Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a 2012 first-person shooter game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It was released for Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 13, 2012, and for the Wii U on November 18 in North America and November 30 in PAL regions. Black Ops II is the ninth game in the Call of Duty franchise of video games, a sequel to the 2010 game Call of Duty: Black Ops and the first Call of Duty game for the Wii U. A corresponding game for the PlayStation Vita, Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified, was developed by nStigate Games and also released on November 13.
In the 1980s, the player switches control between Alex Mason and Frank Woods, the former being one of the protagonists from Black Ops, while in 2025, the player assumes control of Mason's son, David. Both time periods involve the characters pursuing Raul Menendez, a Nicaraguan arms dealer and later terrorist, who is responsible for kidnapping David in the 80s and later sparking a Second Cold War in 2025. The campaign features non-linear gameplay and has multiple endings. Locations featured in the game include Angola, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Pakistan, the Cayman Islands, Panama, Yemen, the United States, and Haiti.
Development for the game began soon after the release of Black Ops, with Activision promising that the follow-up would bring "meaningful innovation" to the Call of Duty franchise. Black Ops II is the first game in the series to feature futuristic warfare technology and the first to present branching storylines driven by player choice as well as selecting weapons before starting story mode missions. It also offers a 3D display option. The game was officially revealed on May 1, 2012, following a set of leaked information released during the previous months.
Black Ops II received mostly positive reviews from critics, with praise for its gameplay variety, story, multiplayer, Zombies mode, and villain, while its Strike Force missions received criticism. Retrospective reviewers consider it one of the best games in the series. The game was a commercial success; within 24 hours of its release, it grossed over $500 million. It had remained the largest entertainment launch of all time until the release of Grand Theft Auto V. By November 2013, the game had sold over 24 million copies, making it one of the series' best-selling entries.
Sequels to the game continued or expanded the storyline: Call of Duty: Black Ops III acts as a direct sequel; Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is set between the events of Black Ops and Black Ops II; Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is set after Black Ops II
Gameplay
Campaign
Black Ops II is the first Call of Duty video game to feature branching storylines, in which the player's choice affects both the current mission and in turn, the overall course of the story. Known as "Strike Force missions", these branching storylines appear during the 2025 storyline and feature permadeath. The success or failure of these missions can have ramifications for the wider campaign storyline. Choosing one of the missions locks out the others unless the player begins a fresh campaign.Strike Force missions allow the player to control a number of different war assets, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, jet fighters and robots. If the player dies in a Strike Force mission, the campaign continues recording that loss, as opposed to letting the player load a previously saved checkpoint. The player's progress in the Strike Force missions may go on to change even the plans of the story's antagonist, Raul Menendez. By the end of the game, the player may have changed the results of the new Cold War.
Similarly, in the main story missions, there are certain points where the player is given different choices and paths to progress, which could have an effect on the gameplay, as well as the story. Black Ops II is also the first game in the series to allow the player to customize their loadout before beginning a mission, creating freedom in choosing how to approach a mission.
Multiplayer
One of the biggest changes added to multiplayer mode in Black Ops II is the introduction of Pick 10, a new system within the Create-a-Class menu. Pick 10 gives the player a total of 10 allocation slots in a class, which are used for guns, perks, and grenades. The player can customize the slot allocation, to either have more attachments for a gun, or more perks.Killstreaks from previous Call of Duty games are renamed as Scorestreaks, which are now earned by gaining points, rather than kills. This allows the player to focus on objective modes, which also earn points towards Scorestreaks.
Unlike past games, weapons in Black Ops II have a progression system, which is used to unlock weapon attachments. After maxing out a weapon's level, the player can choose to "prestige" the gun, similar to how they can prestige the player level, and reset their attachment progress. In exchange, the player can customize their weapons with custom clan tags and emblems.
Black Ops II is also the first Call of Duty game to include a competitive mode. Known as League Play, the mode allows players of similar skill level to be matched together, and play according to the rules of Major League Gaming.
