Call of Duty: Black Ops II Xbox 360
User Score
4.5 out of 10

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 1668 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 640 out of 1668
  2. Mixed: 175 out of 1668
  3. Negative: 853 out of 1668

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. 98jeepxj
    Feb 27, 2013
    1
    I really wanted to like this game, but it feels so half assed. Every game since Call of Duty MW2 have been the exact same thing. Why can`t Treyarch and Sledgehammer realize there is no need to have 20 overpowered kill streaks. Go back to basic COD 4, UAV, Airstrike, and Chopper, they work a lot better. Pistols are hideously over powered and quick scoping runs rampant. Please make the next Call of Duty something original and not just a copy of last years game with an updated campaign that takes 2 hours to finish and a couple new multiplayer maps. This game is basically Call of Duty Black Ops 1.5. It really should have been an paid downloadable update to the first black ops, not a completely new release.… Expand
  2. Moe_Fugga
    Nov 16, 2012
    4
    I will start of with a disclaimer saying that I am not a COD fanboy nor am I a COD hater. I bought an XBOX 360 exclusively for COD 4 5 Years ago. I have played every one since and enjoyed all of them (at least for a little while) up until Modern Warfare 3. I am giving this game a 4 out of 10 and will explain in depth why (unlike other fanboys and haters on here giving ignorant reviews). If you are on the fence about this game and whether or not to buy it then read this. I'll start off with the good. This game introduced the Pick 10 System which works well. It opens up a bounty of options for everyones unique play style. If you want 6 perks and a pistol then go for it. If you want a shotgun, rifle, and grenades go for it. There is a limit to what you can do, but the limit is set high. At 60 frames per second this game looks excellent. Graphics are cartoonish in a way, but it is consistent with the other COD gas compared to Battlefield 3. The guns look great, the soldiers look great, and it is just an excellent looking game. Along with the graphics is the sound mix. The guns sound like guns and the explosions sound like explosions. The sound is what really pulls you into the game. Other than the variety in load outs, graphics, and sound this game has big problems. First is the campers. Now I know every FPS has campers, but this game brings it to the next level. The maps are cluttered and filled with windows, corners, and barrels to hide behind. I have never been so frustrated with campers in any other COD game, or any other FPS game for that matter. And the fact that Ghost is not unlocked until level 55 just adds to that problem. You cannot hide from the overused UAVs. Next is the lag. In every other COD I could run and gun and beast. I have found in Black Ops 2 that when I run up on somebody and get the drop on them they can turn around and kill me. EVEN after they have been hit 2-3 times already. And if I meet up with somebody rounding a corner and I clearly get the first shot off, I die. In the kill cam I don't even fire a shot. It is very aggravating. I researched it and turned the "search preference" to "best" and I still have the problem. So, what ever is causing this needs to be fixed before I play again. The last this is the aim assist. Every console FPS has aim assist due to the inherent non-precise aiming that comes with joysticks. I have not had a problem with this until now. As I am trying to track a moving opponent or shoot a stationary opponent My reticle drifts off target to the right about 80% of the time. I tried to turn aim-assist off, but that is a pain in the ass. With these problems outweighing the good stuff I gave this game a 4 out of 10. Until these problems are fixed I am going to stick with MOH: Warfighter. Unlike the critics on this site I love the multiplayer.… Expand
  3. Jhahn505
    Nov 15, 2012
    9
    10/10. I have owned every call of duty since the original modern warfare. This is the best cod game to date and ill tell you why.

    Up to black ops 2, the original call of duty modern warfare was the best, modern warfare 3 being the worst.

    Honestly I was very hesitant in buying black ops 2 because modern warfare 3 was awful. I find it funny people criticize others for jumping on the co    d bandwagon every year but then haters give the game a review without 0 score review without even playing it! You are the one in a bandwagon!

    Here's why Black Ops 2 multiplayer is the best:
    -Best graphics
    -AMAZING gun sound effects
    -Intuitive and easy to use menus/options
    -Best map designs (opposite of MW3's maps)
    -Better gun balance than even MW3
    -Customization (32 layer playercard, camo on knives, ect)
    -Pick 10 system lets you be any type of player you want -Tough restrictions on hackers (permanent IP ban)
    -Zombies mode is a blast. My GF hates video games but plays this with me
    -TONS of new weapons attachments (pick 10 system lets you have 3 on primary)
    -Prestige mode does not reset weapons
    -league play actually ranks you against players of your skill level
    -COD tv gives you way more opportunities to get sponsored
    -in depth stat tracking right from the game

    Overall it's just fun! It's a game that I love playing and honestly don't care if people don't like it    … Expand
  4. tastybowl
    Nov 14, 2012
    0
    just awful! Treyarch seem to mess up whenever they get the chance. I used to really enjoy playing call of duty but Treyarch keep on churning rubbish out. They know people will buy into the call of duty franchise so seem to make little effort to make them even better. Why not change the whole FPS genre again. Mix it up. Using the same engines as years gone by. Come on Treyarch, make some effort! At least MW3 was playable.… Expand
  5. kaopointman
    Nov 14, 2012
    2
    OMG. what a joke. Why anyone would play this garbage over other current games like Halo4 or Battlefield is beyond me. This is just another boring rehash with LAME connections to multiplayer and stupid typical campaign. THIS IS 2012......WHERE THE HELL ARE THE DEDICATED SERVERS......SELL OUTS. And i find it amazing how many Users hate the game...but ALL the game sites LOVE IT. sellouts
  6. dspair
    Nov 13, 2012
    2
    Same game as any other Call of Duty after COD 4, adds absolutely nothing new. Campaign fells like a boring B-movie. What a huge disappointment and a waste of money.
  7. BlackAryan
    Nov 17, 2012
    9
    The only reason why this game is not getting a 10 is because of the aging multiplayer and engine. The multiplayer outdoes MW3's. If you liked the previous multiplayer of the other call of duty's then you'll like this one too. The single player is just as great as the previous call of duty's. It's really intense. The zombies is the best part of this game. The TranZit mode is perfect for those who are continuing the story from Black Ops 1 and W@W. It also includes smaller survival maps that are boring for old timers but are sure to bring new people into zombies. The new grief mode is fun and refreshing and really entertaining. Looking forward to more zombies, don't care for multiplayer in the end.… Expand
  8. hellsmith117
    Nov 14, 2012
    0
    Once again. CoD has done it. And not in a good way. They have butchered the campaign, and zombies is now a repetitive gametype that is only a shadow of what it was in World at War. The multiplayer is the same issue as it was in Modern Warfare 3. Repetitive and unsatisfying. Unless CoD wants to ram itself into the ground, they need to reboot the franchise and possibly have an entirely new company develop the games.… Expand
  9. MuDShoT
    Nov 14, 2012
    4
    Looks the same, feels the same, and it just simply is the same. Don't get me wrong, that game isn't that bad. But every single call of duty game shouldn't be the same. The game is living of its name, not its gameplay. For the people saying don't buy it if you don't want to play the same thing.. WTF? That's the kind of **** that promotes video game companies to ram their manhood into you. The longer you say, "Hey, if you don't want to play the same CoD, don't buy it" the longer they decide to F off because they know people are going to keep buying their game. It's seriously disrespectful to the people who buy these games in hopes of having at least a slightly different experience. This game feels like MW3.. It was supposed to feel like black ops, but with more innovation.. They disappointed. Do yourselves a favor, get halo 4 and don't look back. Not that halo 4 was better by a long shot, but 343 did a much better job than Activision... Way to ruin another one Activision!… Expand
  10. 0v3rD0s3
    Nov 24, 2012
    0
    This game Is beyond horrible. For a "Record Breaking Launch" you would figure these morons would have enough cashflow to actually not have these connection errors. I will not Ever buy a call of duty series game again. As a matter a fact after I finish this im gonna go return this game. I played it for a few days multiplayer sucks, Errors, Errors, connection interrupted. The only thing decent was the campaign and that wasnt that great.… Expand
  11. Turrikan
    Nov 25, 2012
    8
    The multiplayer is addictive yet annoying. Same old issues with connection, why cod still arent on dedicated servers is beyond me. Single player is awesome, best campaign to date. But where the game truly shines is in it's Zombie mode. So much content! So much content available, you really do get your money's worth.
  12. noxx
    Dec 1, 2012
    1
    Worst spawn system ever! I'm not a hater, I like COD but the multi player in blops2 is so unbalanced to the point of being unfair, you constantly respawn near your killer just to be killed again... what used to be perks are now weapon attachments, all considered, the maps are not that great and some decisions are puzzling, COD age is showing, and in the end Infinity ward is the better developer
  13. Rogredrabbit
    Nov 15, 2012
    10
    Love halo kilzone cod borderlands, been playing games 20 years black ops 2 ticks all the boxes,extensive options and modes. great bot mode for checking out all the toys, good fun, is as serious a shooter as YOU want it to be. Highly recommended
  14. LordManhammer
    Nov 14, 2012
    9
    I'm not going to post a long review detailing specifics. I do enjoy all aspects of the game. It has high replay value too me. I can see myself playing this game for a couple of years. The campaign has been improved with the outcome of the game determined by the choices made during. Zombies, while not quite an entire game by itself, is the best yet. Multiplayer is polished nicely with a lot of changes and additions.

