8. Branching Narrative
Many games promise to have a branching narrative that has an impact on the ultimate events of the game - we're looking at you, Mass Effect 3 - but here, your decisions throughout Black Ops 2's campaign actually do shape the outcome of what happens at the end. Granted, we were sceptical when Treyarch kept pushing the importance of this feature, but by and large, it is a success; the options range from a simple A-or-B dualism, to more subtle choices that you might not even realise until after-the-fact, or indeed, until it's too late. There is a pronounced "live or die" feel to it, given how much more involved in the narrative we are this time compared to previous entries. What really impresses also is the addition of multiple outcomes, such that no two CoD players are likely to have exactly the same experience throughout. Though the Strike Force mode is a little bit clunky control-wise, the invention is there, and it helps give the campaign a whole lot more intrigue and import.