Note: This review only concerns the single-player aspect of this title (Campaign specifically). There are known remote code execution vulnerabilities in the multiplayer (this includes the Zombies mode), so playing multiplayer is done at the player’s own risk.

Revenge is an ugly process. Even if successful, it just leads to a spiral of violence and destruction, ultimately leaving everyone in its wake broken. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 portrays this, with mostly positive gameplay and story depiction.

The story of the game jumps between two eras. In the past of the 1970s-1990s, the story of the first Black Ops is followed up on, featuring Alex Mason returning with his allies to track down a notorious drug lord named Raul Menendez. In the future era of the 2020s, his son, David Mason, is hunting an older Menendez, now the leader of a terrorist group called Cordis Die. In both eras, Masons discover a complicated web of treachery that parallels actual historical events, which could allow Menendez to bring the world to its knees if he’s not stopped.

Before I go on, a bit of clarification. “Black Ops” is a contraction of the military term “black operations”. This refers to military actions that are intended to be deniable, often done outside the formal laws and customs of war. While the Masons are lawful agents of their government, some of their actions and those of their allies may involve things that could be considered not only violations of the laws of warfare but even rise to the level of purposeful war crimes.

It’s with the above in mind that we should establish the tone of the game. Some missions in the game involve being disguised as the enemy and firing at troops who otherwise would be friendly. There are some limits, as purposely murdering noncombatants usually leads to a game over, but even this is not universal in some levels.

The main gameplay loop of this title is standard to most Call of Duty games. The player must accomplish a series of missions in a campaign until they reach the end of the game. Most missions will require some form of combat, usually using various guns and explosives in combat with hostile NPCs, including some mechanized units like drones in the futuristic segments. The player usually, but not always, works with a computer-controlled squad with which to take out enemies.

Black Ops 2 does add in some interesting gameplay additions. Before each level, you can customize the guns and other parts of your military loadout. Some levels add in some interesting gameplay variation, such as using vehicles or remotely controlling military hardware like drones. Finally, the game's story can be altered by accomplishing certain objectives. This can lead to several different outcomes that change the game endings.

Graphically, this game ping-pongs between a gritty realism in the past sections of the game, while it has a heavy contemporary-futuristic feel in the David Mason-centric parts of the game. Toss in tons of epic explosions and movie-style scenes of chaotic gun battles, and this game really sets a dramatic tone in the looks department.

The sounds and music are the typical “epic movie” style that Call of Duty is known for. The guns sound suitably loud and crisp, and the music sets an appropriate majesty to the action movie aesthetic. Voice acting is pretty solid for the most part, though one allied character whose voice always is around “loud whisper” tone who seems to love the term c**ks****r sounds a bit cheesy at times.

This title can be controlled by a keyboard and mouse or a Steam-supported controller. The keys are NOT remappable for the controller, though the default for that is pretty intuitive. I do recommend the controller, and ideally, it should be an Xbox-style controller, as that’s what the default keys are assumed to be.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is pretty stable. It runs natively on Microsoft Windows. It can run on Linux with some moderate tweaking. It’s not rated for the Steam Deck, but similar tweaks can get it running on that device as well. This is a fairly old game, so as long as you clear its minimum requirements, it will look and run great.

A few final notes. This game has some mechanics I found tedious, including a few levels where you have to play armchair general and move units around via an overhead view. The missions also have some tight deadlines to achieve certain objectives and a limited window to do certain side missions. None of these are a dealbreaker, but bear this in mind if you find these elements disagreeable.

Morally, there are many concerning issues to note.

Violence is going to be intense. One scene that sets the bloody tone is when the villain blows off the kneecaps of an injured man point-blank, which shows off the gory aftermath. Violence will be done with guns, blades, explosions, and various other means of maiming and killing. While some levels do allow you to act as a formally-recognized soldier (and thus conform to the laws and customs of war), some levels have the player undercover with a terrorist faction and forced to kill otherwise friendly forces. One level even lets you play as the villain. As to the last one, in fairness, they can argue their actions are legitimate self-defense and acting in defense of a family member. There is an option to enable that will censor most blood, gore, and pixelate story-important cutscenes with this material, meant for the squeamish and for those wanting to stream on certain video services.

Language is going to be pretty foul. There are many characters who say profanity like it’s going out of style, including many mentions of God’s name taken in vain. There is no sexual activity of note in the game, aside from an offhand reference to a woman believed to be a prostitute (which is not accurate at all).

This game is set in a realistic setting with some sci-fi elements. Morally, as mentioned, while some of your missions can be legitimately framed as formal military operations, some are “black ops” in which civilians and lawful forces will have to be injured or murdered to achieve mission success. There are frequent depictions of smoking and drinking. There are also depictions of illegal drugs as a source of income for the villain.

Overall, this was a short, if sweet, game. Technically, it’s reasonably sound. Morally, it should only be played by mature adults, given the themes. If you like Call of Duty games or want a morally murky first-person shooter, then I recommend this title.