This year, Call of Duty will be releasing its highly anticipated game Black Ops 2. This will be the ninth installment in the Call of Duty series. As anticipated, it will pick up where Treyarch’s Black Ops left off, bringing with it a whole new style of game play. Its release date has been set for the 6th of November.

In a memo leaked by Activision, Black Ops 2 promises new game modes, new perks, and a whole slew full of new pointstreaks and how they are earned. One new game mode promised has been named “Escort”, in which a player “must be escorted to one of three areas (or two depending on the map) without being killed”. The match will have three rounds, consisting of one life only. Activision also promised the return of Drop Zone and Kill Confirmed, while others such as Team Defender and Infected will not return.

While there may be a large shakeup in the game mode portion of Black Ops 2, it seems pointstreaks will remain similar to last years Modern Warfare 3. Black Ops 2 will put further emphasis on objectives, as the point value of completing objectives has been significantly raised. One slight change to the pointstreaks comes in the specialist package, which in the previous serious allowed you to unlock additional perks upon killing enemies without dying. The change comes in the perks, which will only net you up to four additional perks on killing your eighth enemy. Instead of unlocking all perks upon your eighth successive kill, you will instead unlock the pro versions of those perks, effectively limiting your potential lethality.

Speaking of perks, the perk system has received a significant upgrade. The new “perk system 2.0″ has been upgraded. Accoding to the memo, “there is now 2 options a perk can advance to. Both require different challenges to unlock”. The memo then goes on to describe, “once the desired Pro version is unlocked, the player can select that as their “Perk Pro”. Once selected, the only way to choose the other option is by entering prestige mode. An example of a new Perk is the newly added “Speed” perk. Speed reduces the time taken to aim down the sight. One pro option gives you the ability to swap weapons faster, while the other gives you the ability of throwing equipment faster.

Looking at the Assault package, it appears we will have at least one new killstreak. Named the “Heat Scope”, players “can activate this pointstreak and your player pulls out a scope and attaches it to your weapon. This scope’s main advantage is its ability to detect enemies through most walls”. Treyarch seems to have been listening to the mass amount of players complaining about camping. The memo also went on to explain that “the scope can only be attached to primaries not including shotguns”. The memo also mentions that the RC-XD, a remote controlled car wired to explode with C4, will not be making a return in this game.

A new entry to the Call of Duty series was also mentioned in the memo, called “Item Packages”. Item Packages will “fall along side care packages and air drop traps. It features a list of package items only including ammo, mini gun, grenade launcher, rocket launcher, and body armor”. While this may not seem like huge news, the Item Package would significantly alter the game, rendering a player into an unstoppable killing machine… If he got the right equipment.

Prestiges has been a hot debate lately, specifically with MW3. While they are returning in Black Ops 2, there has been significant changes. The memo states that “there will be 15 prestiges, 50 ranks, every two prestiges there is a 5 rank increase, and the final prestige has 90 levels”. These prestiges will all be kept track by the new and improved Elite 2.0.  While Elite didn’t quite hold up to our standards in MW3, Elite 2.0 has been upgraded, with a specific lobby for clan stats. You are now able to host clan tournaments as well.

Maps have also been mentioned in the memo. It was stated that “map design and size will be following Black Ops not Modern Warfare 3″, which means those smooth and colorful textures will be returning. While we’re on the topics of graphics, remember how your first perk choice would decide how your character was modeled? Well that’s been changed as well, resulting in less clones running around the maps. Your character appearance will now be decided on all of the perks you’ve chosen, as well as the pointstreaks! That means no more enemy teams consisting of the same dude in the ghille suit running around with a sniper rifle.

Which brings me to the next point. According to the memo, sniper rifles have been significantly changed. Snipers will have no aim assist for any sniper rifle, as well as less sway. What this means is quickscoping will be significantly harder, while laying prone to engage targets shall be encouraged. Of course, that won’t help you in the new and improved hardcore mode. Black Ops 2 will place “larger emphasis on hardcore than ever before”, removing grenade launchers completely, so no more screaming noob tube. Additionally, only vehicle guided rocket launchers permitted, meaning you won’t hear anyone boasting about their pro pipe either. Respawn timings have been decreased (for most modes). The memo goes on to describe the newly changed damage system, in which “one bullet in the foot will no longer kill a person, a head or chest shot is usually required.” Also newly added, a person will now bleed out if severely injured.

As much as we all love new stuff, Black Ops 2 will also see the removal of controversial items. The widely criticized  “Last Stand” perk has been removed, as well as all death streaks. However, even if you manage to have a perfect game, you won’t be able to nuke the competition with a MOAB, as they will not be returning either. The flame thrower will also not be seeing a return this game.

Lastly, it has been confirmed that the “Combat System 2.0″ will be coming to Black Ops 2. The AI has been significantly improved, and difficulty no longer depends on how long it takes the AI to shoot. We will be seeing a closer resemblance to the AI in MW3′s Survival mode than Black Ops’ Combat System.

While these may just be rumors, it certainly seems that Black Ops 2 is taking a huge leap in the right direction. The world will see what’s in store when the game releases on November 6th, this year. So get your wallet ready, controllers broken in, and watch out for those claymores.