‘Black Ops 2′ multiplayer reveal showcases new technology, old favorites

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2‘s new war in the future has garnered a lot of praise for marking a great shift from the series’ tried and true campaigns. Even with these improvements, there remains the driving force of the Call of Duty series – the multiplayer. Today, Treyarch released the first reveal trailer for Black Ops 2‘s multiplayer, giving millions of players their first taste of what to expect online in November. Check out the trailer, then find out what is new and improved this time around below.

 

• New Shock Charge tactical grenade.
• The classic 3 perk setup with upgraded (pro) versions, but with the ability to not equip certain ones. This could be influenced by another perk or possibly gun, it is obviously unknown until we figure everything out.
• Three possible attachments (or upgrades?) for primary weapons, two for secondaries.
• A similar killstreak progression as Modern Warfare 3.
• The new Guardian Suppress (or perhaps just Guardian), a deployable heat lamp of sorts that stuns enemies who walk into it.
• The return of the dolphin dive from Black Ops, and Dual Scopes from Modern Warfare 3.
• The “Dragonfire,” an aerial drone, presumably a killstreak.
• Riot Shields make their first appearance in the Treyarch series, now with the ability to deploy it on the ground for cover.
• Enemies marked on the screen confirms some kind of UAV drone or alternate killstreak like what is found in Modern Warfare 3.
• Ground drone killstreak from Modern Warfare 3.
• After killing an opponent with a pistol, the character on screen seems to switch to his knife as if it were a third weapon. It is unclear if this applies all the time or if some kind of perk causes this. If it is a permanent thing, I would welcome it with open arms, considering how screwy knifing has been in the past.
• The ability to equip two primaries (Overkill).
• The return of the unscoped sniper rifle ala World at War. 
• The final reveal of the video seems to confirm some kind of match broadcast system. If I were to purely speculate it, this would make sense as an Elite subscription perk, considering they’ll have commentary on the matches. It also confirms a new Multi-Team mode, with three small teams in one match.

A large amount of what they’ve shown off is not new to the series, but it seems they are trying to incorporate many things that Modern Warfare 3 brought to the table last year. I think the biggest change is the knife, if it does actually have to be equipped before use. It will eliminate a large amount of nonsense that stems from Call of Duty’s lag compensation, which has made the knife the bane of many competitive players. More information should be coming out about multiplayer in the upcoming weeks, and we are still awaiting the reveal of the new edition of Zombies, so that should come soon as well. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is set for release on November 13, 2012 for all major consoles.