History VideoGame / CallOfDutyBlackOpsII

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Weaver, one of the major characters of the last game, isn't even talked about let alone shown once in the sequel. As a man who was practically Hudson's right hand man and a coment ally it makes one wonder why he isn't around in this story.

* LighterAndSofter: Strangely enough. ''Black Ops I'' was much more grim in atmosphere, with much of the game really taking place in a dingy torture room and a plot that involved a horrific chemical weapon, and the good guys weren't much better than the bad guys. ''Black Ops II'', while still having its moral ambiguity, is slightly less so, and focuses more on hi-tech world domination, more reminiscent of a Bond flick, whereas ''Black Ops I'' was about the underhanded things countries did to each other, and took more of a Bourne-style approach. Whereas ''Black Ops I'' was [[SpyFiction Stale Beer flavored]], ''Black Ops II'' is more of a dirty martini. Evident when [[spoiler:Alex Mason can survive the events of this game's flashback if the player knows what to do, while Dimitri renko certainly did not regardless of what the player did]].

** In the endings where the player is unable to secure China's support of America, Gen. raeus makes mention of the last time America moved up to DEFCON 3 "[[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror almost 25 years ago]]"; Briggs responds by saying he flew a patrol on that day.

** General raeus makes an appearance as the Secretary of Defense. This was, of course, right before the real-life scandal ousted him from the CIA.

* FailedFutureForecast: David raeus is Secretary of Defense in 2025. He resigned as CIA Director on November 9, 2012, only 4 days before release, due to an extramarital affair. While career comebacks are not unheard of in politics, such an event is rather unlikely to happen.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Manuel Noriega plays a major role in the flashback missions, Jonas Savimbi plays a large role in the first mission (Angolan Civil War), Mullah Abdul Rahman (a Mujahideen leader who went on to help found the Taliban) appears in the Afghanistan mission, Colonel Oliver North makes a brief appearance (played by himself), and David raeus shows up as the Secretary of Defense in 2025. The inclusion of raeus as a character is notable since sci-fi rarely uses real-life figures who are still politically active. (This is somewhat HilariousInHindsight, as raeus resigned, supposedly due to an extramarital affair, on the same day the single player campaign was leaked.)

** In the endings where the player is unable to secure China's support of America, Gen. Petraeus makes mention of the last time America moved up to DEFCON 3 "[[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror almost 25 years ago]]"; Briggs responds by saying he flew a patrol on that day.

** General Petraeus makes an appearance as the Secretary of Defense. This was, of course, right before the real-life scandal ousted him from the CIA.

* FailedFutureForecast: David Petraeus is Secretary of Defense in 2025. He resigned as CIA Director on November 9, 2012, only 4 days before release, due to an extramarital affair. While career comebacks are not unheard of in politics, such an event is rather unlikely to happen.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Manuel Noriega plays a major role in the flashback missions, Jonas Savimbi plays a large role in the first mission (Angolan Civil War), Mullah Abdul Rahman (a Mujahideen leader who went on to help found the Taliban) appears in the Afghanistan mission, Colonel Oliver North makes a brief appearance (played by himself), and David Petraeus shows up as the Secretary of Defense in 2025. The inclusion of Petraeus as a character is notable since sci-fi rarely uses real-life figures who are still politically active. (This is somewhat HilariousInHindsight, as Petraeus resigned, supposedly due to an extramarital affair, on the same day the single player campaign was leaked.)

* LighterAndSofter: Strangely enough. ''Black Ops I'' was much more grim in atmosphere, with much of the game really taking place in a dingy torture room and a plot that involved a horrific chemical weapon, and the good guys weren't much better than the bad guys. ''Black Ops II'', while still having its moral ambiguity, is slightly less so, and focuses more on hi-tech world domination, more reminiscent of a Bond flick, whereas ''Black Ops I'' was about the underhanded things countries did to each other, and took more of a Bourne-style approach. Whereas ''Black Ops I'' was [[SpyFiction Stale Beer flavored]], ''Black Ops II'' is more of a dirty martini. Evident when [[spoiler:Alex Mason can survive the events of this game's flashback if the player knows what to do, while Dimitri Petrenko certainly did not regardless of what the player did]].

* {{Revenge}}: Sci-Fi plot elements aside, the main theme of the game's story seems to be revenge, and how it can continuously end up just making things worse.
** RevengeBeforeReason

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Weaver, one of the major characters of the last game, isn't even talked about let alone shown once in the sequel. As a man who was practically Hudson's right hand man and a competent ally it makes one wonder why he isn't around in this story.

** [[spoiler:Subverted in ''Black Ops III'' where the canonical Cordis Die uprising quickly burned out and ironically served to only strengthen the newly formed US-Chinese alliance (the exact opposite of what Menendez wanted), with Menendez himself being seen as nothing more than a megalomaniac terrorist who killed millions of the same people he claimed to fight for.]]

The game was released on November 13, 2012 for the PC, UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}, and UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 3}}, with a November 18 release for the UsefulNotes/WiiU in North America, and November 30 for the UsefulNotes/WiiU in Europe. The first trailer can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x3tedlWs1XY here]].

Coinciding with the release of the main game was ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsDeclassified'', a GaidenGame for the UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita that fills in the gap between the first and second ''Black Ops'' games.

* DarkhorseVictory: A meta-and-semi-example; The UsefulNotes/WiiU Version actually received better scores on GameRankings than the [=PS3=] version, and comes close to the Xbox 360 and [=PS3=] versions in Metacritic and other reviewer sites. Notably, it comes with all features of the other versions of the game (sans minor things like Achievements and live recording), and due to the nature of the controller, has an ideal layout for two-player split-screen play.

