The Treyarch team volleys between clips from news and military television programs pertaining to war in the not so distant future. He shows an interview with a Japanese businessman discussing the dangers of China's complete control of the commodity. Lamia plays a clip of Obama talking about the necessity of China's participation with Western market in trading rare earth elements fairly. By comparison, Iran controls only 10% of the Earth's oil. So what's the rub? In the real world, rare earth elements are almost entirely controlled by China's market, which provides 95% of all REEs. Rare earth elements also play an important role in the creation of most modern military technology. The minerals are essential to many of today's most important products, from smartphones to renewable energy devices like wind turbines and hybrid car batteries. Rare earth elements are about as grounded as it gets. Lamia tells us future war won't be about oil, but rare earth elements. Lamia won't provide a definitive answer just yet. I ask Lamia if Menendez might harbor ill-will towards the United States, considering the government was reluctant to provide additional funds to the country's rebels at that period.
We know he's somehow tied to the Reagan-era conflict in Nicaragua. The father and son have a mutual enemy: Raul Menendez. As a de facto enforcer of the Reagan doctrine, he will be in charge of igniting and arming proxy wars with Russia in locations like Nicaragua and Afghanistan.īlack Ops 2's story spans generations, Lamia tells us.
You will play as David Mason, the son of Alex Mason, the previous game's protagonist.Īlex will return as a playable character in flashbacks to the late 1980s. "The original Black Ops took place during the first Cold War," says Mark Lamia, the Studio Head of Treyarch, "I call it the first Cold War because the new Cold War hasn't happened - yet."Ĭall of Duty: Black Ops 2 is a direct sequel which will take place in part during the fictional second Cold War in the year 2025.