BLACK OPS 2 ZOMBIES ONLY REVIEW. Having played World at War and Black Ops 1, I can say that the zombies mode in this game has definitely lost its touch. Sure, it's improved in the sense that there are now more modes: TranZit - where you travel between the different maps via a bus - and Grief - a competitive game mode where two teams compete for score, but still killing zombies. The maps aren't great either. Sure, they're designed around the TranZit mode but that is mainly, from my perspective, for little kids that want to over-complicate a simple mini-game. The classic style zombies is still present though. The three areas for the survival mode each have different resources. The first area, for example, just has a mystery box and 4 wall weapons, like the original Nacht der Untoten. It should also be noted that one can now change the starting round, whether there are dogs and whether it's headshots only, as well as the option to turn down the difficulty. Despite these additions, the actual fun has declined. You kill over 200 zombies before you even get to double figures on the round counter, yet there is little satisfaction. The weapons aren't satisfying to use due to the lack of recoil perhaps. Or maybe the zombies don't die as quickly. Whatever it is, something is definitely missing. In my opinion, Shi No Numa, Der Riese and Kino der Toten had the perfect balance between complexity of the map and complexity of progression. Everything was simple. You didn't have to go through a million different rituals and easter eggs just to upgrade a gun or even access the mystery box. Yet, they weren't too simple where there was no scope for strategy or variation. In Black Ops II, the problem is that it's gone too far yet again, just like the DLC maps for Black ops 1.
//TLDR; if you're buying Black Ops 2 for the zombies, be aware that it's nowhere near as fun as World at War and the focus has been shifted away from zombies being a mini-game towards it being a more complete horde mode; which falls short of even Modern Warfare 3 or Gears of War 3's survival modes.… Expand

It's not bad but the Over-popular and overrated Black oops 2 doesn't give the entertainment awesome video games need. Fans(or should I say lunatics) will not be pleased.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First off the mark, this is still very much a Call Of Duty game through and through. With each year that passes each release of this annual franchise exceeds the overwhelming (and frightening) gross of its predecessor, does this mean it is we, the users who are to blame for the repetitiveness? No, not quite. This is a beautiful cash cow for the suits over at Activision, a safe haven for a guaranteed payday once November rolls around. But I think this time, like the first Black Ops instalment, Treyarch are attempting to maybe not rock, but gently cradle the boat in changing this franchise.
I had an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the first Black Ops instalment, but the complete opposite to Infinity Ward/Sledgehammers year old Modern Warfare 3. Black Ops changed the narrative of the other entries into this franchise, not so much hell bent on killing everything in sight but actually creating a story, and a captivating one at that, one which has continued into Black Ops II. Decision making has made a welcome debut (correct me if needed) to this franchise.
The campaign, albeit a medicare 8 hours, was thoroughly captivating from the beginning. We are re-introduced to the originals of Mason, Woods and Hudson and their search and capture of the the terrorist threat known as Menendez. this mostly happens through a very old Woods re-telling the story to David Mason, Alex Masons son, in the futuristic 2025. Without delving too far into the backbone of the story, there is a sense of despair on both sides of this campaign, Menendez is a truly troubled individual with a tragic past, an antagonist that can be very relatable unlike previous entries, this game, in my opinion doesnt rely on their groundbreaking cinematics for cheap thrills (the little girl in London, really?) but to show the emotion in these characters who we have now known for two instalments. The decisions to be made in this game truly are difficult as we, the players know that this will indeed have a tremendous impact on the remainder of our play through.
These are by no means massive overhauls to this ageing franchise but they are indeed steps in the correct direction. The multiplayer has introduced several different elements to coax new players in, gone are the killstreak days which have been replaced with "scorestreaks". The maps are significantly better than those of MW3, they're not as crowded, and respawn, for now, has improved.
With a game like this, i do find it hard to have a genuine hatred. These are yearly releases which now have an overwhelming emphasis on multiplayer. I make it a point to complete the campaign/story before even considering going near multiplayer, that cash I paid needs to go somewhere. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is my no means a diamond in the rough, a hidden gem blah blah blah, but to hate on a game which is trying to change (Treyarch at least) but still maintain the money spinner that is Call Of Duty, there needs to be a compromise. Are these gamers really going out and buying this with the notion thats its going to change all the rules? If so then i suggest you wait on a game that is three plus years in the making. Whatever the next title will be in 2013, one thing is for sure, it will make more than Black Ops II simply because it is new, and thats why we the gamers win the battle, by subtle changes to the game, but Activision win the war, because they are still going to make millions, no matter what entry they churn out or how many. This is why i gave this game an 8. Treyarch did things differently with the first Black Ops and they have continued to do so with this, its not a game-changer but it is an attempt to listen to the players and to compete with other developers in the same franchise, without a doubt one of the better Call Of Duty titles in a long time.… Expand

