Rear View: Is Call of Duty Black Ops II Worth Playing?

Game Overview.

Single Player Content

Call of Duty Black Ops II has one of the best and longest campaigns in the franchise’s history, with a total of eight separate endings, and I feel it is unmissable for fans of the franchise and FPS narratives in general.

Renewed Popularity

In July 2022, Call of Duty Black Ops II was the seventh most purchased game for Xbox One and Xbox Series X in the United Kingdom. While the reason for this revival is currently unknown, it is nice to see so many people playing the classic game for the first time.

In July 2023, Black Ops II saw another massive revival due to Activision fixing matchmaking for all classic Call of Duty titles in preparation for Xbox acquiring Activision Blizzard in Q3 2023.

I cannot wait to see what happens when Black Ops II and the entirety of the Call of Duty catalogue are added to Xbox Game Pass!

Call of Duty: Black Ops II FAQ

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a first person shooter game developed by Treyarch and published by Square Enix, it released on 12 November 2012, and is available on PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Is There Group Finding/Matchmaking Support?

Call of Duty: Black Ops II offers the following matchmaking options:

• ☑ Solo Matchmaking
• ☑ Group Matchmaking

What Peripherals Are Supported?

Call of Duty: Black Ops II supports the following peripherals:

• ☑ PC - Mouse and Keyboard

Is There Any Mature Content?

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is rated PEGI 18+ and contains:

• ☑ Bad Language
• ☑ Drug Use
• ☑ Gore
• ☑ Mature Themes
• ☑ Violence

Final Verdict.

I enjoyed playing through the Call of Duty Black Ops II campaign, and the zombie mode is one of the high points in the franchise. However, at this time, I cannot recommend anyone purchase Call of Duty Black Ops II, as while it is now fairly active on Xbox consoles, it is scheduled to be added to Xbox and PC Game Pass in 2024, making it widely available to a whole new generation of gamers at no extra cost.

That being said, if you prefer to buy your games outright, the Xbox version is the only one I can recommend due to the poor state of the PlayStation 3 and PC communities.

Is Call of Duty: Black Ops II Worth Playing?

We found Call of Duty: Black Ops II to be a great game, meaning it delivers a memorable experience with only minor imperfections that don't detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.

Please Note

Rear View is a review format we use to discuss older games that are no longer receiving official updates or active developer support, and are instead being kept alive through community patches, mods, servers, or fan support.

Rear View articles should not be viewed as representative of the length, depth, or overall format of our traditional review coverage.