4. Your Choices Count
Speaking of "thinking before you pull the trigger", Black Ops II is the first game in the Call of Duty series where doing just that will affect your gameplay experience. Throughout the story are several hinge points that provide you with a choice, usually involving whether you eliminate a character or spare their life. Depending on the results of these critical choices, you'll find that certain events happen differently, leading to future repercussions. Do you let your most valuable asset get abducted, or do you take the baddie down with a shot? Do you blow your cover, or save your compatriot? First person shooters are usually more simple affairs than this. You get in, you shoot some bad guys, get out. Wash, rinse, repeat and head to multiplayer when you're finished. With Black Ops II, a little more concentration is needed to stay in the game. Also, as previously mentioned, your success or failure in the Strike Team Missions side campaign will mean a different outcome, depending on the alliances you secure or lose. With only a limited number of tries, and one vital mission unlocked only by a rather unlikely choice in the main campaign, these missions secure a multinational alliance that will have your back during large scale conflicts down the road.