Drones, Violence, and Decisions: Black Ops II

--- NOTE: Call of Duty: Black Ops II was watched on a very comprehensive Youtube playthrough.  Only single-player campaign was viewed. ---

--- '+' for positive perceptions of the game; '-' for negative aspects with a suggestion to fix it; '?' for neutral questions left unanswered by the game. ---

• + Intense action is followed by periods of calm to give the player a break.
• + Old history and new technology blend together in various environments.
• + Drones!  EMPs!  Active camo!  Warfare of today brought to tomorrow in epic fashion.
• + Optional strike missions don't force the player's dynamic story to change.
• + Lots of decision-making moments throughout the game.
• + Different endings!  In CoD!
• - Senseless violence permeates throughout the game, whether it is killing hundreds of soldiers, dead civilians, or up-close brutal murders. 
• A Fix: Make the enemy NPCs smarter and more strategic (to reduce the amount of human cannon fodder required), while also keeping any close encounters tactful.
• - Who the F- is <insert any bad-guy here>?
• A Fix: Give documents in-game prior to a mission to show who the target is so they are recognized in-game.
• - The NPCs acting 'cool' when still in a hot zone breaks the connection between the player and the game character.
• A Fix: Keep the characters as on-edge as the player would be after having gone through an intense situation.
• - A lack-luster driving section in a game with great piloting sequences elsewhere is a major let-down, no matter how quickly it is over.
• A Fix: Don't cut the driving mechanic's budget, or remove the feature from release!
• - Violence against women (dance club hold-up; prolonged death of an important character) is prolonged and very high-tier when compared to male character deaths.
• A Fix: This is a can-o-worms.  Just know that there are better ways to empower and remove women from subjugate roles in games.
• - NPCs don't scream when their knees are blown-out with a shotgun; this is completely unrealistic, no matter how 'tough' a person is.
• A Fix: Blood-curdling screams all the time! 
• - There isn't a reason why either that the president is in danger or why the president is being taken further into a dangerous city.
• A Fix: Evac the VIP out of a city instead of moving her into it.
• ? Why is there no mention by anyone of so many dead civilians?

I must be getting old; Black Ops II had too much violence for my taste.  Don't get me wrong; the game has a rock-solid system, but after hours of mowing-down hordes of baddies, long kill scenes of women, and an orchestra of gunfire it all seems... vulgar.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a cool game.  Impressive set-pieces, nifty flying and drone sequences, and intense action make for good and exciting viewing; heck, playing the game is fast-paced enough to get you involved and keep you engaged.  Though all-in-all, after a few hours of bullets flying and people dying, you too might be like me and feel a bit of disgust at the end of it.