Multiple Platforms Call of Duty: Black Ops II

[Ohri-Jin]

Activision brings Call of Duty franchise to the future.
by Sal Romano [@salromano] at 10:03 AM EDT, May 1, 2012 .



Activision went live with the official UK website for Call of Duty: Black Ops II hours before its NBA Playoffs reveal tonight. The site confirms a November 13 release date and futuristic setting for the title.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops II propels players into a near future, 21st Century Cold War, where technology and weapons have converged to create a new generation of warfare,” reads the site.

The site’s pre-order page shows off the game’s final box art. Earlier this morning, four screenshots could be found on the site. They’ve since been removed, but not before the internet was able to grab them. You can find them all in this post. Visiting the videos page will let you see the thumbnail for the trailer, but you won’t be able to play it. It should be available after its official reveal tonight.







Read More: PlayStation 3, Top, Xbox 360, Activision, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, FPS, Shooter, Treyarch




Source - http://gematsu.com/2012/05/call-of-duty-black-ops-ii-confirmed



One word: ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im stoked !





Call of Duty: Black Ops II debut trailer
Call of Duty goes future on November 13.
by Sal Romano [@salromano] at 08:05 PM EDT, May 1, 2012 .

Activision has released the debut trailer for Call of Duty: Black Op II, confirming the game to be 2025-set shooter complete with computers, robots, and all-out war. What happens when the enemy steals the keys? The real soldiers are put to use.



DEBUT TRAILER HERE -> http://gematsu.com/2012/05/call-of-duty-black-ops-ii-debut-trailer





Wed, May 02, 2012 | 08:04 BST

[h=1]300 developers are working on Black Ops 2[/h]If Black Ops 2 isn’t the greatest Call of Duty game ever, it won’t be for lack of trying; Activison has 300 staff on the job.

“There’s over 250 people at Treyarch, but there’s over 300 people working on the project,” studio head Mark Lamia told VentureBeat.
“We do have contractors and test teams that aren’t part of the company. Those others aren’t actually employees of Treyarch. But there’s over 300 people working on the game right now.”

Lamia said both the single-player campaign and multiplayer are “pretty big and ambitious”, but also noted that “they really are creating another game with the Zombies there”, explaining the need for such a large team.

For such a massive undertaking, Treyarch isn’t averse to sharing resources with the other Call of Duty teams.
“We actually do open up anything from our side that they can have access to, but they have their own team with their own creative work,” Lamia said of Activision’s internal studios.

“Whether it’s inside of the Call of Duty franchise or, frankly, some other area of essential technology or whatever other area – if there are things that teams can access or leverage, then they do.

“For example, the facial rig and the performance capture was something that we worked with Activision’s central technology team on quite a bit. There’s a lot of learnings there that can be applied to other teams.”

Speaking of other Activision teams, Lamia noted that Treyarch and Infinity Ward share certain values across the franchise, even as they pull in different creative directions.

“I think the desire to make sure, particularly, that the multiplayer game runs at 60 frames per second and is fast-paced and precise,” he suggested.
“The cinematic nature of the game, I think, is sort of signature for the series. For every game that we’ve made, or Infinity Ward or some of the other developers have made, that’s an important aspect of it.”

Guess what day Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 comes out? It comes out on November 13, for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, even if you live under a rock.



Source - http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/02/300-developers-are-working-on-black-ops-2/#more-255240

 

[.Mosh]

I am not really a fan of Call of Duty....I bought Modern Warfare 1 and 3 and Black ops...traded in MW1 and BO...still have MW3. They are ok games...completely unbalanced games, mediocre storyline which in some cases is better then some military shooters as of the moment. I prefer the play style of BF3...even when the story on that wasn't great but the multiplayer is still amazing. It is something I would like COD to inherit...a similar approach to realism. But the thing that gets me on this game is the almost futuristic setting...and I am a suck up for this sort of thing so I am going to give it a try, unless footage later on shows no improvements otherwise.