    What surprises me is the incredible amount of 0 negative reviews... People buy a game that has three parts to it, 1 Campaign 2 Zombies and 3 Multiplayer. They play the first mission on Campaign, skip zombies and go 3-15 on their first match of multiplayer while running around or camping on a map they don    … Expand
  15. Pepefromage
    Nov 15, 2012
    3
    I dont honestly know why people are still buying these games. After all cod game launches, commentary are all the same :been there done that blablabla. Will people ever learn? I played with my friend computer a few minute and honestly i'm glad to not have purchase this other cod "cut and paste" title.. They think by adding different perks and gadgets they will keep the franchise alive. But its dead since a long time ago. And they put so much money on publicity to make them sell tons of that crap over and over again . Its capitalism at its best. Pathetic!… Expand
  16. Zombie3DRU
    Nov 15, 2012
    10
    This is one of the best action game ever, and I thing best action game on current gen. It seams that's another one CoD game game, but it something big, something serious and it HAS a really good storyline.
  17. Shmowzow
    Nov 15, 2012
    4
    I don't want to give this game a four, but words cannot describe how depressed it made me feel. I guess the campaign was alright, but it's time for a change, CoD. Especially when it comes to multiplayer, something Halo 4 actually managed to pull off.
  18. moonstrider101
    Nov 13, 2012
    10
    Reviews are biased, gameplay videos are not. All new games that are at least somewhat popular have gameplay footage on YouTube. In terms of Call of Duty, to not come across a video of its gameplay means that you are not connected to the internet. You can't hide from COD footage. It's everywhere. If you don't know whether to buy a game, no matter what game it is, watch videos of its gameplay until you are honestly convinced that you want, or do not want, to possess it. It's that simple.… Expand
  19. MurderTechnique
    Nov 16, 2012
    7
    CALL OF DOODIE: CRAP OPS 2. People get suckered into spending $60 every November for the same game w/minor changes; it's too bad the COD franchise milks people for sales every year. Name a company that's gonna turn down the opportunity for multi million dollar sales every single year though. That said, it's understandable that another installment releases every single year. What I don't understand is why so many people feel compelled to spend $60 on it again and again and again. I shoud point out that I'm not one of the stupid, immature peope on here who submit reviews on games just to give them undeserving scores of "0" in order to pull their score down. The "reviewers" who are doing that should be banned from Metacritic because they're just ruining the site. If games like this deserve a "0" then what the does a truly bad game deserve to get? I think this game deserves a "7." The graphics are great. The campaign is epic and the game boasts lots of multiplayer modes. Zombies is still there too. The reason I only give it a 7 is because it doesn't do anything that previously released COD games haven't already done. It's simply another $60 rehash. My recommendation to fellow gamers is to STICK WITH INFINITY WARD. They're the true creators and developers of COD. Treyarch sucks in comparison because their games are plagued with glitches and they try too hard to make their games "over the top." Also, while on the subject of comparisons, Infinity Ward's "Special Ops" is way more impressive than Treyarch's "Zombies." Modern Warfare 4 will be out in November next year so there's no good reason to waste $60 on BO2. Get Halo 4 since it's a breath of fresher air, enjoy the DLC you likely already invested in for MW3, and look forward to MW4 kicking BO2's ass in a matter of months. :)… Expand
  20. Sidurien
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    3 words: Same Graphics Engine. Seriously, its been forever and the graphics are run off the same engine as MW4? and they expect people to believe it took 3 years to make this? lmao get real do NOT buy this game.
  21. Lutallo
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    There is only so much you can take when it comes to repetitive video games and it seems like the more repetitive the game gets, the more 12 year children try to defend it's status. The game itself has had no improvement in graphics, the audio and noises are terrible and as usual and the gameplay is the mind numbingly boring "run, die, run, die, run, die" that it always has been. I'm not entirely sure why people repeatedly buy the same FPS junk over and over again, but hopefully it will wear thin one day because COD is literally just a copy of the previous.… Expand
  22. UChief
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    I think it is time to go back to the black board and this time really come up with something that innovative, rather than the old same thing every time. I thought they said they made some big changes with this game... Well so far, nothing really amazed me...

    Waste of money.
  23. Organism
    Nov 13, 2012
    3
    The game is just last nights dinner reheated and served as left-overs. Graphical changes are very low. Though, one well done aspect of the game is the zombies, which is a large improvement from the last game, but the campaign and multiplayer are dried out and over-used. This may not reflect the opinion of others, but my opinion is that it just seems to repeated.
  24. Kevlar1
    Nov 13, 2012
    10
    After having played MOH Warfighter, I thought I
  25. DarrMunny
    Nov 22, 2012
    7
    I think there are a few fan boys rearing their heads again, 0, really ? look we all know what we were going to get here, just like the poor cousin battlefield series and its 2 min single player campaign. Pretty much what I expected really, and now people are up in arms about it, seriously !! It's a fun free for all shooter and I love the zombies all ways have, me and a few mates get online and blast away at those zombies,we brought cod 2 just for that. Yeah more of the same....so what !! Get over yourselves and go play the Wii !!… Expand
  26. xLostHunterx
    Nov 13, 2012
    9
    Campaign is the best in the series, and multiplayer havent been this good since cod4, and zombies is awesome as always. I really enjoyed Black ops 2 for the Xbox, and all of my friends are enjoying it as well.
  27. Mystery19x
    Nov 13, 2012
    7
    I got this game early and after playing it for a few days and many many hours here is my honest review. The graphics aren't really high class compared to other game franchises like Halo, Gears of War, or Assassin's creed but the graphics aren't bad either, not even close. Graphics and audio are a major improvement however to past COD games. The campaign IMO is very good. Yes it feels like other COD campaigns with the explosions, movie like executions, etc but it feels much more personal, emotional and the campaign actually makes sense this time. The time-line from the cold war to 2025 fits in PERFECTLY in the story. The decision making process in the game also works very well and promotes replay-ability. The zombies in the game are improved and involve a more tactical style of game play instead of running around in circles. The zombies in this game have almost a Left 4 dead style and feel of game play The multiplayer overall has been improved. The maps are well done, the perks and weapons are balanced. The pick 10 system works well and gives unlimited customization options. Kill streaks or score streaks are much more difficult to earn in this game compared to past COD's IMO which is a good thing. The sniping has improved, the hit detection is very good. However, here are some things I did not like about this game. This game still feels TOO MUCH like past COD's unfortunately. It is VERY repetitive. The campaign could of been much longer. It is only 5 hours long on normal difficulty. I only played this game for a few days and have already come across annoying campers, quick scopers, etc. Panic knifing has returned. The re-spawns are improved but still are far from near perfect. Overall, a good Call of Duty game.… Expand
  28. JSODNS
    Nov 18, 2012
    0
    Awful glitches and graphics, this is a completely stupid game, catering to the whiny ass brats who buy into competition that takes no skill whatsoever.
  29. Pepperoni3000
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Wow!! Tryarch really out did themselves this time!! Hahahahahahaha Nah. It's the same game it's always been. Same. Damn. Game. Different skin! "But wow!! It's set in the future!!" Really?? Because it's boring and the audio is **** up. The multi-player is the same, the campaign is the same, everything is exactly the same! Way to go!! You suck!
  30. LoLTheOwl
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    The game is extremely weak, repetitive. The campaing is awful, the multiplayer is boring, every year a Call of Duty game is release and every year it's basically the same thing: tedious and awful.
  31. microskies
    Nov 16, 2012
    10
    I perhaps wouldn't be giving this a 10 if it weren't for all the people who presumably haven't even played the game rating it 0, but anyway here's my review:
    Campaign is good, follows the same narrative style of the original Black Ops, which i think is a really nice feature, however strike force missions are definitely a let down. They're more Real Time Strategy game than First Person Sho    oter and a poor one at that, very unintuitive.
    Multiplayer though is the best in the series, with the new "Pick 10" system and balanced weapons, making it more about skill rather than what gun you have. The new "combat training" lobbies allow new users to get used to the game, in 1/2 XP games, deterring the veterans. The new league play is a better ranking system than the regular leaderboards, with thew choice of everything in create-a-class, and subdivisions make it easy to compare league spots.
    Zombies are decent, the "zombies campaign" promised turn out to be Tranzit, making it a bit of a disappointment, but Tranzit is still a fun mode to play. The new maps are a little difficult to navigate round at first due to all the fog and low-light but once you've got used to it, then its more enjoyable.    … Expand
  32. TheBaldOne
    Nov 13, 2012
    5
    Another year, another iteration of the call of duty franchise. Positively, there is now a degree of cause and effect within some missions, which helps to improve upon the generic, on-rails gameplay, but ultimately it does little to affect the gameplay. The zombies mode is the highlight of Black Ops 2, with campaign style zombies mode now included, and this does make for some fun and interesting gameplay, provided you play it with friends. However, it is impossible to not feel as though this game has been played before over previous years, as the multiplayer, which is the crux of the call of duty experience, stays generally the same as it has done in previous years. Although, a large focus of the multiplayer now is advanced technology/drones allowing the players to have an interesting time flying around as a drone, but the fun from this quickly dissipates. Ultimately, this is a game for the people who have loved each and every previous iteration, as it caters for their desire to shoot as they have in the past games, leaving little improvement to many other areas of the game, leavinglittle incentive to play the game unless you are a die-hard fan of the franchise, or all of your friends are playing it and you don't want to be left out… Expand
  33. Keeds
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Do not know why i wasted my money on this franchise again.
    Graphics are still **** gameplay is the same, campaign is still heavily scripted and very linear and the strike force missions are ALRIGHT at best

