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

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 1669 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 640 out of 1669
  2. Mixed: 175 out of 1669
  3. Negative: 854 out of 1669

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  1. loudnigra
    Nov 17, 2012
    3
    Derivative. That's all I can say of Call of Duty. It's a sad decline from the greatness of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. A slow decay and entropy towards oblivion. It no longer became a shining sun it once was, no a crushing black hole for the FPS genre to slow die in. There's less "future" in it compared to games such as Metal Gear Solid or Deus Ex. Only a few guns and vehicles are changed. The story line might as well been written by Michael Bay, even though they hired the writer for the Dark Knight. The fanbase and monetary transactions have become more and more cancerous, and I only see a cliff ahead for this speeding train. RIP COD, you will be remembered but not missed… Expand
  2. jnova80
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    Bro Fest 2012! Get your TapOut shirts and dubstep ready! This one is shaping up to be the biggest gathering of pointless nonsense we have ever seen!!!
  3. 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
  4. Maxson
    Nov 14, 2012
    0
    I don't know how people rate this game 10/10, 9/10, or even 8/10. The campaign of this game was kinda weak, and like all CoD games, its very short. Just because they think adding bunch of explosions in one screen would make this game awesome...lol no...Multiplayer...oh man...the reason buy this game is multiplayer. The online of this game is basically the same sh!t as the other titles..similar perks and all. They might have added a few new additions like some new tech into the game multiplayer but still it feels the same. This game deserves 5 or lower out of 10. Its not worth the 60$ people...your basically buying the same game except with a new story and new toys added to your online experience. You guys please open your minds and face the fact that this game is not worth it. PS: Only positive thing about this game is zombie.… Expand
  5. 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!
  6. sporeboy100
    Nov 14, 2012
    0
    solution to all your problems relating to this terrible game: 1 take your copy of Call of Hackers: Hacked Ops 2, sell it back to the retailer you got it from, or sell it on eBay 2 take the money you get from it and go buy HALO 4 and Minecraft 1B take your copy of Call of Hackers: Hacked Ops 2, get a video camera, set it to record 2B DESTROY THE GAME!!! 3B upload the video to youtube and gain the trust of millions of gamers… Expand
  7. KillerShadow
    Nov 17, 2012
    0
    I give it a zero for the fact that no major changes were made to the game besides the new killstreak system.There is almost no reason to buy this game other than saying you got the new COD. When in reality if you had MW3 in your collection you don't need this.
  8. 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
  9. cwatz
    Nov 13, 2012
    3
    While a much more polished game, and much more innovative, this game is basically MW4. It suffers from the exact issues as MW3 did.

    Maps are to small, to cluttered. Spawns are awful. Skilled gunplay is non existant, its all instakill, lazerbeam sprayfests. The net code also seems to have been taken directly from mw3.

    As a lover of BO and WaW, this is massively disappointing as tr    eyarch has taken the game in a path it should never have gone.… Expand
  10. 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
  11. Dronin
    Nov 13, 2012
    1
    Same engine, Same formula, a few new guns... I'm not sold.

    How year after year people flock to the new edition of the call of duty franchise I'm not sure. The best Modern Warfare game was the original, since then the franchise has gone slowly downhill with each new installation. I would advise people to stay away from this one and wait for it to hit the sale.
  12. warzone132
    Nov 15, 2012
    1
    Buying Black Ops 2 is like buying a burger that has some sort of "add on" that makes it seem tastier. E.g. burger with added hot spicy onion rings or some special sauce.

    Essentially you're purchasing the same game but with some minor tweaks.....

    Black Ops 2- Futuristic setting, Multiple endings, Choose 2 choices in game which lead you back to the same linear path (i.e. rappel down an    d fight enemies in close quarter combat ? or be a sniper and support your allies?)

    A good attempt at being innovative. Robots, future tech.... meh.................

    Graphics- No changes

    Multiplayer- Same thing

    Zombies: Yeah, I admit this is better than Black Ops and fun with friends, but still.... meh

