In the future, you will not be inserting into the battlefield by jumping out of low orbiting spacecraft. You will not be donning Spartan Armor and leaving a trail of dead grunts and wonton destruction in your wake. There will be no Hammer of Dawn for you to use to turn your enemy into dust. You will not be traveling to Dagobah to learn the ways of the Force to allow you to overthrow the powers of the Dark Side. Instead, you will be utilizing a small group of elite fighters that will do anything and everything necessary to get the job done using ways that are oftentimes clandestine and illegal. You will be working in the shadows to blow things up until you get the job done. You will be using Black Ops.
That is the theme for Activision’s latest Call of Duty installment, Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Announced for a November 13, 2012 release, this chapter in the Black Ops universe looks to be full of surprises. Unlike the first Black Ops, II is set in 2025 as seen in the teaser trailer. This teaser teases all of the things you’d expect of a Call of Duty game: guns, explosions, guns, gripping campaign play, guns, exciting vehicle chases, guns, giant mecha, guns… wait, did I say ‘mecha?’ You betcha I said mecha!
Mecha, huh?
What exactly is mecha doing in the Black Ops II? I was asking myself the same question until I realized that the character narrating the whole video is the same Frank Woods from the first game. At that point, I had to change my pants because my mind had melted and gone straight through my intestinal track and to my boxers. What the [bleep] is Frank doing alive? Black Ops was set in the Vietnam era and this game is set in 2025. That would make him what, a gazillion years old? Holy schnikes is this teaser video full of surprises!
Going back to the question on mecha, I guess the only way to find out is to play the game. The teaser hints of other elements in the game such as little tank-like robots, AR-drone-like aircraft, and futuristic weapons. I’m sure that if these elements become perks in MP, it will bring a lot of us hours of fun and fulfillment as we get thousands of Timmies to rage quit while we tea-bag their lifeless bodies with a 100 foot mecha. Ah, the joys of another Call of Duty game.
Surprise!
I’m pretty sure that there will be people that aren’t happy with these surprises (oh my, people unhappy with a COD game?). These surprises, however, may just be what this franchise needs. In a time where everyone seemingly complains that every Call of Duty game that comes out is essentially the same game as the previous installment with minor tweaks, fighting in the future may be greater than fighting modern wars. In a time when everyone that complains about these games still manages to play every Call of Duty game that comes out, perhaps it is time for some new things to passionately complain about. All this remains to be seen and come November, we will have much to praise or much to gripe about. For now, watch the video and prepare to be befuddled. Watch for yourselves:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3tedlWs1XY
About the Author
Loki619 resides in Southern California and is a gamer, dad, husband, full time financial aid/culinary school administrator, and freelance commercial photographer. When he isn't behind a console, computer, or camera, he can be found spending time with his family, experimenting with food in the kitchen, geeking out on comic books, manga, anime, or graphic novels, or working out at the gym to help increase his character stats as he currently has a THAC0 of 3.