    cannot wait for mw4 -.-
  34. Badonkadonk
    Nov 13, 2012
    3
    Disappointment. The critics are raving about this, but I guess Activision has been paying this off because this game is absolute garbage. People will buy it anyways because they are sheep.
  35. fartcraggle
    Nov 13, 2012
    10
    This game is like poo on the fart. The guns are boom boom huck jam and the multiprayer priests with guns. Storyline is monster at worst, night terror at best. Solid dream it makes happiness?
  36. driftlv1
    Nov 23, 2012
    7
    Finally. A major change in the series for the first time since Call of duty 4. That sentence alone restored hype to this game for me and many others.

    After the huge failure and frustration MW3 was, thousands of people gave up on cod, hell nearly even me. But then Treyarch randomly comes out of nowhere and announces some big changes, and people got excited. Not only is Black ops 2 in the     near future with brand new technology. Campaign

    I first thing I played was campaign. It's great, a lot better than MW3's. However, it's still not the best cod campaign. I LOVED the create a class and challenge system. It added so much replay value. There are also choices throughout the story. The choices are fewer than I imagined, which disappointed me, but they have a pretty big impact on the story and it's ending. The campaign, like the others, is a blast. It's full of action and there's a twist at every turn, and it's VERY fun to play. You'll be utilizing a lot of vehicles such as a jeep, a VTOL jet, a chopper gunner, and much more. And a lot of it isn't just on rails either. You get to fully drive it through a pretty big world, not just one path, and it provides a fresh experience that is overdue. My favorite part was when you're playing as a spider robot, and you had to use strategy to maneuver throughout the vents and find a good route, and it's very cool and unexpected.

    The story is good, but there is still so many unexplained things and plotholes, and cheesy lines. I expected a bit more from the story, and it's probably the most unrealistic one to date, but it's still good. There are a few unneeded scenes like main characters getting brutally tortured and killed in front of you, like they're just minor characters, and unnecessary twists or moments.

    Menendez is a good villain, but I barely felt any pity or empathy for him, which is what the writers tried to achieved, but failed. I just hated him even more.

    They put a TON of work into the campaign, with great pre-rendered cutscenes that took a lot of work to probably do, and with all the custom animations instead of re-using others like in the MW games. Strike force missions are great, although a little confusing at first, and offer up a hugely new experience that I liked, but didn't love. The story is also surprisingly long, being as long as Cod 4. The story is also very violent, sometimes unnecessarily violent. Some deaths are just brutal and aren't needed. One interrogation that happens in the story involves someone stabbing a knife through his hand and watching him suffer, and although the guy you're interrogating is a huge jerk, it's still kind of unneeded. And some characters and plot elements could've been expanded upon, especially one character in general (you'll see who I mean).

    Zombies

    A lot of people just buy call of duty for the zombies, and it's obvious why. It's addicting as hell. Zombies in this game is fun, but not as good as the last two games. You can play tranzit, which is fun at first, exploring and finding out the huge amount of easter eggs, but once you've figured out how to do everything, it gets boring, and it's pretty damn hard. You can finally customize zombies and even change difficulty, but the only thing i've noticed is that slightly more power-ups spawn on easy. You also have that one option for tranzit, which dissapointed me. There also aren't very many guns you can get from the box, in fact a lot are from the first black ops.

    Survival is classic survival on one of the maps in tranzit. Every map except one is terrible, containing no pack a punch and limited guns. One map has all the guns, perks, and a pack a punch, but it's still small as hell and gets boring.

    Grief is survival but with two teams, and it could even end up as 8v8. It's a fun change, but it would've been SOOOOO COOOLL on tranzit, but it's only for survival.

    Multiplayer

    Some argue that the multiplayer has been the same since cod 4. And it basically is. Want to know why? It's call of duty. Call of duty 4. CALL OF DUTY Black ops 2. Get it? If you changed in, not only would nobody buy it, but it wouldn't be call of duty anymore.

    Multiplayer overall is good. The maps are a definite improvement from MW3, although they still aren't amazing, mostly because they are very small, even the larger maps, so SMG's dominate. Lag compensation is still there, but it isn't as bad as when black ops 1 came out, or MW3, which is good. It's still very annoying and it breaks the gameplay, but it's not too bad and i'm sure they'll make it better like they did in Black Ops 1.

    The pick 10 system is awesome. It adds so much customizability and it's just awesome. I love all the different combinations you can do with it, and it allows me to play more like how I want to play.

