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UK games stores have applauded Activision’s ‘risky’ new direction for Call of Duty.

Black Ops II thrusts the series 13 years into the future, and introduces non-linear gameplay to the franchise.

I sense that there’s a real commitment from Activision andTreyarch to raise the bar once again for the Call ofDuty franchise, and the setting and weapon details that have been released are the firstbig step in driving the series further,” said HMV’s head of technology and games Ewan Pinder.

The return of zombies is also a great announcement and one I think fans of the series will welcome."

Play.com games buyer Keith Sharpe added: It’s testament to Activision that they continue to push the boundaries and once again offer gamers a refreshing new take on the genre. I think it’s great to see that in the current economic climate, publishers are prepared to keep taking risks and not sell the consumer short by taking the safer option.”

Pre-orders are already tracking ahead of every Call of Duty released so far. Amazon revealed last week that its day-one pre-order total is three times higher than the original Black Ops.

Activision has to be commended for trying to offer gamers more content for their money, and I am especially excited about the non-linear gameplay,” said Asda’s head of games Andrew Thompson.

Asda went live with online pre-orders for Black Ops II at 3am on the day of announcement, and for the first time ever, we announced this on Twitter. We feel that social media will play a big part in sharing all the news on this year’s big releases.”

The Hut Group’s business development head Sarah Jasper added: The new direction seems like a logical step, and depending on how this is implemented the non-linear gameplay should make it even more accessible to the wider gaming market.”

Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches on November 13th.