11. A Memorable Cast
One of Black Ops' strongest selling points above Modern Warfare was the presence of a memorable and genuinely engaging cast of characters, who it was possible to actually care about. Thanks to a fine script and clever framing mechanisms (which the sequel looks set to continue), Black Ops introduced such a cast without ever crossing the line into the odd sycophancy that creeped into Modern Warfare 3 making you feel like a secondary player in your own story. Thankfully, despite the jump to the future, Treyarch have chosen to bring back both Frank Woods and Alex Mason, as well as brand new protagonist David "Son of Alex" Mason, and it will be extremely interesting to see how their stories developed after the events of Black Ops. Personally, I can't wait to see how Woods and Mason Snr dealt with the advancement of technology, like ancient cowboys cast out when the West stopped being so Wild, and the engaging resolution that will see that arc come full circle with David Mason protecting his country and the world from the technology that presumably made human soldiers relatively redundant. These are characters we will willingly spend more time with, and Treyarch know as much.