[Megathread] Black Ops II

[Sharp15]

Just want to know if the PC version is working. Most games that come out on release have broken online multiplayer and I was considering buying this game tonight after work. I remember getting Black Ops 1 on release night and the online was broken. I remember getting World at War as well release week and the online was broken. If only game companies would test their games before release, not surprised though since it's COD after all.

[Moosie]

I know a lot of CoD fans really don't care, but I do. I've just finished the campaign in Blops 2, and it is by far the worst campaign, not only from the CoD series but from probably any FPS within the last 10 years. It's terrible. Theres no plot twist, nothing really major happens (That we haven't seen before) and it just feels repetitive. I'm a sucker for CoD campaigns, there's always that point in the game when you pause for a second and wonder how they got away with it, in Mw2, the airport scene was in the news, banned in some countries and actually made me gasp. In blops 2, nothing even remotely close to it. About the height of the campaign is making a choice who to kill by pressing either "F" or "Space". I'm guessing both cases have a similar outcome at the end of it anyway.

The online on the other hand is pretty good, played for a few days and that freshness is still there. Already getting annoyed by the overpowered SMG's though but it's to be expected to be honest, they have always been overpowered and at least it's not as bad as the UMP45 in mw2.

Just want to know if the PC version is working. Most games that come out on release have broken online multiplayer and I was considering buying this game tonight after work. I remember getting Black Ops 1 on release night and the online was broken. I remember getting World at War as well release week and the online was broken. If only game companies would test their games before release, not surprised though since it's COD after all.

The game, for me is working fine. This is coming from a guy that black ops 1 didn't work for him for 2 months after release. I would have to say it's up there with some of the best game releases in terms of stability/compatibility and smoothness. I haven't heard really any problems with it so far.

[Blackdecker]

MP7, like in MW3, is OP as hell.

[obdigore]

MP7, like in MW3, is OP as hell.

Nah. There are at least 2 SMG's that are stronger than it, and I have not unlocked them all yet.

[undead9]

Just wondering what people have created so far using the new emblem editor. Here are mine:

Dapper BMO -

Minecraft Creeper -

[JustintimeSS]

MP7, like in MW3, is OP as hell.

It's identical to the MW3 one which makes it strong but it's not the best. Vector and PDW-57 are super strong in comparison. I'm using a knife build right now. No weapons equipped. Getting a 2.0 or better KDR every match with it (also you get two shock sticks, not one, despite the picture).

Just wondering what people have created so far using the new emblem editor. Here are mine:

That's mine.

[peggleftw]

Just wondering what people have created so far using the new emblem editor. Here are mine:

Dapper BMO -

Minecraft Creeper -

awesome creeper! i dont have the game yet but BO1 i made myself a penguin, probably do the same again, but it looks like you can do alot more with BO2 emblem creator.

also, my friend said there is only 4 game types available on hardcore, do you think they will add more to it in the future? like a domination? my favorite game type but i hate playing core

[JustintimeSS]

awesome creeper! i dont have the game yet but BO1 i made myself a penguin, probably do the same again, but it looks like you can do alot more with BO2 emblem creator.

also, my friend said there is only 4 game types available on hardcore, do you think they will add more to it in the future? like a domination? my favorite game type but i hate playing core

The player card editor is ten times better this go around and I'm very happy it's back because it is one of my favorite features in COD games. You get 32 layers instead of 12 and a lot of unique control over your shapes and colors. As a designer, this is a super fun way to make yourself unique, especially since the game announces your player card when you do something useful.

As far as HC Dom, only time will tell. I personally love domination (core) and with the lack of player controlled dedicated servers I will avoid it this go around like I do in the MW series. One reason = No one on the server to admin douchebags not playing the objective. I can't stand playing with people who play domination like TDM.

[Torched]

Looks like the game is pretty broken for those that have a 580GTX, I can´t get past the 2nd mission since the game just crashes and I can´t play more then 2-3 round in multiplayer before the game just hard freezes and I can´t even Ctrl-alt-del to get the task manager up so I have to restart the computer, sigh.

Well I hope they fix this soon.

https://twitter.com/pcdev/status/268172693331906561
"@pcdev @mschnepf looks like we have the pattern. we all crash at the boat scene in the 2nd mission and all have a gtx580."

