According to Mark Lamia, Treyarch studio boss, one of the studio’s major efforts with Black Ops 2 is going to be to provide a more immersive audio experience. The goal is to make the game sound good no matter what kind of sound system a gamer has, and in particular to make the game immersive for people who have surround sound audio systems and elaborate home theaters. Along with improvements for surround sound, there are supposed to be improvements to “the audio landscape, the weapons and the way they sound in different environments.”
Recently it’s been announced there will be a special Call of Duty Black Ops 2 headset which will retail for $300.00 and include surround sound and numerous customization features which allow users to select exactly what radius of sound they want to focus on and more. While most gamers won’t be able to afford this system, those who can should be in for an amazing experience—and it also illustrates the effort Treyarch is putting into the audio elements of the game. With these features the game should not only be more immersive, but also easier to play.
In related news, Trent Reznor has been selected to work on the soundtrack for the game. Reznor is best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, and has also contributed to film soundtracks including “The Social Network” and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” He isn’t new to the world of gaming music either; he has done soundtracks for several FPS games by ID in the past. “There is a lot of reservation and angst and sense of loss and regret and anger bubbling under the surface,” Reznor says, speaking of the game, “So it didn’t make sense to have a gung ho, patriotic feeling theme song. It has to be weighty.”