Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 Review - My Gaming Buddies

image credit: IGN

Get an honest look at COD's latest game, Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0! Find out what it offers, what improvements have been made since the original version, and more!

Battle royals games usually don't revolve around making friendships with players you encounter, but Warzone 2.0 made a sincere attempt to motivate gamers to cooperate and socialize while competing for the winning spot. Unfortunately, some other innovative ideas didn’t have much success in comparison; fair examples include its dull map and its out-of-place-backpack system. Beyond all of these features, there's an additional reward in playing Warzone: the PvPvE mode. You and your friends can join forces to take on challenging missions as a squad and have unforgettable experiences together! The triumphs you'll share are even more rewarding than any victory screen could provide so what are you waiting for? Join Warzone now and make some amazing memories with your crew.

With the introduction of this new, innovative social idea, you can now invite opposing players to join your team should one teammate drop out in a squad-based match. This ingenious development gives those weakened teams or lone stragglers an opportunity to battle on and sustains engagement among participants for longer periods of time. Joining forces with other players for a shared victory in battle royals games is an exciting concept, though it rarely comes to fruition. Most people still feel the need to eliminate one another on sight, so I have yet to successfully recruit anyone into my squad - but even having the chance is lots of fun.

The Unhinged Trios mode grants you the ability to invite up to six people on your team during a match, resulting in unprecedented levels of chaos and mayhem. Unfortunately, many players don't seem too keen on playing with that large of a party, making it difficult for teams to collaborate effectively. We've all been told by our parents to be wary of strangers on the internet, so it's understandable that people generally only choose to play Unhinged Trios as normal trios. That said, I enjoyed playing in this context too; however, the actual game mechanic is focused around squad-building and was a bit disappointing when no one wanted to partake in it.

New Stomping Grounds

Al Mazrah is an engrossing map with endless opportunities for exploration. It's full of bustling cities, 18 points of interest from a formidable fortress to airports, and even a thriving mining city! However, I couldn't help but notice the monotonous stretches between these thrilling locales that consist mostly of sandy and beige backdrops; it felt like my journey was uninspired in comparison to previously encountered maps. Al Mazrah, while realistic in its depiction of cities and industrial areas, can still be improved visually. Apex Legends' World's Edge serves as a model here - the map is extremely diverse with snow, lava, and urban landscapes within one single setting. The uniformity of buildings and palette used throughout Al Mazrah makes it less attractive than other current battle royales arenas such as Apex Legends or Fortnight; both have captivating terrain (and weather) that make them truly stand out from the competition.

Al Mazrah is the largest Warzone map to date and can comfortably fit up to 150 players. Plus, it offers a selection of remarkable water passageways that give you the opportunity to travel by boat alongside land and air vehicles - creating an even more thrilling gaming experience. Exploring by water offers a plethora of travel opportunities; no longer are you confined to traveling via land or struggling with choppers from perilous positions. Moreover, waterways provide plentiful escape routes as they meander through the map differently than their terrestrial counterparts.

I've relished the stimulating twist of careful monitoring on my map and making changes in unforeseen directions.

The spaciousness between each set of buildings in Warzone 2.0 accentuates the grandeur of the map, and also allows for a more thrilling experience as players must now run to one of three scattered circles instead of just the single safe zone from before. This could have been an issue; however, with how Warzone has redesigned its circle mechanic it is no longer a problem. The three circles collapse back into a singular arena during the last few minutes of gameplay, making the remaining combatants engage in an epic showdown. This innovative tactic forces players to pay close attention to the map and alter their strategies on-the-fly. It's even more exciting when my squad scopes out an ideal structure and takes down unsuspecting enemies who failed to stay aware of the circle splits.

