Game images by RAWG
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Treyarch
About This Game
Super ReviewCall of Duty: Black Ops II is a premium first-person shooter with intense action and a mature, violent narrative. Its cooperative Zombies mode offers teamwork, and robust customization allows for player expression. However, parents should be aware of the graphic violence, mature themes, and significant social risks from unmoderated online chat, making it a qualified fit for older teens.
Super Review
Parent verdict
With a "Decent" health score of 50, Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a qualified fit that works best with clear limits and strict supervision, particularly regarding online play. Its strengths lie in engaging cooperative gameplay and creative customization, but these are significantly overshadowed by extreme content intensity, including graphic violence and mature themes, and very high social risks from an unmoderated online community. This game is best suited for mature older teens who can navigate intense content and toxic online environments responsibly, and only with parental guidance.
What players actually do
- Players engage in first-person combat across diverse futuristic and Cold War settings, exercising tactical aiming and strategic movement skills.
- Players team up in cooperative 'Zombies' mode to survive waves of undead, requiring communication and teamwork to manage resources and objectives.
- Players customize their weapons and player emblems using a detailed editor, allowing for self-expression and personalizing their online identity.
Where it shines
- The branching single-player campaign offers players choices that genuinely impact the story and lead to multiple endings, providing significant replay value beyond a typical linear shooter.
- The cooperative Zombies mode encourages strong teamwork and active communication as players work together to overcome escalating challenges and achieve shared objectives.
- Extensive customization options, including an emblem editor and detailed weapon personalization, allow players to express their creativity and individuality within the game's competitive and cooperative modes.
Parent watch-outs
- The game contains frequent and graphic violence, including dismemberment, blood, gore, and a brutal torture scene, which are not suitable for younger audiences.
- Online multiplayer features unmoderated voice and text chat, creating a high social risk due to a community known for toxic, aggressive language and potential hacking.
- The narrative includes mature themes such as drug use, strong profanity, and suggestive content, wrapped in a gritty, political war story that can be complex and disturbing.
Family rules worth setting
- Restrict play to the single-player campaign and local cooperative modes only, completely disabling online multiplayer to avoid exposure to unmoderated chat and toxic communities.
- Require parental presence or supervision during play due to the intense content, and discuss any mature themes or violent scenes encountered.
- Limit session lengths to prevent overexposure to intense themes and ensure players balance screen time with other activities.
Talk about this
- How do the choices you make in the single-player campaign impact the story and characters, and what does that teach you about consequences?
- Discuss the difference between fictional game violence and real-world violence, emphasizing the serious impact of aggressive language and actions in online spaces.
- If playing the Zombies mode, talk about how effective communication and teamwork made a difference in surviving the waves of enemies.
Play style
This game features a strong session rhythm with distinct missions in the campaign, rounds in Zombies, and matches in multiplayer. Difficulty is adjustable, but the fast-paced nature of the shooter genre can be challenging. Players can engage solo in the campaign or offline Zombies, or socially in online competitive or cooperative modes. Younger players may struggle with the demanding combat and mature narrative, potentially requiring adult assistance for story comprehension or navigating difficult combat scenarios.
Score Breakdown
Positive Aspects
Risk Factors
Why this rating
Educational Value
1/5The game does not explicitly offer educational value, with its primary focus on first-person shooter combat and a fictionalized war story rather than academic knowledge or specific skills beyond gameplay. While the narrative touches upon historical and futuristic settings, it is for entertainment rather than learning, resulting in a low score of 1.
Addictive Monetization
1/5Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a premium game with optional paid downloadable content (DLC) and a Season Pass, a traditional monetization model from 2012. It lacks modern live-service elements such as daily rewards, battle passes, or limited-time events designed to create a 'fear of missing out' (FOMO), leading to a very low addictive monetization risk score of 1.
Pro-Social
3/5The cooperative 'Zombies' mode explicitly encourages teamwork and communication with other players to survive challenging waves of enemies, fostering positive social interactions within that specific mode. However, the online competitive multiplayer environment is known for being unmoderated and toxic, which dilutes the overall pro-social score to a moderate 3 as positive interactions are not universally guaranteed.
Social Risk
5/5The game features robust online multiplayer with unmoderated voice and text chat, and the community is widely known for aggressive and toxic language, posing a very high social risk to players. This unfiltered environment, combined with reports of hacking, significantly elevates the concerns regarding player safety and exposure to inappropriate content, earning a score of 5 for social risk.
Content Intensity
4/5Call of Duty: Black Ops II contains intense and graphic violence, including dismemberment, blood, gore, and a brutal torture scene, justifying its mature content ratings. Beyond violence, the narrative includes mature themes such as drug use, strong profanity, and suggestive content, making the overall content intensity high with a score of 4.
Negatives
- •Contains intense and graphic violence, including dismemberment, blood, gore, and torture scenes.
- •The online multiplayer features unmoderated voice and text chat with strangers, and the community is known for toxic and aggressive language, posing a significant social risk.
- •The game's story and dialogue include mature themes such as drug use, strong profanity, and suggestive content.
- •The central narrative is a gritty and political war story that is not suitable for younger audiences.
Positives
- •The cooperative 'Zombies' mode encourages teamwork and communication with other players.
- •A branching single-player campaign offers multiple endings based on player choices, adding replay value.
- •Players have access to robust customization tools, including an emblem editor and detailed weapon personalization options, allowing for self-expression.
- •The game design includes no daily login requirements or time-pressure mechanics to compel play.
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Official Ratings
Age Fit
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