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Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: deathfun on August 12, 2012, 04:57:28 am

Title: Black Ops 2
Post by: deathfun on August 12, 2012, 04:57:28 am
Multiplayer Gameplay trailer recently came out about five days ago, and honestly... it's got my intrigue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSA-wbeIg8E
I'm not that person who goes ape **** insane over CoD games, but Black Ops 2 certainly has me interested

And since zombies is once again making a return, I'm seriously considering it.


What's everyone's thoughts on it?
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: IceFire on August 12, 2012, 11:19:46 pm
I'm looking forward to it cautiously.

I like CoD games. I don't mind that the overall formula stays relatively unchanged year to year. People bring these things up like they suddenly gained insight but these are similar to the Madden/NHL Hockey/etc. games where the mechanics change year to year but the same basic gameplay will always be there.

Anyways my cautious part is this:

I enjoyed MW2 but it was a bug ridden MP fest after several months and never really had balance issues sorted out. Black Ops was much better in the balance area but the PS3 version suffered from performance issues (frame rate hits being the biggest problem) and the sound and graphics were a few hairs under the outstanding work done in MW2. MW3 feels somewhat tame in comparison to MW2 and Black Ops. They played it safe... mostly because I think the internal politics and need for help from other studios to finish this off meant they went with a fair bit of polish (and it's pretty decent) but not a lot of risk taking.

Black Ops 2 it sounds like Treyarch is now becoming the master. The open ended single player missions with overwatch control or individual solider/vehicle control is cool. Not new, but new for CoD, and if the weapons balancing and fun times in MP are there... then that should be good. Hopefully no PS3 related issues.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Klaustrophobia on August 13, 2012, 01:03:23 am
Honestly, I'm amazed they haven't burned out the series by pushing so many titles so fast, that from my understanding having never played them, are pretty much incrementally improved graphics and a new set of maps/guns.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Scotty on August 13, 2012, 04:35:34 am
Call of Duty titles have always nominally had a single-player campaign, and several of them have even been damn good campaigns.  Modern Warfare the first immediately springs to mind as a damn fine single-player experience for the story, and Call of Duty 2 is also very good.  I know people who swear by World at War/Black Ops, but I've always been of the opinion that Treyarch somehow manages to dick up everything good they manage to do the first time. 

Call of Duty 3 is outright bad, from a game design standpoint.  The lack of a sprint function is criminal in a game that included significantly more machine guns than any of the previous titles, and long, only half-obstructed view lines meant that your normal movement speed was "Please shoot me", and the story wasn't that riveting, either.

In World at War, (IMO, at least) it was how they deliberately set the tone as dark as possible, to the point of it sometimes being uncomfortable to play.  The American part of the story might as well be "Do sadistic things to the Japanese, and watch your squad die slowly", while the Russian part of the story could be equally easily condensed to "Do sadistic things to the Nazis, and then do it even harder".

I can't actually admit that I've played the Black Ops campaign at any point, so I can't offer an honest opinion on it, but it feels like it fell prey to "New scenery syndrome" like Modern Warfare the second.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: soilder198 on August 13, 2012, 12:49:20 pm

I can't actually admit that I've played the Black Ops campaign at any point, so I can't offer an honest opinion on it, but it feels like it fell prey to "New scenery syndrome" like Modern Warfare the second.

The black ops campaign was actually pretty good. It's been awhile since I've played it, but one of the most interesting thing was how events in the game tied in to real life events at the same era (1960's-70's)

Black ops 2  looks surprisingly good, and zombies has its own game engine to run on, including an 8 player mode, which should be pretty sick
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: MR_T3D on August 13, 2012, 12:58:30 pm
The new kit system rules allowing and rewarding things like having no rifle and the return of ironsighted bolt-rifles have me excited for it.

Assuming no horrible "features" like MW2's IWnet are being hidden from us, it should be good
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: IceFire on August 13, 2012, 11:40:09 pm
Despite my misgivings with Black Ops the campaign was decent... but the first 1/3rd is largely crap. I don't know why but the mechanics early on in the campaign are not as polished as they are later on. Later on the campaign becomes really interesting story wise, the pace slows down a bit and you can really get into the whole setting, it's tied nicely into history... really well done by the end.

