[Saoe]

I love this CoD more then any other so far for few things:

1) Ghost is not available until lv55 (prestige level)
2) Grenade Launcher is on of the last attachments you will unlock for your favourite assault rile.
3) High end score streaks are not easy to obtain!
4) No more Last stand and other silly death traps.
5) Game is more about run and gun then who can stuck up more kills using killstreaks!
6) 10 slot system.
7) Emblem creator.

Best CoD hands down, Black Ops is better then Modern Warfare series.

[KnightofPhoenix]

So I finished it yesterday night already. Here's my review (spoilers).

In terms of gameplay, well it's an FPS so there's not a lot for me to say. But overall, I did enjoy it very much, it had very cool moments (sniping De Falco off and finishing the Karma mission earlier than you are "supposed" to is epic), some very epic scenes. Your squademates actually do something (not talking about Strike Force). Lots of battles too, which I like. And no mission felt boring. Over the top, yea almost all of them are (RPG mounted cavalry on that scale sounds....yea).

But the main reason why I played the game is for its story, as weird as this sentence might sound. It's surprisingly good. Didn't really care about the Masons, but I liked Woods, Harper and Salazar, esp Woods. Some other NPCs were kind of meh though (admiral "cocksucker" comes to mind).

The Strike Force missions, in terms of concepts, were pretty cool. In terms of story however? They're kinda dumb at the end. The SDC's army invading Russia without China's approval? What happened to Russia's nuclear arsenal that Zhao apparently didn't give a fuck about? These missions could have been done better in terms of story, and Zhao could have been explored more. But I do like the effect they have on the game's story! Disappointed the consequences are not mentioned or shown in the epilogue, but still they are shown in the endgame. China providing support in the last mission was pretty cool.

Of course the most important and impressive character is Raul Menendez, and I think he was pretty good. His plan, while over the top which is to be expected, is pretty impressive nonetheless, marking him as a true chessmaster. A potential magnificent bastard actually. He is psychotic though, and while I do think he believes that the capitalist system is corrupt and should be overthrown, his main motivator is revenge, which I found less exciting but still sympathetic. It is interesting how he decided to blow up all the drones, instead of just destroy the major cities. I interpret it as a desire to create revolution and not just destroy, though him saying he destroyed LA so the president can just see it was a bit meh. Overall, there is no doubt in my mind he is kinda insane, but it's the kind of insanity that is done well and actually explored, esp when playing as him.

In terms of choices and consequences, I'm very impressed. It's done very well, surpassing games like Deus Ex: HR, rather easily in that regard. There are 4 "main endings", but the SDC question and the fate of Admiral "cocksucker" Briggs also comes into play and affects the world post-game.

My ending (which is my favorite).
- Woods headshots Mason. Honestly, I could tell this wasn't Menendez and that something was off, but I took the shot anyways cause it's better story wise imo and Alex appearing 30 years later is kinda silly (wtf was he doing for 30 years?). That said, David saying "wtf" when seeing his dad is pretty funny haha

- Zhao killed. China and USA become allies. I like it personally, as I see it more likely that these 2 will partner up rather than seriously face-off in the short future, esp when a global uprising might occur. China and USA are faces of the same coin: a global exploitative order. A clash between them however is inevitable but I think both would postpone it.

- Farid fails to kill Harper. This was the only choice I metagamed a bit, as I knew the consequences and preferred it. But well, one can argue that killing Menendez then and there would have solved the problem sort of, so he took a shot.

- Menendez kills Admiral Briggs. Honestly, I don't see why the hell he wouldn't. Just cause Salazar asked him nicely? Kill the "cocksucker".

- Spare Menendez. I think making him a martyr is pretty dumb when the guy has 2 billion followers. Still an epic ending if he dies though, the chessmaster playing his final card.

So what I ended up with is an annihilated American carrier battle group. A SDC-American alliance. Chloe is dead meaning Menendez' virus is wrecking havoc in the world's networks. Menendez escapes and kills Woods, in a scene I found was awesome. And then he burns himself alive on his nina preciosa's grave. I like to think that, considering how he had regrown his beard and hair when committing suicide, that he organized Cordis Die for a short time before killing himself and then released the video. It's left unclear if that happened, but I like to think it did and that the world is in uproar at his death, which could be presented as an assassination. So it's an ambivalent and twisted ending and it's my favorite. I think my next playthrough will be the worst possible outcome (for the US that is).

While nothing original and that well-explored, I like the themes of the story. That the US created its own monster, with its misguided war on drugs and its blunt and often counter-productive interference in the affairs of others. And that the wealth disparity is on the rise, with billions of people agreeing with Menendez, as they should (here, Salazar was pretty crucial). I like how Colloseus showed the decadence and opulence of the 1%. And while I do not believe Menendez is the answer (nor do I think he believes that), it does show how if we continue on this path, well people like him could take advantage of the injustices. I like how Menendez commits suicide if freed, it supports my interpretation that he simply wanted to be the catalyst, not the leader of the revolution. I do believe he cares about it, but his primary goal was to avenge his sister and I think he believes he can do more dead than alive, hence the suicide. Goes to show hoe scary men like that can be, as they welcome death.

