It seems that last night's reveal trailer for Call Of Duty: Black Ops II didn't reveal half as much as it first seemed. In fact it seems to have purposefully left out all the interesting bits. For a start official blog One of Swords reveals that the game is set in two eras: the Cold War of the 1980s and the near future of 2025.
The villain of the game is one Raul Menendez and he'll be in both time periods, as will Woods - who can be seen narrating the trailer from his wheelchair. The main playable character in the 2025 section will be David, son of lead character Mason from the first Black Ops (although he's not the guy seen most prominently in the trailer).
The blog doesn't quite come out and say that China is the opposing power in the 2025 Cold War but it's heavily hinted at. Former US government adviser P.W. Singer will be consulting on the near future story elements and tech, while none other than Colonel Oliver North will be doing the same for the '80s segments. Yes, that Oliver North.
The first big gameplay surprise though, especially given the trailer, is that Black Ops II has branching storylines. Apparently One of Swords played a demo level where they were escorting the US President through a semi-destroyed Los Angeles in 2025, and the level began with the choice of whether to snipe from their initial position or immediately abseil down.
There will be many such moments during the game and you can even fail missions and still carry on afterwards to see an altered version of the story.
In addition there will be Strike Force Operations, which are described as 'open sandbox levels with a clear goals'. Here you'll be able to choose which mission you want and who you play within them, including soldiers or drones. You can even stay in Overwatch mode and control the game from a top-down view like a real-time strategy game. The first example of these kinds of level takes place in a Singapore dock where you're clearing out defences for an incoming gunship.
In terms of visuals Treyarch aren't claiming the game is running on a new engine but they have said that the PC versions will take advantage of advanced DX11 features. The Xbox 360 version, that is the only one so far demoed, has HDR lighting, bounce lighting, and self-shadowing, as well as a new texture technique called reveal mapping. They also motion-captured a horse for the desert sections you can see in the trailer.
Treyarch still aren't talking much about the multiplayer, although they have confirmed that Zombies mode will return. In terms of competitive multiplayer they also had this to say: 'Multiplayer is no longer a one-size-fits-all solution. Weגve stripped the game back a lot and started from a very core place' with a goal of supporting the broadest range of players and play styles.
The weird thing is absolutely none of this is even hinted at in the trailer, which seems very odd considering many people are going to just watch it and assume it just means Call Of Duty as normal. But that's certainly not what it sounds like.
Read more:
http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/games/89791 ... z1tj2tWnbF
@ "The Future Is Black"
