Skip to main content

Black Ops 2 shows the future in the first batch of screenshots

On Tuesday, Activision finally relented and officially announced the follow up to the popular Call of Duty: Black Ops, with the unsurprising title Call of Duty: Blacks Ops 2 and a trailer to show it off. What did surprise though, was the setting for the sequel. 

The original Black Ops was set during the Cold War era (and dredged up some controversy with a “Kill Fidel Castro” Bay of Pigs level). Black Ops 2, however, jumps nearly 75 years into the future. With that leap comes a massive overhaul in the technology you will use. 

As you can see in the images above, the future involves mech-based tanks like the Claw and quadcopters roaming the devastated Los Angeles. It looks as though the original protagonist Sgt. Woods will be making at the least an appearance in Black Ops 2, based on Tuesday’s trailer.

We don’t have much more information than that but you can expect more when E3 hits in June.

Scott Younker
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Warzone 2.0’s ranked mode fixes my biggest battle royale pet peeve
Characters from Warzone 2.0 in the ranked mode.

As part of the Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 Season 3 Reloaded update, Activision finally added a long-awaited Ranked mode. While the mode plays almost exactly like standard battle royale on Al Mazrah, it has a number of minor differences that give it an edge. Though there's one feature in particular that stands out, as it fixes one of my biggest pet peeves in the battle royale genre.

In Ranked, players are discouraged from quitting partway through a match, giving squads a better chance of coming out on top. Placement is key in the mode, and you aren't going to place high if your squad leaves you partway through. To support that idea, players are heavily penalized for quitting a match early. The whole premise of the mode is to climb the ranks, so it's not worth losing Skill Rating (SR) points for quitting before the match is over.

Read more
Warzone 2.0 Season 3 Reloaded has me optimistic about the shooter’s future
Characters from Warzone 2.0 in the ranked mode.

Since Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0's launch, Activision has slowly made improvements to the shooter, with each season being more fun than the last. It's been a slow burn, but with the launch of Season 3 Reloaded, Warzone 2.0 finally feels like it's in a decent spot. There's still much to improve upon, but given the sheer number of fixes and quality-of-life features that have been added with the latest season, I'm finally optimistic about the future of this game.
Ranked is surprisingly fun

The most notable addition to Season 3 Reloaded is Ranked, a mode that has been highly requested since the original Warzone. This features a robust ranking system that gives players a greater incentive to improve and perform well, while also adding a much more competitive feel. Since the original Warzone days, there has always been a lack of incentive to improve. Sure, winning a match is a rush, but after pouring hundreds of hours into the game, it's easy to get bored. With Warzone Ranked, climbing the ranks places you into different categories, from Bronze all the way to Iridescent and Top 250, while also yielding cosmetic rewards along the way. Each subsequent ranking places you into slightly more skilled lobbies, adding a bit more challenge as you climb.

Read more
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0’s overpowered new DMZ bundle ignites pay-to-win fears
Character calling in killstreak in Warzone 2.0.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 has struggled to retain players due to odd gameplay decisions and controversial mechanics that have divided the community. A new feature, though, has players especially up in arms.

Recently, publisher Activision released an in-game store bundle that some players consider a "pay-to-win" option, stirring up criticism once again. The paid bundle, "Roze and Thorn," gives DMZ players a free unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that temporarily reveals the locations of enemy players at the start of a match, immediately offering an advantage.

Read more