Gulag 2.0

Warzone 2.0 introduced a new, groundbreaking Gulag mode that introduces an unexpected ally - your enemy in the match! With this temporary truce, you have to cooperate with and befriend someone who is trying their best to take you down. It's certainly creative, but unfortunately doesn't always run smoothly; communication may be inconsistent which can make for a daunting 1v2 battle. Additionally, sometimes when you're sent to the Gulag and there's only one other player present, it becomes impossible to access a full match - once the timer runs out, you'll be returned back into battle. While this new system is certainly intriguing, I still favor the classic 1v1 Gulag as here you can depend on yourself and matches are often shorter in duration.

One exciting addition to the Gulag is that you don't need to defeat all your adversaries in order to make it back into the game. Instead, everyone can team up and take down a Juggernaut Jailer controlled by AI which will appear after some time has elapsed; if successful, each person still alive can be redeployed. On the other hand, people often choose to battle each other instead of targeting a full enemy team wipe. However, I experienced a match where the Jailer actually took out my final opponent and enabled me and my teammate to be redeployed! These extraordinary moments are possible with this new form of Gulag. Hopefully as time passes by we will witness more folks coming together against our mutual adversary.

Keep your allies close and manage your rivals with Proximity Chat!

Warzone 2.0 has made the game much more immersive with its addition of proximity chat, allowing players to eavesdrop on conversations from nearby areas! It's a unique and stealthy way to obtain intel that you won't find in many battle royals games. For instance, I heard an opposing team discussing their location as they approached my teammate and me while we were looting - this gave away them away before they could ambush us. Warzone's death commas, where you hear the enemy player's mic shortly after taking them down, have always made for an enjoyable way to bask in your victory. Nevertheless, proximity chat has revolutionized this experience with some exciting new twists.

Proximity chat has vastly improved the Warzone experience, making it more enjoyable than ever before.

Proximity chat is an unexpected addition to FPS and battle royals games, but it's offered a substantial improvement in Warzone. Cross play allows you to hear players talking with their mics open as soon as you get close enough - something that has greatly enhanced the Warzone experience for everyone involved. I've enjoyed engaging in amusing conversations with my adversaries, making witty remarks while we try to outwit each other. It has led to some absolutely hilarious situations where people get creative and pretend to be taxi drivers for otherwise hostile players as part of a short-term truce – exchanging money for rides across the map.

Proximity chat has breathed life into Warzone, reminding us that we are fighting against fellow human beings. Although there have been some less-than-ideal conversations and comments, it is usually a great way to stay social or gain intel if you know how to use it wisely. With proximity chat on, I can always get the edge on my enemies who wander too close for comfort.

High-Stakes Raiding and Gunfights

Warzone 2.0's loot able backpacks, which give players the ability to carry more items while still having space for ammunition and armor plates, are an intriguing addition to Call of Duty even if they have sparked much debate in Apex Legends' community over whether it would be better to always find them as loot, or enable gamers to craft bigger backpacks during their drops.

The issue of having limited space in your backpack can be incredibly frustrating.

After experiencing Warzone 2.0 firsthand, I am inclined to agree with the second group of people. It is extremely aggravating when you are in a match and have depleted ammo or armor plates since it's impossible to carry enough backup supplies due to the limited inventory space from just having a standard backpack - not being able to find one extra ammunition replenishment crate or an armor supply crate makes this even more difficult! Previously, managing my resources was never an issue because all I had to do was collect the maximum amount for each type so that my lethal and tactical equipment would always be filled up automatically. It can be incredibly frustrating to have limited slots in your backpack, especially with the new mechanic which requires you to click on individual items before looting them. This makes for a slow and tedious process that could potentially mean death if you’re rummaging through an enemy’s bag, fumbling between guns or ammo! This sluggishness has taken away from the action-packed experience of Warzone where all it took was running over objects and quickly looting - no more.

Moreover, the armor vests have been revamped so you can only get two slot-armor plates during a drop; meaning that to secure maximum protection, you must search for a three-plate vest.

One great advantage of this alteration is that a blue hit marker will alert you to enemies wearing the two-plate vest and purple for those in possession of the three-plates, providing invaluable insight into your opponent's gear as you quickly decide how to proceed. If they have better armor than what you carry, it may be wise to retreat from battle.