Zombies
Treyarch confirmed that the Zombies mode would return for Black Ops II with new game modes. This is the third Call of Duty game to feature a Zombies mode, following Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops, and the first to have game modes other than the traditional Survival mode. Treyarch also confirmed that Zombies would run on the game's multiplayer engine, allowing for a deeper community experience, along with new features. A new, 8 player co-op game called "Grief" is also supported, featuring 2 teams of 4 players competing to survive, unlike the previous games which only supported 4 player online co-op. As with the previous installments, each Zombies map contains "Easter eggs" side quests, which is used to progress the story. Another new mode, "Turned", is introduced with several downloadable content maps, in which one player attempts to survive three player-controlled zombies who must turn the other player into a zombie.Synopsis
Campaign
In July 1986, retired CIA operative Alex Mason lives an obscure life in Alaska with his son David. One day, his former handler Jason Hudson shows up with an assignment: Mason's friend and fellow operative Frank Woods disappeared in Angola investigating an arms smuggling ring. After aiding Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebels against the MPLA, Mason and Hudson rescue Woods from a barge on the Cubango River, subsequently encountering Nicaraguan arms dealer Raul Menendez. After a firefight, the trio are rescued by Savimbi, and Menendez is revealed to be Woods' captor. In September 1986, the CIA authorizes a strike against Menendez, now profiteering from the Soviet–Afghan War. The trio travels to Afghanistan, meets Chinese intelligence operative Tian Zhao, and allies with the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviets. After capturing Colonel Lev Kravchenko, Menendez's partner, Mason's brainwashing resurfaces. If Mason resists during Kravchenko's interrogation, the latter reveals Menendez has moles in the CIA before Woods executes him. Regardless, the mujahideen betray the Americans and Zhao, leaving them to die in the desert until their rescue by two travelers; Mason hallucinates that one of them is Viktor Reznov.Menendez's anti-American sentiment is revealed to have started after his sister Josefina was disfigured in a fire linked to an American businessman's insurance fraud. When an earthquake in 1972 left his family destitute, Menendez and his father began running drugs, leading the CIA to assassinate his father. After Afghanistan, Mason, Woods, Hudson, and Panamanian forces led by Manuel Noriega raid Menendez's compound in Nicaragua. Woods, seeking revenge, attempts to kill Menendez despite orders to take him alive. However, Woods accidentally kills Josefina, with Menendez also presumably killed; Menendez conspires with Noriega to fake his demise. In December 1989, during the American invasion of Panama, Mason and Woods capture Noriega for a prisoner swap, but Woods is tricked into shooting Mason. Menendez then reveals himself and shoots Woods in the kneecaps, crippling him; Menendez had previously kidnapped David, coercing Hudson into luring Mason and Woods into a trap. Menendez murders Hudson, before promising to complete his revenge against Woods in the future. In the aftermath, a handicapped Woods raises David in Mason's place, while hiding the true circumstances of his father's death.
In 2014, Menendez forms a populist movement, Cordis Die. In 2018, the organization stages a cyberattack that cripples the Chinese stock exchanges, sparking a Second Cold War between NATO and the Chinese-led Strategic Defense Coalition headed by Zhao. By 2025, Cordis Die boasts an estimated two billion followers while David, now a DEVGRU Lieutenant Commander codenamed Section, leads JSOC and his squadmates Mike Harper and Javier Salazar to neutralize Menendez. Section and Harper visit "The Vault," a CIA retirement home where an elderly Woods resides. Woods tells them that Menendez recently visited him and gave him a heart-shaped pendant belonging to Josefina. Section and Harper listen to Woods recount his past encounters with Menendez.
After raiding a Cordis Die compound in Myanmar, Section's team learns Menendez is planning a second cyberattack using 'celerium', a rare-earth element that could create a powerful computer virus. Spying on Menendez in Lahore, they discover he's after "Karma", a hacker named Chloe Lynch. The team infiltrates Colossus, an exotic, floating city in the Cayman Islands, aiming to rescue Lynch and kill Menendez's lieutenant, DeFalco. Troubled by flashbacks of Panama, Section visits Woods again and learns the truth behind his father's death. On June 19, JSOC captures Menendez in Socotra, Yemen, with help from CIA agent Farid. Menendez is escorted aboard the USS Barack Obama, commanded by Admiral Tommy Briggs. During interrogation, Menendez escapes with help from Salazar, his mole inside JSOC. Menendez then uploads his celerium virus, hijacking all American drones, and sending them towards American and Chinese cities. Section responds to an attack on Los Angeles during the G20, where he escorts the U.S. President to safety with help from Secret Service agent Eric Samuels. Menendez is tracked to Haiti, where Section leads JSOC to raid the Cordis Die facility. Section intercepts Menendez trying to flee and subdues him, with the decision to execute or reapprehend him.