Same graphics engine by the looks of it with those buildings shown and some of the character models..it's better than MW3 but not by much but oh well...who cares about graphics these days..right?

 

[Ohri-Jin]

I played MW1 (never owned it), bought MW2, BO and MW3.
I started getting hyped for this game when I played MW2. That game kicked ass.
I enjoyed BO a lot. My first time max prestiging and I loved its storyline. IMO Black Ops was a succes. Zombies.
Now zombies is the best thing/mode I ever played. I loved it till death.

Im now max prestige lvl 15 at mw3 with 62k kills and 1.70 k/d ratio. Its all good and fun, but yeah I wont buy the DLC cause they are worthless imo.

I bought all the BO DLC, because of ZOMBIES.

BO2 got me excited purely cuz of the zombies. I cant wait! So far I like what treyarch is doing. A lot of people bitch about Treyarch, but I actually like some of their style.

MW2 is best!
BO is better than MW3!

So BO2 good luck to ya Treyarch!

 

[ribbit]

I played MW3 on the freeweekend with some friends and it was absolute ass. The trailer for Black Ops II does look a lot better than anything Activision has pushed out for CoD since the first Modern Warfare, but I'm still going to wait. The trailer music feels like it was ripped from a Deus Ex soundtrack and the setting looks a lot like Battlefield 2142. Oh well. As long as the multiplayer maps aren't as shit as MW3 and they start adding in vehicles maybe it can compete with Battlefield.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

Thu, May 03, 2012 | 09:58 BST

[h=1]Treyarch teases Black Ops 2 zombies with artwork[/h]Team VG247 maybe be debating the for and against of Black Ops 2 to the death right now internally with drones and horseback gunfire – pretty sure Pat’s already lost a limb -but while that’s happening, Treyarch has teased the game’s zombies mode. The official CoD Twitter tweeted the art this morning, showing a woman with a shotgun standing over dead carcasses.
Game’s out on November 13 for PS3, 360 and PC.

[h=3]Related posts[/h]Treyarch says game market isn’t saturated with zombies



Source - http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/03/treyarch-teases-black-ops-2-zombies-with-artwork/

 

[Setzer Gabbiani]

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 revealed: every detail

Activision has officially announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 for a November 13 worldwide release, envisioning a new Cold War in the year 2025.

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Activision released the first trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. The video confirms a 2025 setting, featuring glimpses of Los Angeles under attack. A Middle Eastern setting, robots and even horses are spotted in the trailer.

Sgt Frank Woods, the co-protagonist of the original Black Ops, also appears in the video. The game will take place in two timelines: the late 1980s as the end of the Cold War as Alex Mason from Black Ops 1 and 2025 as Mason’s son David.

The story sees the US and China in a second Cold War over Rare Earth Elements, used to built tech devices and military weapons. Part of the war is also instigated by antagonist Raul Menendez, who’s hacked into drones and various robotic weapons to kick off the war’s combat. The 80s timeline will show what started Menendez’s path down the events in Black Ops 2.

Its story will come from co-writer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight David Goyer.

Black Ops 2 will supposedly answer the question of what happened at the end of the first game, according to Kotaku, regarding Mason. When asked about the return of Gary Oldman’s Reznov character, Treyarch boss Mark Lamia and game director Dave Anthony played coy.

Pre-orders have now gone live in the UK, and GameStop stores will offer pre-order incentives in four waves.

The first wave starts May 2 with the offer of a limited edition, two-sided poster. PowerUp Rewards members who pre-order by June 30 will also net a Prestige Token for MW3 as well as all bonuses coming in the additional waves which are to be announced in July, August, and October, respectively.

The publisher has gone live with an official website for the game, which will release on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on November 13, and released two early screens:

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In the wake of the trailer’s release, information has begun hitting in earnest. Although multiplayer is still largely under wraps, Treyarch boss Mark Lamia confirmed the game will have the biggest and best zombies mode to date. The developer hopes to support eSports, but won’t commit to dedicated servers just yet.

