Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Review round-up

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 was released at midnight and already the internet has been flooded with reviews and opinions on the highly anticipated sequel already, with the futuristic first-person shooter scoring over eight out of ten across most publications.

IGN was one of the highest scoring reviews with 9.3/10, branding it “one of the best shooters of the last decade”.

“The team at Treyarch could have played it safe and Black Ops II would have sold well, but instead they challenged assumptions and pushed the series forward in awesome new directions,” said Anthony Gallegos.

“It’ll be hard to return to a campaign where I don’t have the ability to shape it, and I simply can’t imagine going back to the old loadout system now that Pick 10 exists.”

Videogamer gave the game 8/10, and were highly critical of the game’s campaign, but gave praise to multiplayer.

“The weak campaign is a massive disappointment, and the bizarre and disjointed execution of its signature set-piece moments are failed even further by the woeful Strike Force missions and wonky, wishy-washy attempts at player interactivity. It is, to put it simply, bad,” said reviewer Martin Gaston.

“Yet the multiplayer side of the game has successfully managed to rekindle my love for Call of Duty’s close-range playgrounds, and Treyarch’s decision to mix an excellent selection of maps with a new bag of futuristic toys reinvigorates an experience that I was starting to tire of.”

He added: “For the first time since Modern Warfare 2 I am plotting out loadouts and map strategies on the train to work.

CVG meanwhile, gave one of the lower scores with 7.8, saying the campaign was one of the “weaker single-player offerings” to date, yet was packed full of “unforgettable scenes” and replay value.

“While it’s fashionable to rag on Call of Duty, you can’t deny that the series constantly throws out a fearsomely complete package year-on-year, and Black Ops 2 is certainly no exception to that rule,” said Alex Dale.

“The multiplayer component carries on the series’ fine tradition, and the Zombies mode, despite its paucity of content, is an absolute riot.”

Finally, Giantbomb scored the game four out of five, giving particular comment to the title’s visuals and sound.

“Visually, the game looks better than its predecessors, with the most obvious improvement showing on the faces of the people you talk to in the campaign,” said Jeff Gerstmann.

“They look more lifelike than they have in the past, which helps get the game’s story across. It also handles large areas quite nicely, without huge sacrifices to the frame rate.”

Black Ops 2 is available now on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, and on Wii U from November 30 in Europe.

Look out for DYRT’s review on the game next week!!