Game review: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

DEVELOPER Treyarch takes its Black Ops story to the year 2025, as villainous revolutionary Raul Menendez attacks America using its own unmanned drone army. It’s a change of pace for the long-standing series, throwing a slew of near future technology into the mix.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

£44.99, PC/PS3/Xbox 360/Wii U (release date TBC)

Hacking tools, stealth cloaks, AI-controlled sentries and augmented firearms combine to make for a fun and extensive collection of gadgets and guns. The single player campaign puts them all to good use, but multiplayer is – as ever – the reason to stick around.

It’s an ambitious effort from Call of Duty’s online component this year, with a new create-a-class 
system based on balanced gunplay, Score Streak rewards that dole out tech and air support, and a focus on precision aiming.

It’s much easier to down opponents now by hitting their vital spots, rather than just spraying bullets everywhere in the hope of taking out your target. This is something the series has been crying out for, and it’s finally here.

Treyarch’s map design is also impeccable, with futuristic robot factories, bullet train stations, luxury cruise ships and a nuclear power plant among the highlights. Even fan favourite Nuketown gets a make over as Nuketown 2025.

There’s also a full Zombies mode campaign, an overhauled theatre mode, expanded emblem creation kit, YouTube streaming and expanded training mode to enjoy. It’s a huge effort, and well worth the price of admission. The promise of future DLC (downloadable content) packs suggests another year of enjoyable gunplay.