Look at my review history. Am I someone who jumps on a bandwagon in any way? Look at my review of mw3, and by the way, BO1 was mt favorite COD. BO2 is a compete waste of my money and it makes me happy mw3 was so poorly recieved. Granted, I've only played it for 1 night. But, the campaign is as most basic as possible, and the multiplayer is so steriotyplical that I amost knew what was going to happen next based on a game I played 5 years ago, and that game is blah blah blah. I let mw3 slide even though I knew it was the same as usual but I can't let this slide because now I have to sell this and accept a $30 dollar loss because I didn't listen to a !,000,000,000,000 other gamers.… Expand

i love it i am not big call of duty fan i prefer skyrim zombies game etc But i won this game i said try it out this was best game ever i like Multiplayer & zombie maps

i love it if call of duty would turn around do whole call duty zombie i mean not just zombie maps i mean i mean like left 4 dead but better

Call of Duty: Black Ops, possibly the best Treyarch Call of Duty has created a sequel. Is it good? Yes, the changes and gameplay are amazing. But what did I miss? Oh that's right, the idiotic trolls giving the game a 0. It's apparent at how many idiots there are, and possibly a good number of those who will vote my review down because I'm not playing their game, but enough about that. Black Ops 2 has a great campaign mode writen by David Goyer who helped write the Dark Knight. The storyline is clever although not the standout if the game. The game sees even brighter light with the Multiplayer. It's as good as it's ever been and added some new designs for good measure. The zombie mode, seemed like a flop due to the dissaperence of the original characters, but, zombies changed to much it makes it all worth it. Tranzit is the highlight of zombies, showing off the new made "Greenrun" and a whole new direction for Call of Duty. This is as good as the original Black Ops which I gave an 8/10. Well done, Treyarch.… Expand

This game is just awful. I really wanted to get into it, but I just couldn't. It's the same tired formula they used in black ops, and it's even less enjoyable than mw3. The single player campaign is awful, the game gives you auto-aim, so you don't even have to try when playing, and it still uses the same engine it's been using for so many years now. Call of Duty has essentially been turned into a medicore cash cow over the years, shame.… Expand

Due to the fact that the online multiplayer is incredibly broken and very hard to tolerate as of this moment. I will skip reviewing that and focus on the single player campaign. For the most part the campaign is EXTREMELY easy. There is barely any challenge even to playing BO2 on veteran I think it took me around 4-5 hours to complete and only had to continue a handful of times... IT IS 100% casual friendly unfortunately. It is full of scripted scenes and what not but the game does provide an interesting way of going about the missions. You have multiple choices for different outcomes within the game so there is actually a reason now to replay the campaign. Choosing an option may trigger a different scripted scene in the game and change the way some parts can be played. Prior to this call of duty I think the only game that had any form of choice would be World at War with either Sgt. Roebuck or that other dude dying (can't remember his name!). Aside from all this I believe Treyarch's call of duty's keep getting better while Infinity Ward's keep getting more and more dumbed down to the point where they are just boring. Call of Duty 4 was their peak - they're done give it up. This is a far superior installment to Modern Warfare 3 - aside from the freezing and multiple bugs I would say it is one of the more fun FPS I've played. I enjoyed the campaign and enjoyed the futuristic guns and different style of weapons. This is not a complete rip off of Ghost Recon FS or Halo, it does do it's own things and it is it's own game and that should be praised. I would score it higher but due to the bugs and, god I don't know how this happens, but LAG? In single player? I cannot just bring myself to give it an 8 9 or 10. It's good, it's playable, it's enjoyable but it has it's share of problems. I can finally put away Boringfield 3 and enjoy a decent call of duty after the issues are hopefully fixed with this game. On a side note: I'm glad Treyarch only made a few tweaks to their old formula - it would be a shame to see Call of Duty go down the Socom route and die when there are barely any other shooters these days that are as enjoyable as a Call of Duty.… Expand

