Call of Duty: Black Ops II

"THE FUTURE IS BLACK."

- Official tag line "They'll always need men like us. Those who are willing to do... what others cannot."

- Frank Woods in the Reveal Trailer

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a first-person shooter developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. This is the ninth main installment for the Call of Duty franchise, and was released on November 13, 2012. It is the direct sequel to Call of Duty: Black Ops and was announced on May 1, 2012, during a NBA playoffs game. It is the first game made by Treyarch to be set in the future, and also the first direct sequel produced for the series by the studio. The game is also the first Call of Duty game for Nintendo's Wii U console, and it was available for the Wii U's launch day in North America, Europe, and Australia, whilst it was released on December 20, 2012 in Japan, which was 12 days after the console's Japanese launch day.

The link to the Call of Duty: Black Ops II website was also granted access to the public to coincide with the world reveal during the NBA basketball playoffs.

Story
The story takes place across two separate arcs, one recounting events in the 1980s, and the other following characters in the year 2025.

Plot
In the year 2025, U.S. Special Forces operatives led by David Mason and his partner, Mike Harper, arrive at "The Vault", a top-security location home to an aging Frank Woods, whom they suspect possess vital information on the whereabouts of Raul Menendez. Woods concedes that Menendez has recently visited him, and shows them a locket that the latter had left behind. Frank then narrates several covert missions undertaken during his military career which span their previous encounters.

According to Woods, by 1986 Alex Mason had effectively retired from active duty to pursue an obscure existence in Alaska with his son, the seven-year-old David. Their shaky relationship is strained further when Mason is solicited by his former handler Jason Hudson, seeking to recruit him for an assignment in Cuando Cubango during the height of the Angolan civil and South African Border Wars. Woods had disappeared with his men while aiding Jonas Savimbi's UNITA rebels against Angola's Marxist government; their actions have already been disavowed by the CIA and Hudson hopes to rescue any survivors. With UNITA's assistance, Mason and Hudson recover Woods from the Cubango, subsequently locating Menendez among a contingent of Cuban military advisers. However, a firefight breaks out, and their quarry escapes as the Americans are rescued by helicopter. It is revealed that Menendez is responsible for holding Woods captive after murdering his team.

In light of this information, Mason and Hudson begin tracking Menendez, who has established himself as a primary arms dealer for bush conflicts in Southern Africa and Latin America. Later in the year, the CIA authorizes a strike against the unscrupulous Nicaraguan, now making a healthy profit running arms across Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. At this point, Menendez's motive for his seemingly senseless vendetta against the West become clear: his beloved sister was grievously injured in an act of arson committed by American businessmen for insurance money. The Menendez clan, which dominates a powerful drug cartel, was again rocked by loss when the CIA sanctions the assassination of Raul's father. An embittered Menendez now considers the conflict to be personal, but his one-man struggle against the West is interrupted when Mason, Woods, Hudson, and local security forces raid his headquarters in Nicaragua; an enraged Woods inadvertently kills Raul's sister, Josefina with a grenade.

Faking his demise with the assistance of Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, Menendez lives to retaliate against those he holds personally responsible for his sister's death. During the 1989 invasion of Panama, he kidnaps Hudson and David, using them as bait for a trap. He then uses Hudson to mislead Woods, manipulating him into shooting Mason instead of himself. Depending on the player's actions in Afghanistan, it is implied that Menendez had used moles within the CIA. In the ensuing chaos, Menendez kills Hudson and cripples Woods. Unsatisfied with his revenge, Menendez allows Woods and David to live, promising to return to complete his revenge when the time is right.

Three decades later, Menendez re-emerges as the leader of Cordis Die, a massive populist movement with over a billion followers. He stages a cyberattack that cripples the Chinese Stock Exchange; in response, the Chinese ban the export of rare earth elements, fermenting the start of a new Cold War between the Chinese-led Strategic Defense Coalition (SDC) and the U.S.-led NATO. Taking advantage of this stand-off, Menendez attempts to bring the two powers to a full-blown war by inciting conflicts between the two, secretly aiding SDC leader Chairman Tian Zhao, who worked with Mason and Woods during their operation in Afghanistan in 1986. Using the intelligence provided by Woods, David, now a Navy SEAL Commander code-named Section, leads JSOC forces in the renewed search for Menendez.

