Black Ops II: Treyarch Responds to Call of Duty Campaign Criticism
Strikeforce levels will go some way to address claims of linearity.
E3 2012
The new open-ended Strikeforce missions in Call of Duty: Black Ops II might just go some way to counter criticism levied against the blockbuster shooting franchise, Treyarch has said.
In an interview with SPOnG - to be published later today - director of communications John Rafacz responded to gamer criticism that the Call of Duty series is a linear and straightforward experience. When asked if Strikeforce addresses such comments, Rafacz said, "Strikeforce levels [will] certainly speak to anyone that might levy that criticism against the single-player campaign."
Rafacz also went some way to defend the series' core gameplay style. "Keep in mind, when you talk about the core Call of Duty experience and the fiction we’ve created - and the story we intend to tell - there is a certain ride that we’ve got to go on. A ride that we want to take players on and have an experience.
"At the same time, we’ve also found a new way to help craft the fiction that surrounds that story with Strikeforce levels. It adds a sense of non-linearity, and for some of those that may only play single-player, it also adds elements of gameplay that might feel a little bit like multi-player in some respects."
Strikeforce levels are additional stages that take place in tandem with the main single-player campaign. Each stage allows the player to control a number of units and droids to accomplish missions around the world. Success or failure will trigger different events in the campaign, with Treyarch suggesting alternative scenes at the end of the game based on performance.
"You are in a sandbox, and there are objectives within, and you have the ability to play with all the toys - yet doing that, all in a meaningful way, that does impact the story", Rafacz explains.
Rafacz put the consequences of Strikeforce into perspective - likely in an attempt to prevent expectations from spiralling out of control. "With regards to Strikeforce levels, I think it’s really important to have the right expectations - we’ll all share the core single-player experience, but the success or failure that you encounter in these additional levels will ultimately shape the geo-political fiction that wraps the conclusion of your game.
"So, we’ll all play for the same present, but yours will have different gift-wrapping paper on it than mine."
Read our full Black Ops II interview with Rafacz here.
In an interview with SPOnG - to be published later today - director of communications John Rafacz responded to gamer criticism that the Call of Duty series is a linear and straightforward experience. When asked if Strikeforce addresses such comments, Rafacz said, "Strikeforce levels [will] certainly speak to anyone that might levy that criticism against the single-player campaign."
Rafacz also went some way to defend the series' core gameplay style. "Keep in mind, when you talk about the core Call of Duty experience and the fiction we’ve created - and the story we intend to tell - there is a certain ride that we’ve got to go on. A ride that we want to take players on and have an experience.
"At the same time, we’ve also found a new way to help craft the fiction that surrounds that story with Strikeforce levels. It adds a sense of non-linearity, and for some of those that may only play single-player, it also adds elements of gameplay that might feel a little bit like multi-player in some respects."
Strikeforce levels are additional stages that take place in tandem with the main single-player campaign. Each stage allows the player to control a number of units and droids to accomplish missions around the world. Success or failure will trigger different events in the campaign, with Treyarch suggesting alternative scenes at the end of the game based on performance.
"You are in a sandbox, and there are objectives within, and you have the ability to play with all the toys - yet doing that, all in a meaningful way, that does impact the story", Rafacz explains.
Rafacz put the consequences of Strikeforce into perspective - likely in an attempt to prevent expectations from spiralling out of control. "With regards to Strikeforce levels, I think it’s really important to have the right expectations - we’ll all share the core single-player experience, but the success or failure that you encounter in these additional levels will ultimately shape the geo-political fiction that wraps the conclusion of your game.
"So, we’ll all play for the same present, but yours will have different gift-wrapping paper on it than mine."
Read our full Black Ops II interview with Rafacz here.
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