3. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Publisher: Activision Developer: Treyarch Platform: Xbox 360/PC/PS3/Wii/Wii U Release Date: 13th November 2012 It was always going to be pretty high on this list, and despite the fact that Black Ops II will have its very vocal detractors already - spurred on by the perceived cynical and unimaginative agenda of Activision in putting out a COD title every year with minimal innovation - the game will still sell millions of copies, and will probably break as many sales records as its predecessor did. But Activision definitely need to step their game up. More than anything, Black Ops II offers an opportunity to right the wrongs of Modern Warfare 3, which was too keen to show off its presentation and story, rather than letting the gamer get involved. For long periods of the solo campaign, it was hard not to feel like a passenger, or a side-character in your own action story, as the script set out to advance the heroic myths of other characters rather than allowing you to establish your own. Hopefully Black Ops II will find a happier balance between impressive set-pieces and actual gameplay than MW3 managed, channelling the obvious effort that went into making a pretty and cinematic experience into the gameplay and reminding us exactly what made us buy the games in the first place. So far it all looks good, with Treyarch ticking a lot of boxes pre-release, including a new setting, new weapons, a compelling storyline and good-looking gameplay. Take a look for yourself... http://youtu.be/VWDqeHgwUWM But we have to be wary - Treyarch need to make Black Ops II a lot harder than MW3 was, and not be so concerned with the casual market, because if they haven't we'll end up with as hollow an experience as MW3 ended up being. You can follow all of our
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