This is the worst game i have ever played, why did they ruin this series!!!!!!! I used to like it, MW3 was bad so i though this will be bettter but it wasn't, i'm sad, i i used to like this game series but now i hate, i really hate it with a passion, this game is bad, stop lying to yourselfs and go buy a real game.

I've only played a little bit of this game, but it's fantastic. Multiplayer is fun, as is zombies. I'm not into games like this for the campaign, so if there's any criticisms there, I can't really comment, but both zombies and multiplayer make this game worth it.

Look, i'm not a troll, this game is simply, bad, there is no getting around to that, smallest maps in video games history, weapons have no recoil at all, every map is camper-friendly, the campaign is 4 hours long, zombie mode is worse than it was in the first one, there is nothing good about this one, stop lying to yourselft and wake up, i was a fan but MW3 & BO2 ruined this series for me, stop playing this crap and go buy a real game.… Expand

this game is not fun. i personally don't care i am not buying any more call of duty games. this is the final straw MW3 then this. this is absolute horse crap. the graphics are so bad that i feel like it is the same as the original modern warfare. i loved the original black ops too. the gameplay is about as bad as MW3's with no good new features. and the multiplayer is buggy laggy and just impossible to deal with. being randomly disconnected is a pain. then if you try and play in a group it doesn't work because you can't join lobbies for some reason. i don't think this game should have the privilege of being released. it's not fun to play and is just plain bad. im going to return this tomorrow. this is where i draw the line.… Expand

Unbalanced multiplayer, mediocre campaign, and overall terrible community. Activision really should've spent more time creating this, especially when it's such a "high-profile AAA" game.

The call of duty franchise as a whole gets so much hate for it's continuing success and I am not the biggest fan of the series but I thought black ops 1 was a fun game, especially with some friends. The campaign of this game is probably the best of any call of duty ever, its very varied and has so many cool little set pieces we've come to expect from the series. The story however is uninteresting and the new protagonists are extremely boring and forgettable. Also the new strike force RTS segments have so much potential that is wasted with terrible friendly AI, thankfully these are mostly optional. The multiplayer has new ideas that in my opinion make it the most refined yet, but it feels way to similar to the other games which isn't really a problem as the games are fun but I got bored way faster than in the original black ops. As long as you're not expecting something completely fresh the multiplayer is still fun. The zombies mode was my favorite part of the original and this is the gamemode they've changed the most surprisingly. The zombies campaign treyarch promised is nothing more than a large map with a bus and build-able items which is somewhat disappointing but still fun. There are only three maps unless you get the special edition which is not too great considering these are just parts of the large tranzit map made into to small little arenas. The zombies mode is still fun but a little disappointing considering on how hyped up it was. Overall though this is still a fun package with hours of content and fun to be had.… Expand

Singleplayer was pretty good interesting ending choice but still good. The multiple endings leaved much to be desired but it still worked. While somehow I believe most players hated the mode where you change between individual units, I actually found it a refreshing change. The slight changes to multiplayer were good too. IMO there is no way this game could score less than a 6/10 but there are always going to be haters and as they say haters gonna hate. Voice acting and cinematics A+ as you would expect from this title.… Expand

After playing this game for a few months, I can say it is honestly impossible to not rage at this game with all the lag and BS that goes on. Pistols are OP'd, snipers run around quickscopin. I could write a 2 page essay about the flaws of this game's multiplayer. However I still don't believe it deserves a 4, its probably still better than 90% of fps out there

