Thursday, March 14, 2013

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - My impressions

I'm a Gamer!

I have been a gamer for a very long time. I played video games back in the days of the Intellivision (no, seriously, such a thing actually existed!), the Super NES, Turbo Grafx16, Sega Genesis, Playstation (One, that is - it didn't have a number back then!), and then went almost exclusively with PC gaming, which I had also done since the 8088 (that's a model of CPU that used to exist) right up to my current computer.

One I got into PC gaming, I gave up on the consoles.  Oh sure, I had tried a console game here and there, and was familiar with and happy with the controls for sports games - especially the NHL franchise by EA - but I had never played any kind of shooters, and wasn't really relishing the idea of trying. I had tried one on my PSP at one time, which used the same basic ideas (only, using the buttons as a second directional pad), and I didn't really like it either. I had always thought that using a mouse and keyboard was and always WOULD be the best possible way to play any type of First Person Shooter (FPS) game.

Yes, I've heard the arguments between PC gamers and console gamers on the merits of each control method, and if there was any kind of way to definitively decide or prove which was superior, there would be a showdown, of sorts. But I had tried both methods of aiming, and I was quite convinced that mouse and keyboard was and would always be the way to go.

Console Gaming

Well, I have a friend who is an XBox 360 gamer, has been playing for years, and has been bugging me for years to get an XBox so we can game together, chat together, and whatnot. I kept trying to get him into PC gaming, and we did play some Diablo II for a while, but it didn't last.

So, finally, I broke down and got an XBox 360 just over a year ago. I asked Rico what games to get so that we could game together (yeah, we are 40-somethings, and we still like to game. Some things never change!), and he suggested a couple. One of them was Left4Dead, the other was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

So, here I was, a confirmed PC gamer, trying to get into the world of console FPS gaming.

The first little while was a downright disaster!  I would try to aim for someone and I would hit the sky!  I would try to backup and protect my buddy, and I would shoot him in the face.  I died over and over, and he never got mad at me, just said "keep trying, bro!  You'll get it!"

So I got into Modern Warfare 3 multiplayer and I played my ass off.  I would get destroyed, often going 3 and 15 (3 kills, 15 deaths), and was happy when my kills went higher than 5!  That was a brilliant game, for me!  the people on my team were rarely happy, but that is the downfall of playing in public games, that you get the not-as-good with the good.

Anyway, I was still having fun for the most part, and was playing hard, and learning, and eventually, getting better to the point that I would occassionally have a positive (greater than 1.00) Kill-to-Death Ratio (KDR). Basically, it means (if you don't know), that you have an equal number of kills to deaths, or more kills than deaths.  That's always the goal!  Calculating KDR entails dividing the number of kills by the number of deaths.

COD: Black Ops 2

After a while playing Modern Warfare 3, it was announced that the next iteration in the Call od Duty series was coming out in late 2012, and would be called Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.  It was a sequel to the previous, and very popular Black Ops, but woud be placed in a future setting, not too far in the future, but far enough to bring in some interesting new tech and toys.

This was all very well, and I was looking forward to the interesting things that were coming into the game (like the remote controlled quad-copter gunners - the Dragonfire), and the inclusion of what they called "League Play".  League Play was what I most looked forward to, as it would allow me to be matched based on 5 random encounters, with people of equal skill as myself.  That way, I would not end up in a match where I was so severely outclassed that I was constantly dying and rarely getting kills.

As an idea, this was great!  In practice  it is actually quite abysmal, and I have a LOT to say about it, which I will post on my Hubpages in the near future (edit: Here's the link to that review)

However, after starting to watch gameplay videos by a number of well-known and liked YouTubers (LegendofThunder, Ali-A, and Optic Nadeshot to namedrop just a few), I discovered some play styles that I liked, and some ideas for how to approach the games, and learn the maps that actually made me a better gamer.  Now, that's not to say that I am great - hell, I wouldn't even say I am very good - but if you could see my gameplays from a year ago, and see what I do now on Black Ops 2, you would have to agree that, with my ability to actually get positive KDR on at least half of my games, and the fact that I brought my overal TDM (Team Deathmatch) KDR up from about 0.62 to a current 0.79, I have improved greatly.

Single Player

The single player game in Black Ops 2 is actually quite good.  I had played all of the Modern Warfare Series from the first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare up to Modern Warfare 3, and I enjoyed the characters, the intensity, the grittiness, and the overall story arc of the games.  I have not yet played Black Ops, so I don't know the first part of the story, but I was pulled into the game right from the first mission in Black Ops 2, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way the stories went, even going into the back story and playing out missions in 80s Afghanistan, and such.

