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Infinity Ward’s latest Call of Duty has shipped with no response to Black Ops 4’s Blackout but has since been supplemented with Warzone – a fully standalone battle royale built on the backbone of Modern Warfare. This is not only a smarter way to make sure it’s not tied to every annual release in the series, but Warzone gives the gaming series its own identity within the competitive genre. This is our Call Of Duty Warzone Review.
Call Of Duty Warzone Review: About
- Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- Developer: Infinity Ward, Raven Software
- Publisher: Activision
- Genres: First-person shooter, Battle Royale
- Release Date: March 10, 2020
Call Of Duty Warzone Review: Official Trailer Video
Call Of Duty Warzone Review: Gameplay
It may not be evident at first, especially when you consider how much Warzone borrows from other popular Battle Royale games. It includes a ping system similar to that in Apex Legends, which allows you to tag enemy positions, location of interest, and loot for teammates at the touch of a button. It takes place on a massive map similar to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, where large areas of open land are ripe for snipers, and dense suburbs make for exciting and chaotic battles up close.
Neither of these competitors is determined solely by the elements that Warzone borrows from them, and the sum of their parts does not determine warzone. Instead, Warzone uses them to lay a solid foundation for its different elements. It starts with a higher number of players than the above mentioned Battle Royale games, with Warzone currently supports up to 150 players per game, with modes for three-person squads or solo play.
You will also likely feel right at home in many parts of the Warzone map if you have already played Modern Warfare. Many of the areas mentioned use identical layouts to those in Modern Warfare and earlier episodes so that you can navigate through them with muscle memory – and they’re intuitive enough to learn from scratch as well. Splitting large areas of dangerously open fields are dense and cramped suburbs filled with high-rise buildings or mazes of storage areas.
It’s easy to lose trackers in Downtown’s winding streets or hide in the Lumberyard’s large industrial factories, rewarding your memory of their respective layouts while turning an ambush into an opportunity to attack. Large buildings can get frustrating with their long stairwells because loot is hidden only on the ground and top floors. However, even these force you to think about the benefits you could gain with the extra height against the drawbacks of locking yourself in a narrow hallway to get there first.
Warzone minimizes downtime and encourages you to fight with an aggressive fast-closing circle and sleek mechanics that control your loot. Unlike most other games in the genre, Warzone doesn’t burden you with managing items in a backpack with limited space. Instead, you have predefined slots with ammo types, armor, and cash. The rest of your gear works identically to a standard Modern Warfare multiplayer match – you have two weapon slots, each a deadly grenade and a utility grenade lock, and a field equipment lock.
Weapons drop with attachments already equipped based on their general rarity, and there is no option to customize them beyond what they already contain. This makes early looting extremely fast. It’s easy to find two suitable primary weapons and stock up on some ammo early on, allowing you to focus more on hunting other players than staying out of sight looking for attachments to your equipment. It also contributes to Warzone’s changes in both an in-game economy and the respawning principles, both of which take advantage of the fact that you can get from your starter pistol to battle-ready in minutes.
Despite being the most expensive purchase at the moment, it’s incredibly easy for a team of three players to collect enough money together during the opening times of a match to secure their pre-made equipment. It’s already common to find players using thermal scopes and the Cold-Blooded advantage to combat it. Still, generally, the addition of a loadout drop reduces the dynamics of matches by making loot count for much less.
I liked it better in games where I played on the edge, forced to settle for medium-rated weapons with reduced range, forcing me to choose my battles wisely. There’s an opportunity for this, not just at the start of a Warzone match, but also during a game, thanks to a liberal respawn system that regularly brings you back into the game. When you are killed for the first time, you will be transported to the gulag and forced to take on another player to ensure your freedom and respawn into the match.
If you fail in the gulag, or then die after being postponed, you can still be revived indefinitely by teammates at the purchasing stations. A hefty fee is awarded to each respawn, but it’s low enough to encourage your team to seek out your revival without giving up entirely once you’ve gone down. It also redefines what death means in Battle Royale. Warzone doesn’t let you get stuck after a victorious battle, forcing you to rush through your opponents’ dropped loot and prepare for the possibility of retribution.
In addition to Warzone’s standard battle, royale mode is Plunder, which is far less notable than the main attraction, despite being a new game mode. Located on the same map and with the same 150 players divided into teams of three, Plunder shifts the goal from survival to looting. The overall goal is to store as much cash as possible, by depositing your items on helicopter dropouts similar to those in The Division’s Dark Zone.
Plunder is mechanical sound, but it’s just not exciting. The matches last way too long, limited to 30 minutes or until a team collectively contributed $ 1 million. For the most part, most players are centralized on one part of the map, all fighting over the same pool of money in gun battles where bullets come from all directions. While rattle royale lacks a strict structure, the closing circle moves players in a prevailing direction, forcing dynamic battles that can lead to exciting and unexpected gameplay stories. Plunder’s static character lacks the same excitement.
Conclusion
Warzone is an excellent second attempt at a battle royale from Call of Duty, which finally manages to find out its own identity with exciting spins on the existing formula. The subversion of death and the nail-biting Gulag duels give you more ways to stay in a match, while also forcing you to be aware of your surroundings even after you wipe a rival squad. The looting is sleek enough to make early moments feel quick, but Warzone also loses some of the messy magic of packed gear by dropping you into prebuilt way too quickly.
However, if you’re comfortable with Call of Duty’s latest version of multiplayer antics and thrive in the stressful setting of Battle Royales, Warzone is a strong contender for your attention. That’s it for our Call Of Duty Warzone Review.