Call of Duty: Black ops II

[Guvernator]

Steve Evil said:

A lot of the maps are bigger with a mixture of open sight lines and tight spaces, Turbine is a good example of that, one large open valley with a broken fuel pipe running along the middle that you can go inside, as well as rocky paths all around the edge of the map that aren't visible from the main area, plus lots of buildings.

I think you've always had the option to play methodically, I've certainly done it in the recent games, the fact that everyone else still charges around like a headless chicken is by the by. Just because you're playing it how you want, there's very little guarantee that everyone else will.

Yes I know you can still play methodically or tactically but anything since CoD4 just didn't make it very easy to do so. Cod4 positively encouraged you to mix it up, some maps concentrated on CQB, some on the medium game and there were also some great sniper maps so you got great variety from round to round.

However the map design, focus on speed perks and close range weapons since then means that it has become increasingly difficult to be successful playing any way other than the one the game wanted you to play. It was this loss of gameplay choice\options which took all the longevity out of the CoD series for me and adding more and more killstreaks, guns and perks isn't going to fix that.

They need to bring back the balanced maps and weapons to actually give you that choice back. The larger maps sound encouraging, I guess I'll give it go to see if they've got the magic back.

[jammy_basturd]

The other thing that CoD4 got spot on was the balance between an arcade style FPS and a more Battlefield style team play.

[Stu R]

First thoughts, it's OK, far from brilliant. Graphics aren't quite what I was expecting. I know BlOps 1 got some flack for it but I never had that big of a problem with it. This one, they're kinda like gears of war, but bad. The menus etc are fecking awful to navigate, and I keep getting some server error that's stifled my attempts at getting on MP games.

Still, gameplay is what counts and IMO it's miles ahead of MW3, which looked pretty but was turd. This looks turd but isn't as awful to play. Haven't had a chance to explore all of the maps but Nuketown 2025 is crap. The one match I was able to get in on was downtown LA which is OK.

It won't be replacing battlefield 3 anytime soon (their developers must be relieved), but it's nice to have a half decent brainless COD game to fall back on.

[sidaorb]

Guvernator said:

1) What are the maps like, do they have decent sight lines and a mixture of closed and open spaces or is it the usual enclosed claustrophobic maps? Are they actually bigger than before?

My slant on them, but a quick round-up.

AFTERMATH - Collapsed office and surrounding roads and buildings. Couple of bottlenecks in the centre of the map, 'outer' routes to flank around, lots of corners, couple of upper levels and a tunnel. 6/10

CARGO - Container yard and buildings. Lots of climbing, lots of routes, different levels, open and close quarters. Oh yeah beware moving containers. 8/10

CARRIER - Deck of aircraft carrier scattered with debris and planes. Lots of cover, possible to 'dig in' at a couple of places with a good team. 7/10

DRONE - Mix of warehouse / factory with couple of open spaces. Potential for end to end sniping, if your clever and supported by teammates to cover your flanks, couple of underground passages and 2 levels in buildings. 8/10

EXPRESS - Railway station with couple of kiosks in main building, 2 platform overbridges, cover on platforms, stationary train with numerous entry / exit points and the room of train. BEWARE of the express train passing through. Great map with the right perks / scorestreak. 9/10

HIJACKED - Luxury yacht. 3 level cabins at each end, jacuzzi to lay in, route through the engine room. Very spray and pray, close contact. 5/10

MELTDOWN - Nuclear powerstation, 3x two storey buildings, cooling tower, underpass. Can snipe if you want, but keep moving, a few good flanking points. Good mix of game styles. 7/10

OVERFLOW - Urban streets, lots of back alleys and rat runs, some good sniping points, open area / no mans land if your brave. Good team map. 8/10

PLAZA - Night-time shopping mall and outbuildings, good mix sniping and close quarters. A good map but I seem to get nailed ever time I play it! 7/10 (1/10 for my ability on it!)

RAID - Hillside mansion, lots of close quarters stuff, can be very fast paced. 5/10

SLUMS - Great mix of close quarters engagements and longer shoots, couple of key 'lockdown' points as a team. 8/10

STANDOFF - Streets and 2 storey buildings, sniping points, couple of smaller open areas. 8/10

TURBINE - Long distances lots of levels, 3 buildings (sheds), lots of climbing rocks, a bridge and tunnel. 9/10

YEMEN - Multi level urban maps, lots of buildings, lots of levels, lots of routes. Great mix of close and distance. 9/10

[Guvernator]

sidaorb said:

Map info

Thanks, that actually sounds quite positive so I will have to give it a go, let's hope I'm not trading it in like I did with MW3 in a couple of weeks

Now decision is whether to get it on Xbox or PS3. To be honest I prefer the PS3 purely because my PS3 is newer and whisper quite where as my Xbox is an original one which sounds like a jumbo taking off when I fire it up, however all my workmates are on Xbox...hmmm decisions decisions.

[RockDoctor]

Guvernator said:

sidaorb said:

Map info

Thanks, that actually sounds quite positive so I will have to give it a go, let's hope I'm not trading it in like I did with MW3 in a couple of weeks

Now decision is whether to get it on Xbox or PS3. To be honest I prefer the PS3 purely because my PS3 is newer and whisper quite where as my Xbox is an original one which sounds like a jumbo taking off when I fire it up, however all my workmates are on Xbox...hmmm decisions decisions.

Always go where the friends are. Also, install the game to your hard drive and it's near enough silent.

Have also heard that the game looks better on the Xbox. Whether that's true or not, I don't know, just something I heard. Doubt there's any major differences.

