Ok, after a couple of hours of gameplay here is my impression. I could not disagree more with McKenzie on this one. BO2, imo, has the most solid multi-player in the entire COD franchise. This is mainly for three different reasons: create a class, immersive and multi-faceted level system, & balance in regards to player classes.
The balance as far as Black Ops 1 was concerned was head and shoulders above MW/MW2/WaW. Black Ops 2 expands upon that and creates a better system for multi-player. Hell, I played MW3 two days ago and feel the huge difference between the two. The immersive level system is fairly impressive. The variation in the style and size of the maps is probably BO2's second biggest draw. MW3 started to play around with this concept in a lot of their DLC content over the past few drops. BO2 perfected it. The style and attention to detail in the levels themselves is impressive to someone who has played the last 4-5 COD offerings. Variation in night sights on weapons was a fun thing to experience. Also, the different settings in the maps are more detailed than MW3's.
However, the biggest advantage to me is the create a class system. This system breaks out of the linear setup that has been included in all of the COD titles. True customization is something that has been missing from COD and something that other games have embraced. The new weapon setup is exactly what BO2 needed to include. The extreme level of customization changes the way the gameplay is setup and is very noticeable when playing in multi-player. I played around with it a bit and have set up two absolutely contrasting style classes and seen the advantages of each. To me, the create a class system is the #1 reason for any COD player to pick up this title.
Now the downsides, the graphics.... ugh. I cannot even explain how disappointed I am in the graphics. Once again, Treyarch doesn't do enough with them to be worthy of the style of gameplay that they have created. I haven't delved into the single player missions yet but I hear they are fun.
More to come later
