The Call of Duty series has been an overall exciting experience for me, but due to it’s weaker power, the aging Wii could never be home to a quality game in the franchise. Now that the tables are turned, and Nintendo is the company with the most powerful system, longtime Nintendo fans everywhere will be able to experience epic hardcore games, and even casual gamers can find a good looking game to play on the new Wii U. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is looking like the franchise’s greatest title yet. I’ve written up a preview after the break, split into our 5 biggest reasons to be excited for Black Ops II for Wii U. Read on for the 5 reasons!
#5. Screen Cheating – Problem Solved
Do you know what always pisses me off in the local multiplayer modes in shooters? When the person I’m playing with cheats and looks at my screen to find and kill me. Other than Sony’s new line of PlayStation TVs, there has never been an actual solution to this problem… Until now. With the Wii U version of Black Ops II, you’ll be able to play on your GamePad screen, while a second player can run around on the big screen. While this isn’t exactly a revolutionary idea, it will certainly prevent a lot of unneeded arguments with your friends on whether or not they looked at your screen to track you down on the map.
#4. Futuristic New Setting + Intertwining Narratives
This week, I’ve asked a lot of people whether or not they were going to pick up this game. Surprisingly, the most common reply was, “I dunno, the futuristic setting takes away from the realism”. The people who gave this answer obviously haven’t been doing their research. The developers at Teyarch have an expert–P.W. Singer, a future-war specialist and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution–working with them on the game’s setting, and you’d be surprised; This guy has some pretty interesting ideas of what the world will be like in the year 2025 (13 years from now).
As for the intertwining narratives, you actually will get to play two different sections; one set in 2025, and the other during the Cold War from the 1970s-1980s. In the Cold War section, you’ll take on the role of the original Black Ops protagonist, Alex Mason, while the second section puts you in the shoes of Alex’s son, David, where you’ll enter a world of cyber-warfare, and some other crazy futuristic robots and more.
#3. Zombies… Eat Flesh.
If you were wondering, yes, there will be a zombies mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops II for Wii U. Although we’ve already seen Zombies mode on both Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops, this time, the zombies mode has an entire campaign mode (separate from afore-mentioned campaign), a first for the series. This mode will also support 8-player co-op, where the other two games supported only 4 players.
#2. Why So Serious? – Raul Menendez = Awesome Bad Guy
Fun Fact: Black Ops II co-writer David S. Goyer also helped in the creation of Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight. With that bit of information in mind, I’m pretty confident we can expect an excellent performance from Kamar de los Reyes; the voice of the game’s main antagonist, Raul Menendez. One look at this guy’s face will give you the impression that this guy means business. Also, actor Kamar de los Reyes was chosen as one of PEOPLE En Espanol’s 25 Sexiest Bachelors, so that should count for something too.
#1. Wii U Exclusive Features
Out of all of these great reasons for us to be excited, I would say the #1 reason is the Wii U-exclusive features in Black Ops 2. Instead of hearing it from me, just read the info from publisher Activision below:
- HD Experience: The title features the most advanced textures, lighting and shadowing systems in series history, all of which are on full display on Wii U.
- Second-Screen Gameplay: Utilizing Wii U’s second-screen experience with the Wii U GamePads™, Call of Duty: Black Ops II players can join the action in a full Call of Duty experience from the second-screen. Plus, with the state of the art Wii Touchscreen, gamers can view multiplayer maps, call in score streaks and choose loadouts.
- Expanded Functionality: Players have the option of using Wii U’s split-screen functionality to use both the GamePad™ and the Wii U Pro controller. Wii U also supports up to four controllers, including the Nintendo Wii Remote™ and Nunchuck.
- Controller Choices: Use the GamePad touch screen to customize controls in real-time, or switch at any time to use another controller of your choice, including:
- Wii Remote
- Classic Controller Pro
- Game Pad
- WiiU Pro Controller
