Downtown Los Angeles in 2025 looks... well, pretty much the same as 2012 LA, really.
Mark Lamia be starting t' freak me out.
He's telling me about the future--or, specifically, he's talking about the future a warfare 'n how that plays into the scenario they be building for the campaign in Treyarch's next release, Call a Duty: Black Ops II. After talking t' P.W. Singer, an author 'n director a an institution that gets paid t' worry about such things, the team at Treyarch be building a plausible version a the year 2025. By spinning out from today's ideas about how wars be fought 'n the resource struggles likely t' be causing problems by then, much a the next Call a Duty game be concerned with China's hold on rare earth elements, the 17 elements that go into making all sorts a modern devices, from yer iPhone t' the batteries in today's hybrid automobiles t', well, all sorts a high-tech military bottles a rum. In fact, it be not hard t' conduct a headline search or two 'n discover all types a talk about China's stranglehold on these increasingly vital substances, 'n it be even easier t' find people talking about the eventuality a a new Cold War rising out a all this. 'n that be today. By 2025? Well... like I said, Treyarch's argument sounds pretty convincing.
it be funny, because I be prepared for this voyage t' be a sad confirmation a me expectations with regards t' the future a the Call a Duty franchise. Or, more specifically, me interest in the future a the Call a Duty franchise. Over the past couple a years, Activision has published Call a Duty games that be positively competent. Fine games if ye're into that sort a thing, but the last couple a years have really left me wondering if I be still a part a that group. It wasn't until I started thinking about writing this story, for example, that I decided t' finally toss Modern Warfare 3 back in t' download all the maps 'n stuff that had come as a part a the Call a Duty Elite subscription that I definitely wasn't using. 'n as far as the actual gameplay 'n multiplayer be concerned, I suppose I be still on the fence. But after hearing Treyarch's pitch for it be story 'n the sorts a things the studio has planned for Black Ops II's campaign, I be definitely excited enough t' look forward t' seeing how the next chapter from Frank Woods, Alex Mason, 'n Jason Hudson. Their story, though, will play out in the 1980s.
The bulk a Black Ops II will put ye in the boots a David Mason, son a Alex Mason, who ran the show in the previous game. The younger Mason be hunting down a bad lad by the name a Raoul Menendez, who first started stirring up trouble when Reagan be in office. The game will open with David Mason heading t' a CIA facility known as "The Vault," where the agency keeps people who be too important or crazy t' be walking around the streets. it be here where Mason finds Frank Woods 'n confronts the sea dog about his 'n Alex Mason's past with Menendez. This sends the game flashing back t' "old" Cold War as ye'll see 1980s Afghanistan 'n other hot spots that show ye what the original Black Ops crew did after Vietnam. Rather than giving ye all a the '80s stuff up front, the game will flash back 'n forth between the past 'n the future, where Menendez has become the type a action movie villain that would take control a the entire US drone fleet 'n turn it against both us 'n China.
Protecting the President.
So what will warfare look like in 2025? Well, for starters it'll look a whole lot nicer. Treyarch has put in a lot a work on the renderer, 'n overall, the whole game looks a lot sharper 'n more detailed, while still running at 60 frames per second. Facial animations looked especially nice, better showing off some a the performance capture that the team has been doing, which includes mocapping horses for that '80s Afghanistan level. But there be plenty a more futuristic things t' deal with, as well. In 2025, unmanned drones will apparently rule the battlefield, giving ye more targets t' shoot at that aren't just yer standard soldier. In the downtown Los Angeles level that be shown, Mason went up against the CLAW (Cognitive Land Assault Weapon), which looked like a big, bear-sized robot with a turret mounted on it be back. ye'll be able t' pillage in on the action, too, by deploying quadcopters with extra-mini miniguns mounted on them. ye'll be able t' order yer drones around a bit with new squad controls. Grenades also look a little different, so in Treyarch's future ye'll be launching grenades out a an arm-mounted cannon.