Campaign is solid. Zombies are as overrated as ever. But the multiplayer returns with an added zest. The graphics have been bumped up from Black ops 1 , which is lucky as they were a jerky mess before. The games fluidity now matches it's IW brother but has less game breaking killstreaks and weapons. The pick ten points system is a stroke of genius and the maps are much more ergonomic than Infinity wards ugly high walled prisons. I was an Infinity Ward fan right up until the release of mw3. I loved ( and still do ) COD 4 and MW2 , but the control has well and truly passed to Treyarch. Infinity Ward the ball is in your court. Try and match this!… Expand

It's easy to see who the trolls are here giving "0"'s. Just check their profile and you can see that they apparently bought this game for 3 different systems and gave them all a "0". If you hate CoD so much. Stop buying it. Activition makes a lot of money with this franchise and they will continue to do so until people stop buying the game. They don't care how much you hate the game, as long as you buy it. So next year, don't buy it, and let the people who do buy it, rate the game.… Expand

Now, I'm not just a Call of duty hater. I think at times the series is entertaining and is a joy with actual friends. I mean that by friends you can talk to, without headphones. I guess the most positive thing I can say about this game is that it's real fun to play with other people, I recommend playing with others so you can at least try to socialize with people. The negative comments I have for this game is mainly my lack of care for this game. I just don't find anything interesting in this game, which I think sums up my opinion about this game. It's fun with friends, but quite boring without anyone to play with. By now you probably yelling about how I don't talk about the multiplayer, I just don't personally like it, in this game at least. My ending statement is: this game is fun with friends, but is really boring without others to play with.… Expand

This game is just awful. I really wanted to get into it, but I just couldn't. It's the same tired formula they used in black ops, and it's even less enjoyable than mw3. The single player campaign is awful, the game gives you auto-aim, so you don't even have to try when playing, and it still uses the same engine it's been using for so many years now. Call of Duty has essentially been turned into a $100 per year subscription service. If you value the video game industry and are tired of being taken advantage of, stop giving in and play games that are actually GOOD for a change.… Expand

People criticise this game as another minor improvement. i completely disagree. this is a HUGE improvement. The campaign is something new what you do in the story changes what happens in the future, and i think that awesome, and the story is autually intresting a bit confusing at first people complain its short but at least its INTRESTING!, but intresting! The weapons are new and not the same old thing, the zombies has a new mode called Tranzit, which is a mode where you travel to different areas fighting the undead. the multiplayer is fun as always. so i give the campaign a 10/10 the multiplayer a 9/10 and zombies a 9/10. I'd say this game deserves a 96 metascore.… Expand

Looking on this, the game got awful reviews. I am very frustrated with how Treyarch told people that whoever preordered the hardened edition to Black Ops II got the exclusive Nuketown zombie map ONLY. The week the game comes out, they tell the community that the "exclusive only" Nuketown zombie map will be released on an upcoming add-on to the game. I spent an extra twenty dollars on the game and I was angry. Especially when the game was already sixty dollars, and I spent the extra twenty when I could have just spent the sixty on the preorder of the game, and separately bought the Nuketown zombie map. Treyarch will never get my preorder money again. So anyway, how about I start off with the campaign? The campaign was incredible. I had a lot of fun deciding what I wanted to do. I loved how Treyarch gave you the choice of what you wanted to do, it made the game more interesting and more suspenseful on what was going to happen throughout the turn outs of the game. It had a ton of twists to it as well, one hit me when I wasn't expecting it. Now, the games multiplayer is also absolutely incredible. After playing it for hours and hours on end, I've managed to have a lot of fun. The connection though is why it's losing part of my score here. Call of Duty has always been known for it's bad multiplayer connection, it's "no-life" players, and it's cheap "campers". The multiplayer in Black Ops II in my mind is fun, and unless the connection continues to get worse, I will continue to think that way. Now onto the upset, zombie mode. Sure, TranZit is fun and all, but the zombies is just a disgrace. I am very disappointed to see how small the maps are in survival. Black Ops I had better zombie maps, wide-open, much bigger, much more room to have fun. The game deserves a six because of the disappointments I had with Treyarch, the connection, and the zombie game mode map size.… Expand