    Overall Black ops 2 is a good game. It didn't meet my expectations, but it's a definite improvement over MW3, and it offers some change.    … Expand
  37. KenshinBatousai
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Same Engine , nothing has been improved but medals and guns. story seems to be what's going to save it from embarrassment. The Only thing worth while would be the improved Zombie game-play , only reason people stick to it is the amount of medals there rewarded when doing the most stupidest thing. noticed the design of each medal ( Olive metallic blue spiky emblem ) sure to make any player feel happy about themselves .… Expand
  38. crossbgames
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Call of Duty has progressively become a household name for milking the gaming industry of all its money and suggesting to other developers to do the same generic military shooters i.e. medal of honor: warfigher. well on with the review. The game doesn't have any gameplay innovation to brag about and they have shown this by using the exact same formula for the game as they have since call of duty 4. the game gets boring after about half an hour when the thought hits you that you have paid 40 pounds too much.… Expand
  39. Criminai
    Nov 13, 2012
    3
    It's funny how people still buy call of duty. Xbox 360 players are not only paying for Xbox live at least once a year, but also paying for the same **** COD game that comes out every year. Literally, I think call of duty is one of the only games that comes to my mind that doesn't improve its graphics from game to game. If anything, its graphics get WORSE every year. If you are one of the idiots that still buys Call of Duty every year, go ahead and get this 60$ map pack. If you actually have a brain, don't buy this **** If you have never bought a call of duty game, just buy Black ops 1. It's the same game, but it's cheaper now. Until people put their foot down and say no to this bandwagon game, they'll keep releasing the same game every year just for your hard earned cash.… Expand
  40. Jheldridge
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Absolute trash. Complete rehash of its predecessor in the most literal sense. Please my fellow gamers I care about your christmas money. Save your time and resources.
  41. JoeMercy
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    More of the same but now with a ridiculous story. The futuristic plot makes no sense at all. Multiplayer feels like Previously Call of Duty Games (MW and BO)I have it on sale now!
  42. Kevin4Rox
    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
  43. SethRidgefire
    Nov 27, 2012
    0
    I gave this game a medium rating when I first played it since it was a step up from MW3. I am now giving it a zero after playing it for a couple of weeks. In an effort to make a balanced game, Treyarch has gone through and muted everything fun about this once great series. The guns are blanned and boring, the perks do very little to improve the experience, the graphics are the same as MW1. BO1 was original. Money/Wager system, exciting weapons, weekly assignments. All gone. And their lag comp system makes %70 of the games unplayable. Really disappointing effort, if you can call it an effort at all.… Expand
  44. AseriousReview
    Nov 14, 2012
    10
    If you want a to se scores of serious reviewers, and not trolls like these that gives **** rating despite the fact that they haven't even played the game. Watch all the mixed/positive user reviews that is from the score

    7-8.

    All the rating below are made by trolls that constantly says that they have played the game but not.
  45. MasterChef234
    Nov 14, 2012
    2
    Ok let me get with this. First campaign was all right but some parts were dull. Multiplayer same, repetitive, unbalanced. Zombies the only good thing there. Audio shooting was horrible. Graphics I really don't care and besides if CoD games had the best Graphics but everything else was crap would you buy it? That's exactly what i think about it.
  46. iamevan13
    Nov 14, 2012
    0
    i think people are being too harsh about the graphics and sounds. i think they are vastly superior to mwf3. my issues have to do with treyarch and activision themselves. they were very mysterious and tight lipped about what was to be in the game and what wasn't. but based on the numerous reports i read prior to the game, i feel absolutely duped. drop zone was to remain in the game...not true. quickscoping would remain..i've yet to be quickscoped and in previous games that happened all the time. there was supposed to be a way to play sniperless games..not true. this game was supposed to reward objective oriented players. what a joke that is. they take away the support streaks and the rewards for playing the objectives is much less than in mwf but the risk is greater. case in point, hardpoint which appears to be drop zone is actually more like team defender. as long as you hold a point you get a 25 percent increase to the kills you make. well, in team defender it was 100 percent. so the objective is 1/4 as rewarding now (in regards to personal points).camping was supposed to be almost eliminated due to changes. you'd have to be on the move to be invisible from uav with the right perks. well, try keeping a uav in the air. it's usually there for about 3 seconds. so in turn, camping is every bit as rampant as ever. i think it's actually a bigger problem now. i'm an objective oriented player and i'll never be the slayer some are. i have zero reason to ever play this again. there simply isn't a mode on here that i can't swap for a more rewarding mode on mwf3. to me, treyarch either deliberately leaked bad info or allowed bad info out there. a clear cut explanation of what would be in and out of the game would have fixed that. it very much shows that they were scared some people would stay away if they were truthful. i'll never spend another penny on another treyarch or activision product. the game looks very good and sounds good. i think the aiming is much simpler and less jerky than mwf3. it is smooth that way and plays well. but i don't understand why they create maps where there simply aren't many jumps. in most mwf3 maps there are numerous spots where you have to know the game and have to discover ways to get up on things and sometimes get an advantage. treyarch does so little of that. that's actually a lot of the appeal, knowing the game and knowing little secrets. with how treyarch designs their maps it's like 2 teams playing paintball in a frickin hallway. the terrain needs to be somewhat interactive. but there is very little of that in comparison. i like the idea of league play but i'm not going to waste my time seeing how good or bad i am at a lousy game. i can't even force myself to play this stupid game anymore. there are a lot of good things with it. if you are a good non sniper slayer type that has little intention to play the objective, this is the game for you. but as it is at this very moment i have no intention to waste another moment playing this crap.… Expand
  47. Junk_Bits
    Nov 14, 2012
    2
    One of the worst shooters I have ever played. The game feels so old now and just boring as hell considering I have played the game in various iterations since 2007 with Modern Warfare. This game is abysmal and after reading the scores from all the gaming site and mags I realize that Activision are still playing for high reviews and milking it's customers all the way to the bank.

    Don't b    uy this game, it's not worth your money, unless you have a simple mind and like playing the same game, year in, year out with no changes at all.… Expand
  48. thephotobug
    Nov 14, 2012
    1
    sever not availble for the last two days cant play online at all
    weak story and the online play that i have played was a clone of the other games
    the yearly update is getting old and every year the get it for the one new thing they add but this is the last time cod. has went the way of tony hawk and gutiar hero
  49. happyorangejuce
    Nov 14, 2012
    1
    I wasn't expecting much, but I expected too much. The graphics would have been good, for 3 years ago. The campaign is weak like always and the Multiplayer is nothing new. Even the zombies, the one reason I had faith has been ruined. Tranzit is fun, but that's all there really is. Nobody in there right mind could possibly like this game.
  50. geckowhite
    Nov 14, 2012
    3
    As a COD fan who picked this up at midnight. I'm very disappointed. The point system in multiplayer isn't bad, but the streaks are just blah. The strikeforce missions are a complete failure, and almost impossible without playing it as one of the characters. They take me completely out of the game. Zombies well, what happened??? All of the fun of playing is lost, and now it's just boring. This was the only reason I could get my girlfriend to play the game, and its completely broken. All of the maps follow the same cookie cutter form of each other. There's always 3 routes - left, right, middle. And they are made to be chaotic instead of strategic. Sniper rifles are almost useless for sniping. I really wish I had played the game more before I redeemed my 4000 points for a season pass.

    I've never bothered to create an account on MetaCritic, but after a few days of playing this game, I needed to express my disappointment. If this is your first COD game, go ahead and buy it. But if this isn't, and you haven't bought it yet, pass. It just feels like a half completed game.    … Expand
  51. BIGDADDYBURPEE
    Nov 15, 2012
    2
    Oh look, it's THIS game again. Wee, Call of Duty 4! We're having fun! The 6th DLC- I'M SORRY I MEAN BRAND NEW CALL OF DUTY has been released. Boy oh boy, where the hell do we begin with this stinker. Same boring story, same boring guns, same boring graphics (come on you'd think with record breaking sales they'd at least upgrade the graphics engine but nope, same old sepia toned goodness to please my eyes). Here we have the deadbeat devs pulling what capcom did back in the late 80s and early 90s with megaman. Annual release? Don't mind if I do (except classic megaman was actually fun). Now don't get me wrong, Call of Duty 4 was actually a pretty fun game, but when all you do is just release these games that hardly qualify as a CoD4 DLC, let alone a new game, your customers are going to be upset with the extremely obvious stagnation of the series except brain dead children (WHICH IS WHAT THESE GAMES ARE TARGETED TO WHOOPS). Do yourself a favor, and pick up Call of Duty 4 for 5 bucks in your local hicksville wal-mart bargain bin and don't spend 60 dollars for really the same exact thing. If you're new to the whole Call of Duty shindig, stay away from it like the Chernobyl disaster site, or lock yourself in a hot tar kettle until your soul is relinquished to the sphincter of hell where you'll find the developers for these terrible terrible mistakes at work.… Expand
  52. MetaZ3489
    Nov 15, 2012
    10
    Black ops 2 is probably the best cod I have ever played. I dont understand why little kids and rage quitters are talking complete b.s. about this game. You suck so get over it. The story is flat out awesome and that doesn't even include the multiplayer. Online is great and zombies has gone to a new level! All hardcore cod fans need to play this game.
  53. Scream9631
    Nov 17, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is one of the best games ever made I love this game because it is always fun and the graphics are extremely realistic It's AWESOME!!!!!!!! AND COOL!!!!!!!… Expand
  54. GungaChunga
    Nov 16, 2012
    5
    Though I was a bit let down by MW2 and 3, Blops1 was a great change of pace, not as gimmicky. I was hoping for a similar experience from Blops2. Campaign seemed well written but poorly executed, the Strike Force missions were a pain and the AI useless. Just broke what was left of the story's tempo. Multiplayer feels alot like MW3. The expanded create a class has a good deal of potential but the weapons feel off and the maps a bit of a cluster f*ck. It feels like Treyarch tried to amp the game up a little too much and failed to deliver on the hype. Haven't played zombies enough to say much about that, but overall I was pretty disappointed.… Expand
  55. Hilus
    Nov 16, 2012
    0
    This is one of the worst games I've played in recent times. Not only one of the worst but also the most overrated game ever. There is nothing good about this game. This game is bad. Nothing subjective about it, it's objectively bad. Every game is the same, not to mention each game is terrible so that's a double negative. If you played any other Call of Duty game, there's no point in buying this because you've already played it. Do not get it, it's glitchy, stupid and boring.… Expand
  56. dwnwrob
    Nov 16, 2012
    7
    To be quickly honest, I intended to purchase COD: Black Ops 2 mainly for the zombie gameplay. I loved the previous installments' zombie levels. The campaign continues on from the first COD, but it was difficult to understand the plot at first. It was only several missions in that I understood what was happening. The back and forth of the past and future felt off at times. The levels were diverse, but I had a huge issue with the strike force missions; forget commanding your teams from the bird's eye view. You literally have to win the battle yourself, the AI is so horrible.