The characters are well fleshed out and you learn some of their history through the course of the game, as well as what motivates them to do the things they do.  The reasons for Menendez' hatred of Woods, and Woods' hatred of Menendez make them a fantastic pivot point around which to base the game, and the post-ending ending (I can't give it away, but it was surreal, and weird, and FRICKIN' HILARIOUS!) just makes the whole game worth playing through to the end!

Multiplayer

The multiplayer portion of Black Ops 2 is also quite well done.  You have a range of game types that can be played from such standards as Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Domination, to newer modes like Hardpoint, Sticks and Stones, and Sharpshooter.  You can play in the Core modes (with your HUD - Heads Up Display - and counters for your ammo, a minimap that shows your team and the enemies, etc.), or in Hardcore modes that remove the HUD and minimap, and give you less health so that death is quicker if you get hit.

As you play, you gain levels which will unlock new weapons and perks, and you can also level your weapons by using them in order to gain new camo's, and new attachments.  Each level gives you an unlock token to unlock one of the weapons, consumables, or perks that are available at that level, so you really have to decide what you want for each of your created classes.  

Once you level up to 55, you can trade in a "Prestige" token in order to reset your level back to 1, but you can then permanently unlock a weapon, attachment, or perk, as you see fit.  At this time, I believe there are 10 Prestige levels, but I don't quite remember if that is 

As a newer player of FPSs on consoles, of course the hardest part for me is getting into a lobby with players in which I have a chance to be more than just fodder for the other team's bullets.  It still happens, and I get frustrated when it does, but as I said earlier, my game has improved to the point that I can actually end up in games where I feel well-matched to the opponents.  Sometimes I will get stomped, and other times I will do the stomping.

Getting used to listening to people complain or whine, or generally badmouth you if you don't play well, does take a while.  I would often get discouraged and upset by what people would say about my bad play, and annoyed when they would get upset by what I did and accuse me of cheating or something to that effect (which I have never, and will never do), but it happens less now, and the option to globally mute everyone except your party with the click of a button before the match starts, is sometimes useful and necessary!

League Play

League Play is supposed to match you up with similarly skilled players so that you can play in competitive modes and keep track of who is better.  There are ranks for each division, and multiple divisions for each tier, and you gain points by winning, and lose points by... well, losing!

All weapons and attachments are available right from the beginning of League Play.  It doesn't matter if you have never played multiplayer, or you have prestiged to Level 55 of Prestige 10, everything is unlocked and available.

The Team Deathmatch league leaves everything available, including weapons, attachments, scorestreaks and perks.  The Champions league has more e-sports rules, and in each "season" (basically a season goes by a calendar month, for the most part), the rules change to match the requests of those who play the leagues, and especially those who are at the top of e-sports / MLG for those who play COD games.

There are 6 tiers, and multiple divisions per tier for League Gaming.  They start with Masters for the highest ranked/best players, then move on to Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and finally Iron.  Each division has 250 players, and you can move up and down your division, and occasionally move tiers as well.  

In the case of Champions league, I haven't played much since the Hardpoint, Capture the Flag, and Search & Destroy modes are my least played modes, so I am not that good at them, and haven't figured out all of the mechanics and tactics I need to.  I really like Team Deathmatch mode, and have managed a personal best of 30th in Bronze tier, but have since been near the top of my Iron division for the last two seasons (I believe I ended 2nd or 3rd in the season through February, and I am currently near the top 10 for my current ladder).

Now...  I am not totally in love with the League play, and as I said earlier, will detail that in a later post on HubPages, (Here it is again) but for the most part it does what it says.  You can occasionally get matched with higher tier players (I have gone into matches with silver and even Platinum players), but if you win (good luck!) you get a few more points for the win than you would if everyone is evenly matched.

Final Thoughts

I really like the single player, like the multiplayer, and am - at the moment - at odds with League Play.  But for a First Person Shooter with multiplayer and single player options, I would say this is a good buy.  I would give it about an 8 out of 10 if I had to rate it.  But since I don't have to, I will just say that I like it, and I would recommend it for others who are fairly good at shooters, or who want to work hard to get somewhat good at shooters.

Hope you enjoyed this review-ish (I didn't get into any nuts and bolts, so it more an over-review), and maybe I will see you out there on the battle field.

Cheers!

  -- Slyde

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Anonymous said...

I too am very frustrated and although my spm is not so high I still feel like I should be higher than iron rank 1 (stuck). Not to mention that it doesn't matter if I play solo or with other teammates I get paired up against platinums or masters. Don't get me wrong I am learning to play against Masters. If it's Search I have more of a chance of winning.
I am tired of opponents using lag switches and booting you offline. Hardly anybody plays fair anymore. I am done with this game and not being promoted. No matter how hard you try somebody always has to cheat to win and move up in rank.

Anonymous said...

filthy perv..stay in jail

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