Treyarch game design director David Vonderhaar told OPM UK multiplayer would go down “a different route” than whats previously been on offer.

“Lets take all this stuff we had and strip it down to its core. Let’s challenge these long held assumptions we’ve had about how systems work. Why does create a class work the way it does. Why do killstreaks work the way they do. Why is the unlock progression exactly the way its been before. Why do we have to start with what we had before?”

Vonderhaar added Black Ops 2 would have a “well-designed gameplay system” instead of refining it from past games.

“Let’s challenge the assumption we have to start from the game we had before. Figure what’s really important to the game and keeping it simple and fast and pure and clean. Let’s get rid of some baggage. Let’s just create a really well created gameplay system period; regardless of whether we had it before.”

On the single-player side, the series will venture into non-linearity for the first time with Strike Force missions, allowing players to take on various roles around the battlefield and directly impact the game’s plot. The game’s story follows on directly from the first Black Ops, and is part of a different canon than other Call of Duty games.

Retired US marine lieutenant colonel Oliver North, who was convicted of selling weapons to Iran in the late 80s before being cleared on appeal, has been brought in as a consultant to the game. Watch him talk about his involvement in the game below.

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Activision has 300 staffers on Black Ops 2 at the moment, and some of the tech Treyarch is using is shared between studios.

Treyarch has also promised (via OneofSwords) a “visual overhaul” for the game. The studio’s Dan Bunting showed off an unpopulated level from Socotra Island in Yemen featuring work on HDR lighting, self-shadowing, bounce lighting and reveal mapping, a new texture technique.

PC players will be able to “take advantage” of the game if they have DirectX11-enabled hardware.
Leaky

The debut of the trailer came ahead of what was expected to be an official reveal during the NBA Playoffs overnight in the US, but the identity of the game began leaking in earnest last weekend.

The reveal confirms a video last week from FPSRussia indicated the next CoD would be set in a futuristic timeline by at least 10-15 years; the original Black Ops took place within the 60s and 70s during the Vietnam War and the Cold War..

Assets from the game’s website were spotted online before the website went live, showing the game’s box-art, logo and the release date of November 13 (thanks, Robotix).

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[By Johnny Cullen, Patrick Garratt, Stephany Nunneley and Brenna Hillier]

http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/01/next-cod-unveiled-tonight-all-roads-head-to-black-ops-2/#more-254901

Black Ops 2 Strike Force missions allow for branching story

A mysterious reference to non-linear sections in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2′s single-player campaign has been explained.

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At certain points in the campaign, players will be given the option to choose one from a number of “Strike Force” missions, Joystiq reports. Choosing one locks the player out of the others.


The battles take place in hotspots around the globe and grant the opportunity to take on different roles around the battlefield. Instead of being shepherded from set piece to set piece as a single character, players can use attack drones, tanks, and a number of squad members, allowing for multiple paths and approaches to the mission. You can even retreat to an eye-in-the-sky view and issues commands to the AI rather than do the fighting yourself. Previews mention a battle in Singapore in which players must clear turrets to allow a gunship to reach its goal.


Interestingly, performance in strike force battles may affect vanilla missions in positive and negative ways, and even change which the actions of antagonist Raoul Menendez, allowing for a slightly different overall story on each playthrough.


It’s quite a departure for the series. Black Ops 2 was revealed overnight and is due on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November.


http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/02/black-ops-2-strike-force-missions-allow-for-branching-story/#more-255204

Black Ops 2 will support eSports scene, no verdict on dedicated servers

Treyarch aims to make Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 as eSports friendly as possible, but isn’t ready to comment on LAN and dedicated server functionality.

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Speaking to PC Gamer, Trearch boss Mark Lamia noted that as the first Black Ops supported dedicated servers, the engine is definitely capable of it.


