Black Ops II: Time Line in Jeopardy

Finally, some consistent level of Call of Duty: Black Ops II superplay begins to filter through. Here's TheSandyRavage and some macho sound clips proving that there was a point to Gearbox Software finally getting Duke Nukem Forever out the door. Mr Ravage's clips are always my favourite Call of Duty gameplays - instead of topic talk or mechanic breakdowns we get pure, unadulterated rushing. It borders on bullying.

Ravage's videos are interesting now because there's a very real sense that the last two Call of Dutys have been laser focused on eliminating the player's ability to pull off these kind of clips. Maps have shrunk into a tightly packed series of tunnels and kill-floors. Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops II play like meat grinders with players forced to pick a route to race to their death. In the past there tended to be an obvious, direct route, with a few flank paths running along the map corners. This basic layout remains, but the maps are so narrow and cluttered with bodies that geography becomes meaningless. You're never more than a couple of steps from a strobing, machine pistol lag monster. Spawns flip constantly because the play area is too small, meaning players adopt a harassed, zippy playstyle. There is very little time to stop and think.

The sound mix also has audio cues for enemy movement so low in the mix that it's impossible to effectively track their location. An especially bizarre choice considering two in-game perks are dedicated to picking up or eliminating avatar sound. At this point, just before the release of the first DLC pack Revolution, both Dead Silence and Awareness are basically useless, even with an overpriced video game head-set.



Bear in mind you are expected to be able to pick out these light crunches from a soundscape seething with gunfire and explosions. You'd better get used to silent enemies phasing in by your side, because that's what they're selling.

Since launch support for Black Ops II has been conspicuous by its absence. I think we've had one significant patch that changed a few hip-fire values and addressed some issues with the (still broken) theatre mode. The lag problems that have been making mulch of the multiplayer have not been addressed. It must be noted though that every Call of Duty I have played at launch has dealt with similar latency issues. It's almost an expected peril of early adoption.

With Modern Warfare 3 Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games did recognise and immediately attempt to solve this headache. MW3 had a glut of patches in the weeks after launch that tweaked and tinkered with this part of the user experience - not always to any meaningful effect. Players with premium internet connections were still left feeling gimped. Infinity Ward's sequel seemed to have a very basic framework in place that created artificial lag for faster connections, apparently in an effort to level a playing field that, until that title, had tended to favour the user hosting.



Black Ops II has a twin system in place. The game creates artificial lag to penalise players with stronger connections. This isn't the only problem though. Player movement has been significantly increased compared to MW3 to the point were it doesn't seem like the actual game is able to keep up. Chose Perks and attachments based around increasing character speed (Lightweight, Extreme Conditioning, the Stock) and you can create a situation in which you are substantially frustrating other player's ability to track your actual physical location.

Couple this with a aiming mechanic that doesn't immediately confer the advantages associated with looking down sights and you have an experience that frequently feels impenetrable. You are robbed of the meta game advantages you have picked up over countless Call of Duty iterations - you are here to die.



I think the most telling aspect of Black Ops II's failure to engage a higher level of gameplay is that a pronounced amount of YouTube commentators have already migrated away from the game. Maximilian has returned to fighting game uploads and a run through the (superb) Devil May Cry series on his retro gaming channel. ELPRESADOR has sloped back to Modern Warfare 3 (and similar frustrations it has to be said).



Remember, these are people who make their living from attracting clip likes and views. This would seem to suggest that this game is so frustrating they are prepared to take a dip in revenue rather than force themselves to cope. You could even speculate that the demand for Black Ops II clips is already drying up if so many content creators are comfortable with this decision. Watching your favourite player blind-sided on their way to a Swarm loop isn't particularly interesting.



Hopefully the start of the DLC season will see a significant overhaul of how the game communicates between players. Wishful thinking perhaps, considering Treyarch's game design director David Vonderhaar refuses to acknowledge such a problem even exists. It would however be a shame to see some of Back Ops II's genuine innovations (the Pick Ten System, Scorestreaks etc) wasted on the frustrating experience the game currently is.