Warzone 2.0 Review

Ali Hasan November 30, 2022

Call of Duty Warzone took the world by storm when it was first released in 2020, a battle royale game wasn’t something new for Call of Duty as the series had experimented with a similar title through 2018’s Blackout, as part of the release with Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII.

Warzone, however, took it one step further by building what was at that time the most robust and expansive battle royale game. Over the course of the next two-years Warzone had its ups and downs, with two map refreshes and an abundance of new weapons that were added with the launch of Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty Vanguard but towards the end of 2021, the game had hit a massive slog.

Warzone had become overstuffed and overcomplicated, moving away from its original philosophy which was a simplistic yet fun battle royale game that didn’t have a lot of intricate systems and mechanics at play. Along the way, it lost its identity by stuffing in weapons from three different time periods and mechanics that provided unfair advantages. Warzone 2.0 builds on the ideas of the original while also adding in some much-needed changes, but can it live up to the grandiose of the original, and is its existence even necessary?

Al-Mazrah Feels Like the Natural Evolution of Verdansk

Warzone 2.0 takes place on the diverse and varied terrain of Al-Mazrah. Al-Mazrah feels like the natural evolution of Verdansk as it too features a large urban cityscape around which the rest of the map is centered. It builds upon many of the aspects that made the previous map so incredibly fun to play on including proper transit routes, POIs inspired by old multiplayer maps, and an abundance of unique areas that will have you discovering new locations and hidden spots even after playing hundreds of matches.

Coming from Infinity Ward and being tied to the Modern Warfare franchise, comparisons between Al-Mazrah and Verdansk are natural but the former goes above and beyond in injecting more detail and layers to the map that were absent from the latter.

Al-Mazrah incorporates both Western and Arabian architecture to give a sense of history to the map, although Verdansk was based in the Middle East as well it often lacked the little architectural influences that would make you believe it was, I could tell straight away that a lot of care and attention was poured into decking out the map with true to life and believable buildings and structures given its situational context.

Additionally, The layout and connectedness of POIs is another factor that makes the map stand out amongst Verdansk and Caldera, for example, there is an intricately designed cave system between Quarry and Sa’id City that lets you rotate without being vulnerable to enemy attacks while the addition of rivers and water bodies allows you to maneuver around may POIs without having to rely on land vehicles.

Furthermore, The new map also does a great job of providing more combat scenarios, the streets of Sa’id city work best for medium to long-range skirmishes while the marketplace is better for close-quarters combat. The rooftops near the marketplace are built for sniping and overwatch support while the hydroelectric plant allows you to experiment with aquatic combat, the variances in combat can be felt throughout the map and has been implemented expertly.

Strongholds Provide Secondary Objectives Within Warzone

The addition of NPCs in battle royale games has always stirred up controversy amongst hardcore fans. Both PUBG and Fortnite added hostile (and nonhostile) non-playable characters to their maps with varying degrees of usefulness and purpose, Warzone’s implantation is much more simplistic and, in my opinion, doesn’t break the flow of the match as it does in Fortnite. Strongholds are enemy-held locations peppered throughout the Warzone 2.0 map that provides the player with rewards and XP upon completion.

Clearing out enemy strongholds are fairly simple and reward your entire team with gas masks, armor vests, and armor plates along with your custom loadout. It’s an easy yet effective way to earn these items if you want to gain the upper hand without having to scavenge for these items and also provides an incentive to complete these mini-objectives.

The decision not to have NPCs on the entire map but to be tied to specific locations was a very smart move by the development team. Fortnite has been known to go overboard with its NPCs, especially during their Halloween events where they tend to become a nuisance and can get in the way of important skirmishes, I’ve had this happen to me quite a few times. To see the team actually taking notes and learning from this shows that they’re well versed with the design and flow of battle royale games and decisions like these lift Warzone 2.0 to great heights.

Also Read: Call of Duty Modern Warfare II Review

Vehicles and Movement Have Been Overhauled

A dozen or so new vehicles have been added to the map; light and heavy choppers, sedans, trucks, and helicopters are just some of the vehicles you can look forward to in Warzone 2.0. Aquatic vehicles are definitely the best addition to the game as they provide new and exciting ways to rotate around the map.

One of my favorite things to do is to use boats as quick-getaway cars, especially in high-traffic areas. You can essentially rotate and push into the map from any direction with the use of boats and I think it adds a bit more nuance to the entire traversal and strategic aspect to the game. If it is used right can grant you a big advantage and a significant jump on your enemies.

