Call of Duty released its 9th main entry with Black Ops II ten years ago this November, and at the time it was one of the biggest blockbuster video game launches of all time. With a story co-written with The Dark Knight trilogy's David S. Goyer and multiplayer modes that honored but improved on Black Ops's versions, the game earned its acclaim.
Even though the series has now doubled in the number of its installments, this is how Black Ops II still holds up as one of the best COD games.
The Voice Actors Are Top Notch
Not all Call of Duty games are known for their story or acting, but as the first Black Ops, the 2012 sequel featured a cast with some big names but a lot of talent all the way around. The Walking Dead's Michael Rooker joined as the future sections' companion, while Avatar's Sam Worthington returned as Alex Mason and Michael Keaton replaced Ed Harris as Jason Hudson. Not too shabby.
Ever the lesser-known or unknown actors, though, bring their A-game, especially Rich MacDonald as David Mason, James C. Burns as Frank Woods, and Kamar de Los Reyes as Raul Menendez. You feel the camaraderie and tension between characters throughout, and not one main cast member drops the ball.
A Compelling Antagonist
Speaking of Raul Menendez, although the game splits itself between two different periods, they share Menendez as their main antagonist, seeing him as a young cartel leader in the 1980s and as an older, vengeance-seeking anti-capitalist revolutionary in 2025.
What makes Menendez a compelling villain is that he has a tragic backstory that most other Call of Duty antagonists lack, and on top of this, the game makes him playable at certain sections, in all of which playing as Menendez means going counter to the protagonists. It builds sympathy and makes him one of the most complex villains the series has ever had.
Brilliantly Balances The Past And Future
One of the things that makes it one of the best Call of Duty games is Black Ops II's balancing of those two timelines, which, while having Menendez as a common element, are very different due to being 40 years separated in time. On top of that, 2025 was more than a decade away when the game was made. It could have easily turned into a game with jarring dissonance.
Instead, it becomes a story that juxtaposes the recent past and then-coming possible future of U.S. military engagement, which is kept in line thanks to Menendez and the Mason family being the connecting thread. The two eras interact, to the extent that actions you take in the past era can affect the game's ending. That also makes it feel like whatever choice the player makes was fated to happen, which is pretty cool.
Full Custom Load-Outs For Each Story Mission
A non-story innovation that Black Ops II brought to the table was to allow players complete freedom to choose which weapons they were going to take on a mission. This had been part of the multiplayer mode for years, of course, but never part of the single-player story.
It's another instance where customization allows players greater control over their experience. Each level has a recommended load-out that's the default, but if players want to enter a map with an RPG as one of their weapons it's allowed. It's also quite funny that this, mixed with the splitting between two timelines, means that 2025 weapons can appear in 1980s levels, but that's part of the fun!
The Storm PSR
The wildest weapon in the game, though, is the "sniper rifle" known as the Storm PSR, which appears in the penultimate 2025 mission, "Cordis Die", but can be equipped for any level once unlocked. The rifle's scope allows the player to see through walls, and charge up a shot to 5-times power to penetrate obstacles, although each charge costs an extra bullet.
Having this in multiplayer would've made matches pointless since it's the closest non-cheat way of getting to god mode in the single-player levels. Still, getting to take it for a spin on any level is fun because of the ridiculous advantage it provides, and that's what makes it one of the best weapons in COD history.
Classic Multiplayer Maps
You can find some of Call of Duty's best multiplayer maps in Black Ops II, with the futuristic setting of half the game providing prime ground for innovative, fun, and even good-looking ones like "Raid", "Plaza", and "Hijacked". Providing good hiding spots as well as perfect open spaces for close-quarters combats, these maps are incredibly well-designed.
Even if a player didn't have access to the Internet at the time, the maps this game provided made it worth playing against bots just to be able to play in the sandbox of these gorgeous locations, although fair credit is due to Treyarch for the AI programming across all modes of the game.
Call Of Duty's Best Soundtrack
When you have Trent Reznor, the Nine Inch Nails frontman who also co-composed The Social Network, composing the main theme, you know you're in for a good soundtrack, but that is, after all, just the beginning. Main composer Jack Wall's score delivers on every level of the game.
The 1980s section music fits in well with its setting, whether it's a Middle-Eastern desert or a Nicaraguan hacienda ("Niño Precioso" is a standout), it's his future-set work that's stirring. The 3-part stretch from "Flying Squirrels" to "Rare Earth Elements" feels right out of a sci-fi thriller, and while short, "Colossus" melds classic Black Ops with the 2025 setting perfectly.
Side Quests Fit The Main Story
Side quests can often hurt a video game but do have the potential to improve the player experience, and Black Ops II's side quests, called "Strike Force missions", do exactly that. Although not necessary to play the main story, ignoring the quests affects the narrative as to whether or not China allies with the United States against Menendez by the end of the game.
The only Strike Force mission that feels out of place is "Second Chance", which exists only so players who failed to save Chloe Lynch in "Karma" have a second chance to rescue her and thereby have a chance to achieve the game's best ending. It feels a bit patronizing because nowhere else are players able to reverse a mistake like this one without reloading a save point.
Themes Are Still Relevant
Whether it's economic inequality, the quandary of increased reliance on technology, or the question of the role that China will play in the 21st century political landscape, Black Ops II does what a great work of narrative should: deal with themes that are topical and relevant to players. As a future-set game, Black Ops II also had the task of predicting how society would advance in 15 years.
Plenty of films deal with political issues either overtly or in subtler ways, and video games are no exception; whether you agree or disagree with a game's political stance is one thing, but you can't deny it's political. Black Ops II simply deals more openly with its themes than many other COD games.
Multiple Possible Endings
COD games often act like a roller coaster, taking players on rides but having a set narrative path the whole way through. Black Ops II was the first game to allow multiple endings, and takes into account player actions across the game, allowing for a variety of different combination endings.
The only shame is that Black Ops III and, to a lesser extent, IIII, had to decide on a specific ending to continue that universe's story, and it ended up going with one that wasn't even possible in the game. Menendez was canonically killed, but unlike the ending in II, if that's chosen, no rioting and violence broke out as a result.