Submitted by -Mezzo- 866d ago | preview

Destructoid - Black Ops II reinvents the multiplayer experience

Destructoid - Call of Duty: Black Ops II broke retail records a mere 24 hours after the public debut of the single-player campaign. An impressive feat, considering that multiplayer, the franchise's bread and butter, wasn't even shown off until just a week ago.

It's a good thing for fans that Treyarch isn't a studio who would just settle for minor refinements, then. They very well could have, but instead, the team has rebuilt the multiplayer system so much that you would be forgiven for thinking they're insane.

The Create-a-Class system as you've known it from past Call of Duty games -- and pretty much all first-person shooters these days -- is dead. Treyarch challenged the assumptions of what multiplayer in an FPS should be and has created something that makes the Call of Duty experience feel fresh again. (Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

bub16  +   866d ago
sounds interesting
r1sh12  +   866d ago
If they havent changed the engine, nothing has actually changed.
Picking perks and classes may differ, but the fundamental part of the game is the engine and they just want to be lazy.
AsheXII  +   866d ago
The engine is fine, has nothing to do with the gameplay changes they made.
AdmiralSnake  +   866d ago
Last I check, we play games we don't play engines.

The best thing that they should do, is release a beta so everything can be fixed before the actual launch.

COD has a lot of players and a massive community and while that's great, it means the game is more prone to people exploiting and abusing crap.

IMO, they need to release a beta for people to test these bugs out, find out what will be abused and patch it before the actual release of the product. This will prevent the usual COD crap that goes on, and make the experience much better for all players in general.
grahf  +   866d ago
Sorry, the engine argument is getting old.

To create a brand new engine from the ground up that will output 60 FPS (which is an absolute requirement) this late in the console generation is not a good business decision. Smart money would develop for the better hardware which will be coming out soon.

I love what DICE did with Frostbite 2, but their market of choice is the PC crowd that can output 60 FPS & 1080p. The console versions of BF3 were "dummed down" graphically.

IW / Trey's target market is consoles, and there is no other engine on the market that can handle the number of players and maintain a steady 60 FPS rate.

Did a lot change from Mass Effect 1 to 3? Graphics? Gameplay? You bet. A lot can be done within engines, and BlOps2 looks to show that.
r1sh12  +   866d ago
I know the engine argument is getting old but some changes are required, and they could use this as a stepping stone for the next gen could they not?
Building an engine from the ground up really is not as hard as it used to be.
As far as the 'good business decision' how much money are they going to make from this game?
Also activision/Tw/IW do not spend money on developing hardware.
grahf  +   866d ago
You don't work with software developers, do you. I do, very closely, in an industry that is changing faster than our guys can push new software out. Even minor tweeks take a lot of time.

It is VERY difficult to create anything new from the ground up, that is why most so many games run on iD/Quake tech a la John Carmack... its fast, stable, its modular, and it can be adjusted and improved, like what IW/Trey have been doing with their 2 year cycles.

Hell, I don't even know if they are building a new engine, and why would they have to? They might strip it down to bare bones and work up for the next gen, and use the hardware muscle to push 1080p/60 FPS.

They have a formula that is making them tons of money, and until they put out a BAD PRODUCT that millions of people don't buy, they will continue.

To counter your last point... I said they are programming "for the better hardware that is coming out soon." Its out there. Check Ebay... $20k could net you a Xbox 720 Durango kit. You don't think Activision, one of Microsoft's biggest partners, hasn't had the new hardware in house some time now?

Finally... they are going to make a shit ton of money off this game. Thats the American dream, afterall!
#1.1.5 (Edited 866d ago ) | Agree(3) | Disagree(0) | Report
r1sh12  +   866d ago
Im a tech consultant with accenture.
I manage teams of software devs on many many projects.
Gaetano  +   866d ago
What a load of garbage. Why change an "engine" that looks and run fine? How many games have you developed?
neutralgamer19  +   866d ago
Yeah sure they did smh.
AdmiralSnake  +   866d ago
How is it "sure they did" if all the info on the changes is there ?