    I had a huge problem with the character script of Admiral Briggs. In nearly every sequence, you'd hear him swear and/or over dramatize certain phrases. "Swears like a Sailor" is excruciatingly put to the test, even coming from someone who swears too often.

    The multiplayer point system for your loadout is really awesome. It adds a large benefit for broader customization. Player card editing is back but doesn't seem to provide as much as the first COD installment. The list of weapons is also a good size, allowing you to choose from many types, but the perks are still all too similar and seem to be limited. It would be great to have a larger list for even more customization.    … Expand
  57. Carbombgun
    Nov 17, 2012
    0
    I've got so many problems with this game I don't know where to start.

    Campaign. I've played up to the mission where you are leading an assault on horseback against helicopters. Are you serious? What is this crap? Multiplayer. This is the worst FPS multiplayer I have ever played. The guns are too easy to use, all that is gonna happen is you are going to explode multiple times. The     snipers aren't worth using, the maps are too cluttered that you'd be more surprised to not die whenever you turn a corner. And zombies. What the hell did Treyarch do to zombies? This isn't fun. Go into the fog, and you get attacked by zombie monkey things that climb on your head like the Jockey from Left 4 Dead 2 and claw you until you die.… Expand
  58. notimpressed1
    Dec 27, 2012
    0
    This game is a joke. The online gameplay is just not fun and it is the same thing every year. Call of duty is just going to die out if they keep doing this. But yet people get caught in there scam of buying this game. So people be prepared to get the same game next year. wast of my money. I'm trading this game in for something different.
  59. Djigabon
    Nov 19, 2012
    9
    One of the best FPS ever. The history is very well told and has its epic moments. We have secondary missions and choices that affect the history. The characters have charisma. The graphics are very good, they are improved, but its the same engine. The multiplayer is the same too, maps and weapons new. The zombie mode is bigger and better, and its very, very fun. You can play it in 3D, you have just to put the glasses; no 3D TV necessary.… Expand
  60. Elgar_The_Fox
    Dec 10, 2012
    9
    What is the point of a Call of Duty game? To provide incredibly fast paced fun and excitement, of course. Flash back to the start of the series - beginning with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare; A gripping game that offered a look at current day wars rather than the typical World War II setting that was the trend for the gritty, realistic shooters of the time. Fast Forward back to present day - We have, since the time of CoD4, seen 4 other installments in the Call of Duty franchise. And we can see that, also since CoD4, the series has progressed very little, if at all. Modern Warfare 2 and 3 are the two storyline sequels to CoD4 and they decide, expending on the gritty realism and genre defining ingenuity of their predecessor, to chuck out any ounce of innovation CoD4 had. CoD4's two sequels were less sequels and more of the same game with a little cleaner plain job. Infinity Ward has time, and time again, let it's fans down by releasing the same game over and over again. Luckily, the CoD franchise has two developers to make games for it, one of course is the aforementioned Infinity Ward, the other is Treyarch. Treyarch came into the CoD franchise with Call of Duty 3, a game that desperately attempted to emulate the feel of the two previous installments, only to fail miserable and be a waste of everyone's money. Then, after CoD4, they got a second chance with their release of World at War. WaW kept to the same WWII story that previous shooters have maintained since the early 90's but unlike those shooters it brought CoD4's new and face paced multiplayer format to the table. While the execution was not as nice as CoD4's it was still enjoyable and the story was one of the best WWII stories to date. It also added the game mode that would come to define Treyarch - Zombies. Zombies was exciting, new, and, best of all, fun. It was a game mode the Call of Duty franchise needed to keep fresh. When Treyarch did their next game, Black Ops, they kept the zombies mode and fast paced multiplayer but added a number of new game modes, re-hauled the class creation, and added combat training which gave a new way to play with friends at a party. What I am trying to say is that Treyarch, unlike Infinity Ward, actually likes to come up with new and enjoyable additions to the Call of Duty series in order to make the games more exciting and rewarding for the long time players. In the brand new installment to the series Treyarch brings their innovations to a new level, adding a new look to the series as well as new Zombie modes and options, another re-haul to the class creation system, and even more fun game modes - this time mixing them into the campaign as well. Treyarch also seems to have a much better knack for storytelling than Infinity Ward because, after CoD4, Treyarch has done nothing but ruin every ounce of promise they built into the Modern Warfare story-line. Treyarch has shown that they can still come up with interesting ways of playing with the old dog that is Call of Duty. They have tightened everything from the controls to the graphics and it all just feels a lot cleaner and more thought out. If you are a fan of Call of Duty games' multiplayer format than there is plenty for you to love in Black Ops II and the game is sure to provide you with the most entertainment from a Call of Duty game since CoD4.… Expand
  61. g0ddplay
    Nov 20, 2012
    3
    Doing the same thing every year and the lemmings still buy it!!! FOR SHAME taking advantage of low IQs. Got this game for free. I would never pay for one of thses games past COD4. Lazy presentation, same graphics as cod4. Halo always improves the graphics from game to game why can't COD??? Playing this on a PC at 1080p and it looks like utter rubish!!!!
  62. Awesome2daMax
    Nov 20, 2012
    6
    In my opinion, CoD in general is a fun shooter that gets boring after a while. The graphics haven't changed all that much, the guns are pretty much the same and the new loadout system is different in a bad way. The loadouts limit you to ten points, and the annoying gun progression system is still there. CoD is a fun aimless shooter that is fun in quick doses. Once again, the campaign is horrible, but that is because I like a good story, not just a campaign which is you shooting dudes like BLOPS 2. The reason I don't like CoD in general is because of the lack of teamwork and skill. I find that luck is a bigger factor than skill and teamwork. There is no aim involved, just spray bullets at an enemy and hope they die. CoD is only fun if you don't really want to think and just want to shoot something. Zombies is the only fun mode and the only reason why I gave this a 6. My opinion is wait until this goes on sale hopefully, not worth 60$, and buy something like Dishonored, AC3, Borderlands 2 or Halo 4.… Expand
  63. ShadowWarfare
    Nov 22, 2012
    8
    I like the multiplayer, there you go I said it. Being a long time FPS player (I started with Doom 2 on the PC). I enjoy this game. It's an arcade filled shooter of pure madness, which for me is fine. The weapon unlock system... It's addictive. I'm not going to lie. I do get a kick out of unlocking loads of items.