"@KhamulGER @mschnepf We are working with Nvidia on this one."

Work fast!

[CHALET]

Anybody's delivery from GAME.co.uk not arrived yet?

[Istaril]

Meh. Once again I'm disappointed by the maps, I was hoping Treyarch would do better than Sledgehammer, but these maps still suffer from the same issues, about the only one I can stand is Turbine.

They just completely lack verticality in any meaningful sense and have extremely short LOS. Guess I'll play the campaign through then move onto something else.

[EyelessCrow]

Meh. Once again I'm disappointed by the maps, I was hoping Treyarch would do better than Sledgehammer, but these maps still suffer from the same issues, about the only one I can stand is Turbine.

They just completely lack verticality in any meaningful sense and have extremely short LOS. Guess I'll play the campaign through then move onto something else.

Every single map has sections that every type of weapon can excel in. I have been sniped a lot and that usually doesn't happen in COD so I know something has changed. I think people will do it even more when more people start unlocking bouncing betties and claymores.

Also I just finished campaign and it, for me, was the best one of all COD games. I didn't realize how much certain things mattered that affected the ending for me so now I want to go through it again already in its entirety...they did a great job this time around, same engine sure but it feels loads different

[External]

Freshly bought this game and must say i enjoy it more then MW3 .
I was hyped up for the zombie mod again cause i enjoyed it so much in blackops 1 , but its pretty dissapointing i must say.

[obdigore]

Freshly bought this game and must say i enjoy it more then MW3 .
I was hyped up for the zombie mod again cause i enjoyed it so much in blackops 1 , but its pretty dissapointing i must say.

Are you doing the zombie bus thing or the competitive zombie mode or the 'normal' co-op zombie mode?

[Kuntantee]

Downloading the game right now. I was watching some live streams and noticed that maps are small just like in MW3(maybe only the maps in streams I don't know). Why can't we get some big maps like in CoD4...

[Dekadez]

Maps are relatively small, but they feel bigger than MW3. They also feel more diverse, by which I mean that there are more ways to approach a single location than ever before. I especially like the crouch holes you can find on some of the urban maps. There are enough choke points and long hallways.

Imo, maps are the biggest forte of BO2. They are nothing short of excellent. Maps lacking verticality aside from Turbine? I wholeheartedly disagree. Cargo is packed with several vertical layers, going from cargo storage level, second floors of buildings, the heightened cargo bay in the middle, etc. Both Yemen and Overflow offer more vertical vantage points than any stock MW3 map, most likely more than all of them combined. Even Drone offers some nice vertical play, be it on the bridges overseeing the battlefield or the different buildings.

Hijacked, Plaza and Raid are different sorts of maps. They don't need a plethora of vertical levels.

[JustintimeSS]

Maps are relatively small, but they feel bigger than MW3. They also feel more diverse, by which I mean that there are more ways to approach a single location than ever before. I especially like the crouch holes you can find on some of the urban maps. There are enough choke points and long hallways.

Imo, maps are the biggest forte of BO2. They are nothing short of excellent. Maps lacking verticality aside from Turbine? I wholeheartedly disagree. Cargo is packed with several vertical layers, going from cargo storage level, second floors of buildings, the heightened cargo bay in the middle, etc. Both Yemen and Overflow offer more vertical vantage points than any stock MW3 map, most likely more than all of them combined. Even Drone offers some nice vertical play, be it on the bridges overseeing the battlefield or the different buildings.

Hijacked, Plaza and Raid are different sorts of maps. They don't need a plethora of vertical levels.

Spot on. I agree wholeheartedly that the maps are the shining star in this installment. I thoroughly enjoy the nooks and crannies and back routes to avoid choke spots.

Enjoyed myself the most last night just knifing again. Here is just one map I played and scored 27/5 with all knives.

[KillacrusadeME]

The map design In these games now are getting Incredibly lame, Did the devs just work on "Create a-class" for the development cycle and handed map making to Infinity ?
Last night I joined 16 games, 13 Games were In progress and losing badly, the remaining 3 had the best lag compensation ever, though to add I must count 11 hosts from around the world, woot.