A revised ping system has finally caught Warzone up to other battle royals.

Warzone has finally stepped up its game and revamped the ping system to be more in line with other battle royals, a much-needed change. The new wheel of options offers plenty of ways to point out enemies, meaning you can play without having to use voice chat. However, even when I'm on a call with my teammates, I often find myself double-tapping the ping button so that they know exactly where an enemy is located - it's just that useful! Warzone 2.0's gameplay has only been improved by the addition of a live ping feature, which allows players to tag their enemies and follow them through a short duration. Not only is this useful for tracking opponents, but it can double as an effective stealth tactic if you wish to remain undetected on proximity chat.

Warzone 2.0 has made some major improvements, however, its user interface still leaves much to be desired since its elements were needlessly complicated. The gunsmiths now progress through a brand new family tree called Platforms where one must hit certain weapon levels within the Platform in order to unlock unlocks Receivers and weapons related to it. For instance, when you unlock the M4 from the progression tab, you can choose between two tracks to get either the 556 Icarus or FTAC Recon. However, it could be quite intimidating for newcomers since there is a lot of information presented on one page. Nevertheless, this isn't that much of an issue because guns are easy to level up just by playing Warzone or DMZ mode- particularly in DMZ mode where picking any weapon will help you reach your desired gun leveling goals quickly and efficiently!

DMZ is the best option for unlocking and leveling guns.

Warzone's DMZ mode is a spectacular adaptation of the classic extraction game style, clearly inspired by thrilling titles such as Escape from Tarkov. Every map has multiple heavily guarded strongholds filled with hordes of NPCs that you can take on and fight against, guaranteeing an action-packed round and making sure that no battle ever lacks bullet spraying confrontations! On top of this chaos, up to 66 players or 22 three-man teams compete for the same objectives - it’s genuinely exhilarating gameplay and will undoubtedly keep Battle Royale fans coming back for more.

DMZ is an amazing way to explore and become familiar with the locations of Al Mazrah. The best part? You can also partake in various faction missions for XP bundles, weapon blueprints, calling cards, operator skins, and more! Select up to three varying difficulty levels - Legion (easy), White Lotus (medium), or Black Mousse (hard) - each mission granting you unique rewards upon completion. Working with my teammates to determine what missions we could complete together was truly a delightful experience. In addition, the fact that each team member can contribute towards any mission makes the process even more enjoyable - if you need to destroy six vehicles for example, everyone on your squad may join in and knock out one vehicle each! This type of mission system is terrific at providing replicability as well as the direction in PvPvE modes which often become lackluster without specific objectives.

Nothing beats the thrill of hopping into DMZ with your squad and enjoying a pulse-pounding match for as long (or short) as you, please. I find myself coming back to DMZ over Warzone again and again since all it takes is a simple queue before I'm ready to go! Whether or not I manage an extraction at the end doesn't matter - because being able to control my playtime makes every session worthwhile. Even if I lose out on some items, that's no problem; after all, playing in DMZ is always enjoyable just by itself. On Al Mazrah, you can break the monotony of battle royal survival with a breath of fresh air. You are free to roam and experience AI enemies within an engaging mission system for rewards that transfer across all Warzone accounts - no more fighting to be the last person standing! This cross-platform progress particularly motivated me to give DMZ my full attention without having anxiety about neglecting any existing unlocks in Warzone.

Judgment

Warzone 2.0 is an impressive upgrade to the original Call of Duty battle royale mode, even with a few drawbacks. The map may not be particularly thrilling outside of its immense size but features like proximity chat and enhanced ping system emphasize tactical elements, creating more dynamic approaches to survival in this expansive battleground. The addition of backpacks as lootable items may have hindered the looting rate, however, this new twist on Gulag brings some amazing experiences when players can convince others to collaborate against a shared enemy for mutual benefit. On top of that, DMZ extraction mode revives Warzone by appealing to those who don't want to work through full battle royale matches but still wish to level up weapons and enjoy a fast glimpse into the fight for survival.