E3 2012: Black Ops II

The E3 experience continues this week with an in-depth demo of the next Call of Duty title, Black Ops II.  The developers at Treyarch provided a long, in-depth demo of the Los Angelos level (via IGN).

The visuals for the game are striking right off the bat, showing some good work has gone into the graphics engine since the last game.  As players will see, the game takes place in a peaceful world, filled with hope and wonder.  You are sent out on a mission to retrieve cake for your friends from a selfish baker.

Oh, sorry, I blacked out there for a minute…what was I talking about?

OK, so obviously, it’s a Call of Duty game, which means you’re going to be thrown into war settings.  While a lot of the story is still yet to be revealed, the demo shows LA turned into a battlefield, with enough explosions to make even Michael Bay feel happy, but the game looks like it’s standing on some solid foundations.  Listening to the video commentary, some special mentions are made to how they developed the “future technology” for the game (which occurs 13 years from now in 2025), which shows a good mix of current generation weaponry as well (as it should).  The video ends with some vehicle combat (air to ground and air to air) which looks promising, though I wonder how much of that will find its way into the multiplayer elements.

However, as a first look, Black Ops II seems to be off to a good start, and giving an impressive view of what will be in store for later – definitely a plus for Activision for this year’s show.