We come to the Call of Duty crossroads once more where after the massive Modern Warfare 3, we're poised on the brink of a new game in the now yearly series. Activision has seen sense to place two development teams at the forefront of the series but seemingly both have very different ideals and visions as to what constitutes a COD game. Perhaps we come to a precipice where the COD moniker makes little sense considering how the series has evolved from WWII beginnings, to the cold war, modern times and now the future. There's one thing that's certain, Treyarch's Black Ops 2 has all the makings of being a great game from what we've seen, but with the shackles of realism stashed away to some dark corner of yesteryear, could the vision Treyarch has with Black Ops 2 make it one of the best COD games ever created?
Treyarch must have a huge budgetThis stands to reason considering how profitable Black Ops has been, and more widely, how much money Activision are sitting on from the COD franchise as a whole. There's reason they can afford two development teams working on two separate games at the same time. With Black Ops 2 likely to be another money maker for Activision, one can only imagine how much budget Treyarch have been granted to complete the task, and whilst bigger budget doesn't always translate to better game, it certainly helps.
Treyarch to 1 up Infinity WardFor some, Treyarch has always been in the shadow of Infinity Ward, and without getting into developer wars there has to be some camaraderie between the two camps working on the same franchise. As evidenced with the past games, they both offer their own quirks - Zombie modes from Treyarch and Spec Ops from Infinity Ward. That said, reading between the lines, it's easy to imagine a bit of competitive behaviour between the two camps and as you should be well aware, competition in this industry is a good thing. With Treyarch once again in the position of wanting to prove they can equal or better IW last efforts, is likely to translate into a potentially better game. What's more, Treyarch will no doubt have learned a great deal from Modern Warfare 3.
The Future Setting is a firstAt one stage the series was firmly gripped in the claws of the realistic World War II setting to the point where the direction was well in need of a change. Thus was born Modern Warfare and the Cold War of Black Ops. However, Black Ops 2's future setting is a first for the series and coming into the playing field with something new is likely to be welcomed more than regurgitating the same content we've seen before. With experience of delving into new pastures before, Treyarch's vision of a future world leaves the door open and mean fans can't really fully appreciate or speculate the game's story until they actually play the game considering how unpredictable the future can be. If Treyarch is going to dive head first into this new territory, then they had better make it as good as they can lest they fail to capture the intended audience. It's perhaps this dilemma that has driven the development studio to perform its utmost best.
Creative freedoms allow for more diversityAside from venturing into a new direction, the fact that Black Ops 2 sets itself in a future year of 2025 means there's a huge element of creative freedoms to be exercised. The non linear story will no doubt already have been penned but free from expectations of our current world means anything can happen without necessarily being challenged. Whilst we can sit as observers and suggest events might not happen, or a particular piece of technology won't ever exist; within the framework of the Black Ops 2 story we cannot really object considering the entire game and its premise is fantastical and science fiction based. The creative freedoms resting in this realm potentially employs makes for a very interesting outcome when fused with the series' more tangible roots. The prospects are surely more exciting than muted.
The HorsesWell OK, not necessarily the horses scene on its own but the fact that as a poignant piece of symbolic imagery it serves as a contrast between the old and new. The whole premise behind the Black Ops 2 story seems to fit within the same framework of old versus new, and in this regard makes for a challenging and intriguing prospect. The idea of man versus machine isn't a new concept, far from it, but in terms of the COD series is something never touched on before unless you count blowing up tanks. Modern Warfare seems intent of putting players into the seat of power and technology whereas Black Ops 2 looks like going against that grain, something the horse scene suggests. With such a diverse set of standards and goals interwoven into the game's plot, it's likely to be one of the most engaging and gripping escapades of the entire series as a result. Unpredictability counts for a lot here.