The dust has settled on last night’s official Black Ops II unveil and we now know a whole lot more about the world’s biggest shooter. For the latest entry to the series, Treyarch has shaken things up considerably. Black Ops II may well adopt the same set-piece driven thriller formula that we’ve come to expect, but what we’ve seen hints at the most radical departure for the series in years.

But what are those changes? From the game’s future setting, to horse chases, zombies and more, read on for a comprehensive breakdown of everything we know about Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

IT'S SET IN 2025... AND THE 80s.

We expected the series to make a jump into the future, but Black Ops II will feature flashbacks to the past too. Around a third of the game will be spent in the 1980s, as Alex Mason (from Black Ops 1) navigates the end of the Cold War, coming up against fledgling bad dude, Raul Menendez.

The bulk of the storyline, however, is set in 2025. It follows Mason’s son David in a world of high tech gadgetry and fearsome military tech. David is also on the tail of Menendez, who by this time has grown up into a fearsome killer, a monster capable of bringing the world to its knees.

FRANK WOODS IS BACK

The last time we saw Sgt. Frank Woods, he was flying out of a window, grappling with Victor Kravchenko. Now Kravchenko had a belt of live grenades, making Woods’ survival seem unlikely. But somehow he did it.

Woods is the game’s narrator. Still alive in 2025, he explains what happened in the 1980’s while also explaining why it is relevant in 2025. He’s the narrative glue, so to speak.







IT'S WRITTEN BY THE CO-WRITER OF BATMAN BEGINS AND THE DARK KNIGHT

The 2025 fragment of the story is set during a future War over the rare earth elements used to build essential technology and military weapons. As mentioned in the trailer, chaos erupts when Raul Menendez hacks into the army’s drones, advanced robotics and security systems and lays waste to L.A.

All the evidence points to Menendez making a memorable antagonist. Crucially, the game’s writer David Goyer created The Dark Knight’s version of the Joker. Look at what Heath Ledger did with a pencil, then imagine what Menendez can do with a robot army.

THERE WILL BE A BRANCHING STORYLINE AND 'STRIKE FORCE MISSIONS'

Typically, Call of Duty games are linear affairs, fiercely controlling what you do and where you go. Black Ops II looks set to change all that by allowing for a branching storyline.

At certain points in the campaign players will be given the choice of a number of Strike Force missions. Whichever you pick will set your story on a different path.

Yet there’s even choice within this, as shown in one of the game’s missions as US forces attempt to sink a docked freighter. Usually, you would take control of a player character and one-man army your way through it, destroying everyone as you go. However, in Black Ops II’s Strike Force missions you can switch things up a little.

You can take control of aerial attack drones, you can jump into a small tank called the CLAW, you can control other troops and basically approach these side-missions however you see fit. Use up all of these resources, however, and you will fail, something that will have lasting consequences on the single-player portion of the game.

HORSE CHASES, DOGFIGHTS AND MORE

The debut trailer points to a number of interesting elements, some of which have not been discussed yet. Amidst the fast-cut action of the trailer we see a fighter jet dogfight and a crashing helicopter (there’s always a crashing helicopter in FPSs, that’s the rules). Will we be in control during all of these moments? It looks likely.

Meanwhile, horses have also been confirmed. In a mission set during the 1980s in Afghanistan, we’ll see a protracted gunfight that takes place on horseback. Apparently, all of the horse animations were motion captured, so everything will looks surprisingly believable. You’ll just be trying to avoid the knackers yard.

IT'S NOT SCIENCE FICTION

Oliver North has history. In the late 80s he was convicted of selling weapons to Iran, before being cleared on appeal. Now he’s acting as a consultant on Black Ops II. You can watch him and the game's other advisors explaining their involvement with the game below. It's not science fiction.



ZOMBIES ARE BACK

While we don’t know much concrete info just yet, we do know that the popular Zombies Mode will make a return in Black Ops II, with a new world and new modes. Indeed, Treyarch boss Mark Lamia said that it’s “our biggest, most ambitious zombies effort ever.”

THE MULTIPLAYER IS SET IN 2025 TOO

Though the single-player campaign may jump around in time, the game’s multiplayer will stay rooted in the future. Two maps were shown off; one on a rural Yemen island called Socotra with a tree at its center. The other is set in Los Angeles following a drone attack. It’s a chaotic map with toppled buildings and smoking, burning rubble.

What’s more, Treyarch want to take the multiplayer to the next level by really embracing E-sports. Indeed, they want to make E-sports a mainstream proposition. They didn’t reveal exactly how they would do that, but expect sponsored tournaments with TV deals and some big, big prizes. You had better get practicing.



So there you have it, everything we know about Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Expect more, lots more, in the coming weeks as we move nearer to the game’s November 13th release date.

That just sounds brilliant, just ashame they put Zombies in it, not a fan of zombies at all.
my youngest brother always wanted to play this on BO, bored the life out of me, I use to just shoot the director and laugh my arse off hearing all his mates start moaning about who shot him. Lol. Brilliant.

Ubee Snackz wrote:

That just sounds brilliant, just ashame they put Zombies in it, not a fan of zombies at all.
my youngest brother always wanted to play this on BO, bored the life out of me, I use to just shoot the director and laugh my arse off hearing all his mates start moaning about who shot him. Lol. Brilliant.

Dude agree there, Zombies isn't my cup of tea. Altho we did have fun winding Dannys mates up!! Lol