Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - Multiplayer trailer analysis
Take a look at the trailer below, then check out our breakdown to get all of the details you might have missed.
There are (at least) four new maps
The trailer gives us a quick look at different sections of four new maps and each of them look to feature some unique layouts and cool looking settings.
Custom loadouts are highlighted (and they look very different)
We're not sure if these holograms on rocks are some new way to modify your loadout in-game or just part of the trailer. Either way, it's the layout of the loadouts that piqued our interest. For starters, sometimes all of the options aren't filled out. Sometimes nothing fills the secondary weapon slot, or perk 3 is missing. There looks to be a third attachment option on the primary weapon, there are six slots for perks, and we don't know what to think about the three slots at the bottom. It looks like filling out every slot is optional. Also note that there are ten bars after the gamertag and ten items filling the loadout. Hmmm.
There's a throwable spike wrapped in tasers
This electroshock taser grenade looks like a step-up from the non-lethal stun grenade from previous games. This one sticks in the ground and shocks anyone nearby - presumably for a few seconds - so you can get your bullets in.
One sight sees enemies through walls and smoke
This attachment looks like a combination of the motion sensor and an X-ray scanner. In the trailer you can see a pulse go out and highlight any enemy in the small viewfinder. It looks like players coming around corners or hiding in smoke don't stand a chance against this sight.
The hybrid sight makes and appearance
The hybrid sight was introduced in Modern Warfare 3 and now it looks like it has made it's way into Black Ops 2. It is a combination of a shorter range reflex sight and a zoomed ACOG-like scope that can be switched on the fly. It's excellent for those who want to be a bit more versatile on the battlefield.
A futuristic "Guardian" turret makes enemies uncomfortable
We're pretty sure we saw something like this on an episode of Future Weapons. In Black Ops 2, it looks like the Guardian shoots out super intense heat rays that slows enemies and leaves them open for well-aimed burst fire. How you acquire the Guardian is still uncertain, though it would make sense if it was an alternate option to the sentry turret. We can only imagine the impact these things would have on objective based gameplay modes.
The A.G.R. drone is a killstreak
What is future warfare without killer robots? It looks like Treyarch carried over the remote-controlled, heavily armed drone theme from the single player story and found a way to stick it into multiplayer. In the trailer, the A.R.G. drone gets dropped from a helicopter, pops out of a box, and looks to be player controlled.
This guy is shown armed with a small rocket launcher and a brutally effective machine gun. But the A.G.R. isn't the only drone that showed up.
...and so is the Dragonfire quad-rotor drone
It looks like we will also be able to take to the skies and rain down bullet hell with the quad-rotor drones we've seen previously. Like in Strike Force mode, players will be able to gun down enemies with the flying robot's mounted machine gun.
There are auto-targeting scopes
The weapon attachments really take center stage in the multiplayer debut. This one in particular looks like it automatically acquires and highlights enemies in a red diamond when looking down the sight. It looks extremely useful for picking out targets from a longer range.
Riot shields can be deployed as stationary cover
Remember how fun it was to wield a riot shield, run head-on at some poor sap as he tried to shoot your feet, or absorb a hail of gunfire as you capture a domination point? The riot shield was extremely effective in the right hands and now, in Black Ops 2, it has even more features. The trailer shows a group of soldiers shoving their riot shields into the ground and using them as stationary cover. It's like their futuristic Greek Spartans in a phalanx. This. Is. Blops 2!
Tomahawk tossing is returning
The insane, ricocheting tomahawk kill videos are sure to flood the interwebs once again. There's not much to say about this one. You throw it. It sticks in someone's face. They die. Real simple.
Sniper rifles don't need scopes in the future
Outside the dubya dubya two Call of Dutys there haven't been any bolt-action rifles without a sniper scope attached. Yet, in the new trailer we see just that. Perhaps this is a way to satisfy the quick-scoping community without giving them the advantage of intensified zoom.
A mystery gadget gets dropped
We're not exactly sure what this little guy does. In the trailer, the player sets up the device and drops it on the ground. Based on our knowledge of the previous games, this could easily be the future version of the scrambler or tactical insert. The coordinates on the screen indicate the latter, but we could be wrong. There is also a QR code on the top, rotating portion of the gadget, but our smartphones failed to scan it. We tried, ok?
C4 is back
Well, this actually might be a some new kind of explosive compound. We did notice that on the side of the bomb is the word "toxic," which could imply a health draining gas fills the area post-explosion. But as far as the trailer shows, the concept is still the same. Toss it at the enemy's feet, press the red button and KABOOM!
There are suicide bombing drone swarms
This one is obviously a killstreak. The trailer shows a massive drone swarm circling the map, and it seems that they lock-on to enemies and dive-bomb them. Now we're wondering how many kills it takes to activate this seemingly devastating killstreak. Perhaps it's the Black Ops 2 equivalent to letting the dogs out in the first game.
A new type of spectator mode and gameplay mode is teased
This last bit of the trailer reminds us of watching E-sports. There's a scoreboard at the top of the screen, an icon indicating what player and team is being viewed, and someone is running the play-by-play of the match.
Even more intriguing is that the score board shows three separate team icons and scores indicating that there may be some gameplay modes that are not limited to two teams. Perhaps this is a multi-squad versus mode where smaller teams can compete in team deathmatch. We'll just have to wait and see.
Did we miss something?
Get even more info and check out our previous coverage of the game in our Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 multiplayer - What we want from the future fragfest and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Zombies - What we want to see.