    Depth wise? The game has depth and plenty of content. Loads of different m    ultiplayer modes. And very many different types of weapons with different play-styles. There's really nothing not to like except maybe the reason that the game is easy to play. Automatic weapons are overpowered and dominate. But I have seen skilled players dominate with other weapons such as snipers rifles also. The only downside to this product is the fact that Activision won't stop recycling the COD4 engine. I'm running this game maxed out at 180 FPS. The second issue I believe are the maps, some of them are random and make no sense. Too many buildings and corners which clutter and are confusing for the player memorize. They just don't seem that well made.

    All in all good game. Worth the money? For content yes, for the fact that the game runs on the same engine as the last four or whatever installments, then no.    … Expand
  64. SgtWeetabix
    Nov 24, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. in this review i'll write about both the campaign and the multiplayer but i'll start with the campaign. i personally like the campaigns story line, i always love it when sequels link there old characters into there new games (etc. borderlands 2) and it all seemed to link together very smoothly. however i found the ending extremely unsatisfying mainly due to the fact that after you capture Menendez the game just ends without providing any insight as to why the Russian's wont attack which personally i think sort of makes capturing Menendez completely pointless. Now onto the online play. IT IS AWFUL. in the first week or so i enjoyed it, it seemed to flow freely and people hadn't discovered any overpowered weapons but then by about 2 weeks in everyone discovered the power of smg's and snipers because smg's seem to have little to no recoil, a huge amount of damage and they have kept there fast draw ability which more or less means smg's are there king of combat in this game, Also something which i dont like in the slightest is the sniping of this game. In the last few CoD the sniping had been awful due to small maps which meant that even though they were almost unusable, they weren't completely overpowered, in THIS CoD however they had made sniping a joke if you hit someone in the top half of there body they will die and it just takes all of the skill out of sniping. in my view CoD needs to take a page out of BF's sniping as BF provides snipers with an extremely powerful gun but makes it hard to hit people like a true it should be. to sum this up quickly its a complete disgrace the fact critics have betrayed gamer's once again by promising us great online play and hugely improved game play in just don't buy this garbage for me the only thing which saves it from a zero is the fact the campaign adjusts to your decisions.if you hunger for a first person shooter i would spring for battlefield 3 or halo 4 (i 'm sure there are other games you could buy instead of this one, those are just the two that spring to mind) this is more a personal note rather than part of the review hence why i added it last, this is my message to Treyarc and any future companies that develop call of duty games, please just stick to WWII games it seems like those were the games you were good at rather than this BO and MW **** you keep on regurgitating… Expand
  65. GothamsRekining
    Nov 25, 2012
    10
    I never liked Infinity Wards Modern Warfare games. If your going to make a game like Call Of Duty, you need to test the boundaries of how far you can go with the story. Modern Warfare 1-3 was like playing the same game over and over. Same story, same plot, same uninteresting characters, same gameplay. Granted, Black Ops has the same formula of FPS, but the story changes the dynamic of the gameplay and characters. Coming into Treyarch's Call Of Duty franchise, the Black Ops games have never disappointed me. With World At War set during WWII, Black Ops set during the Vietnam War/Cold War, Black Ops II brings the next chapter into the Future Cold War of 2025. The game still has the addicting gameplay that made the franchise famous, but with a twist on story and characters. From start to finish, the game keeps you on the edge of your seat. The story written by Dark Knight Trilogy writer David S. Goyer, is phenomenal. The music (which includes Academy Award Winner Trent Reznor) is as intense as it's terrifying story. The game also includes a sinister performance from it's villain, Raul Menendez. Unlike most games with simplistic evil doers, Menendez has purpose for being the most vile criminal the world has ever seen. And in many moments through out the game, you are compelled to sympathize with his plight. Multiplayer and Zombies are incredible components to an already amazing game. With a ranking system and a test in survival, both modes offer their own unique ways of entertaining gamers and friends alike. If your looking for a game that will offer many opportunities of replay value, Black Ops II is your ticket for high stakes entertainment.… Expand
  66. MattNasty
    Nov 27, 2012
    0
    Another COD with new maps for multiplayer selling for 60.00. The only Derps that give this game a 10 are the Fanboys that for some reason think this game is so awesome. Newsflash none of been awesome since COD 4 and MW2. Hate to break it to you.
  67. felipeblackdog
    Nov 27, 2012
    9
    Call of Duty: Black Ops II is an awesome shooter,with good graphics,great story and an awsome and fun gameplay in its campaign,same with the online mode and zombie mode,which received a great improvement.But not everything is perfect in this game,you may find some lag on multiplayer and some bugs in the campaign,but nothing that will make your game experience bad.
    If you're looking for a     fun shooter,this will be your best choice,specially if you're already a fan of the Call Of Duty series.… Expand
  68. TaliRa
    Dec 2, 2012
    5
    More of same! Just worse. Bad graphics, forgettable music, cheap grenade kills. And while I loved BO1 this story in BO2 is something only a psycho Marxist could enjoy. Multi player and Zombies are merely Ok. All in all a waste of time.
  69. JohnnyP
    Dec 2, 2012
    8
    The single-player has new and intuitive features, like the strike missions and different story paths. The plot however is not as good as the first Black Ops. The attempts at multiplayer balancing are a welcome change, but the multiplayer is still not as good as Modern Warfare 1, 2, or 3.
  70. chr0nix
    Dec 5, 2012
    0
    This is the first Call of Duty game I bought since COD 4 and will also be my last. First, lag in multiplayer is unacceptable. I've been a PC gamer my entire life starting with the Quake/Doom days and never seen multiplayer lag this horrible. It seems to punish fast connections and being on a 100mbit fiber line, I always feel like I'm getting screwed over every fight. They forgot to calibrate the compensation because its a POS. What a waste of money.

    Single player is a joke. Acting is laughable and missions are boring and the graphics/sound are way worse than multiplier. Action is high but over the top insane and it there is really no point to it all.