This time around I'm hoping for the polish from the last one (in the later 2/3rds) to continue and be better. Hopefully!
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: deathfun on October 30, 2012, 06:18:46 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4wIZp_E2CxQ

This thing is for certain
They do great trailers




Also Zombies
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Veers on October 30, 2012, 07:26:43 pm
I kinda like the Surprise trailer, but thats about it. For me, CoD doesnt have any good teamwork based game-play so I avoid it.

Also, it still lacks any ability to actually fish for cod.  :no:

Other than that, enjoy!
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Topgun on October 30, 2012, 07:30:46 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4wIZp_E2CxQ

This thing is for certain
They do great trailers




Also Zombies


You know the game will be terrible when they have to blow loads of cash to get celebrity cameos for the trailer. At least in my experience
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: An4ximandros on October 30, 2012, 07:35:39 pm
I avoid games such as CoD like the plague right now.

Progressively plankton length maps and awards for pulling BS instead of teamwork? Nah thanks.

Don't get me started on the single player.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Charismatic on November 08, 2012, 09:00:44 pm
Which would have higher player base for Black Ops2. PC or Xbox360?
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: deathfun on November 09, 2012, 01:06:27 am
Which would have higher player base for Black Ops2. PC or Xbox360?

Most likely Xbox 360 since that's where all the little *redacted* mesh together to have a giant orgy on CoD
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: starbug on November 09, 2012, 04:36:49 am
Have to say i am totally fed up with the call of duty/medal of honour series, even zombies mode has gotten boring for me, so i will be passing up on this. Although the advert with Robert Downey JR in pretty funny.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Scotty on November 09, 2012, 12:59:20 pm
I initially had little to zero hope for this title.

Then I realized they weren't even trying to shoehorn actual real life events into it, nor were they trying to take themselves seriously about it (at least I hope they aren't.  If they are, it's hilarious for entirely different reasons).

Might give it a shot once the price drops below $60.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: MR_T3D on November 09, 2012, 04:12:29 pm
I initially had little to zero hope for this title.

Then I realized they weren't even trying to shoehorn actual real life events into it, nor were they trying to take themselves seriously about it (at least I hope they aren't.  If they are, it's hilarious for entirely different reasons).

Might give it a shot once the price drops below $60.

when the after credits scene features (non specific spoiler of non-cannon event depending on choices in the game, however still spoiling the silly thing it is:)
Spoiler:
the main villian and very Old Woods in a rock concert
you know it's not being too serious.

And I love that.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: deathfun on November 09, 2012, 05:21:14 pm
Have to say i am totally fed up with the call of duty/medal of honour series, even zombies mode has gotten boring for me, so i will be passing up on this. Although the advert with Robert Downey JR in pretty funny.

You've clearly haven't been keeping up with the revamped version of zombies they're doing

Quote
Treyarch has confirmed that the Zombies mode will return for Black Ops II with its own campaign. Its predecessors were Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops. This is the third time for the Zombies mode to appear in a Call of Duty game, and the first time to have its own campaign along with the main story. Treyarch has also confirmed that Zombies will implement the multiplayer engine, allowing for a deeper community experience along with new game modes. It has also been confirmed that the Zombies mode will support 8 player co-op, unlike Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops, which only supported 4 player online co-op. Treyarch announced in August 2012 that Nuketown would be remade as a zombie map for those buying Hardened or Care Package Edition of Black Ops 2. On September 26, 2012, the Zombies reveal trailer was released as well as three new game modes confirmed: Tranzit is a game mode that is a combination of multiple maps in one game and the way to travel around it is to ride on a bus, Survival is the original mode from Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops where you survive as long as possible, and finally the mode Grief which is 4 players vs 4 players vs zombies. Although a Zombies campaign is confirmed it is still unknown if Campaign is the Tranzit mode or if Campaign and Tranzit are completely different modes. On October 28, 2012 a new game mode was introduced called Infected were if you get killed by a zombie you turn into a zombie.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: headdie on November 13, 2012, 12:59:26 pm
watch the horse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XRS50QPsTg&feature=youtu.be
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: MR_T3D on November 13, 2012, 02:04:35 pm
That's sloppy work treyarch, but it's also neat.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Aardwolf on November 13, 2012, 02:13:02 pm
I've seen complaints that the "bad guys" in this game are basically Anonymous/"the 99%" + terrorism. Anyone care to explain what they're talking about?
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Klaustrophobia on November 13, 2012, 02:14:59 pm
I've seen complaints that the "bad guys" in this game are basically Anonymous/"the 99%" + terrorism. Anyone care to explain what they're talking about?

