The call sheet for Call of Duty: Black Ops II features plenty of big names, many that will instantly resonate with fans of 2010′s Black Ops – Frank Woods, Alex Mason, Jason Hudson – but the team Activision/Treyarch has assembled to create the game is equally esteemed.
Contemplating the cultural emergence of video games in the mainstream and their growing ability to lure talent from a wide range of industries, the latest trailer for Black Ops II takes us behind the scenes to interview two of its prominent additions: Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and The Dark Knight Rises co-writer David S. Goyer. For the uninterested, a healthy dose of new action-packed footage has been implemented as well.
Reznor and Goyer’s involvement with the game was announced last week, coinciding with the trailer reveal of Black Ops II’s main villain, Raul Menendez. Reznor will be developing the theme song for Black Ops II (Mass Effect 1 and 2 composer Jack Wall has been hired for the complete soundtrack) while Goyer serves as the game’s lead writer.
Though widely acclaimed for their work in the music and film industries – Reznor won an Oscar for scoring The Social Network and his Nine Inch Nails has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, while Goyer’s writing oeuvre includes the Nolan Batman trilogy and the Blade films – neither is a neophyte to video games.
Trent Reznor worked with id Software on the score for Quake and Doom, and collaborated with the developer as a sound engineer for Doom 3. He’s adamant in the trailer about his view of gaming as a “viable” art form, on par with film or music, and Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia says that Reznor’s score will “automatically immerse you” into Call of Duty‘s world.
For David Goyer, meanwhile, the lines are still fresh from his work as the lead writer of Black Ops, a narrative that – for a franchise accused by its fervent critics of constraining originality and innovation – was defined by its abstract and esoteric nature. Goyer compares the storytelling approach of Black Ops II to that of a “big-event movie,” and indeed, we alluded last week to a few of the ways the game shades of his other current project, The Dark Knight Rises.
As mentioned, with Black Ops II tying up the Cold War segment of the narrative for a segue to 2025, players will once again will become acquainted with Alex Mason and CIA magnate Jason Hudson. The last 30 seconds of the trailer includes some all-new footage of a mission that appears to take place in an arid African wilderness. No doubt a depiction of one of the Cold War proxy wars that, for reasons not yet revealed, establish the pathway for Menendez, the drone-hacking villain, to arise as 2025′s most dangerous man.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II releases on November 13, 2012 for the PS3, PC, and Xbox 360.
-
Follow me on Twitter @Brian_Sipple.
Microsoft: Banned Players Lose Access to Purchased Xbox One Games [UPDATED] 
Microsoft Officially Backpedals on Xbox One DRM Policies 
Xbox One Policies ‘Alienated Entire Military’; Entertainment Research Forecasts Trouble 
Xbox One E3 Demos Found Running on Windows 7 PCs 
Loading ...
I’m excited to play the campaign, now that I know these two guys are a large part of the production. Black Ops had my favorite CoD storyline, and in my opinion, one of the best storylines in any videogame. Not quite as immersive and expansive as some, like the Halo universe. But it was just one game, compared to Halo’s multi-media franchise. For a single installment, it was fantastically written and played. A bit linear as gameplay goes, but the depth and thought put into the characters and events, as well as the complexity of the conspiracies and plots definitely makes up for that. Too many people spew hate towards Black Ops’ storyline, but I think many of those people simply are too shallow-minded to appreciate a good, complex story; they just want big explosions and lots of blood (which there was plenty of).
Not to say there aren’t people who genuinely dislike the storyline for what it is, not what it isn’t. Those people I don’t have a problem with it. But when people bash it just because they didn’t understand it or even care to try, that’s what bugs me. It was inarguably very well thought out, written, and fantastically executed, with characters many of us are genuinely able to love or hate (Reznov forever is my favorite CoD character, ever since WaW).
As for the music, I really enjoyed the soundtrack and various sound clips for in-game achievements, such as multiplayer killstreaks or medals. I’m fairly certain the music for Black Ops was mostly all written by Kevin Sherwood, and someone else (his name escapes my memory). I am looking forward to hearing Reznor’s take on the game’s soundtrack, him being such a legendary artist. However, I sincerely hope that Sherwood and Elena Seigman are still writing the music for the zombie mode! Finding the hidden songs and hearing them was half the fun!
I loved Black Ops’ campaign. It was very suspenseful, and the cast all did a phenomenal job in their roles. Eagerly awaiting this one because of Strike force, 2025, Trent Reznor, and David Goyer.