Shortly after gathering intelligence from Woods, Section and JSOC infiltrates Myanmar investigating a spike in activity in the region. There, Section's team encounters a computer engineer under Menendez's employment, warning them of a cyberattack with a Celerium device, a quantum computer capable of hacking any computer system. Section's team is later deployed in Pakistan, attempting to gather intelligence on Menendez's plots. During the infiltration, Menendez discloses the name of a target, "Karma" in the Cayman Islands. Section and SEAL operatives Harper and Salazar later infiltrate the Cayman Islands, finding out that "Karma" is a woman named Chloe Lynch, a former employee of Menendez's shell corporation, Tacitus. Lynch was the main developer of the Celerium device, and as a means of wrapping up loose ends, Menendez had deployed mercenaries for her abduction.

JSOC later has a lead on Menendez in Yemen, where JSOC asset Farid infiltrates Menendez's cell to help Section facilitate the leader's capture. The player, as Farid, has a choice during the mission. Menendez, suspecting Farid's disloyalty, orders him to shoot the captured Harper. If the player chooses not to shoot Harper, and instead attempts to shoot Menendez, he fails, but Harper survives and is rescued. If the player chooses to shoot Harper, Farid survives, and Harper is not present in any conversations or missions thereafter. Menendez is successfully captured, but this was a ruse for Menendez to hack into the U.S. military's computer infrastructure on the aircraft carrier the U.S.S. Obama, seizing control the the United States' entire drone fleet. Salazar is revealed to be Menendez's mole within JSOC, and facilitates Menendez's attack—Menendez escapes with Salazar's aid, and when Menendez breaks in to the bridge of the Obama, Salazar shoots the soldiers guarding Admiral Briggs, with Lynch's survival dependent on Farid's survival in the previous mission. The player, playing as Menendez, has the choice of either killing or wounding Admiral Briggs. If the player only wounds Briggs, and the player has completed all of the Strike Force missions, JSOC and SDC enter an alliance, then the player is later informed that the SDC sent hundreds of drones to defend the Obama, and consequently Briggs was able to save the ship and its crew. Menendez uses the drones to stage an attack on Los Angeles during a meeting of G20 leaders, hoping to kill them and cause catastrophic damage to the global economy. Section escorts U.S. President Bosworth to safety amidst the drone attacks.

JSOC eventually finds the source of the transmissions responsible for the hacking to Haiti, where Section leads JSOC forces into recapturing the facility in the final mission, and apprehending or killing Menendez. There are different endings depending on the actions the player takes throughout the campaign, such as whether or not the United States and China are able to enter an alliance with each other, as well as determining the fates of certain individuals in the game.

During the main campaign, the player may choose to participate in optional Strike Missions. The Strike Missions involve JSOC attempting to curb the SDC's global influence by preventing them from forcing neighboring countries into the alliance. Section himself does not participate in these missions directly, though he can command the forces remotely from a command center. If the missions are completed successfully, the SDC is weakened enough to ally with JSOC, and assists the player later in the campaign, for example, in sending its own drones to rescue the U.S.S. Obama.

Endings
The storyline of Call of Duty: Black Ops II has several endings, depending on which conditions the player fulfils over the course of the game.

If the player spares Menendez's life, completes all four Strike Force Missions, and both Chloe Lynch and Alex Mason survive the events of the game, the "best" ending will result. The player will have secured an alliance between China and the United States, ending the Second Cold War, Chloe's survival prevents Menendez's cyberattack from succeeding, and Mason's survival allows him to visit Frank Woods in retirement, reuniting with Section. The final scene shows Menendez in prison, watching a talk show with Jimmy Kimmel interviewing Chloe, becoming frustrated and enraged when Chloe insults him during the interview.

If Menendez is spared and Chloe survives, but Mason is killed in action, the Second Cold War will end and Menendez's cyberattack will fail, but Section will visit his father's grave with Woods and decides to retire from soldiering; Woods comments that his father would approve of the decision.

If Menendez is spared, Chloe is killed and Mason's fate is unresolved, Section will apprehend Menendez and take him into custody. The cyberattack will succeed, allowing Menendez to escape from prison. He kills Woods in The Vault before visting his sister's grave, dousing himself in gasoline, and readying a lit match.

If Menendez is killed, Chloe's fate is unresolved and Mason is killed, Section will visit his father's grave. Menendez's followers will riot when they learn of his assassination from a video Menendez programmed to post in such an event, ending with a cut of the White House burning.

If Menendez is killed, Chloe's fate is unresolved and Mason lives, Section will kill Menendez before reuniting with his father at the retirement home, and Menendez's followers will riot as above.

Gameplay
Departing from the notorious linear campaign style of past Call of Duty games, Treyarch decided to take a non-linear and sandbox approach to Call of Duty: Black Ops II, (meaning no back-to-back missions with the same outcome every time replayed) instead the old linear style has been dropped in favor of "a more open ended campaign that relies heavily on player choice."