    But at the end of the day, this is my opinion so don't be hating on me

    Although I applaud Black Ops 2's marketing campaign of getting all these celebrities in one promo video, so that was good    … Expand
  13. 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
  14. DaddyNoots
    Nov 14, 2012
    1
    I would like to say that this game is a decently made game; if it were still CoD 2... or Maybe CoD 3. The fact that this franchise has made SOOO MUCH MONEY!!! and yet almost none goes back into developing a better game. I rented this game, and was not impressed at all. I did a little comparison and put CoD BO on, and let my wife play it. I then let her play BO2. I then asked her if I could go buy BO2 after she played BO, her reply was "It really seems like the same game." I then agreed and decided it was not worth the 60 bucks. In my opinion this game is nothing more than a simple map pack with some minor changes they could issued through a patch for BO. It is by no means worth 60 dollars, I might look into it when the price comes down to about 20-30 US $.… Expand
  15. 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
  16. Burbaby
    Nov 14, 2012
    3
    Garbage. Same re-packed gameplay. Graphics are very, very disappointing for the latest game released this year. Multiplayer identical in almost every way. 'Ohhh new guns!'..... I wanted to like this game, I really did. Laughable campaign with 9,000 stupid AI that you mindlessly murder map after map until you make it to the checkpoints and suddenly become impervious to gunfire.. Better game than Black Ops I. Zombie maps have a somewhat new face and idea and are fun, but still confusing, which I suppose is part of the intrigue(I made it past lvl 50 on most of the last Zombie maps as to show I'm not a complete n0ob). Graphics still suck and zombies still act the exact same as the last game. Exact same. Music and sound is even the same. I would like this game a lot if it was the first CoD I played, but since it is JUST LIKE the first CoD game I played, I'm pretty bored and I can't believe people are paying $60 for another map pack and weapon re-skin in such record breaking numbers. Are we just mindless sheep? I love how we are eating up this garbage. If they make another game with this same engine and the same graphics, I fear it will make CoD a self parody(if it hasn't already). Treyarch and the rest of the CoD producers are laughing all the way to the bank with this one. And the last one. And the one before that.

    Gets a 3 because a 0 is stupid. There IS content here and there is even new content, just not enough to justify a new game.    … Expand
  17. beatflux
    Nov 14, 2012
    4
    The dirty little secret of the Call of Duty series is that the original creators left Infinity Ward to start Respawn Entertainment, and with them they took the intelligence and innovative spirit of the series. What was left were the bones of a great series left to be recast by two back to back developers who would futilely attempt to revamp the series again and again. The last great Call of Duty was Modern Warfare 2, and since them fans have been slowly exposed to a dying series that will eventually be a parody of itself. The core of Black Ops 2 multiplayer is broken because it doesn't not deal with fundamental aspects of fun and gameplay. The maps are chicken scratch attempts at creating an adrenaline fueled rat maze with no sense of intelligent direction. The spawns are absolutely horrid: spawn can often be a throw of the dice to see whether you manage to live or die. Finally, the lag in this game is still at a lower level than the MW1 and MW2 variations, the lag still puts you into that situations where you thought you had the jump on a guy, but the killcam reveals that you didn't even pull up your gun. Without addressing these core issues, the series is slowly withering away its hardcore fans, and eventually the rest of the community will start to catch on. Treyarch is a shady mom and pop used car sales lot who will praise the paint, but refuse to fix the engine.

    If the gun classes were balanced, the online gameplay fixed, and the maps completely redesigned with strong team deathmatch gameplay I would be inclined to give this game at least an 8 or a 9.    … Expand
  18. Satis
    Nov 14, 2012
    0
    A copy and paste job, cheap lazy money grabbing offering, this franchise deserves more and gamers even more. What is achieved in this, could have been a £ 15.00 DLC update.
  19. 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.
  20. iTRYPOD
    Nov 14, 2012
    4
    Boring! MP is complete garbage,zombies is the same and the campaign is meh at best. I have been a huge fan of the series but now i'm done! The fun factor doesn't exist in this game.
  21. 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
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. KittenUppercut
    Nov 17, 2012
    3
    I will openly admit that I haven't bought a CoD game since MW2 and haven't truly played one since BO due to the lack of innovation in the games I was spending $60 every year on, but I read and watched the previews about the new game modes and changes to multiplayer and decided that maybe this will bring back the fun of the CoD. I am sad to say that I was wrong.

    While the game does offer     slight innovation with new Zombies modes, the addition of Pick 10, and a branching storyline, I couldn't help but feeling like I just paid $60 for a DLC. It's still the classic CoD formula which is always not good or bad, but it sure does get old. An excellent marketing strategy nonetheless for appealing to casual gamers, but it leaves hardcore gamers questioning: when will the edge-of-seat, nail-biting, adrenaline pumping feeling come back?

