Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a first-person shooter, and the first Call of Duty game to take place in the future.
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Story & Themes
Black Ops II continues the story of Alex Mason that began in Call of Duty: Black Ops. This time the player controls Mason during the Cold War, and also plays as his son in the year 2025. The goal of the time-skipping is ostensibly to justify the events of the present, by explaining the events of the past. It is the first Call of Duty game to introduce branching paths, where the player's choices change the ending of the game.
Save Points
Every Call of Duty game saves at automatic checkpoints throughout each level. You will be returned to the last checkpoint upon restarting the game after quitting.
Difficulty
Black Ops II is slightly more challenging than some of its predecessors, but it has several difficulty levels to adjust the level of challenge.
Heads Up!
Violence The violence is on par with any R-rated action movie
Scary Imagery There are no horror themes in CoD, but some of the imagery can be disturbing. The battle experience is visceral and gets the player's heart pounding. The situations the characters get into might be unrealistic compared to real warfare, but they are nonetheless intense. Many teenagers are probably accustomed to the level of violence in these games, but the intensity of the experience could stress anyone out.
Sex & Nudity In Black Ops II there are some scantily clad women—once in a night club and once in Fidel Castro’s bedroom.
Strong Language All of the Call of Duty games feature strong language, though it's nothing a teenager won't have heard before. Words like f*ck and sh*t can be heard in the dialogue. If you play online with a headset, all bets are off
Substance Use Cocaine use is depicted and in one of the missions packages of cocaine can be seen in a drug factory.
Consumerism Black Ops II contains numerous expansion packs that players might be tempted to purchase.
Discrimination Black Ops II and all games preceding it in the series have never featured a female playable character. In general, the games are targeted toward a straight white male audience and therefore the representation of any and all minority groups are sparse and lacking.
Online Community
Multiplayer is one of the strongest parts of the Call of Duty franchise, but as with any multiplayer game you can be exposed to all of the verbal vitriol that comes with competitive gaming.
Conversation Starters
- Do you think the battles in these games are realistic?
- Does playing this game make you interested in politics?
- Why are these factions at war? Do you think going to war was right?
- When playing online, do you usually team up with the same people? Do you enjoy working together?
- Call of Duty has been compared to an interactive action movie. Do you think that's accurate? Does being involved in the action make the games more emotional to you than an action movie?
- Have you heard of war veterans playing these games? Do you think you would still play these games if you had been in a real war?
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