The Xbox LIVE Marketplace now has 16 different Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 avatar items available for purchase. The T-Shirts and Hats are 80 MS Points each and special props, like the AGR and Assault Shield, are 240 MS Points. The Special Force and Zombie outfits cost 400 points.
Login to Xbox LIVE and check them out.
Treyarch's security and enforcement policy will determine how each player's infractions will be handled by the Black Ops 2 security team. All infractions undergo a thorough review process and penalties are final.
Minor offenses can result in temporary bans that range from 48 hours to 2 weeks with possible stats resets; more extreme offenses result in permanent bans.
With majority of the gamers playing on Xbox 360 and PS3 it's likely that they will be heavily monitored by Treyarch due to their large boosting and hacking scenes.
Last year's Battlefield 3 PC allowed players to change their FOV (field of view) from 60 to 90, and with the proper tools, bypass the limit and go beyond it. With that in mind, you would expect that Black Ops 2 PC would do the same, but Treyarch's Director of Technology, Cesar Stastny, also known as pcdev, revealed on Twitter that the game will be limited in several ways due to technical reasons.
pcdev: "And don't ask me to raise the FOV cap. Max is 80. Thankyouverymuch. > 80 breaks too much stuff so we had to cap it."
Although the max FOV will be 80, it's still better than the default value of 65 what Modern Warfare 3 had last year. Going from 65 to 90 FOV can make a huge difference, checkout the example below:
Black Ops II PC was also supposedly going to have no FPS (frames per second) limit, but that has changed to 200 FPS, at least for ranked matches since it "prevents uber rigs from dominating dedicated server cycles".
pcdev: "Correction: Yesterday I said that FPS would be capped at 120 for ranked matches. The cap will actually be 200 FPS for ranked matches."
Even with the removal of dedicated servers, and everything above, it seems that BO2 for the PC is still miles ahead of MW3's PC release. Obviously these FOV and FPS changes are not available to the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.
It looks like a lot of companies have stepped up to deliver high quality Black Ops 2 themed gaming peripherals for Call of Duty fans. First we have SteelSeries releasing exclusive premium-quality PC peripherals: a gaming mouse and three QcK mousepads featuring BO2 artwork.
The SteelSeries "Call of Duty: Black Ops II Mouse" offers PC players professional-grade hardware that's powered by the SteelSeries Engine. The mouse is priced at $69.99 / 69.99€ and features the following:
The QcK Mousepads have non-slip rubber bases holding them in place and feature a surface that offers a smooth and consistent glide for your mouse. The mousepads are priced at $14.99 / 14.99€ each.
BigBen Interactive has also announced their BO2 themed Bluetooth controller. The wireless controller has been made for PS3 gamers in mind, but since it's Bluetooth-based, it should work on PCs with a Bluetooth adapter. Amazon France has the controller on sale for 49.99€, which is about $64.
The controller is backlighted and has non-slip, ergonomic triggers and rubber grip. As with most PlayStation 3 controllers, it features a 6-axis and tilt sensor with 2 vibration motors. It also has a rechargeable NiMH 700mA battery and can be recharged with a USB cable.
Beachhead Studio, the company that's responsible for Call of Duty Elite, has recently updated the CoD: Elite website for Black Ops 2's launch. A lot of BO2 related data was added, for example, the Clan HQ and Competitions pages, but it looks like the Prestige Emblems for Black Ops II were also accidently released.
Check out the high quality versions of them below:
Activision and Treyarch have finally released the first proper trailer showcasing the Nuketown 2025 multiplayer map. The map is based on the popular Nuketown map from Call of Duty: Black Ops, but it has been completely redesigned for BO2 with a futuristic feel to it.
Checkout the trailer below:
All Black Ops 2 pre-orders get the Nuketown 2025 map for free and, at this point, it's the only way to access it. Pre-ordering the game also gets you Double XP for the launch weekend.
Although Black Ops 2's release is still 2 weeks away, retailers have already started selling copies of the game to consumers. At this time only PlayStation 3 gamers have posted pictures and videos of the game, but Xbox 360 copies are expected to surface at anytime. Many of these lucky gamers have also put their copy on sale in hopes to earn a hefty profit.
If you do get your copy early, avoid playing it online for now. Last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was sold early by retailers, which caused Activision to threaten players with a ban if they were caught online. Regardless, there will most likely be a leaderboard reset on November 13th.
Checkout the PS3 version of the Hardened Edition below:
As it was revealed last week, Black Ops 2 will have in-game support for 3D on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. On top of that, Activision and LG Electronics have teamed up to create an even more immersive 3D gaming experience for Call of Duty players.
Mark Lamia: "As game developers and storytellers, we want to take advantage of every opportunity to immerse players in the Call of Duty: Black Ops II experience and LG's 3D technology helps to do just that. We are thrilled to team up with LG, which shares this same passion to bring gamers to the edge of their seats with realistic visuals and heart-pounding gameplay. And with LG Dual Play, for the first time ever, two players can each have their own full-screen experience while playing Multiplayer or Zombies split-screen."
From November 13th to 21st retailers will be offering discounts nationwide for consumers who purchase a LG Cinema 3D TV and Black Ops II at the same time. LG has also released a new exclusive trailer that you can checkout below:
This week's "Behind the Design" Bonus Round discusses more about BO2's multiplayer:
Next week's Bonus Round focuses more on the Zombies Mode and will hopefully reveal more exclusive information.
Treyarch has just released the official launch trailer for Black Ops 2. Call of Duty launch trailers are usually revealed a couple of weeks before the game comes out, but this sudden release doesn't come as a surprise since big gaming titles, such as Halo 4 for the Xbox 360, are just around the corner.
"Dive into the near-future world of 2025, unraveling a generation-spanning story that has led to a global conflict unlike ever before."
Black Ops II comes out on November 13th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Activision has just announced during a press release that Call of Duty Elite and all of its features for Black Ops II will be completely free, unlike during Modern Warfare 3's launch where players had to buy a premium subscription for $50 a year to access every feature. The next version of CoD: Elite that launches at the same with BO2 will have new and enhanced features such as: