Regardless of the sales power of the other tent-pole releases of this year, few games - including the likes of FIFA 13 - have the capability to compete with Call of Duty titles in terms of sales, and it is beyond doubt that this year's addition to the franchise will continue the trend and be among the very highest selling games of the year. And though there will be some who see the annual Call of Duty release as the epitome of what is wrong with modern gaming, that has as much to do with the quality of the game as it does brand recognition. Let's be honest, after the comparatively disappointing offering of Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty needs an uplift in quality, and the decision to change the setting, bring in new features and reinvent some elements of gameplay look to be a massive step in the right direction. That isn't to say that MW3 was a terrible game: it wasn't, but by the very high standards of the series, and the expectations of the fans (among whom I count myself) there were a lot of problems that stopped it being all that it could be. Innovation might not be a major motivation for Treyarch this time around - this is after all a brand that would be criticised even more for abandoning its fundamental elements and approach to gameplay than it currently is for apparently failing to shake things up in the genre - but there are enough new elements to expect Black Ops 2 to at least feel like something new, and something different. The sequel to the still excellent Black Ops will be released on Tuesday 13th November, and with Treyarch in charge and from what I have already seen of the game, I have nothing but high expectations for it. And as long as it avoids some of the problems of MW3, by the time the release comes round, it might be a little less like a dirty word to say you love playing COD games again. Personally, I have very little doubt that Black Ops 2 will emerge as one of the games of the year, as both a commercial and critical success (or as much of a critical success as such an accessible property can be these days). Click within to reveal why.