“But we haven’t yet announced exactly what that setup is going to be with Black Ops 2,” he added.
“We like the flexibility, just philosophically, of the dedicated server. We also like our game to be played the way we spent the last couple of years making it, and try to find that happy medium between the two.”


Lamia seemed to be referring to the fact that dedicated servers, outside of Treyarch’s control, can offer a very different experience in terms of levelling up and progressing – and also provide opportunities for cheating.


“It’s one of the considerations. Once you let those server files out, there’s a problem,” he admitted when asked about cheating.
“One of the things I know that the team has been focused on for the PC is, in particular, anti-cheat mechanisms. We know it’s a huge issue in PC gaming, for online gaming. We’ve been working on proprietary schemes, we’re not just relying on the commercial schemes.”


Lamia wouldn’t be drawn on whether LAN support would be included, but said the developer is “paying attention to the eSports scene” and issues related to it, regardless of hardware. He even noted that Black Ops was part pf the MLG Pro Circuit on PlayStation 3, despite not having LAN or dedicated server capabilities on console.


“In your custom game configuration, you allow people to create the customizations that they need. You don’t need a dedicated server to give people the variables they need to create a custom game,” he said.


Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is all anybody wants to talk about right now, having been revealed just a few hours ago. It’ll arrive in November on HD platforms.


http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/02/black-ops-2-will-support-esports-scene-no-verdict-on-dedicated-servers/#more-255210

Black Ops fiction distinct from wider CoD universe, player decisions to impact story

Treyarch’s Mark Lamia has confirmed that Black Ops and Black Ops 2 don’t take place in the same world as Modern Warfare and other Call of Duty games.

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“Black Ops is its own thing. It’s inside the Call of Duty franchise, but it’s its own fiction,” the studio head told Ausgamers.

“It’s sort of its own brand of fiction as well; it’s this historical fiction where we root things in a historical setting and context and we weave our fiction through it.”

Lamia said the team approached Black Ops 2′s future setting in the same way it approached historical research in past games, like the first Black Ops’ 1960′s setting or World War II.

“Obviously there are books written on where things are headed and technology, but we were fortunate to work with some experts and one of those experts was Peter Singer, who is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute. We approached him because he has written a book about advanced robotics and drones and future warfare, which is really important,” the developer explained.

“We wanted to make sure that this is Call of Duty, it can’t be too sci-fi, it’s gotta feel like this is plausible. It’s part of the DNA of Black Ops where we set up these plausible scenarios and then we have our fiction going through it and our story. ”

“Things that used to be the domain of great science-fiction books is no longer, it’s reality; it’s happening; starting to play out in the headlines today, but certainly in the coming decade,” he added.

Black Ops 2′s plot will be conveyed by several narrators, and as a direct sequel to the first game, will involve some of the same characters.
“Woods is an old man in the year 2025, and he happens to be in this place called The Vault, which is a place where the CIA keeps its former operatives that are too sensitive to be somewhere else,” Lamia offered.

“You’re playing David Mason – the son of Alex Mason – and as this opens up in 2025, you go to visit old man Woods and you’re trying to start to unravel what is going on with the villain [Raul Menendez].”

Mason will ask Woods about past events and how they tie into the game’s plot, bringing the player up to speed on what happened in the interim, but Treyarch also wants the plot to take place around the character.

“You’re going to be on the hunt for Menendez and unravelling that mystery, and then you’ll remember things that Woods has told you as part of his narrative And that’s how we’ll jump you back to the past and propel that story forward as well.,” Lamia said.

Treyarch doesn’t have a choice, studio head Mark Lamia told Shacknews in a recent interview. With the franchise now reaching its ninth iteration, the team is itching to do something. “When we talk about pushing the boundaries, that is an internal creative desire for a team of veterans that have created a lot of Call of Duties… At this point in the franchise, I think it would be far riskier to not push the boundaries.”
Lamia also told Shack not to expect a linear path this time out with everyone playing “basically the same story.”