* [[UsefulNotes/PanamaniansWithPlanes Panamanians with Planes]]: The Panamanian Defense Forces appear in the missions "Time and Fate" and "Suffer With Me".

* CycleOfRevenge: [[spoiler:Prior to the events of the game, the CIA ordered the assassination of Raul Menendez's father, who had built himself up as a drug kingpin. Raul later captures Woods and kills the latter's entire unit before placing him in a storage container. Alex Mason (unbeknownst at the time) ends up blowing Menendez's eye out during a confrontation in a communications building. Soon after, the CIA execute a raid on Menendez's home in Nicaragua that results in the man's sister, Josefina, being killed due to an errant grenade thrown by Woods. Three years later, in Panama, Menendez kidnaps David Mason, Hudson, Woods and Alex (with the latter Mason potentially dying if Woods shoots him in the head) and kills Hudson to make a point about how they must all suffer. Three decades later, Menendez returns as the leader of Cordis Die, and David eventually finds and stops his plot to lead America into a war with China. If Menendez is spared and Karma isn't alive at the end of the game, the former tracks down Woods and kills him before visiting his sister's grave. If Menendez is not spared, his followers retaliate against the U.S. one year later in his name]].

''Call of Duty: Black Ops II'' is a 2012 FirstPersonShooter game developed by Treyarch. It is the ninth game in the ''Franchise/CallOfDuty'' franchise and a direct sequel to ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps''.

''Call of Duty: Black Ops II'' is the direct sequel to the 2010 game, ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'', developed by Treyarch. Set in both [[TwentyMinutesInTheFuture the year 2025]] and in [[TheEighties the 1980s]], the game entails a future Cold War between the US and China over a rare earth mineral called Celerium, and flashbacks in the 1980s detailing the late Cold War. The story of the game is split between the previous game's protagonist Alex Mason (who is playable in the 1980s flashback missions) and his son David (a SEAL Team Six commander in 2025). The two eras are bridged together by a man named Raul Menendez, a Latin American drug lord-turned-terrorist who despises western society and acts as the game's antagonist.

The game departs from the traditional linear storyline of previous ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games, allowing branching storylines with MultipleEndings. If important characters die or objectives are failed, the game will adjust the plot to accommodate for that.

Along with ''VideoGame/NaziZombies'' returning, the game also features "Strike Force", an RTS-like game mode where the player will take command of a small army, and can even jump in the fray in first-person combat. Unlike Zombies, Strike Force is directly related to the single-player mode's plot, and all but one of the Strike Force missions are required to be played for the best ending.

The game was released on November 13, 2012 for the PC, UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}, and UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 3}}, with a November 18 release for the UsefulNotes/WiiU in North America, and November 30 for the UsefulNotes/WiiU in Europe. The first trailer can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x3tedlWs1XY here]]. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, who liked the branching story paths and idea of Strike Forces missions, even if the latter's AI was criticized.

Coinciding with the release of the main game is ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsDeclassified'', a GaidenGame for the UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita that fills in the gap between the first and second Black Ops games. It was negatively received universally for its rushed mechanics and sloppy AI as well as having a plot that failed to live up to its premise as well as a Mobile tie-in "Strike Team".

A sequel, ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsIII'', was announced for release on Friday, November 6th, 2015. ''Black Ops III'' takes place 40 years later after ''Black Ops II'' with [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul super-soldier technology going too far]].

Black Ops II has a total of 31 [[https://callofdutymaps.com/Call-of-Duty/black-ops-2/ Multiplayer Maps]] and 6 Zombie Maps.

A sequel, ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsIII'', was announced for release on Friday, November 6th, 2015. ''Black Ops III'' takes place 40 years later after ''Black Ops II'' with [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman super-soldier technology going too far]].

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: When Salazar is explaining Menendez's backstory at the beginning of "Old Wounds," his statement that "as a boy, he witnessed the Contras rape and murder his people" can be misleading to those who are unfamiliar with Nicaraguan history. During the 1960s and most of the 1970s (which is when Menendez would have been growing up), Nicaragua was a dictatorship ruled by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somoza_family Somoza family]], whose primary muscle was the Nicaraguan National Guard. While the Somoza regime's forces did receive U.S. support, and committed their fair share of atrocities, they were nonetheless not "Contras" in the sense that most people use the term. The U.S-backed Contras that achieved such notoriety in the 1980s were, literally, counter-revolutionaries who rose up in opposition to the leftist Sandinista government, which overthrew the Somoza regime in the 1979 Nicaraguan Revolution (and by that point, Menendez's rise to power as a drug lord would have already begun).

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: When Salazar is explaining Menendez's backstory at the beginning of "Old Wounds," his statement that "as a boy, he witnessed the Contras rape and murder his people" can be misleading to those who are unfamiliar with Nicaraguan history. During the 1960s and most of the 1970s (which is when Menendez would have been growing up), Nicaragua was a dictatorship ruled by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somoza_family Somoza family]], whose primary muscle was the Nicaraguan National Guard. While the Somoza regime's forces did receive U.S. support, and committed their fair share of atrocities, they were nonetheless not "Contras" in the sense that most people use the term. The U.S-backed Contras that achieved such notoriety in the 1980s were, literally, counter-revolutionaries who had rose up in opposition to the leftist Sandinista government, which overthrew the Somoza regime in the 1979 Nicaraguan Revolution (and by that point, Menendez's rise to power as a drug lord would have already begun).
* ArtisticLicenseLinguistics: Promotional materials and a line from Harper in the first future mission translate Cordis Die's name from Latin as "The Heart Day," but it actually translates as "The Day Heart" (The Heart Day would be "Dies Cordis").