In addition, Vehicles now have a fuel system, limiting their usefulness. The fuel mechanic made me more aware and conscious of how and where I used my vehicles to traverse because fuel stations aren’t always nearby. Sitting idle while your car refuels adds another dimension of risk as you become an easy target while stationary. This implementation also prevents the over-use of vehicles and makes you think on your feet. In the original Warzone, a trophy system and vehicle combo could pretty much be a guaranteed win but with Warzone 2.0 this is definitely not the case.

Movement is another area that has been altered. Gone are the days of slide canceling and bunny hopping as both of these exploitative mechanics have been changed around. Slide canceling has been removed entirely while bunny hopping has been nerfed to the point that it’s no longer a viable way to win gunfights. Although some may argue that it closes the skill gap and caters to casual players, I believe doing away with both of these systems makes the game more accessible. Call of Duty has always been the most casual shooter on the market so it makes perfect sense to move in this direction.

Warzone 2.0 Iterates and Refreshes Existing Systems and Mechanics

Warzone 2.0 iterates and reinvents pretty much all of its systems and mechanics. Whether it’s the Gulag or buy stations everything has been reimagined or reworked to provide either a more balanced experience or to simply freshen up stagnating ideas.

Firstly, The gulag has been turned into a 2v2 gunfight style mode where you and your partner can be from opposing teams. Upon defeating the other team both of you can redeploy. Additionally, both teams can work together to take out the juggernaut that appears during overtime which lets all four combatants redeploy. The gulag has largely remained the same ever since the launch of the original warzone and this new twist on the classic system is definitely a welcome change.

Furthermore, buy stations only allow certain kill streaks and items to be purchased once throughout the entire match while three plate armor vests are now lootable as you spawn in with just two plate vests. While the former works well as a balancing mechanic to stop players from spamming UAVs the latter makes little sense to me because it does nothing more than to increase the RNG/luck-based looting which can give some players the upper hand (purely based on luck) when compared to others.

In addition to armor vests, backpacks have been added to Warzone for the first time. Backpacks essentially work as a secondary inventory allowing you to store and hold more items. You can store tacticals and lethals, additional armor plates, and ammo in your backpack and can equip them at any time by simply pushing down on your controller’s D-pad.

With the right game knowledge, effective use of the backpack can be instrumental in getting you the win. Heartbeat sensors and throwing knives may be good for close-quarter final circle battles but not as good for long-range battles during the start of the match, so to have the option to able to store items and use them when you need them definitely works in the favor of more forward-thinking players.

My favorite addition to the game has been proximity chat. This new way of communicating allows you to hear enemies within a certain distance. While this feature is purely dependent on whether you have your mic working or not, when it does work it can be an absolute blast, challenging players or telling them off is extremely fun and can prove to even be a necessary tool to gain the upper hand if used right.

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Warzone 2.0 Was Necessary To Save The Game From Itself

It is no secret that by the time Call of Duty Vanguard rolled around and integrated with the original Warzone the game had become entirely overstuffed. Not only with hundreds of weapons across three titles but also opposing themes and time eras which made the entire game feel like this hodgepodge of ideas that didn’t have a singular identity.

The plethora of new and unfair mechanics also made the game too reliant on looting RNG. The addition of advanced UAVs made it almost impossible for players on the receiving end to effectively maneuver while balancing issues across three games’ worth of guns meant that the game was constantly in a tug of war with itself trying to find the right balance.

I’m half convinced warzone 2 was created to specifically rectify this problem and even if I’m wrong. I still think creating an entirely new Warzone experience was the only way to save the game from itself. The fact that the game now only has Modern Warfare II weapons means it doesn’t have to worry about balancing changes nearly as much and having a singular modern setting means that the game feels more streamlined and cohesive in both its themes and items.

In many ways, Warzone 2.0 feels like a necessary game because not only does it bring the game back to its simplistic roots it also allows new ideas to shine while retaining the same great feel and design that we have come to expect from Infinity Ward and Raven.

Verdict

Warzone 2.0 essentially resets the revolutionary battle royale game and brings it back to its former glory. While it largely remains the same; retaining the signature gunplay and feel of the original, the new map and innovations on existing systems give the game a much-needed breath of fresh air while the implementation of several new balancing mechanics makes the overall experience far more enjoyable.

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