Maps use to have-a feature, say the "highlight" of the map, whether it being Wastelands middle trenches In mw2 or Launches rocket control on Blops 1
I got completed owned on Carrier last night, joined late, they had 3 clan members, and were working together, I on the other hand had one whiny cod player moaning because hes dying repeatedly, other 2 cba to buy mics, I got quick scoped, prefired around corners, basically I came to the conclusion why bother ? : /

Gears of war 1 (removing host advantage) was by far-a balanced working game to a certain extent, when they worked and refined this Multiplayer experience not many GOW fans liked it, I liked Halo when It was simple, now companies have It into there heads custom loadouts at the start of the game make players have-a more refined pleasant experience, I can't stand DMR. I'll keep this game for zombies, unless they're are some trade In deals for Far cry 3

[Istaril]

The map design In these games now are getting Incredibly lame

I really have to agree. The maps are not this game's strong point. They're a step up from MW3, but they're still piss poor in comparison to BO, MW2 WaW and MW. I honestly cannot understand why they thought designing the maps in this way was a good idea, their reduction in size makes spawns broken beyond belief, they also suffer from MW3's corridor syndrome, with a complete lack of wide open spaces.

All in all, they're just bad maps in my personal opinion.

[glorithan]

I posted this on the cod forums. Putting it here to hopefully help the discussion along

Black ops 2 has the POTENTIAL to be the best cod ever. but thats just it. Potential. The way it is right now makes me want to go back to the dreaded MW3 or BO1.

SMGs - Everyone has heard people complain about SMGs and CQC scenarios. I agree but only to a certain extent with these SMG complaints. When I get ranged by a vector with a grip and my Scar-H couldn't kill him with the 4 hit markers I got. I feel there is a problem in that scenario. Of course, when they CQC me with SMGs I should lose because thats what SMGs are for. Close Quarter Combat. So the problem isn't with SMGs overall, just their assualt rifle range.

Ghost + UAV - This was a huge hit for me because in every call of duty before this one I used the perk to hide from the spyplane/uav. I feel that the change they made to Ghost in BO2 is a great change....for TDM and KC. In Objective based games its a different story. Take this scenario for an example. Team 1 has A and B and Team 2 has C. If a player on team 1 wants to defend B, he has no choice but to be shown on the map because ghost will not hide him because he is defending his base. With the ghost change it feels like the blind rusher's and "pacman players" have a huge benefit with it. I have heart that the reason they changed ghost was to speed up gameplay. What about the other side of the community that plays defense and flanks teams. When flanking, you have to stop when trying to get behind them so that you can reload behind cover or let them pass as you run behind their team. I find myself puling out a launcher every time I spawn and firing both rockets to blow up UAVs only to see there are more UAVs then I have rockets. So shooting them down is not always the correct answer then you run out of rockets shooting and there are still more.

Lag Comp - I cant say I have experienced this all to much unless you count all the times I have put 10 bullets into someone while they turn and 1 shot me with a SMG. I feel that its something that can be tuned down to a much better level. Bring it in line with BO1.

Camping - If Ghost change was to fix camping, then why are there so many complaints about it still. Obviously Ghost was not the underlying cause of camping. Either way, camping was, is, and will forever be a legit strategy. Rushers dont like campers because rushers dont pay attention to their surroundings very well. They run around the map so quick just looking for movement that a still player catches them off guard most often. Sitting and waiting for the enemy that you know is coming has been a legit strategy for hundreds of years.

In conclusion, these are my opinions of this BO2. I almost feel that they could have remodeled BO1 and used dif guns and maps and it would have been more enjoyable. I feel that Ghost should go back to the BO1 perk as well which I am sure I will get hated on for. It has such HUGE potential for being the best cod ever. Just dont let it go to waste treyarch. You guys made my favorite COD (black ops 1) and it was amazing and still is.

I would love to actually get some feedback from someone at treyarch as to why they made the changes they did. Some clarifcation if you will. I feel that it will help the community understand the logic behind the choice instead of blindly raging on the forums about it. Why did you deviate so far from your orginal game? and Do you have any plans to change things according to the obviously dislike of thousands of players making their voices heard?