    Game is now uninstalled.    … Expand
  71. RamboDash
    Dec 7, 2012
    5
    I want to like this game... As much as I hate to jump on the "It's the same thing over and over", they really didn't change enough to make it new. Even after the new era, the "pick ten", etc... Once you get in a game and start shooting, it feels like I'm playing every single COD game since MW1. Sorry, Treyarch, I've wasted enough time on the call of duty franchise for more ultra-fast paced arcade garbage whilst pre-teen testosterone junkies scream mom jokes at me. There's a time for every franchise to die... or at least take a long break. This is that time.… Expand
  72. jtwodasea
    Dec 14, 2012
    8
    Black ops 2 is in my opinion the best and most well rounded installment of the COD series. The campaign is not just a glorified action story with stupid characters and explosions, (Dont be stupid there is still explosions) It has insanely good voice acting that is full of emotion and one of the best villains of any videogame (Besides Vaas from FC3) The multiplayer is as expected but still loads of fun and Treyarch's new take on zombies is refreshing and challenging. There are obviously still flaws like the horribly thought out probation system, and extremely bad knifing, but these are sure not to stop you from having a blast. In short, Black Ops 2 is fresh and new enough to garner your attention so go and get it.… Expand
  73. meltycrayon
    Dec 19, 2012
    3
    Droll,soulless,lackluster,unimaginative, All of these words describe Black Ops 2. Call of Duty has once again beaten me into believing they can do something different.
  74. JOEBEE7447
    Dec 19, 2012
    7
    Black Ops 2 is in no way a perfect game. Better than MW2? Yes. Better than MW3? Of course. Does it get too much hate? Heck yes. This whole game was hated before it even existed. They have tried to make the campaign interesting this year, but it is still buggy and unappealing, at least until you get to the future sections, which aren't for a while. But you would be a fool to buy this game for that. The Multiplayer really stepped up this year, adding new scorestreaks and league play. The zombie mode has also been improved, allowing for you to travel to different locations around a huge map. Although, that's pretty much where the new stuff ends. It is a massive improvement over MW3 and is a great game to play with friends. I would recommend this to you, but chances are, you already bought it.… Expand
  75. Gixxer
    Dec 29, 2012
    4
    Where to start on this one? The campaign of this game is fun with different endings depending on your choices but regardless of that it doesn't have a story that tempts you into playing the campaign for more than an hour at a time. And after you finish the campaign you'll have no desire to play it again.
    If you play games purely singleplayer then there are far superior games on the market    .
    Zombie mode is disappointing, there isn't much variation between the maps or combat situations and it gets boring to fight off the same horde of exactly the same zombies for longer than 15 minutes.
    Multiplayer however is where this game disappoints the most.
    The maps are the worst i've encountered in any Call of Duty game, with head glitching and camping spots galore. On top of that there's not much room in the maps for flanking the enemy without getting taken out by headglitchers armed with shock charges and bouncing betty's. And since the killstreaks are now more difficult to get, people camp even more trying to get a stealth chopper in the air.
    The spawn system is horribly random, too often you will find yourself scratching your head wondering why you spawned right in front of your enemy or why you spawned at the enemies flag in the domination game mode.
    The lag compensation system however is where this game truly falls flat on it's face, this was also a problem in MW3 from time to time but it was more rare than in Black Ops 2. Way too often will you shoot a guy full of bullets only to have him turn on you and kill you almost instantly. Every Call of Duty game on console had lag compensation but in this game it's completely screwed. Activision makes hundreds of millions of dollars annually with this franchise, you'd think it wouldn't be a big effort to host dedicated servers for this game..
    The gun balance in the game also lacks, well balance.. The SMG's are the way to go, they easily overpower most if not every other weapon in the game at almost all ranges.
    And yes, it still has the Quake 4 graphics engine with some modifications..
    Combine all this and you have a very lackluster game. I can't believe Treyarch developed a game for two years only to come up with this over hyped disappointment of a video game.
    Not only that, this game does not feel like Black Ops at all, it feels like a modded Modern Warfare game. Black Ops 1 was a superior title, not only in gameplay but also when it comes to originality and general atmosphere of the game, you put up with it's flaws because it was fun to play.
    This game however, is not. Why critics give this game such a high score is beyond me, because Black Ops 2 runs the franchise further into the ground instead of giving it a breath of fresh air. Steer clear of this one people, you will lament wasting your money on this.    … Expand
  76. gamedude
    Dec 30, 2012
    0
    Im sure i played this game already but it was called something else. Black ops I, that was it. 0/10 for refusing to do anything original or even upgrade the engine after all these years. COD will surely go the way of guitar hero if they do not improve soon. Market saturation boys, its a horrible thing.
  77. Versonic
    Jan 3, 2013
    4
    Call of duty: Black ops 2 takes the action to the future. however it still feels like i'm playing a game in the past.
    Firstly the campaign is like always, just there so they can make the game. they really don't put any effort into the game. all they are looking to get out is the multiplayer and the zombies. So multiplayer is as always, the same spray and pray. however they do add a point     system instead of a kill streak which makes it more objective run this time, this is not good though because you find yourself being bombed every couple of minutes. Zombies was ruined in every way possible. they took the the simple fun and turned it into a mess of building turbines and being downed in one hit due to the poor knifing system, its ridiculous.

    Would i play this or any other cod? yes. any other game? no    … Expand
  78. CritcGamer
    Jan 10, 2013
    10
    people need to stop stayin that b-ops 2 sucks. The game is freakin awsome. From the awsome graphics, to the (in my opinion) more solid gameplay. There are some maps to be loved, even though there is a tedios one that i tend to even leave the lobby for ( cough cough, express, ) it is an extremily exeptional game that all fans of the series should enjoy. There also is one thing that i should mention abought zombies... i dindnt like it as much as i did in the first black ops. I personally am not eally a zombies fan in the first place, but the only map i really enjoyed was transit. Anyway this is a great game so get it .… Expand
  79. liabProductions
    Jan 14, 2013
    4
    A fun game at times but the multiplayer is nothing new and gets boring after a day or two. The campaign is a bit entertaining but the only time you get to use new gadgets is normally once and is to just get to the next objective. If you're lucky you'll get 20 seconds with your new gadget. Anyway, bad campaign and a bad multiplayer. The Zombies mode is alright but soon gets boring seeing as there is basically only one map.… Expand
  80. Ripred
    Jan 21, 2013
    7
    As a game by itself, Black Ops 2 is a pretty good game. However, with all the other repetitive shooters, this isn't anything new. The multiplayer is okay, but the only really redeeming feature is Zombie mode.
  81. SomeRandomGuy94
    Jan 22, 2013
    1
    Well, what can you really say about this damn series?... Not much, they have such a simple and effective cash grabbing formula for these games every year. All they do is make sure they show how "new" and "improved" their next game is, and hype it to oblivion. But when you get the game, you realize it is nothing new, and they just sucked your wallet dry. I also have to mention that the developers cannot take criticism, and will hold comments for approval just to make sure the no one says anything bad about their precious game. They probably masturbate to a picture of David Vonderhaar everyday.… Expand
  82. Caedis
    Jan 24, 2013
    3
    Same-old, same-old from Treyarch. I couldn't play the campaign for more than 30 minutes. It was same strung-along junk. You defend a person or area for a certain amount of time until the next part of the setpiece begins. Or you shoot endless waves of enemies until you reach a magical room or area where it stops. The story itself is pretty bland and still the typical "bad guy wants to destroy the world." Multiplayer is, as always, a bright(er) spot. Generally unchanged although the "Pick 10" system is nice for truly customizing your layout. I wish they would have kept the different scorestreaks from Modern Warfare. I can rarely get the really huge runs in order to get dogs, VTOL, etc. so it would be cool if there were the streaks that didnt reset after you die, etc. Other than that, not really worth the money.… Collapse
  83. blaxout1213
    Feb 4, 2013
    1
    This game is the same thing as all the other Call of duties, but with different graphics. Maybe if they added new stuff it would get something better than a 4.4 as its score. However despite all that i did like the zombies, but not enough to bring the score up any.
  84. xiaoxiao282
    Feb 16, 2013
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After playing Modern Warfare 3, and hating it to the extent that I almost gave up on Call of Duty altogether,
    I was reluctant to play Black Ops II. I then waited until January to rent it.
    I started with the campaign, it features the protagonist of the first game, Alex Mason in a 1980's campaign, and his son, David, in a 2025 campaign.
    I didn't mind the story, its pretty much a world domination quest, to overthrow the government, but replacing the Russian antagonist with a Nicaraguan Raul Menendez. What I enjoyed most was the multiple endings, like you could chose whether or not to kill the main characters friend, (as an undercover agent) to not blow your cover, or try and kill Menendez, though if you try and kill Menendez, you get shot and die, and your friend survives, as does Menendez, though trying to save your friend would ruin your chances of getting a good ending. Which confused me.
    Then Zombies, it introduces a few new modes, such as Tranzit and Grief, Tranzit involves going around a huge city on a bus, and getting off at regular intervals. Grief is an 8 player mode, in which you are split into teams of 4 and try to be the last team standing. By either sabotaging the others or even help them.
    Then there's multiplayer, which is good enough I suppose. It introduces a new create a class thingy. Though the gameplay is of course, mostly the same.
    The graphics aren't great and they haven't changed since MW3, or MW1 actually! I recommend renting it like I did, then seeing if you should buy it.    … Expand
  85. pbenvin
    Feb 16, 2013
    5
    Not nearly as bad as most of the negative reviewers would have you believe, but Black Ops II is definitely suffering from a strong case of Beenthereitis. The "Pick 10" system is a nice little addition, and I also liked how you could customize your load-out before campaign missions. Nice touches indeed.