I would have preferred if the ideological part was explored more in addition to Menendez' personal tragedies, but as it stands it's still pretty good. And Menendez definitely earned a spot in my top 10 antagonists.

Overall, very good game and a good story!

[Costin Moroianu]

Knew you would love it Knight

How far would you place him on your list? For me he has surpassed Loghain, as hard as that can be to believe. THIS is how you do a fucking terrorist!

[KnightofPhoenix]

Costin Moroianu said:

Knew you would love it Knight

How far would you place him on your list? For me he has surpassed Loghain, as hard as that can be to believe. THIS is how you do a fucking terrorist! ›››

Oh no he's nowhere near Loghain for me. He's not that high on the list, though I'm still trying to find a place. He's impressive (in fact one of the most impressive by far) and sympathetic to an extent, but there's not that much to think about him. Like he doesn't fascinate or move me as some of the other antagonists do. So he's definitely not in the top 5, he didn't have that much of an impact on me.

But I still think he's great! Better than most antagonists these days.

EDIT: oh and I've been listening to this for hours now

[Pham]

Saoe said:

Best CoD hands down, Black Ops is better then Modern Warfare series. ›››

Eh, I still prefer CoD4 because of its simplicity and the same killstreaks for everybody. Also Killhouse, I love that map.

[Costin Moroianu]

Fair enough then. Personally to me what matters most is how impressive they are though I guess it will remain to be seen if I give a damn about him months and years down the line as I still do with Letho, Loghain and Jacques.

Really if only fucking TIM was portrayed like Raul besides motivation. I would fucking loved him.

[KnightofPhoenix]

Costin Moroianu said:

Really if only fucking TIM was portrayed like Raul besides motivation. I would fucking loved him. ›››

Yea, that piece of stylized shit.


As for antagonists in general. For me, how impressive they are is important, but I rank their interaction with the PC as equally important (Raul's interaction with David is pretty meh and what he does to him is needless sadistic). But the most important thing, to me, is how much I can relate to him / her and / or how much he / she fascinates and moves me on both an emotional and mental level.

So Loghain for instance is really not impressive. But he ranks very highly based on all other factors.

[Saoe]

And what you guys think about multiplayer? TO be honest BF3 campaign was my favourite when it comes to single player.

[KnightofPhoenix]

Didn't play multiplayer, don't really care about it.

So I read Black Ops 2: Rightful King, an official short story about Raul Menendez. It's good, nothing brilliant, but it's very short, 23 pages, and concise. We explore more of his psyche, though nothing new and major was really added which is good actually, I dislike it when we have to use exterior sources to know about stuff that should have been in the game to begin with. What we discover are more details.

I very much like how in the story and the short novel, Raul Menendez thinks of himself as a poet.
And I think the choice of having Menendez constantly quote Alfred Lord Tennison's Ulysses is pretty brilliant (I've had the poem come up in one of my classes years ago and we analyzed it). Not only for the obvious analogy (pretending to be captured + virus = Trojan horse), but also for the ambiguity of the poem. People are still not sure whether the author was praising or criticizing Ulysses. Ulysses does come off as an egomaniac who doesn't really care about ruling, but rather striving to do his own thing, his heroism and quest for adventure, until death. Which if you think about it, is pretty much Menendez. He's not a statesman nor is he planning to be. He sees himself as a revolutionary hero, constantly striving to escape mundane life in a perpetual quest for a utopia until death (though in Raul's case, death after avenging his sister is pretty much his utopia). But before his death "some work of noble note may yet be done."

It's pretty clever honestly, I'm impressed.
Though there's at least one quote "I mete and dole. Unequal laws unto a savage race", that Menendez uses out of context in a way that I do not think the author intended. Or maybe there's something I'm missing.

[cyberarmy]

Second best CoD game after Modern Warfare 1 for me. Some great characters and a good story with decent plot twist
Finished the best way i could i think.
Shot "Nexus" from leg, saved "Karma", killed Harper (such a tough decision) and somewhat saved Karma again , let the happy general live and at last killed Menendez. Tough, crazy, genius bastard. Even with his last words he ruined my glorious moment :/ Also dat ending concert after credits is awesome

I liked the Strike Force missions very much and in veteran they were pretty hard. Couldnt complete any "Always stay in strategic view" challenges.

Some very cool future weaponary especially the sniper that can see and shoot through walls.


Its nice to see developers come with different ideas and such good writing after all that "ctr+c- ctrl+v" games.


Played MP a little, regrettably its more of the same stuff we always get and player base is still at peek of inmaturity. So im back to BF3 and CS GO

[KnightofPhoenix]

The "best" outcome (for the USA at least) is to spare Menendez and have Chloe alive. The global riot doesn't happen.

[cyberarmy]

KnightofPhoenix said:

The "best" outcome (for the USA at least) is to spare Menendez and have Chloe alive. The global riot doesn't happen. ›››

Well best for the family then :)I think Mason was hiding in somewhere till Menendez problem solved.
Im somehow OK with the riot thingy. I think Menendez persuaded me into Cordis Die.