wait, people are complaining about that?  sounds hysterical to me.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: MR_T3D on November 13, 2012, 02:16:52 pm
The bad guy is a viral sensation provoking class war against the west, not quite 99%, they just have some not-guy-fawkes masks and make YT videos (and YT aparently changes back to it's 2011 interface again in 2025!)
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: The E on November 13, 2012, 02:18:17 pm
All of the lol: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=33353741&postcount=31

TL;DR: Apparently, a run of the physical packages for this game have the second disc replaced by a copy of Mass Effect 2.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: headdie on November 13, 2012, 02:23:28 pm
http://t.co/VXkQXeaX
care pack says no
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Aardwolf on November 13, 2012, 02:25:40 pm
Lolwut, why is a TotalHalibut video unlisted? For his "professional rep"?
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: headdie on November 13, 2012, 02:28:08 pm
I think he's playing it in prep for his WTF is on the PC version so its all "unofficial" atm, his Twitter feed is getting pretty loaded with comments about it
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: deathfun on November 13, 2012, 09:14:24 pm
I'm actually impressed by what Treyarch has done so far. This game is hella fun
That sight that displays enemies signatures is too awesome


Also those videos are hilarious


EDIT: Holy **** Strike Force
It's like an RTS game within a FPS
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Gloriano on November 14, 2012, 03:17:33 am
All of the lol: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=33353741&postcount=31

TL;DR: Apparently, a run of the physical packages for this game have the second disc replaced by a copy of Mass Effect 2.

Seems like EA's marketing idea.....
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: The E on November 14, 2012, 03:23:33 am
Or just a regular SNAFU.

Bioware, meanwhile, have turned this into a little opportunity: http://blog.bioware.com/2012/11/13/were-answering-the-call/
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: General Battuta on November 14, 2012, 07:35:17 am
Holy ****, I'm inexplicably bad at this game. I was a pretty reliable 1.7/1.8 player in every previous CoD, here I'm - I dare not even say it

This **** is Miltonesque. I've been cast down.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Mikes on November 14, 2012, 12:36:13 pm
Holy ****, I'm inexplicably bad at this game. I was a pretty reliable 1.7/1.8 player in every previous CoD, here I'm - I dare not even say it

This **** is Miltonesque. I've been cast down.

May the lag be with you!

P.S: Is this game lacking dedicated servers again?
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: MR_T3D on November 14, 2012, 03:57:48 pm
Or just a regular SNAFU.

Bioware, meanwhile, have turned this into a little opportunity: http://blog.bioware.com/2012/11/13/were-answering-the-call/

well, this is the best news Bioware has had all year.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: deathfun on November 15, 2012, 02:12:07 pm
Holy ****, I'm inexplicably bad at this game. I was a pretty reliable 1.7/1.8 player in every previous CoD, here I'm - I dare not even say it

This **** is Miltonesque. I've been cast down.

May the lag be with you!

P.S: Is this game lacking dedicated servers again?

