create your own class in the campaign often times if you are playing on a harder difficulty it adds an annoying additional challenge if you dont use the gun or sight that the game recommends. it is also very cool that there are a couple decisions that you make that can mildly change the outcome of the ending. other than these it's just your typical run n gun cod campaign. the multiplayer is the most dissapointing thing about this game in my opinion, mostly because activison/treyarch obviously ignored the backlash they got from lag compensation in MW3 as it had made a return and its very frustrating. as far as gameplay i feel they made the game far to friendly to people who use SMG's/ shotguns (even though it benefits my play style) because of how the maps are designed. there seems to be many ways to get into every window/building and this hurts objective based game players because there is NO way to really controll the map/spawns. that's not to say there aren't good things about multiplayer. the new points system for create a class allows for players to play much better to their playstyle. but mainly the spawns and lag need to be fixed before i can say the multiplayer is good. now the two reasons this game gets a 7/10 from me is 1. because im trying to balance the score more from the butthurt battlefield fanboys that come on here and give the game a 0/10 without even playing it, and the morons who give the game a 0/10 because "it's the same thing every year!" even though you have the option to look at gameplay before you buy the game (shocking right?), or you could use your brain and realize that the game is a SERIES and its not going to have a groundbreaking change when each one has to be developed in less than 2 years time.

    And 2. the zombies mode is absoloutly amazing. if you are a fan of zombies this game is worth the $60. if you aren't a fan of zombies and are buying the game only for the multiplayer my opinion is to stay away. at least untill the lag/spawns get fixed (but don't hold your breath on that).
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  78. Nov 13, 2012
    7
    In my modest opinion, this game is a big meh. Graphics are pretty bad if we take as a reference some other games as Battlefield 3 or Uncharted. Enemy IA is as bad as usual. The campaign, as far as I've played it, looks a bit forced an unbeliveable, bringing back characters just because they felt like doing it, but this may be as well due to the huge dissapointment that the graphics provoqued on me. Seriously. They are unworthy for a late 2012 game. But there are some features that I liked: the option to change the equalizer is interesting, and also, at least in Spanish version, the sound has been greatly improved since BO (where it was terrible, with big changes of volume between cinematics and gameplay and even missing cinematic sounds). I enjoyed, too, being able to choose my pickup before some missions, making it more customizable than previous CoD games.

    Obviously the strong point of the game is the multiplayer. But the multiplayer is very similar to the BO1 multiplayer. I felt like there were no innovation, excepting the killstreaks, which are pretty cool, and the way to get them (instead of a certain number of kills, you have to get a certain amount of points. For example, if you make more headshots, you will have the streaks faster). I really liked this feature, since it feels a bit innovative and easier but not too easy.

    The maps, despite of the graphics (altough in multiplayer I understand a non-greatness in this aspect) and since I always praise post-apocalyptic dystopian scenarios, are amusing, beautiful and well designed. The spawns are OK, much better than in MW3.

    The weapons are a mix between BO1 and MW3; different names but identical functionality and usage. There aren't very OP weapons, but they insist to maintain the akimbos in some weapons. The sound of the weapons is, as the spawn, OK but much better than in MW3, and they look good.

    In the aspect of customization, it is a stereotypical MW, but with some differences which make it feels refreshed. For example, you can customize a class with 10 "objects" at most. "objects" include weapons, weapon sights, grenades and perks like marathon and stuff.

    They kept the cinema mode. This is just great if you want to watch and edit videos, a really good feature as it was on BO1.

    TL;DR: A good game; not innovative in some aspects but it tries to refresh the way you play, pretty **** graphics and a meh campaign. 7/10 and not worth 65
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  79. Nov 17, 2012
    9
    Only problem is that the graphics are bad in the PS3 version, no anti-aliasing, little blurry. But the game is cool, best COD. I like the new weapons and the new style.
  80. Nov 13, 2012
    5
    So I bought the game, hoping it'd be better than the last CoD I bought (MW2). A bit disappointed.

    Started playing the campaign, and what I found was an interactive movie. Gameplay is easy even on the higher difficulties where you'll only die if you think yourself Rambo and start running and gunning. The story is decent. The scripting was OK, and overall the sequences felt well played ou
    t. If you want a cinematic experience, you'll get one. If you want something more, such as gameplay and replay value... this may not be your game.

    Multiplayer is the same as always, with some added stuff. It's enjoyable as long as you turn off voices or can bear being screamed at by the frequent twelve year old.
    Zombies are always a fun addition.