[Guvernator]

RockDoctor said:

Always go where the friends are. Also, install the game to your hard drive and it's near enough silent.

Agree that playing with friends is the best bit but there is also a pretty decent PS3 community on PH. My Xbox is loud even when a game is installed as it's one of the first batch to come out so the fan is blowing all the time regardless of what it's doing which does get annoying although you do tend to tune it out in the heat of battle.

[RockDoctor]

Guvernator said:

RockDoctor said:

Always go where the friends are. Also, install the game to your hard drive and it's near enough silent.

Agree that playing with friends is the best bit but there is also a pretty decent PS3 community on PH. My Xbox is loud even when a game is installed as it's one of the first batch to come out so the fan is blowing all the time regardless of what it's doing which does get annoying although you do tend to tune it out in the heat of battle.

I don't play with the PH lot, but it definitely looks like PS3 has more (active) players on here. Suppose it depends if you want to play with those guys or not!

[Johna]

SmoothCriminal said:

No way do I think it's better than mw3.

Clown graphics
No recoil
Dumb arse menus
Still plenty of quick scopers

+1

RockDoctor said:

I don't play with the PH lot, but it definitely looks like PS3 has more (active) players on here. Suppose it depends if you want to play with those guys or not!

There's loads of us on the PS3 and most of us have mics and enjoy a laugh and some banter. Just add a few of us from the B,Ops 2 PS3 thread and join in.

[RockDoctor]

Johna said:

There's loads of us on the PS3 and most of us have mics and enjoy a laugh and some banter. Just add a few of us from the B,Ops 2 PS3 thread and join in.

Unfortunately I'm an Xbox guy

[Office_Monkey]

RockDoctor said:

Unfortunately I'm an Xbox guy

Few of us on the xbox too Haven't got BOII so will be sticking to MW3 for now (hoping to get it for Christmas)

[sidaorb]

RockDoctor said:

Unfortunately I'm an Xbox guy

Well there was 8 PHers in a lobby last night on Xbox and a few more who were online playing (from my Friends, so guess there were lots more too), so lots of us about

[dmulally]

Finished the campaign last night as I had a day off work. Here are my thoughts.

There is zero enemy AI as one shot kills everyone and they just respawn and go to the same place so it's run and gun.

The Shotgun sounds like someone punching a bean bag.

I have no idea of the command mode part of the single player. I'm guessing multi player is similar and as I rarely play that I was lost.

I had no idea about the plot but I rarely do in these games. They are all the same to me.

The blood effects was something taken from five years ago. In fact the whole game is COD4.

No point mentioning it is linear as that was expected but it would have been nice to not be for once.

How IGN rated it this high is beyond me. Maybe it is just a multiplayer game but I found the single player in MW3 to be quite fun.

WOFTAM.

[RockDoctor]

Doubt the majority even touch the single player stuff.

[weyland yutani]

I feel dirty and ashamed

[franki68]

Silent_Assassin said:

In my very humble opinion, this games so far makes we want to take it back and ask the question "What the hell were you thinking?". I really can't see anything in the game that is a leap forward and it still suffers from some of the same issues that made the last Black Ops a bad game. The graphics are ok on a few maps, the ship one is like being in a cartoon.

I was playing an S&D match, last one alive against 2 others. I saw one guy come round the corner so I start shooting, and shooting and shooting but nothing. I then die suddenly and the kill cam shows the second guy killing me with a shotgun, who wasn't even on my screen? I know its only just out but come on.

I'm afraid for me the series has run its course and the phrase 'clutching at straws' springs to mind. Maybe its because I loved COD4 so much that nothing has matched it for me since. Whatever the reason, I will persevere for a little while longer in the hope it gets better now that I have it. But for now I certainly would not recommend someone to buy it, maybe have a go on a mates copy first.

You bought the game despite thinking the previous effort was a bad game ?

[franki68]

Seems pretty much the same as the previous effort,playable but uninspiring ,some good maps ,still have to pour far too many bullets into people to kill them ( before you say it,I have topped the headshots on every game I have played so far)
Spawns still need sorting I've spawned on numerous grenades and far too many times spawn with an enemy directly behind me.

[chuntington101]

I really wanted to like this game but im struggling at the moment. It just docent feel polished to me! Huge lag issues where as others have said you are spraying whole clips in people and nothing then they let off 1 bullet and your dead. Also the sound in the game is st! In other COD titles you could clearly tell the diff between each type of gun (assault rifle, smg, lmg) but here you can't! All the explosion also sound alike. At least in MW3 each gun had it's owne characteristics. Here they are all the same.

I know mw3 was bad out the box but this feels worse at the moment . Plus at least you could play mw3 I can't even get on to multiplayer at the moment! And the whole interface is nowhere near as clean as the mw series!

Sorry rant over!

[Matt_N]

franki68 said:

Seems pretty much the same as the previous effort,playable but uninspiring ,some good maps ,still have to pour far too many bullets into people to kill them ( before you say it,I have topped the headshots on every game I have played so far)

Play hardcore, no need to empty a whole clip into somebody then.

[Steve Evil]

I've realised this game makes me angry, I can't find a weapon that I really like yet and there's the age-old CoD problem of spawning and an enemy being a few feet away. Whilst I play it I can feel my blood pressure rising, I'm swearing and generally getting all pissy. After playing a few games with a mate last night (no doubt not helped by the fact we're playing split-screen) I decided to pop Halo 4 back in and finish off the campaign, then jumped into a few MP matches where I found myself smiling and chuckling, even when being killed. I'll give it another good blast this weekend, but on last nights' evidence I'll be sticking to Halo for my MP jollies.