It's like most of you on this site already come to the article, not read anything and automatically post....
ddurand1  +   866d ago
did you read the article?

granted the core gameplay and mechanics will be the same but there are alot of different, appealing characteristics of this multiplayer.
dazzrazz  +   866d ago
Wait... "reinvents the multiplayer" I've heard that already somewhere. O yeah ! It wwas Nov. 10th 2009 when MW2 came out !
#3 (Edited 866d ago ) | Agree(5) | Disagree(3) | Report | Reply
MRHARDON  +   866d ago
Actually, I heard "reinvents the mutiplayer" for every COD game after W@W.
neutralgamer19  +   866d ago
As usual with every and any COD release similar articles are released claiming the next COD is fresh and new. Do i really have to read the article after seeing countless videos and reading up on the game? Ppl so easily forget and are easily deceived but i dont forget. I know what to expect because ive been seeing it since MW2. Black ops if anything was a step back in many regards to me compared to mw2 yet they claimed the same things about black ops.
AdmiralSnake  +   866d ago
If you won't bother to read it, don't comment the article.

Actually the list of the gameplay changes are THERE in the article presented to you. As usual, you have someone who thinks they KNOW EVERYTHING comment about COD and look foolish.

I'm not deceived, I've read information on a person who has hands on time with the Multiplayer portion, and also sat with the developer them self to speak on the changes.
DARK WITNESS  +   866d ago
I know one thing... if at the very least I do decide to give it a try, I will be renting it first and I will wait for a few updates.

Does not matter what changes they make to gameplay, if they can't overhaul the network code and it's got the same S1^T bullet lag that blackops and MW3 have, all those wonderful improvements will mean F!^k all to me.

I do admire them for trying to make gameplay changes, but as said above, they seem to always say this anyway and then when the final game actually comes out... 90% of the "changes" have actually made the game worse.

lets see, but it will be a rental for me first.
grahf  +   866d ago
Renting is always a valid option!
Not sure why you got the disagree...

Renting has swayed my decision on a number of games that I would have either never taken a $60 risk on (DARK SOULS!), or games where I had a pre-order down but bailed at the last minute because it was just SO BAD (*cough* BRINK).

Good luck!
#5.1 (Edited 866d ago ) | Agree(1) | Disagree(2) | Report | Reply
SJPFTW  +   866d ago
thank God pro perks are gone
LightofDarkness  +   866d ago
This whole article just read like a marketing blurb:

"It's without a doubt a game-changer, not just for the Call of Duty series, but for the first-person shooter genre in general. Now more than ever, you really have total control to create the playstyle that will best fit you."

Tell me that wasn't ripped from a data-sheet...
Loki86  +   866d ago
Shoutcasting is an amazing idea that could really take off and spur more competitive gameplay. I didn't want to be excited for this, but with all the changes that actual affect gameplay, I might have to pick this one up.

Add comment

New stories

Dawn of the First Day: Why Majora’s Mask is Unique

23m ago - ZD: "Early last month, Nintendo announced in a Nintendo Direct that, over three years after the r... | Retro

Evolve Graces The Cover Of The December Issue Of Skewed And Reviewed: The Magazine

39m ago - Skewed and Reviewed have revealed that Evolve will be gracing the cover of the latest issue of th... | Culture

Android/iOS Dragon Knights Cheats: The Strategy Guide and Tips

2h ago - Dragon Knights Com2uS Cheats Coins: Guide, Tips & Strategy for Android/iPhone Game Rare Designs... | iPhone

The Last of a Dying Breed

2h ago - Wastelander75 writes: "Are “Professional” Gaming News Sites Even Necessary, or Relevant Anymore?... | Culture

Win a PS4!!


Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- Review [Capsule Computers]

2h ago - Travis Bruno of Capsule Computers writes: "Before there were numerous iterations of Blazblue t... | PS3