    Overall I don't think the game is bad, but it's nothing great either. A mediocre game in my opinion.
    And seriously : update your graphics engine, the game is starting to feel old.
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  81. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    I've been a loyal COD fan since inception. I was the Sargent for Halloween and I ordered custom bed sheets that replicate my favorite maps. COD is so close to my heart and this BO2 is so terrible i feel sexually violated. After playing level 1 i had the feeling of one who has just taking a dump after getting out of the shower. Level 2 gave the the feeling of the time i slept with that busted indian chick. I did find good use for the game - when i am watching porn and my mom comes in i nail the input key and switch to COD. Because that would explain my hard on, but only because the old CODs gave me a hard on. The only way for us as gamers to fight this tyranny is to short activision stock. I am not a financial person but its silly to believe that Activision is valued at a near market multiple with a declining franchise. i am going to take my college money and buy activision puts, here we come Wharton. Expand
  82. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    BO2 is somewhere between famine and war as the worst things ever. I am a janitor, and was beyond excited to take a COD holiday from work - I clean pee and poop for a living and I don
  83. Nov 13, 2012
    0
    I hated the last COD, I thought it was a boring turd but when I saw Robert Downey Jr. in the commercial for BOII, I had to get it. I mean, if Bob says there's a soldier in all of us, there must be. Well bob was wrong, never have a felt so betrayed. This game is a bigger turd than the last one. The graphics blow (are we in 2005 people?), the story is played out and I'm convinced I spent the night playing against a bunch of 11 year olds - how can you feel good about beating kids whose balls haven't dropped? This is the same old **** just a different day. Expand
  84. Nov 13, 2012
    10
    This game is actually amazing. Trust me when I say this isn't the same game and actually deserves the 10/10 I gave it. Seriously buy this game. The campaign is amazing, the zombies is ridiculous and the multiplayer is the most balanced one yet.
  85. Nov 14, 2012
    2
    Another mindless abomination of a 'game' that makes no improvements in gameplay over any other FPS game. I don't understand how people still put up with having to buy the next iteration of CoD to be able to have a large playerbase each and every year for the same premium price. I've played through the single player as well as multiplayer and there is nothing noticeably different at all as well as the most cliched storyline that could possibly be produced. Don't buy this game. Expand
  86. Nov 14, 2012
    5
    Better than MW3 but still a mess. The campaign is somewhat decent and the create a class system is a breath of fresh air however it's all for naught as they have made aiming down the sight pointless. SMG weapons now have a huge accuracy making all other weapons obsolete and ruining any fun to be had. The maps had potential but where ruined by placement of barrels and random cover near doorways and alleys to make sure that camping is encouraged. The only thing worse than the game is it's community who are presently "Learning the maps" by hiding behind every doorway and wall with an SMG to smite you down with an instant kill. The game is having a lot of connection problems on PS3, it's community are cancer and the game is generally broken. I suggest waiting until the masses trade it back in as they do every year to get it cheaper. This game is worth £20. Expand
  87. Nov 14, 2012
    9
    For starters, if people hate Call of Duty (COD), why buy it, hate it (shocker), and moan? There's so much negativity in here based on un-objective reviewers, it's tough to find credible reviews. Does COD re-invent itself every release? No. If it did, wouldn't it be something we didn't want to begin with? Remember not so long ago, Medal of Honour (MOH) was the standard for war-based first-person shooters, according to many. I happen to agree. Now look how the tide has turned. MOH hasn't kept up and it's no surprise COD owns the market. I for one, know what to expect from the COD franchise. You know what? Not much of what I expect has changed. I like that. I know COD titles will always entertain me to the max, and immerse me in an epic adventure with tonnes of things to blow up, shoot, fly, obliterate, etc. In so many ways, a healthy form of stress relief if taken in small enough doses. So for all the haters out there, step back and ask yourself if you're really reviewing the game at hand, or are you venting because COD isn't (and won't ever be) HALO, Assassins Creed or Batman? Happy COD everybody and remember - it's a game, so ease off in multiplayer online if someone half your age is ten times better than you'll ever be. TIp your hat and move on. Have fun, and enjoy the new COD everyone! Collapse
  88. Nov 14, 2012
    1
    The game is annoying for me. Every time I start a game I keep getting asked to confirm the settings for brightness, volume and screen resolution. I keep getting kicked from the match due to connection and then Im given a 5 mins probation time out. Right now I get a server error when i try to search for a public match. I really hate these BO games and I cant wait for MW4 now.
  89. Nov 14, 2012
    8