    But back to the so-called "reviewers." Most of the douche bags giving this game a 1/1    0 and so on are simply window lickers looking to bash CoD for the sake of bashing CoD. Plain and simple. I'd even go so far as to say that most of the aforementioned dickheads haven't even played the game. Sad when you think about it.… Expand
  86. RagingCanadian
    Mar 8, 2013
    3
    Okay when Modern Warfare 3 came out it ruined the franchise. I mean I'm not a huge fan of Call of Duty I prefer Halo and Gears of War. When I got Black Ops 1 I thought it was pretty good they did a good job, the multiplayer was balanced which is what I look for in multiplayer games. So when Black Ops 2 came out I gave it the benefit of the doubt but when I played it I was more than disappointed. For multiplayer they took Black Ops 1 and combined it with Modern Warfare 3, that combination just doesn't work. Its like putting Fruit Loops on crap. Zombies was good but if you want a good zombie apocalypse game get ArmA II: Combined Operations for PC and download DayZ. I will make a promise to the people that watch this if they make a Black Ops 3 i will dedicate my life to destroying every copy.… Expand
  87. TerribleEmu2759
    Mar 15, 2013
    3
    Don't believe what ign and gamespot are saying about these games, they are getting paid by these gaming companies to get good reviews. The game is the same thing as the Black Ops with different guns and different maps. It has a short weak campaign and has the same old maps that are made for camping. Plus the DLC season pass is the same price as the damn game! If you want a good game, go play Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare… Expand
  88. BidoofdaBeavur
    Apr 1, 2013
    6
    The game may seem okay,not everything seemed as it needed to.I felt like if i was playing Black Ops 1 again.Only 3 missions in the campaign were good while the rest were just terrible just like doing the same thhing again and again,The Multiplayer was exactly the same.
    I loved Zombies,though
  89. NewVegasGod
    Apr 11, 2013
    4
    They need to learn that they can only re-release the same game so many times before people start to take notice.

    There's nothing wrong with the CoD formula (except a rather short and mediocre campaign, but Black Ops 2 did a little better at that aspect) it's just that they keep release game after game, year after year, barely changing anything. And they're releasing another this year. I    t needs to stop. Now.… Expand
  90. aus741aus
    Apr 24, 2013
    7
    I came to the Call of Duty party fairly late, some time after Modern Warfare 2 and World at War, and I sincerely mean what I am about to say.

    The single player is the worst I've ever seen in a CoD game. Texture pop in, forgettable story and utterly annoying Strike Force missions. Still enjoyable for what it is but when compared to the previous campaigns it pales in compaison.

    Multipl    ayer is as good as ever. Nuff said

    Zombies is better than ever, easily the best part of the game. The same arcade action Treyarch improved with Black Ops with more features that just make it fun. Not to mention a return of the loveable over the top characters thatalso help characterise the mode, with voices new and old.

    All in all a good game, but at the same time the worst Call of Duty I've played thus far.    … Expand
  91. dynamite298
    May 1, 2013
    0
    I dislike all COD games, they are all basically the same but with just different items. I really hate COD games because of their laggyness, unfair battle processes, and everything else is basically unfair.
  92. mohmed
    May 20, 2013
    0
    Black Ops II is just another copy of CoD 4, both multiplayer and singleplayer. The multiplayer is super boring, you'll get completely outgunned by smg's and shotguns, which are much stronger than any assault rifle.
  93. Captain_Howdy
    May 22, 2013
    7
    I usually don't get many CoD games since, they have the tendency to lack in change, after playing WaW, BO and MW3 at a friends, i realized the game just lost its innovation, if you get this game every year, I'm not sure why you bother, but anyways, after playing this game, I feel like it was worth while. I mean the story mode was pretty alright, took me about 5 to 6 hours off an on, on Veteran. Multiplayer is still the same as ever, although repetitive from previous games, I do give Treyarch a thumbs up for the new pick 10 system, it adds new ways to set up your equipment. I say if you're iffy about the game and have the previous one, don't bother, stick with the one you have, if you're like that haven't bought a CoD game since MW2 give it a try but don't bother with the season pass or dlc, to my opinion it just isn't worth it. If you're a fan of the series, well there's nothing I can tell you to change your mind, you're probably playing it AND have the season pass.… Expand
  94. shadycolombian
    Nov 13, 2012
    10
    An all new experience from the same people who brought you the fun Black Ops. Find any other title this year that has as much fun, tense multiplayer and exciting set pieces and you'll come right back to Black Ops 2. The sheer excitement and drama of each scene is astounding. The decision making will have you coming back many times which is an evolution in the Call of Duty series. The multiplayer is so intense it will have you on the edge of your seat. The customization options are unparalleled and will be the marque online shooter experience this year. The Call of Duty series is the top selling shooter series in the entire world year after year for one very good reason: uncomplicated and thrilling multiplayer. There is absolutely no other series that offers the same level of intensity online with such a low learning curve. Team play and lone wolf tactics blend beautifully just like every Call of Duty title.

    There will be many skewed reviews on Gamespot because many people don't think players should have the right to fun. Think for yourself; play Black Ops 2 and don't look back.    … Expand
  95. davidm71
    Nov 14, 2012
    3
    I made the mistake of playing this straight after Halo 4. Maybe if I played this game 5 or 10 years before Halo 4, it wouldn't have seemed so bad. Everything about Black Ops II feels old, tired, linear, on-rails. The graphics engine is dated and looks cheap, flat and synthetic compared to numerous recent releases I could mention. The game play requires no thought or tactics. A.I. is barely existent. It's just an unsatisfying experience all-round. But the hype, fan base, and ridiculously favourably high critic reviews will ensure it sells millions. And I, amongst many others, was duped into wasting my money on it.… Expand
  96. Harryhausen
    Mar 22, 2013
    1
    This game is, by far, the worst call of duty EVER (and i've been playing this franchise since call of duty 2). the graphics are outdated, the story sucks (as always), the graphics are outdated and the story sucks.

    by the way, the graphics are outdated and the story sucks.
  97. iamandrew
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Big suprise here, same game as last year, and the year before, and the year before. It just feels so stale now. Not as disappointing as previous games, but only because I wasn't expecting much.
  98. droidean
    Nov 17, 2012
    5
    From an avid COD fan that has enjoyed every iteration of the series up to date (besides MW2) this game is a huge disappointment to me. I am truly saddened and shocked at Treyarch's porous decision making while developing this game. The zombies is at its best, and a very addicting part of the game, and i can't speak to to the single-player because I don't care for it. The multiplayer is where the game falls. The maps are horribly designed and a campers heaven, there are numerous and countless boxes/crates/cars/barrels to hide behind. The maps are designed like duel fort fields that lack the flow of previous COD games. The weapons are not fun to use and poorly designed. The MP gameplay in general feels sluggish and clunky, every game I have played (even on the smaller, more fast paced maps) is significantly slower and longer than games of previous COD games (they lack excitement). The hitmarker noise is reduced and the reward text is white and hard to see, this may seem like a small deal but those are thing you have to see constantly and when killing someone just isn't very satisfying then the game just isn't too much fun. Statistics are essentially missing as all your combat record tells you is how long you've played, how many kills you have, and your K:D ratio. No death count or any of the numerous fun statistics that were in nearly every other COD. The only reason I give this game a 5 is because of zombies and perhaps you might enjoy the camping playstyle. But in general, STAY AWAY.… Expand
  99. NigelStrawberry
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Complete waste of time, even for a Call of Duty fan. The game reuses so many models and sounds from previous games, you could think it's just an expansion. In fact, it has about as much content as an expansion should. Boring, short campaign. Stale multiplayer. Repetitive zombies. Nothing new. The only good thing is being able to stream games, but you can't do that if there's no good game to stream.… Expand
  100. DOOMShooter
    Nov 14, 2012
    10
    Love this game. Graphics are a step up, the multiplayer feels fresh and engaging, and the zombies mode is as addictive as ever. The negative user reviews are not a depiction of the game. The people who enjoy the game, are actually playing, not complaining about it.
Page:

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 73 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 67 out of 73
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 73
  3. Negative: 0 out of 73
  1. Xbox World Australia
    Jan 22, 2013
    80
    This is not to say it's a bad game, it's just not different enough from previous Call of Duty titles. The story isn't memorable, the maps and weapons aren't any different to what we've previously experienced, the gameplay is near identical to previous games, and when it's not identical it falls flat and fails to impress.
    Read full review
  2. X360 Magazine UK
    Jan 19, 2013
    80
    It's fun, and an indication that Treyarch is willing to explore ideas that Infinity Ward has thus far ignored. [Issue#93, p.74]
  3. DailyGame
    Jan 7, 2013
    95
    If the original Black Ops was Treyarch's coming-out party, then Black Ops 2 is the studio's affirmation that their COD expertise was no flash in the pan. If you're one of the 16 people who hasn't played this gem yet, go buy it now. Conversely, if you're among those who bought the game but hasn't ventured into the single-player campaign (yes, it happens), there's a great narrative and divergent gameplay awaiting your experimentation, so check it out.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »