The Call of Duty series has offered multiple perspectives through each of its games, allowing players to take on the role of different protagonists as they make their way through the game—sometimes through separate campaigns, but more recently, through events that happen simultaneously.
The latest entry to the series, Black Ops 2, is set to continue the tradition of offering multiple perspectives throughout the campaign, with at least one perspective taking place in the near future and another sometime during the 1980s. Glimpses of both campaigns have been shown throughout the marketing of the game, with sandy Afghanistan presumably representing the past sections in which you take on the role of Alex Mason, the hero of the first Black Ops.
The recently leaked achievements list for Black Ops 2 confirms the presence of these perspectives, which are separated by over 30 years. They are as follows:
- Futurist: Complete all future levels in veteran.
- Family Reunion: There are two futures.
- Back in Time: Use a future weapon in the past.
The names and descriptions of these achievements might imply the existence of time travel. In spite of the Zombie Mode’s sci-fi elements, we don’t think that the game would go so far as to implement such a sci-fi device into an otherwise “serious” setting for the main Black Ops 2 campaign. However, Treyarch hasn’t ever shied away from innovating the series, and this may well be a surprise they have planned for Black Ops 2 players—so we’ll just have to wait and see how it turns out.
Black Ops 2 is set for release on the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 on November 13. Be sure to pre-order the game before then for the Nuketown 2025 exclusive map.