    This is exactly what i was expecting, Nice Zombies, typical MP, and decent Single player. If you people that rates zero want something other than this run and gun arcade shooter, then play battlefield, you all got what you wanted and changed this game into what it is, blame yourselves not the producer.
  90. Nov 15, 2012
    0
    One of the worst launches of all the CODS. Server lag is horrendous, That is, if you can even join a game, many reporting connection issues, freezes, and lock-ups. PS3 version not on-par w/ the Xbox version, and it seems that many issues in-game are due to trey-arc's preference to the microsoft console over PS3, once again. Graphics, even though touted as 1080p (once again) barely pass as up-scaled 720 from the xbox. Expand
  91. Nov 15, 2012
    6
    While not perfect, CoD: Blops 2 is a good improvement over CoD:MW3, but it suffers from the same mistakes the developers have made these past 6 years. Which is kind of saddening if you think about it. The singleplayer is decent and offer some little additions in comparison to the previous installments. But in the end it's still the short and forgettable rollercoaster ride you'd expect from a COD game. The graphics show little improvement and the engine really starts to feel old, even if Treyarch really tries to stretch it. The series is really getting behind on this aspect, especially compared to last year's BF3.
    The zombies mode features some nice new modes and will keep co-op lovers busy for a while, but I would have loved to see more than 3 maps in the retail game. And finally we arrive at the most important part of the game: the multiplayer. The mp gets a small overhaul with a new menu-UI and the 10-point system (which we also saw in the excellent M.A.G.). The maps look nice, with a lot of variety. All the classic Blops mp modes are back and the game offer some great features for competitive play. But in the end it remains the run-and-shoot game, with little teamwork and the same annoyances in casual games we've seen since MW2. I find it also baffling that Activision still doesn't offer us dedicated servers, resulting in lag, disconnections, connection errors, host migrations,... Let's hope we"ll see some improvements in the future, but the past has learned me to have little confidence in Activision.
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  92. Nov 15, 2012
    4
    Where to start....first of all I have played all the CoD games including the MW series. I still own all of them as I tend to keep "memorabilia". Have not played BO1 as a friend gave me his review and I decided not to try it out. This time though, coming from the disappointed experience (for me) of the latest Medal of Honor I was in desperate need of a new FPS also considering that less and less people are playing MW3 online.
    Anyway I went and bought BO2 and this is what I think:
    1) Single: personally I don't mind the jumping back and forth in time as I don't know the characters hence for me it is all new. I can understand people who have played the first BO not liking it. Difficulties are not too high and I would have liked a little less "help" witht he aiming, lots of time I found myself missing a shot on purpose just to see my enemy drop dead.
    2) Multiplayer: well for my taste not good as it goes against everything I like in a FPS game, meaning "think before you act". This game is a sheer quick run and shoot. Maps are pretty small and it gives also lots of (too many) opportunities for people to just camp (that is what most annoyed me in MoH).
    3) Overall Game: a) Graphics: personally they do look bad and dated. I mean after playing Battlefield 3 the bar has been set really high (another reason why I dislike MoH which even though uses the same engine as BF3 it been tuned down multiple notches). b) Sound: simple awful. I mean the "puff" the guns make when shooting is to my ears light year away from the sound of guns. And what about the comments you hear your character make when for instance you kill someone? Really? Who talks like that and why would you do that? Just a way to boost the ego of the player.
    c) Approach: in 2012 almost 2013 I would like to see more logic applied behind how things work. Starting from how guns respond when firing (e.g. sway). This is where MoH has done a good job even though they manage to mess it up in the single player going a bit too extreme. Also how the environment responds to bullets and explosion could be done better. Besides the usual vehicle blow up, windows smashing and plywood cracking there is little else.
    Final Comments: for me this game is ok to play if you can miss the 60 Euros (live in a Euro country) otherwise if you are torn between 2 games and you only got 60 euros I would say don't buy BO2.
    If the both franchises behind the COD title don't come up with serious changes in the game I don't think I will buy the next chapter. It's been a nice game but now the frustration I get out of it is greater than the pleasure.
    Whishes: my next FPS should be something like BF3 in terms of graphics and "logics" but without all those vehicles. Just keep it to a "foot" game and you will make me really really happy.
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  93. Nov 15, 2012
    8
    Black Ops II is exactly what everyone expects from Call of Duty. The action is fast, and smooth. Retaining the 60fps frame rate in multiplayer is what CoD is all about. The campaign isn't great, but the multiplayer is solid.
  94. Nov 16, 2012
    0
    Multiplayer is amusing at best. It has brought some new perk selection that offers at least the flexibility to do what you like (to an extent).

    Not played zombies or singlplayer. The engine feels very very dated. MW3 is ok but this is just Meh...

    Avoid
  95. Nov 16, 2012
    10
    ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГО057;ПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!!ГОСПОДИ 10 ИЗ 10 !!!! Expand
  96. Nov 16, 2012
    2
    Poor linear offering, with nothing new to offer and tired format, what new additions there are only detract from the experience, going to trade fro Farcry 3, never again
  97. Nov 16, 2012
    3
    This review is based on Multiplayer. In my experience, I played League, Core, Hardcore, and the Nuketown playlist along with one of the party games. I noticed that the more I try to think and deliberate with decision making in the game, my success rate goes down in a match. I had more success when I was paying attention to videos on my laptop and habitually moving the analog sticks and pulling trigger buttons lazily. In my opinion, this the equivalent to what's known as a "button-masher" in the fighting or beat-em-up genre (sometimes even 3rd person action adventure). It's fun with friends, but it is not very challenging to a someone who wants to approach a game with an independent mind. The guns might as well shoot out laser beams or magic spells because their is virtually no recoil. I mostly used the Skorpion EVO, m7, MTA, SCAR H, and Chicom CQB. In my opinion, the gunplay lacks the personality that MW3 had, but I did not put as many hours in BO2 as MW3. It is just my impressions. Last night I found myself playing the game I really felt disgusted and disappointed with the experience I was having. It did not provide any sense of accomplishment in gaining kills. I didn't feel as if I had earned success because of any ability that I possessed. The series seems to have changed from a game of survival (COD4 & WOW) to an arcade party (MW2) to, now, a digital playground of chaos and disruption. I mean, when you look at the game screen sometimes, you must ask yourself, "what is this really that is taking place place in front of me?" Is it entertainment or amusement or simply an unorganized mess?" That is referring to what appears on screen, not necessarily mechanics. The graphics have been polished and look a little more high-def compared to last year's MW3, but honestly, the characters and bright colors on the map are not very pleasing to the eye. I had a problem with some of BF3's dry-looking, stale, gray maps for console, but this is not the remedy. It's no wonder why they do live-action commercials with actors. I just want to suggest to people who play the game or are interested in playing it, what is it that you actually value in your gaming experience? Do you really find those values in this game? I think the direction that treyarch took was to streamline, and organize the arcade madness that took place in previous titles in the series and squeeze it into a mechanical series of outrageous battles, but it backfired on them, making this an all out boring, sequence of fast-paced animations and magical guns. I'm sorry if I offended any gamers on here, but I don't consider myself a gamer. I'm just looking for a good experience on a console and I did not find it here. Expand
  98. Nov 17, 2012
    0
    How did this game above 0? Again, Activision making millions on glitchy game. Everyone who owns a fat ps3 or slim has random freezes or auto shut down. Several of those received the ylod because of it. Activision is ruining the gaming industry. It is no longer about fun. It's about keeping people addicted through skinner box/dopamine and annually making millions.
  99. Nov 17, 2012
    1
    I am terribly disapointed in Trearch, Activision, and Sony for allowing a game that is this broken to be released on the PS3. There are numerous problems with textures, match making, and lag. However, the crowning achievement is the fact that many players can't even play any game mode for more than ten minutes without their system crashing. The fact that this game was certified for sale is absurd and borderline criminal. I can only hope that the FTC does something to stop companies like Activision and Bethesda from releasing unfinished games in the future. Expand
  100. Nov 18, 2012
    0
    Game released for PS3 crashes locally or online after 2 rounds of zombies or multiplayer. The patches have not fixed the issues for me (as of 1.03). This will be the last COD I buy, and I'm looking to return/sell my copy now.
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Jan 12, 2013
    80
    One of the most complete, albeit shaky, packages the series has ever seen. [Issue#226, p.68]
  2. Jan 3, 2013
    90
    While the campaign length is fairly standard of past iterations of the series, it's worth multiple playthroughs and the multiplayer offers endless hours of fun and enjoyment; whether it's slaying zombies or facing off against other players in a wide range of multiplayer modes with an endless number of loadout combinations.
  3. Dec 23, 2012
    78
    Worth checking out for online and the sci-fi novelty value alone. [Jan 2013, p.95]