Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the first entry in the series to dare set a large part of its story in the near future, specifically the year 2025, while also continuing the events of the original Black Ops from the Cold War era. The player once again takes on the roles of both Alex Mason and his son David Mason, moving through a branching story where choices and actions during the campaign affect subsequent events and lead to several different endings. This approach was a genuine innovation for the series at the time and clearly set the game apart from its linear predecessors, which had guided players along a single fixed path with no way to influence the direction of the story.

The futuristic setting introduced new gameplay elements such as controlling robotic units, exoskeletons for movement, or remotely piloted aircraft, and expanded equipment that was further developed in later entries of the series. Multiplayer gained the Pick 10 system, giving players greater freedom in building their own loadout instead of a fixed set, and the Zombies mode again grew with new content, characters, and maps that became very popular among players and still have loyal fans today. On PC the game made good use of contemporary hardware without major issues, offering stable performance even in large, chaotic multiplayer battles with many players at once.

The sound design and score reinforced a tense atmosphere alternating between the dark mood of a political thriller and forceful, tension-filled action narrative. Black Ops II was praised above all for its courage to experiment with a branching story in a mainstream series and for expanding the Zombies mode, which became one of the main reasons players still return to this entry even years after release. Within the series as a whole, it is often regarded as one of its peaks, because it combined narrative ambition with a finely tuned and balanced multiplayer that retained a large player base long after release and inspired later futuristic entries in the brand.

Why play it: For players who want to experience the courage to experiment with a branching story in a mainstream series and a finely tuned multiplayer that retained its player base long after release.