Seems like there's been a ****ton of problems with Multiplayer connectivity from what most people I hear from are saying

I don't know personally, I've been enthralled by Tranzit

Just finished up a fourteen round run. Once I got that RPD, **** got real really fast
Nothing puts a smile like mowing down a ridiculous amount of zombies with an LMG. My team was hilarious to play with too, which added to the fun

I was the only successful one that round though, having got all my perks and good guns early on. Luck of the draw I guess
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: MR_T3D on November 15, 2012, 03:00:07 pm
I've had some connection oddities and classes forgetting my latest changes to them, and server disconects, but not any major lag issues
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: deathfun on November 19, 2012, 01:06:57 pm
Finished the campaign

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Certainly much better than any of the previous CoD games
The branching narrative is a great touch, and Strike Force was great (albeit, not enough missions)

I was actually involved in the story. Never before has a CoD game done that for me
Spoiler:
Sure, I had a brief moment to mourn Dmitri's untimely demise with a unleashing of a PPsh upon my enemies in Black Ops, but that's about it. I didn't even feel all that crazy about Makarov's hanging (although smoking the cigar was a nice touch)

The mere fact that the characters were more fleshed out was all that CoD really needed. Before, I'd just be playing some random guy, who goes about his random business, shooting at random people.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: MR_T3D on November 19, 2012, 01:31:22 pm
I found the decisions interesting, and I felt like I had made mistakes with decisions such as
Spoiler:
killing harper as Farid
but things turned out for the better and I got the best ending minus
Spoiler:
saving A. Mason, because the game made me think after he was on the ground I had to still headshot him to trigger cutscene even though I knew it was him from the pants
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: General Battuta on November 19, 2012, 01:38:14 pm
So I've spent some time with this game and I think it's my favorite since CoD4. The story is hilariously bad and packed with straight-up offensive bull****, but it also has some genuinely interesting movements in the direction of organic Deus Ex style (rather than Mass Effecty MAKE A BIG DECISION) choice, complete with unclear consequences and endings contingent on more than just the final branch. It's jingoistic and violent in a way that maps to fantasies of realism rather than any genuine inclination towards naturalism, but it also seems self-aware about how stupid it is (horses vs. tanks, a level with a sword, a level where you're the villain and invincible and you have a bottomless shotgun clip and find yourself compelled to charge forward screaming your sister's name on loop) and willing to wink and play along.

The villain is about as sympathetic as any of the other characters, and while the world postulated by Black Ops 2 seems to consist of a Sophie's Choice between murderous pro-quo thugs and murderous anti-quo thugs, at least it seems to offer a hint of criticism of the consequences of American interventionism in both the military and economic domains. The game's conflict is fundamentally about our clumsy attempts to make things better creating our own worst enemies.

While there's lip service to economic inequality and the 99%, and you'd be forgiven for thinking the game is about this stuff, the narrative actually cares very little about economic inequality or Anonymous or Occupy Wall Street except as a generic boogeyman. The real threat here, again and again, is the possibility that the mechanism of our own superiority applied without care or consideration of consequence can be turned back on us. Menendez and Cordis Die aren't about the fear of the 99% or brown people; they're about the fear of our own jetliners.

I'm also a fair bit better at the multiplayer now so that's a bit more fun.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Scotty on November 19, 2012, 01:55:19 pm
So, would I be wrong for thinking that Black Ops 2 and Modern Warfare the first are both good games for the exact opposite reasons with regards to the story?
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: General Battuta on November 19, 2012, 02:13:50 pm
Well MW1 was also about how your protagonists were a bunch of amoral thugs who had created their own nightmares.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Scotty on November 19, 2012, 02:19:59 pm
I meant more of the taking itself seriously kind of thing and generally not having too many over the top stupid moments.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: Klaustrophobia on November 29, 2012, 09:15:21 pm
i know this is late, but i just found this (http://media.fm99.com/pod11-16-2012gamesforbutt.mp3) on my radio station's website and it's too funny not to share.
Title: Re: Black Ops 2
Post by: deathfun on November 30, 2012, 05:15:44 am
i know this is late, but i just found this (http://media.fm99.com/pod11-16-2012gamesforbutt.mp3) on my radio station's website and it's too funny not to share.

You're right. That's ****ing hilarious

So is this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhHFx5UL0xc