The trailer for Black Ops 2 has launched, sending the internet crazy (in a good and bad way). The "hate" for the game was as inevitable as the game itself, and there's absolutely no appeasing a group that seems intent on lagging on the series at every single opportunity.
I could rant on about how that "hate" is getting a little old, but I'd rather simply talk about what is actually on offer in the game, as opposed to why it may or may not be good.
What can we learn about the biggest game on 2012 from the new trailer?
It's Set In 2025
Four seconds into the trailer we see that Sgt. Frank Woods (from 2010's Black Ops) is now retired and that the year is 2025. That means it won't be set around the time of the original Cold War, making this officially the first "Future Warfare" Call of Duty game.
"None Of This Surprises Me"
At 0:12, Woods starts to reminisce on his time in the Cold War (Black Ops) and the conflict between the US and Soviet Russia. "None of this surprises me" suggests that, once again, the two are at it.
Quadrotor Drone Confirmed
At 0:29 we get a glimpse of the FPS Russia-leaked quadrotor, which seems to play a part in both the single-player and multiplayer campaign. Woods talks about how "technology has gotten stronger", which suggests that these sorts of weaponry, which are, at this time, particularly "futuristic", are now a common part of military warfare. We see an internal "killstreak" view of it in action at 0:37.
There a facebuttons for "squad follow" and "all follow". Does this mean we can control multiple quadrotors at once? Perhaps there is a mode that uses these airborne machines of death exclusively?
"Technology Got Stronger, But We Got Weaker"
The first parts of the trailer show a number of interesting new tanks, missiles and aircraft, as Woods talks of how technology "got stronger", while "we got weaker". Whether he is talking about mankind in general or the United States exclusively is not yet known, but it's probably the latter.
"What Happens When The Enemy Steals The Keys?"
At 0:48 Woods asks what would happen when the "enemy steals the keys" to the "unarmed armies" that have evolved out of technological advancement. It's quite obvious, then, that the US has had its own technology and weaponry turned against it.
Los Angeles
It was New York City under attacked in Modern Warfare 3, but in Black Ops 2, as seen at 0:59, we see The City of Angeles, Los Angeles, under attacked from the "unarmed armies".
Who's The Enemy?
At 1:01 we see what seems to be a Middle Eastern setting, as men cheer for soldiers in the distance. Are the Russians employing Islamist terrorists in their battle against the US? Most likely a jihad against the West? Are the Russians arming a terrorist organisation?
Jet Warfare
At 1:03 we see the inside of a jet, which would suggest that there would be airflight gameplay, definitely in the campaign, maybe in multiplayer. If it were to be in multiplayer, would it be implemented in the same way as tanks were in World at War? Or as a killstreak? Hopefully the latter.
Horses?
We've seen the Middle Eastern setting, as detailed above, so obviously the horses shown at the end of the trailer will take place in that sort of environment, perhaps as the snow mobile equivalent, an aspect we saw in Modern Warfare 2.
"The Future Is Black"
Well, it doesn't say "The Future Is Red", so I think we can guess who ends up winning in the end...
By Gaetano Prestia - Tweet @Gaetano_Prestia
What did you think of the trailer?