In all of my grand stupor, I realized I have continually overlooked something without so much as a passing notice: I have never once done a review of this masterpiece of game design. I'm honestly not sure why I haven't; As of the date of this review, I've put in over six-thousand hours on this account, over four times as much on my old account, and gotten to Level 55 on all 4 platforms this game is on. Maybe it's the fact that, for whatever reason, I've never really thought of it as a game in its own right. I put countless hours into Black Ops 1 and Call of Duty 4, and I preordered and picked up Black Ops 2 on release day. I've met so many people through this "game"; I could go so far as to say my life would be incredibly different if it wasn't for my countless hours in this. I've drifted from community to community, spending literal years of my life among different groups in what amounts to the bestest first person shooter of all time, a title no Call of Duty can even dream of coming close to….well except maybe Advanced Warfare. My friends, almost all of them, can be attributed, directly or indirectly, to me playing this "game". My current and past relationships all were a result from me meeting people or spending time in communities that I had come across while playing this "game", and I got around so often by playing this game. My past insecurities, my current strengths, and my place in life can almost all have their roots traced back to me going to middle school and finding Call of Duty 4 for the Xbox 360.

So, what prevents me from calling this a "game"? Why is it that, for all of what this creation has offered me, can I still not think of this as a "game"? Perhaps it is the fact that it truly was never really a game to me. It was an experience, an ultimate life upgrade on which I myself and many others could frag so many nerds, netcode notwithstanding. This, this "game", this intense online experience, this thing has been such a life-altering experience for me. While this may sound ridiculous and childish for most people, I can't express how much gratitude I have for this 60 dollar game to exist. It gave me better insight into how nerds online camp, it encouraged me to learn how to get good and how to sprint reload, it started me on the road to extreme gaming and mountain dew chugging, and most of all, it helped fill the void for the years I spent as a teenager upset with my life unable to win at Modern Warfare 3 and brought me some of the closest friends I will ever have. I love this community, I love this "game", and I love this stupid simple little frag arena that I still find myself playing for countless hours day after day.

In hindsight, I feel as if I was right about never calling it a game and never listing it on my favorite games list, because for the longest time, it was not a game to me; it was the only thing that kept me going. It was an experience, an experience fueled only by eating hot pockets and chugging Game Fuel.
This is the one.
This is the only.
Call of Duty Black Ops 2.