The reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was one of the worst kept secrets in gaming for a long time. That said, few could actually predict just how far Treyarch would stray from the beaten path in an attempt to keep brand fatigue at bay.
In the eyes of many, something simply had to give, but nobody knew what the studio had in store. Would the Black Ops 2 campaign deliver another predictable romp down a static corridor full of bombast and noise, or would it breathe new life into the beast?
When the official reveal trailer dropped this morning, rumours of a near-future backdrop were confirmed, but reaction to the clip has been mixed to say the least. Many gamers and critics have called out Black Ops 2 by saying it’s simply another Call of Duty game with a sci-fi skin, and at face value, you can sort of see their point.
Others applauded the shift in tone, and the possibilities it could bring to the table. Granted, it’s a change that had to happen eventually, as there is growing evidence that Activision’s golden ticket is starting to lose its sparkle. The publisher surely knows it, and in Black Ops 2 it looks to change the tide.
It was confirmed today that the Black Ops campaign would span the 1980s through the exploits of Alex Mason, as well as the year 2025 through the eyes of his son David. It’s a smart move, giving players both sides of the coin – both sci-fi and standard - as if passing the torch to a new generation.
The removal of corridor shooting gallery environments is a real gut punch to those who expected familiarity from Treyarch’s reveal, delivering massive sandbox locations – of which Singapore and Los Angeles have been confirmed so far – that allow you to approach objectives at your own pace, and through various methods.
Without getting too bogged down in the finer details – you can check them all out over at our Black Ops 2 reveal round up page – Treyarch is changing more than the trailer shows, and the near-future setting gives the studio a license to run riot with the plot, because let’s face it, Activision is running out of real wars to lampoon.
Gamers have lambasted Treyarch for the near-future setting as well, making jokes about the guns firing lasers, and theorising when Master Chief is going to show up.
This wariness is all perfectly viable of course, as nobody likes it when people dick around with your favourite toy. People want something new, but they don’t want something alien either.
This was always the problem Treyarch was going to face when looking to reinvent the series, but for the first time in years, there is a new Call of Duty game coming out that you cannot accurately predict.
Treyarch itself has confirmed that it has thrown out the Call of Duty campaign template, and that the multiplayer component has been completely revised, save for the core gameplay fundamentals. In short, it’s a studio that does listen to you and does want to improve.
That single fact should make you sit up and pay attention, at least until more is shown of the game, because writing off Black Ops 2 purely because of the reveal trailer alone is to do the developer a grave disservice.
After all, can you imagine how much pressure Treyarch employees must be under right now, given the immense financial gain or loss that rests on the performance of Black Ops 2 at launch? It’s time, perhaps, to cut them a little slack.
In a world where many rival franchises copy the Call of Duty template to a degree that creativity suffers, seeing the so-called root of the problem doing an about-face like this is unexpected.
It’s like if tomorrow, Nintendo said it was ditching Mario, Zelda, Samus, Star Fox, Kirby and all of its current mascots forever. Chances are you’d be shocked and utterly appalled by the decision.
But how would you feel if Nintendo urged you to believe in its efforts, and that its next wave of mascots would offer experiences Mario and his friends simply couldn’t? Would you be intrigued? Would you give it the benefit of the doubt?
For the die-hard Call of Duty fans who are immensely passionate about the series, the Black Ops 2 trailer might present the same conundrum, in that many are willing to believe in Treyarch’s revision and give it a chance to put its money where its mouth is.
For others, the series died today, and it’s a harsh fact that good intentions such as re-writing the Call of Duty playbook don’t always win you friends, but it’s a reality that Treyarch had to expect when the Black Ops 2 trailer dropped.
Regardless of your stance on the issue, the next six months are absolutely crucial for both Treyarch and Activision. In Black Ops 2, both parties have a chance to plant the seeds of Call of Duty’s future through change and innovation.
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, and how the industry responds in kind. Of course, it could all go horribly wrong, but you’d probably still play zombies mode, right? That’s something we can all bank at least.
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Source: http://www.nowgamer.com/columns/nowgamer-team-blog/1351301/black_ops_2_a_new_beginning_or_the_beginning_of_the_end.html
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