There will be significant points within the campaign where the player is essentially given control over the course the game will take. It won't be a simple "A, B or C" choice either, it will be more expansive than that, for example, not protecting a certain character won't lead to a mission failure, instead it will change the course the game will take.

To help with the departure from a linear campaign are a set of special missions dubbed Strike Force. These missions are sandbox, and play similarly to a Real Time Strategy game. The player can assume the role of a commander, command ground forces, and on top of this, there will be the ability to go back to the traditional first-person and take part in the action themselves. The player gets to have a chance of taking control of many different warfare technology such as unmanned vehicles, jets and robotic automobiles. If the player dies in a Strike Force mission, the story will go on, keeping the record of deaths rather than loading to the last saved checkpoint. The missions will go on to change the story, even change Menendez's plans. By the time the Cold War ends the player will see that they have made the results different.

Multiplayer
The multiplayer portion of Call of Duty: Black Ops II takes place in the near future setting of 2025. The multiplayer development team is challenging their assumptions on multiplayer, taking a "one size does not fit all" approach. They are pulling and re-examining the multiplayer features, such as the Create-a-Class and killstreaks. The Create-a-Class was changed to a 10 point system; players are given 10 points to use on weapons, attachments, and perks, each costing 1 point. The game also introduces Wildcards, players can choose up to three, which allows players to break the rules of Create-a-Class by either, having three attachments on their primary weapon, two perks of the first tier, or more lethal grenades, but more points are used, one for the Wildcard and one for its bonus.

The Playercard returns from Call of Duty: Black Ops, which displays the Calling Cards, Emblem, Clan Tag, and current level. It will also display the current League Play rank. The Emblem Editor also returns, now with the addition of 32 layers, a RGB scaler, and transparency.

Another returning feature is Theater, which improves from what was available in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Players can now bookmark past gameplays using an option called Social Features. Players can now create films and montages using the Highlight Reel.

Ranks
Call of Duty: Black Ops II has 55 levels and 10 Prestiges. Players receive an unlock token for every level, and will have 4 once they reach level 4, which also unlocks Create-a-Class. The unlock token can be used to unlock new weapons, perks, equipment, and Scorestreaks in Create-a-Class.

Once all 55 levels are completed, the player is able to prestige. The player will not be able to unlock every weapon, perk and equipment at level 55. It is now required to prestige to unlock everything. Weapon XP and unlocks do not reset after prestiging. It is also possible for weapons to prestige, which is separate from the player's own prestige.

When the player enters Prestige Mode, they receive an unlock token which can be used to unlock any item, gain another custom class slot, reset their stats, or refund their unlock tokens. When the player completes Level 55, Prestige 10, they are awarded the title of Prestige Master and unlock all items. However, players initially had to have reached 20th Prestige level 80 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer mode for the player to achieve Prestige Master, but a hotfix was released by Treyarch which allowed Prestige Master to be attained by all players, regardless of their ranks on the past games.

Challenges return to reward players with XP to level up faster and unlock cosmetic content, such as camouflage patterns, which can now also be applied to secondary weapons, including launchers and the Assault Shield. The player will first unlock basic camouflage patterns, then advanced challenges become available to unlock special camouflage patterns. Challenges will also unlock reticles for the different sight attachments. Challenges do not reset after prestiging.

Gametypes
Call of Duty: Black Ops II introduces a new game mode, Hardpoint. Players rush to the same place on the map and try to hold it for as long as possible until it moves. Kill Confirmed returns from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, with the scoring system changed to make players play the objective.

Wager Matches from the original Black Ops return, now known as Party Games. Due to the removal of CODPoints, players now earn XP in this gametype.

Combat Training from Call of Duty: Black Ops also returns. In Call of Duty: Black Ops, Combat Training was separate from a player's multiplayer profile. In Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Combat Training is integrated with the player's public multiplayer profile. Players can play three different Combat Training gametypes. On Bootcamp, a team of players and bots face each other for full XP gain for the first 10 levels. Players can then play the Objective gametype, where a team of players and bots play objective modes, but receive half XP.

All playlists will be available from the start at Level 1, instead of being level-gated.

United States of America

 * Los Angeles, California
 * "The Vault"

Angola (1986)

 * Cubango River
 * Jamba

Afghanistan (1986)

 * Khost

Cayman Trench

 * Colossus

Nicaragua (1986)

 * Wasa King

Panama (1989)

 * Fort Clayton
 * El Chorillo
 * Panama Canal

Singapore

 * Keppel Terminal

Yemen

 * Socotra Island

Myanmar

 * Hkababo Razi Mountains

Zombies
"If you like Zombies, you're gonna be really happy with what we're doing with Black Ops II. It's our biggest most ambitious Zombies effort—ever."