    The branching storyline campaign was what really appealed to me getting the game, but following the overly paid detail to the action of the story never made me care about how the storyline branched (and I will not give a name, but how did he survive after that?). Overall, CoD fans, casual gamers, and 12-year-olds that shouldn't be playing the game anyway will love the simplistic additions to the run-and-gun gameplay. They're on the right track with the innovation process, but the lack of depth leaves many holes in their attempt.    … Expand
  25. voodoobunny
    Nov 20, 2012
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The worst COD ever, worst kill-streaks ever, and you only get 1 killstreak (scorestreak) for all of your classes. Assault rifles are a joke, the handguns kill more than them. No pro perks, what you see is what you get.....
    Sounds: All the guns sound the same, footsteps sound fake and are really loud, even when you use dead silence. Connection: (when you enter a game) Incomparable lag compensation issues, you can fire a whole clip in an enemy, he will kill you with 2 bullets, and looking at the killcam your character won't have even fired on shot. Not to mention that you will spend more time in the lobby than actually playing. If you want an "almost decent connection" you will have to spend 60% of the time in lobbies (on PS3). The hit detection is a joke, it was bad in BO1 but this one is even worse. Weapons: have the weirdest name (Like PDW 47 WTF is that????), and beside the MP7 none of them are real, seems that Treyarch wanted to cut costs (as well) on license names.
    The graphics don't look real, they look like a HALO, or a cheap Scifi shooter Game, full of unlikely colors.
    Back to MW3, and will wait for MW4. Don't throw your money away.    … Expand
  26. Songiyay
    Dec 6, 2012
    3
    Sorry for misspelling!
    Well, partly this game dont deserve even 5 stars out of 10, its done! everything is OK, the gameplay, its funny, but its like playing "Pong" from the 80's today on your PC/Console. Repeating the same nosense all over again with the most unexceptional b*llsh*ty story that just tell you to kill the guy who murdered your dad, because of a frag grenade killing hes monst    ery looking sister that survive after a heavy fire.Then he raise an army to destroy China and the US, because he just lost hes sister! (I mean hes mutant pet?!) The multiplayer is the same year after year, the graphics and the mechanism havent been changed since Cod 4, just designed for better resolution monitors, why should i buy it? only whiny kids would buy this game! unxceptional! thats what i can say. Poorly done, just copy and paste for 5 years, what he hell Activision?!… Expand
  27. ApoACD
    Dec 13, 2012
    0
    All I can say is, OH MY GOD IT SUCKS SO BAD I'VE CRIED THE FIRST 5 MINS.

    There is absolutely no fun at all. I've played MW2 and Black OPS, it's really getting worst. Wish I didn't follow my friend and loose my money for something that don't deserve it. I mean, I could have help a kickstart project with the money instead of giving it to greedy monster corp. There is no excuse for the lac    k of graphics quality, the small maps with no inspirations and the lack of "smooth" actions. If you're a fan of COD and keep saying "well, it always been like that" well guess what, little studio with no budget do better now. You've been kick in the nuts. Buy anything else like harry potter games or kinect games you'll have more fun. Eck ! Go outside see the light.

    Don't buy that **** whatever your fan COD friend says. Don't help them make money.    … Expand
  28. pfcWintergreen
    Jan 7, 2013
    2
    The multiplayer in this game is easily the worst of the series. Here's what I like the Pick 10 is great, guns are balanced, perks aren't overpowered, and the scorestreak system rewards objective game play. You may be thinking this is sounding like the best Cod ever, but you would be sadly mistaken. The net code punishes good connections, and also the host by delaying their game state on the server. This means to enemy players you will appear unresponsive as they gun you down on their screen, even though on your screen you will appear to have been killed by bullets behind cover. This also means moving players will sometimes not even appear on your screen before they kill you. More often you will see the player only to be killed by what on your screen is a single bullet, but may have been an entire clip on his. Even if it's a bad player and his aim is bad enough that you survive the initial view delay, due to client side hit detection and the delay that is still present you will be firing at a location the enemy is no longer at causing either no hit markers or ones that don't actually register as damage. The hosting situation is growing worse as those with better connections are quitting the game in droves. The ones that do stay either dashboard ending the game for everyone, or passing host around like a hot potato causing host migration after migration.
    If you haven't bought it yet, I advise you to wait as Treyarch has been ignoring the issue and a large growing number of dissatisfied customers.    … Expand
  29. megaD
    Nov 19, 2012
    1
    This game is the disappointment of the the year! Hands off... unless you want to waste your money. It's all the same over again but with a bit more futuristic weapons and surrounding. The graphics is really outdated these days and can't compare to Medal of Honor Warfighter or Battlefield 3. The singleplayer is short and sometimes even a bit ridiculous as it's not authentic at all. The multiplayer is still aimed at the same type of egoistic non-cooperative player type. Don't make the same mistake as I did... don't buy it.… Expand
  30. Mark10
    Nov 13, 2012
    0
    When is everyone going to get it in their heads that this is just another rehash washed out Call of Duty game? One day, Activision is gonna ditch supporting the series just like they did with the Guitar Hero series and they'll be looking for another game to leech on for money.
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Critic Reviews

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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.
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  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
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