The major appeal and reason for popularity behind the Call of Duty franchise, especially the titles of late, always seem to have been the multiplayer.
Despite criticisms that the multiplayer mode offers the most basic of tweaks to differentiate it from past Call of Duty games, it's ultimately what keeps players coming back for each new game every November. Trash talking from your living room is just part of the game's culture. As a result, the campaign mode for each CoD game is ofen ignored, despite having some pretty dramatic moments. Consider the "No Russian" mission in Modern Warfare 3.
For the multitudes who picked up the new CoD, Black Ops 2, before you completely immerse yourself in multiplayer, make sure you play through the campaign at least once. Because following the credits, it gets very odd, very quick. See for yourself below...
Now, whether you consider a digital Avenged Sevenfold concert a welcome break from Call of Duty's traditionally immersive and takes-itself-very-serious gameplay or just plain funny is up to you. Either way, it's still pretty surreal to see Menendez as the ultimate nervous nelly, and Frank Woods rise from his wheelchair like it ain't no thang, just so he can bang out a drum solo or two.
Black Ops 2 marks the second time the band has worked on a Call of Duty title. Their song "Not Ready to Die" was part of the first Black Ops, and could only be found by activiating special items on that game's zombie map.
Avenged Sevenfold is joined by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame on the Black Ops 2 soundtrack. Reznor was previously announced as working on the game's soundtrack in July. Reportedly, he's "always looked to that franchise as the cutting edge of what seemingly unlimited budgets and full-on not cutting any corners can do in the current day and age." Personally, I would've found it a thousand times more interesting to see Reznor smack Menendez upside the head, but that's just me.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is out now for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, with a release to follow for Nintendo's Wii U.
