Preview: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

It’s back to black for the Call Of Duty series after breaking just about every sales record possible with Modern Warfare 3, as we re-join our hero from Black Ops’ last outing, Alex Mason, Viktor Reznov and co., some time after the events of the previous title. 

The storyline, which was a highlight of the first game, is just as strong and equally as engaging as before, while the addition of free-roaming levels and choice-led story strands make the campaign a far more varied experience than we were expecting.

As with any FPS, that isn’t where the party’s really at. Of course, we’re talking multiplayer. The team at Treyarch have put in A LOT of thought into BlOps’ online functionality. Fans of fast paced, straight forward game modes will be delighted to see Modern Warfare 3’s ‘Kill Confirmed’ make a returns alongside wager matches (now known as ‘Party Modes’) ‘Sticks and Stones’, ‘One in the Chamber’, ‘Gun Game’, while newbies can learn the ropes on an expanded ‘Combat Training’ mode. For the hardcore CoD players, there’s improved levelling/upgrading and a far more rewarding prestige system.

Unfortunately, for the legions of Call of Duty naysayers, there’s no sign of a drop in form here.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is out November 13 on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC