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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 dips its tow in the microtransaction pool

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Black Ops 2 Mirage
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Electronic Arts has been laying the ground work for the future of video game sales for years. Head all the way back to 2009’s Madden NFL 10 and you can see the process at work: Madden Ultimate Team mode slapped microtransactions right into the middle of one of the biggest games in the world. The publisher may have backed away from its claim that microtransations will be in every game EA makes going forward, but its games say otherwise. Battlefield 3, Dead Space 3, SSX, Mass Effect 3 all prominently feature microtransactions. And with the winds blowing that direction, it’s been strange to watch EA’s biggest competitor, Activision Blizzard, keep its biggest seller out of the same pool. Call of Duty has been selling the paid downloadable content for almost a decade now, but piecemeal purchases haven’t been part of the equation so far.

Come Wednesday, Xbox 360 owners will be able to purchase Personalization Paks for 160 Microsoft Points, or $2. These includ cosmetic modifications for weapons and “Calling Cards” used in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2’s multiplayer. There are also World Calling Card Packs for $1 that give access to new flags, then there are also $2 Extra Slots Packs that give ten extra create-a-class slots.

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All told, these are the sort of purely cosmetic add-ons that bring zero change to how the game is played, but have been the bread and butter of the mobile and social game markets for years now. It’s a marked difference from the sort of microtransations in EA’s games. Dead Space 3 and others let you purchase weapons that actually change how you experience the game. Activision’s partner company, Blizzard, pioneered an entire thriving sub-economy in the game industry based around the trade of in-game funds and goods beginning with World of Warcraft and more recently Diablo 3, but items in those games also change the way the game is played.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 2’s microtransactions may be purely cosmetic now, but they will likely turn into far more than that as Activision plums forward. It’s smart business to release such innocuous small-purchase content. The Call of Duty audience is reaching a saturation point, and Activision risks fan backlash if it starts selling piecemeal upgrades to the multiplayer core audience. By the time Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 comes around though, don’t expect these items to just be for a funny new reticule on a gun.

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Anthony John Agnello
Anthony John Agnello
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
How to craft the Jet Gun in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies
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In the world of Call of Duty Zombies, one type of weapon has always been the most powerful, but hard to get. Wonder Weapons are back in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and that includes the old favorite known as the Jet Gun. This jet-engine-looking weapon is part of a long string of steps you can only do on the Liberty Falls map but is well worth the effort. Make sure you have your crew around to watch your back while reading through our guide on how to craft the Jet Gun, aka the Thrustodyne M23.

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There's nothing more refreshing than taking a nice big swig of a Perk-A-Cola during an intense Zombies match with your pals in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Besides tasting great (we assume), these colas empower you with buffs that will keep you alive until the later rounds. These bonuses are just as important as the Pack-A-Punch, but come in a wider range of flavors. It is possible to stack them all, but that gets expensive very fast so you need to be thrifty about choosing which ones are most valuable early on. These colas come in eight different types that may or may not be worth your Essence to chug. If you want to know which ones are the best in Black Ops 6, check out our ranking.
Best Perk-A-Colas in Black Ops 6

We're ranking these Perk-A-Colas based on their base bonuses, not any additional effects you can get if you Augment them, from best to worst.
Jugger-Nog
You can never go wrong with the classic Jugger-Nog. Increasing your health by 100 is useful for the entire duration of a Zombies mode, but especially in the early rounds. Going down is at best a major setback and at worst a cascade into defeat. This extra health allows you to get out of a bad situation that would otherwise end your run.
Quick Revive
This Perk has two components, with the less useful one being the ability to revive teammates 50% faster. Ideally, that shouldn't be needed but is nice. However, what makes it rank so high is the 50% shorter delay on health regen. Your health will come back over time in Zombies but at a dreadful pace. Starting to heal faster means less time running and kiting zombies around and more time in the action helping the team.
Speed Cola
The best early guns for Zombies mode have a large magazine, fast reload, or both. Running out of ammo at the wrong time and not being able to get more rounds in the chamber fast enough has ended many a run, but Speed Cola is the solution. It will speed up your reloads and armor plating by 30%. That's not a massive number, but fast enough to make the difference.
Stamin-Up
These zombies aren't the shambling types. They will chase you down like sprinters, and some of the monstrous ones can outpace you even at full tilt. Stamin-Up sounds like it would let you run for longer, but actually just lets you run faster since you have no limit on sprint in Black Ops 6. Positioning is everything in Zombies so being able to get where you need to be faster is never a bad thing, especially if it's a downed teammate bleeding out.
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PhD Flopper
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Elemental Pop
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Melee Macchiato
Finally, Melee Macchiato bottoms out the list. It is fine in the early game when the hordes are small and you're better off meleeing enemies since it will smack enemies away with each hit, but quickly drops off in usefulness. When the zombies get too strong and too numerous, you will need a lot more than a strong punch to deal with them and end up forgetting you even have it.

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Prestige
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Follow Call of Duty's socials
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Purchase the C.O.D.E. Endeavor Tracer Pack
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Drinks and pizza
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Battle Pass
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