Call of Duty: Black Ops II reveal trailer and details

Call of Duty: Black Ops II will take place in a near-future setting of 2025, Activision and developer Treyarch have revealed.

As previously leaked, the sequel will be released November 13 for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

The future of course means we’ll have access to high-tech gadgets based on real-world military prototypes, such as the AI quadcopter and robotic claw-tanks.

And whilst the game is definitely much more sci-fi than before, the past hasn’t been forgotten, with levels also taking place in the 1980s – the trailer shows off an Afghanistan stage with a gun battle taking place on horseback. So far there’s no word on whether 80s favourites, the Care Bears, will make an appearance.

Perhaps most interesting is news of a branching storyline, allowing players to make key decisions regarding the direction of the plot, with success or failure at certain moments affecting the story arch.

Treyarch’s popular Zombies are back too, with the development team given “free reign to do pretty much whatever they want with the mode regardless of the direction the campaign is headed in.”

There’s also word that the updated multiplayer engine will allow for double the number of zombies on-screen, with up to eight players battling the undead hordes.

Then there’s Strike Force mode, an offline multiplayer mode of sorts, but with the option to at anytime switch control between footsoldiers, drones, armed quadrotors or taking a birds-eye view of the entire battlefield and directing operations from above as if you were the God of war.

All the bombastic action is also said to look even better than ever, plus the extra visual bells and whistles haven’t come at the cost of fluid gameplay – 60 frames per second remains.

Pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Via CVG