Many believe Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 provides one of the best experiences that the storied fist-person shooter franchise has to offer. Considering its unique branching single-player, perfectly balanced multiplayer, and addictive zombies mode, the title had something big to offer for a huge array of fans.
It can be said that Call of Duty as a franchise is undergoing a watershed shift from its previously established and long-standing formula, with a lower likelihood of a title releasing every year. This could potentially open a market for remasters of the franchise's most well-received titles, and Black Ops 2 would be as good a contender for a remaster as any.
The Magic of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's Campaign
A huge element of Black Ops 2 that supports the case for a potential remaster is the campaign, which is one of the most expansive in the franchise's entire history. Being a sequel to the cult-classic campaign of the original Call of Duty: Black Ops, Black Ops 2 is one of the only CoD titles to have a branching storyline that the player can directly influence, complete with multiple different endings.
Concerning fan-favorite characters such as Alex Mason and Frank Woods in their older age, Black Ops 2 also established one of the series' most layered villains in the form of Raul Menendez. Not only would a remaster allow fans to re-experience the tense story and winding plot of Black Ops 2, but it would also provide Treyarch with an opportunity to add new endings and plot options, opening up a whole other dynamic to the story and adding much needed value to a remaster.
The Revival of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's Iconic Multiplayer
It is no secret that, even as the Call of Duty franchise has evolved, the multiplayer of any given title has remained crucial to the game's popularity and critical reception. As well as having one of the most memorable campaigns, Black Ops 2 is revered amongst long-term fans for the quality of its multiplayer mode. It is considered by many to be the perfect mix between the classic "boots on the ground" Call of Duty experience and the more futuristic turn that the franchise adhered to for a time. The series would go on to struggle with its identity in terms of how far it could push a futuristic setting, but Black Ops 2 stands as the ultimate sweet spot in the minds of many.
Built around the then-futuristic setting of 2025, the core multiplayer gameplay of Black Ops 2 felt familiar while introducing fans to never-before-seen killstreaks and weapons, with the game no longer being bound to the limitations of contemporary or historic warfare. Considering the relatively negative reputation that recent franchise multiplayers have received, such as that of Call of Duty: Vanguard, a market for a Black Ops 2 revival is more than present.
A Black Ops 2 remaster could provide an instant revival to the game's multiplayer, with the original title's online mode understandably being a relative ghost town due to its age and presence on outdated hardware. With a bolstered player base, fans would be able to re-live the excitement of Black Ops 2's multiplayer, with the potential addition of brand-new maps providing a never-before-seen element of gameplay to the classic title.
The Depth of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's Zombies Mode
The many Treyarch-led Call of Duty titles are typified by their own unique tertiary mode, known as zombies. Starting with the critically acclaimed World at War, the zombies mode of Call of Duty sees players fighting for their lives against an endless zombie threat, using points to open up the map, acquire perks, and attain super powerful weapons.
While the zombies mode may seem outwardly simple and fairly one-dimensional, the introduction of elaborate and extremely difficult "easter eggs" within different zombies maps has seen the mode become massively popular within a subset of the CoD community. Black Ops 2 possesses a fantastic take on the zombies formula, being the first title to introduce an individual ranking system purely for the Call of Duty zombies mode.
TranZit was the launch map for Black Ops 2's zombies, rewriting what could be expected of a zombies experience by allowing players to traverse the map via an automated bus. Later released through DLC, the maps of Die Rise, Mob of the Dead, Buried, and Origins are widely considered to be some of the best zombies maps ever released.
The easter eggs for these maps were beyond what players had previously experienced, requiring a serious amount of dedication, planning, teamwork, and often times luck to complete. It can be said that Black Ops 2 brought zombies easter eggs to a much wider audience, leading to a much more sustained popularity and replayability factor for the mode within the title.
Should Black Ops 2 be remastered, Treyarch would do well to change the formula and process of these easter eggs, increasing the variety of experience and maybe even re-writing elements of the complex zombies storyline. When considering the equal long-standing popularity of the title's single and multiplayer modes, a remaster of Black Ops 2 would be a more than worthwhile stopgap amidst the increased waiting times between brand-new Call of Duty titles.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is available now on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.