Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 announcement trailer released

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 gets all Metal Gear Solid 4 on us as it takes a step into the future.

Welcome to the future, courtesy of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, Treyarch’s sequel first-person shooter which takes the series firmly into the world of tomorrow where the automated machine is king and men play second fiddle – at least that is until someone steals the keys.

The trailer serves of an appetite whetting aperitif at once once invokes themes of Metal Gear Solid 4 in what looks to be a slightly more varied shooter than has been the norm in the Call of Duty series as of late. We're promised a more open world style of play this time around, a distinct addition to a series which has been made up of grand scale corridor shooting up until now, while the ability to hack into the various futuristic sentry bots and vehicles seems to be confirmed within the trailer.

We’re not expecting Deus Ex levels of exploration and combat variation of course – this is Call of Duty we're talking about after all – but a slightly more cerebral approach might just be the tonic the series needs (particularly speaking from a Black Ops perspective) to reignite our interest.

As you might expect given the series' past form it's due in November. More details when we get them.