Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Is the Hype Good For it?

9/9/12

The Call of Duty franchise is considered to be one of the most successful video game franchises of all time. Each year, a new game sporting the Call of Duty name is released by Activision under the developement of Infinity Ward (Now Sledgehammer Games) or Treyarch. Each year, millions of copies of the games are purchased, which often leads to each title earning, or coming close to winning the title of "Game of the Year" or "Best Shooter". This year, it may not be surprising to see Call of Duty: Black Ops II to be one of the best selling games.However, all the hype surrounding the game may be somewhat far-fetched.

The developer Treyarch, and the publisher Activision claim that the game will sport multiple endings. This has never been seen in a Call of Duty game before, so there is no way to say if it will be done correctly. It will have to be very detailed story wise, or fans expecting an rpg-like ending will be disappointed. An example of this was seen when Mass Effect 3 was released. The fans of the trilogy expected a well thought out ending that answered all of their questions about the game's story line. However, there was insufficient details to please the masses, so the Developer, Bioware, was pressured to create free DLC that would add an extended cut to the ending, which ended up pleasing the fans.

Another crucial detail to add to the hype was seen in the "Villain Trailer" released by Activision on June 10th, 2012. In the video, there was a quote by Forbes stating that Call of Duty: Black Ops II has "Brilliant Visuals and Adrenaline Inducing Gameplay". There is nothing wrong with saying that the game induces adrenaline rushes, however, the comment about the brilliant visuals can not be backed up with solid evidence. If you look at the details and textures in the Black Ops II multiplayer gameplay footage released by Activision, then watched a gameplay video of a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer match, you could see stark similarities. Modern Warfare 2 was released on November 10th, 2009. Black Ops II's release date is November 13th, 2012. Now, there is no reason to not like a game due to its graphics. As long as the gameplay itself is enjoyable, then the game is a success (Look at Minecraft, Terraria, Oblivion, etc.).  However, the claims on the trailer, which Activision chose to to be included in the video, are somewhat unbelievable. Claims about graphics should not be done if the installment looks somewhat similar to a previous game in the series that is almost 3 years old. Fans of the series should not expect a game with graphics of those similar to power-hungry and  intensive games like Crysis, Battlefield 3, and Forza 4.

In conclusion, I believe that Call of Duty: Black Ops II will be another successful game released by Activision. However, I think that it will not live up to all of the hype that it is creating. Fans will, no doubt, enjoy it regardless though.

~George