- Mark Lamia, Studio Head of Treyarch, confirming Zombies.

The Zombies mode from Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops II'  with numerous additions and changes, such as it running on the game's multiplayer engine rather than a modified single player engine, which lets it support twice as many zombies and twice as many players as before. With the inclusion of the multiplayer engine includes more features only available to multiplayer (now available to zombies) such as Theater Mode, additional game modes .etc. A promotional poster for the game depicts a previously unknown woman, now known as Misty, holding the head of a zombie, the cap which spells "12212012" as well as a and a sword, which is hanging on her right leg.

A teaser trailer was released prior to Treyarch having tweeted a zombie picture. It showed an automated bus going around a city that was infested with the undead. It then teased a full reveal trailer that was released on September 26th, 2012.

On November 1, 2012, David Vonderhaar tweeted the menu of the mode for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Hardened Edition
The Hardened Edition costs $79.99, it includes:
 * Nuketown Zombies - Take Nuketown to the Undead.
 * Nuketown 2025 - Relive the close quarters chaos of this classic fan-favorite map re-imagined in a 1960s visionary depiction of the “model home of the future".
 * Collectible Steelbook – Limited edition game case featuring exclusive artwork.
 * Limited Edition Challenge Coins - Coins that has codes written in it.
 * Exclusive Weapon Camo - Rank-up in style with an exclusive multiplayer weapon skin.
 * Exclusive Player Card Backgrounds – Liven up any killcam with two exclusive player card backgrounds, inspired by Nuketown 2025 and Zombies.
 * Official Game Soundtrack - A digital copy of composer Jack Wall’s epic in-game score with Theme by Trent Reznor.

For Xbox 360 players

 * Exclusive Xbox LIVE CLAW Avatar Prop - An exclusive avatar prop, deployable to a dashboard near you.
 * Exclusive Xbox LIVE Zombies Avatar Costume - Show off your pride with an avatar costume built exclusively for fans of the Call of Duty undead.

For PlayStation 3 players

 * Exclusive PlayStation 3 Dynamic Themes - A dynamic multiplayer theme of the Turbine map as well as a dynamic Zombies theme that shows off the game's zombies.

Care Package Edition
The Care Package Edition costs $179.99, it includes:
 * Nuketown Zombies - Take Nuketown to the Undead.
 * Nuketown 2025 - Relive the close quarters chaos of this classic fan-favorite map re-imagined in a 1960s visionary depiction of the “model home of the future".
 * Limited Edition Collectible Steelbook – Limited edition game case featuring exclusive artwork.
 * Limited Edition Challenge Coins - Coins that has codes written in it.
 * Exclusive Weapon Camo - Rank-up in style with an exclusive multiplayer weapon skin.
 * Exclusive Player Card Backgrounds – Liven up any killcam with two exclusive player card backgrounds, inspired by Nuketown 2025 and Zombies.
 * Official Game Soundtrack - A digital copy of composer Jack Wall’s epic in-game score with Theme by Trent Reznor.
 * Remote Controlled MQ-27 Dragonfire Drone - Command cutting-edge technology, exclusively for this once-in-a-lifetime combat collection.
 * Care Package - Comes in a Care Package with a model directly taken from the game.

For Xbox 360 players

 * Exclusive Xbox LIVE CLAW Avatar Prop - An exclusive avatar prop, deployable to a dashboard near you.
 * Exclusive Xbox LIVE Zombies Avatar Costume - Show off your pride with an avatar costume built exclusively for fans of the Call of Duty undead.

For PlayStation 3 players

 * Exclusive PlayStation 3 Dynamic Themes - A dynamic multiplayer theme of the Turbine map as well as a dynamic Zombies theme that shows off the game's zombies.

Digital Deluxe Edition (PC Exclusive)
The Digital Deluxe Edition costs $79.99/€69.99, it includes:
 * Nuketown Zombies - Take Nuketown to the Undead.
 * Nuketown 2025 - Relive the close quarters chaos of this classic fan-favorite map re-imagined in a 1960s visionary depiction of the “model home of the future".
 * Exclusive Weapon Camo - Rank-up in style with an exclusive multiplayer weapon skin.
 * Exclusive Card Backgrounds – Liven up any killcam with two exclusive player card backgrounds, inspired by Nuketown 2025 and Zombies.
 * Official Game Soundtrack - A digital copy of composer Jack Wall’s epic in-game score with Theme by Trent Reznor.
 * Call of Duty: World at War Game Download Token - A digital download of Treyarch's classic title, traversing World War II storylines from the Pacific to European theaters of war.

Wii U version
In the Wii U version, the Wii U GamePad (Wii U's standard, tablet-like controller) can be used to call in Scorestreaks and change classes without pausing when playing by oneself. If there are two players in the same room, one can play on the screen while the other can play on the Wii U GamePad, basically eliminating split screen. Regardless of these exclusive features, it is possible to play the game using a traditional Wii U Pro Controller, and the signature motion-controlled Wii Remote and Nunchuk. As confirmed by Activision, this version will have every feature that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions have, however, some features such as ELITE support and live video-streaming may not be available for the Wii U version at launch, due to the unfamiliarity of the console's Nintendo Network online infrastructure to the developers. Although, it is possible that these features will be added in later.

Downloadable Content
Downloadable Content is available for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Players are able to purchase the Season Pass for $50 or 4000 Microsoft Points. The Season Pass grants access to Nuketown Zombies, as well as all four announced Content Packs when they are released. The first Content Pack is the Revolution pack which contains 4 Multiplayer Maps, 1 Zombies map, 1 new Zombies game mode and 1 new multiplayer weapon. The second Content Pack is the Uprising pack which contains 4 Multiplayer Maps and 1 Zombies map. The third Content Pack is the Vengeance pack which contains 4 Multiplayer Maps, 1 Zombies map and 1 new Zombies weapon. The fourth and final Content Pack is the Apocalypse pack which contains 4 Multiplayer Maps and 1 Zombies map.

Current DLC

 * Season Pass - The Season Pass gives a discounted price for all the downloadable content with the exception of the Personalization Packs which is not included in the Season Pass.
 * Nuketown 2025 - Available as a Pre-Order bonus and in some new copies of the game. Now availble to everyone for free. (Not available on Wii U.)
 * Nuketown Zombies - Available as part of the Hardened or Care Package Editions of the game or to Season Pass Holders. Now available for everyone with 400 Micosoft Points and $5.00 for the PlayStation 3 version.
 * Revolution - Available on January 29th, 2013 on Xbox Live and 28th February on PlayStation Network. Includes Hydro, Downhill, Grind, Mirage, Die Rise zombie map, Turned Zombies gamemode, and the Peacekeeper SMG for multiplayer.
 * Uprising - Available on April 16th, 2013 on Xbox Live and May 16th on PlayStation Network. Includes Encore, Magma, Vertigo, Studio and Mob of the Dead.
 * Vengeance - Available on July 2nd, 2013 on Xbox Live and August 1st on PlayStation Network. Includes Cove, Uplink, Rush, Detour, Buried and the Ray Gun Mark II for all Zombie maps.
 * Apocalypse - Available on August 27th, 2013 on Xbox Live and 26th September on PlayStation Network. Includes Pod, Frost, Takeoff, Dig and Origins.
 * Personalization Packs - Available on March 13, 2013 for download. These are small downloadable content that add more personalization to weapons, reticles, and also the abillity to add extra emblem slots, custom class slots, emblem slots, film slots and screenshot slots. Includes The Season Pass does not grant this content.
 * Personalization Packs 2 - Available on May 29th, 2013 for download. There are four new personilization packs with each containing a camo, three unique reticles and an exclusive calling card, just like the first one. The Season Pass does not grant this content. Xbox 360 players could vote between May 24th, 2013 and May 28th, 2013 for which 2 camouflage packs would be made available for purchase. For Xbox 360, the Dragon Pack and Cyborg Pack won and were made available for purchase on May 29, 2013. PS3 and PC players. could vote between June 13th, 2013 and June 18th, 2013 for which camouflage pack would be made available for purchase. For PS3, the Dragon Pack and Cyborg Pack won. For PC, the Paladin Pack and Cyborg Pack won. PS3 and PC packs were made available on June 28th, 2013.
 * Personalization Packs 3 - Available on March 4th, 2014 for download. The packs are similar to the previous Personalization Packs in the sense that each pack gives the player a weapon camouflage, calling card, and unique reticles. These packs include Weaponized 115 Pack, Beast Pack, Octane Pack, and Dead Man's Hand Pack.

Trivia

 * The game box cover has the character sitting in the exact position as the character on Call of Duty: Black Ops game box cover, with both characters resting their arms on their knees in the same spots, the only difference being that the right arm is pointed upwards.
 * In the main menu, the background will often change, some of which features Navy Soldiers if the player does not finish the whole story (does not depend on the ending). If the player finished the story, they will be shown the default background, which is the Briefing Room in the USS Barack Obama.