It's time for warmed up re-served leftovers again, it's Call of Duty time! With the same 14 years old id Tech 3 engine, and the same old dozen times rehashed gameplay, the "newest" CoD barely released already feels older than my grandma. Avoid like the plague or they will continue pumping out this crap twice a year with the same ancient engine until the end of times. Support devs with your money that actually try to make new and interesting games instead of just re-warming the same old crap that lost all taste ages ago.… Expand

I don't see why people hate this game so much. It's certainly not a bad game, but it's certainly not a great game. The story and the general themes seem quite racist, with every non-white character (apart from Tony Todd) betraying the pure, hard working white characters seems racist, as the idea of killing white people will make Treyarch run for their safety blanket. But the story seems like it has some deeper meanings, as it has room for exploring the theme of unmanned military and how it greatly effects war, but most of the time it just wants you to lose yourself in shooty action xenophoby-fun. The bog-standard shooting remains intact and the level design has been changed up from 'run down this corridor, kill the under-privileged' to 'go down these optional, slightly non-linear paths and kill the under-privileged whilst also being able to optionally man turrets and drones'. The choices have been fleshed out pretty well too, even though they are made fully explicit. I like how you can choose to shoot Tony Todd in the head or shoot him in the leg, but if you wait long enough the black guy will just knock him out for you. That's pretty neat. I like how the choices effect your future game, and it a great new take on a series established as being a linear conveyor-belt of linear linearity. The strike force missions are definitely the best part about the game and are heavily replayable, I just wish there were more of them. But I cannot praise competence as if it's excellence, as there have been more meaningful shooters that have come out this year that are generally more risky. Black Ops 2 is by all means safe, it doesn't try to challenge the player mentally, but is above average which is surprising because all other COD campaigns have been bog-standard at best. Overall, it's a refreshing game, and if you're a fan of multi-player shooters or zombie games, this is a must play. It's pretty much 3 passable games in one, and for $60, what more could you ask for?… Expand

Firstly the game has amazing graphics , a great ( but short) campaign 8/10 zombies is not that good not enough maps and they are small 6/10 multiplayer is fun but the ps3 keeps freezing not that different from previos cods mw3 might have been a better game if you dont care for zombies because of the great survival mode overall a decent game a must buy for COD freaks but not neccessary if you own MW3… Expand

This time COD has shipped with an insurmountable number of bugs in both singleplayer and multiplayer. I have had to restart my playstation numerous times due to freezes and have had to deal with disconnects/lag with common occurrence. All the "new additions" are overhyped and do not even impact gameplay greatly along with the "futuristic" setting. To be honest we need to stop buying this yearly cash grab it's not getting better that's for sure… Expand

Jesus Christ. How did they managed to make this game look worth than MW2? I can't believe it is 2012 looking at this game graphics. I love how Critics said about MOH:WF that it was so scripted and you telling me Black OPS 2 is not? Really? Makes me feel like an idiot when I play single player. I knew that multiplayer is going to be pretty much the same and I bought this game to play with my kids via split screen. And I am so disappointed in that regard. When u play split screen graphics look even more worth. Come on. Make a freaking new engine greedy f......! I feel that I just trow away 60 bucks for no good reason. Go to hell Activision. U will not see any money from me coming ur way!!!!… Expand

Please donate £1 per month to poor michael, unfortunately he spent all of his christmas allowance on a video game, this game in question has made his life miserable, it has bullied him, tormented him and even asaulted him, no child should have to put up with this, so for as little as £1 per month you can help eliminate retail copies of call of duty black ops 2, children who have been freed from the grasp of COD say they feel like they have been given a new life and can live in peace, make this dream a reality for many children this christmas and give £1 to our specialist activision assassination squad, or if you cant afford that, just simply go into your local retail store and go all bruce lee on their stocked copies od COD:black ops 2.… Expand