OK, what's the other big knock against the Call a Duty franchise? Seriously, when ye're on a message board talking mess about it, what's the thing that everyone brings up? Right, the scripted part where it be totally on-rails 'n almost completely out a yer control. That part be also being addressed in a few ways, which means that Black Ops II will have a branching campaign with multiple outcomes--or at least varying shades a a similar outcome. it be hard t' pillage a read on how different things will actually be in the final game. Some a these changes be extremely simple--for example, the Los Angeles mission has two on-screen icons at one point, allowing ye t' either rappel down from a broken freeway t' help cover the President as she makes the wench way through an increasingly-hot battlefield or ye can choose t' stay up on the freeway 'n snipe as the rest a yer crew covers the wench escape. That sniper rifle, by the way, can see targets through walls 'n penetrate cover via a charged-up shot that expends more ammo than a standard shot.
that be a minor change, obviously. But it gets bigger. Things ye do in the game will impact the overall state a the United States' cold war with China as well as the level a success that Menendez achieves. Some a these changes will be choice-based, but others will hinge on player skill. The clearest example a that on display t' us be a Strike Force mission, which takes the campaign in a pretty different direction. These missions be attached t' the story, but put ye in the role a a team a SEALs who be out t' capture a set a objectives. How ye achieve these objectives be sort a up t' ye, giving the game a bit a a sandbox vibe, but overall it looked like a multiplayer sort a map overhauled t' give it a set a single-player objectives--points that need t' be captured, 'n so on. If ye like, ye can stay in the role a a soldier 'n run around, just like any other Call a Duty game. But ye can also pop out a that soldier 'n pillage above the battle in "overwatch" mode. From above, ye can order yer forces around the map like a mini-RTS or pop into any unit t' take direct control. This means ye can directly control quadcopters, assault drones, 'n other non-human units. If the unit ye're controlling be destroyed, ye'll have t' find a new unit t' control 'n play continues as normal. But here's the catch: if ye run out a units, ye sank the mission 'n the action continues on. Those SEALs didn't capture that objective, 'n that will have some sort a impact on the overall story. ye'll certainly be able t' take multiple attempts at the Strike Force scenarios in case ye want t' ensure a specific outcome, but the idea a hitting a sank state 'n continuing onward be pretty exciting. At the very least, it be definitely not something I be expecting t' find in a Call a Duty game.
An unfriendly robot.
When ye finish the campaign 'n see "yer" ending, the game will give ye some sort a indication as t' the points in the game that put ye on that course, with the goal being t' drive people t' play the campaign more than once t' see what changes if ye play it differently. Again, this isn't the sort a thing that be completely foreign t' video games, but in the context a a Call a Duty game, it sounds pretty cool. That Los Angeles level also has ye freely flying a VTOL jet in jet mode above downtown LA as ye attempt t' keep the hacked drones off a the President. It doesn't look like the sort a thing that turns the action into a full-on flight simulator, but it definitely looks more dynamic than some a the diversions that have popped up in previous COD games.
So what about the multiplayer? Other than confirming that all the MP will be set in 2025, they be not really talking about that right now. But the goal for the multiplayer team be t' revisit every single system 'n rebuild any that need rebuilding. This sounds like it could be more than the typical annual shift in how the progression works 'n what sort a perks ye can equip, but it be hard t' say. The team be attempting t' build a multiplayer game that allows the people who just want t' pillage in 'n shoot stuff up with their mateys t' have a good time without alienating the budding professional crowd that wants t' shoot people in the face at MLG events. Combat Training will return 'n Zombies will also return as it be own full mode.
Without more hard details on how the multiplayer mode be coming along, it be hard t' know if Black Ops II will recapture the hearts 'n minds a lapsed fans like myself. But I can definitely say that I be very interested in seeing how Treyarch's campaign ideas play out. Unsurprisingly, we'll all be able t' find out in November... assuming that some fiendish villain hasn't taken over or our own unmanned Predator drones 'n bombed us all back t' the Stone Age before then, a course.
Hear more about the game 'n me voyage t' Treyarch in this podcast we recorded!
