This is a game about war.
War is about politics, and to bring it full circle, politics happen in video games all
the time.
Sixteen years ago, in fact...politics led to a problem that has since become so ingrained
in the industry, it’s become the reality.
A reality we’ve been describing since 1996 with the same tired sentence.
Third-party publishers don’t support Nintendo.
Of course, with that reality in mind, the importance of this game becomes even more
evident.
And you start to understand why Nintendo really wanted this on the Wii U.
So much so that they courted Activision like an awkward teenage boy standing next to a
cute girl’s locker.
Oh, you want a Classic Controller?
Anything for you, baby!
Just please go to the dance with me!
And just like a Molly Ringwald movie, this story has a happy ending.
Because Black Ops 2 is a Wii U launch title.
And surprisingly, the two are actually dancing.
That is to say...step for step, move for move, bullet for bullet, this is Black Ops 2.
It’s not some watered down Nintendo port, and in fact, it actually has some advantages.
Obviously, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is a follow-up to the 2010 original.
Which is a follow-up to domination, which is what Call of Duty has for all intents and
purposes become.
It’s one of the biggest names in gaming, and Black Ops 2 delivers on its pedigree.
This alone makes it one of the Wii U’s best launch titles.
And if this is a sign of third-party support to come...
Black Ops 2 tells a story that spans decades, jumping from the Cold War to the year 2025.
Now, story is hardly this game’s selling point, but I was pleasantly surprised by how
much I cared.
Because the story spans such a long time, you see it through the eyes of generations
of soldiers, which gives the narrative surprising impact.
Add an interesting villain, and the story is anything but an afterthought.
And the game itself’s not an afterthought, either.
Again, Black Ops 2 is just about the same on the Wii U as the 360 and PS3, in terms
of both graphics and content.
In fact, the only things this one is missing are the social features for livestreaming
and Elite functionality.
Everything else is in tact, from the campaign to the zombies to the multiplayer...which,
by the way, runs just fine on the Wii U.
In fact, to its credit, online is where the Wii U version makes up ground.
Using your GamePad, you can use the touch screen to quickly do things like call in score
streaks and switch classes.
And if you’re doing split-screen online, you actually don’t have to split the screen.
One player can have the TV screen, and the other can play on the GamePad.
In fact, you can play the entire game on the GamePad, which means your friends can go ahead
and watch My Little Pony while you shoot people in the face.
Finally, the roommate wars over TV time may abate.
And you know, maybe this game is a sign that other struggles are ending, too.
It’s promising that the Wii U is launching not only with Nintendo’s heavy hitter in
Super Mario, but also some of the biggest names...from third-party publishers.
None bigger or better than Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.