“That won’t be the case this time,” he said. “You’re going to make decisions along the way, and they will have an implication on your story. Some of those choices will be obvious in ‘Call of Duty style.’ And sometimes, just as in real life, the implications might be more subtle and you might not realize them until later.

“To be clear: this isn’t an RPG. We’re not trying to do that. We are trying to give players some story branching in their gameplay so they can see how some of their choices affect the outcome of the game.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is headed to PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November.

http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/02/black-ops-fiction-distinct-from-wider-call-of-duty-universe/#more-255221

[h=1]300 developers are working on Black Ops 2[/h] If Black Ops 2 isn’t the greatest Call of Duty game ever, it won’t be for lack of trying; Activison has 300 staff on the job.

​

“There’s over 250 people at Treyarch, but there’s over 300 people working on the project,” studio head Mark Lamia told VentureBeat.

“We do have contractors and test teams that aren’t part of the company. Those others aren’t actually employees of Treyarch. But there’s over 300 people working on the game right now.”


Lamia said both the single-player campaign and multiplayer are “pretty big and ambitious”, but also noted that “they really are creating another game with the Zombies there”, explaining the need for such a large team.


For such a massive undertaking, Treyarch isn’t averse to sharing resources with the other Call of Duty teams.


“We actually do open up anything from our side that they can have access to, but they have their own team with their own creative work,” Lamia said of Activision’s internal studios.


“Whether it’s inside of the Call of Duty franchise or, frankly, some other area of essential technology or whatever other area – if there are things that teams can access or leverage, then they do.


“For example, the facial rig and the performance capture was something that we worked with Activision’s central technology team on quite a bit. There’s a lot of learnings there that can be applied to other teams.”


Speaking of other Activision teams, Lamia noted that Treyarch and Infinity Ward share certain values across the franchise, even as they pull in different creative directions.


“I think the desire to make sure, particularly, that the multiplayer game runs at 60 frames per second and is fast-paced and precise,” he suggested.


“The cinematic nature of the game, I think, is sort of signature for the series. For every game that we’ve made, or Infinity Ward or some of the other developers have made, that’s an important aspect of it.”


Guess what day Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 comes out? It comes out on November 13, for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, even if you live under a rock.

http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/02/300-developers-are-working-on-black-ops-2/#more-255240

 

[Setzer Gabbiani]

Treyarch Head: New Engine not required to advance Black Ops 2 visuals

Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia has dismissed criticism of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2′s somewhat elderly engine.

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Black Ops 2 will use of the same engine as several earlier entires in the Call of Duty franchise; it was first debuted in 2005 with Modern Warfare.

Despite this, Lamia told Activision community manager Dan Amrich’s One of Swords column that he feels the game will make a significant leap thanks to extensive improvements made to that “foundation”.

“People always ask me, ‘Is this a new engine?’ I liken it to people who live in an older house that has been remodeled,” he said.

“Just because you’re remodeling the house and it will look new or it will have a new kitchen, you don’t tear out the foundation, or break out some of the framing.

“Engines, each time they get touched, they change. The creators alter them; they don’t modify what they don’t need to, and then they alter what they need to. You can’t make a competitive product if you’re not upgrading that engine along the way.”

Lamia said that what people are really asking for is for Treyarch to “push” and that treyarch had considered using a new engine.

“T

http://www.vg247.com/2012/05/15/tre...d-to-advance-black-ops-2-visuals/#more-258510

 

[Ohri-Jin]

They using the same engine they used in the last 4 titles. Come one thts ridiculous...
I have to admit the structures/pixels of the faces of enemies in mw3 look a lot better than older titles, but still the graphics suck ass in general.
Cost effective. Dont give me bullshit that its not needed.

5 games with the same engine. I think its overdue.