Call of Duty: Warzone | Full review and gameplay explained

Since the introduction of Battle Royale games such as PUBG and Fortnite, they went on to be massive hits in the gaming world. And naturally, Activision entered the Battle Royale realm with the likes of Call of Duty: Mobile and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. With the amassed success and experience through these ventures, they have now pitched their latest addition, Call of Duty: Warzone.

Call of Duty: Warzone is designed to be either an expansion pack for current Modern Warfare players or as a free to play standalone game for newer players. The game offers cross-platform support, allowing you to play with PlayStation and Xbox users as well. In order to differentiate itself from the competition, a few changes and new elements have been added to the gameplay. Read on as I go through the various game modes, changes, and new features debuted on the game.

Call of Duty: Warzone cover picture

Gameplay

Call of Duty: Warzone is based on the previous edition, Modern Warfare. They have managed to retain the rather life-like sounds and animations and couple that with the new and exciting map to provide an amazing gameplay experience. Particularly, the superior graphics stand out through the amount of detail.

In this iteration, the developers have managed to establish a real sense of height and depth with fall damage affecting moderately. Also, you can deploy the parachute whenever required, enabling you to jump across buildings and navigate your way through the air by leaping from heights with ease.

Overall, the game is stable with few minor bugs being reported. Even the newer features are performing well while matchmaking for games seems to be paring players effectively. Although such standards are to be expected from a well-reputed game developer such as Activision when considering recent releases from competitors and the issues related to them. This is a remarkable achievement by Activision.    

The game has 2 main game modes, Plunder and Battle Royale.

Battle Royale

Drop off gameplay

There are again 2 options within the game mode; you can opt to either play solo or Squad. In the case of a squad, you can connect and play with friends or be grouped in random players. The aim of the game is to be the only remaining player/squad at the end of a round. At the start you and another 150 players will be dropped into a map, you should move around and scavenge for guns, plates, and ammunition. As time goes on the map will begin to shrink through an approaching toxic gas cloud, the safe zone will be a circular portion of the map. The purpose of reducing the safe zone area is to promote more engagement between players. This is the basic model for a battle royale match, with many developers adding their own twists and features to attract players.

Activision has approached this basic model rather interestingly. Building on the tested model by improving graphics drastically and including a few exciting new features. The new additions make the game unmistakably "Call of Duty" with side missions, customized loadout kits, and leveling up. The main changes to the game and the impact of these changes to the gameplay are highlighted below:

Leveling up

In the game, you are able to level both your character and your weapons. Leveling up your character will allow you to receive new weapons, attachments, decals, and perks. In addition, enhancements such as thermal scopes and radars are also unlocked through leveling up. 

In order to earn XP, you can complete side missions released during matches and eliminate opponents. XP gained in any game mode will be accumulated as a whole. You could for instance play Plunder mode to gain more XP and unlock newer weapons for Battle Royale matches.

The side missions are varying tasks which display on the map; you can choose to accept them along with your teammates. You are only able to accept one mission at a time. These tasks are instrumental in racking up cash and XP; the cash can later be used at Buy Stations to purchase weapons, armor, and special aids such as self-revive kits and airstrikes.

The inclusion of side missions immensely changes the style of play in comparison to other battle royale games. The usual strategy for other games revolves around camping and evading opponents till the safe zone shrinks smaller and smaller. Whereas in Call of Duty: Warzone due to the inclusion of side missions, traveling around the map is encouraged. The missions vary between eliminating targeted players with bounties, capturing and visiting different locations, and scavenging missions. This initiative to promote player movement makes the game much more interesting and leads to more gunfights. This feature easily provides Call of Duty: Warzone an edge over the competition.

Custom loadout kits

As described earlier, leveling up unlocks newer weapons, attachments, and perks. And this advantage further benefits you as you come to yet another new feature; you are able to preselect a custom loadout kit that can be obtained during a match. This gives you the opportunity to configure your custom weapons and perks to be used in the game.

Upon completing side missions and scavenging for money, you are able to purchase a loadout drop from a buy station. The loadout drop contains some default kits along with your custom kit. This essentially removes a sense of uncertainty and luck from the gameplay as you no longer need to be in search of your ideal weapon. If you can accumulate enough money fast, you can play the majority of the match with your custom weapons and perks.

The uncertainty/luck aspect is further reduced as you are provided a pistol upon dropping off unlike other games, where you are dropped with no weapon and this makes luck such an important factor. Also, the initial shrinking safe zone area is visible to you on the map even before you jump off to help plan in advance rather than jump into the unknown and have to track back to the safe zone in time to survive. Certain recon missions display further shrinking patterns in advance. Eliminating uncertainty/luck allows players to focus more on planning and gunfights. This mainly overcomes the shortcomings in games such as Fortnite, where certain may stumble upon an extremely rare weapon providing them an unfair advantage over a somewhat less fortunate player struggling to scavenge for weapons. All players are able to access their custom loadout kits quite fast usually.

Disadvantages of custom loadout kits

However, this initiative comes at its own cost. By eliminating the need to actively scavenge for weapons, players are somewhat reluctant to travel once they have received their customs kits. Unless a player accepts a mission which they have the choice to decline, they could cruise their way to the end of a match without having to engage much with the enemy. Some would argue that the excitement associated with Battle Royale games revolve around that initial sense of panic and the uncertainty and joy of discovering hidden weapons. It also allows for a different game experience each match.

Perks

The perks give you the ability to develop a certain style of play. Helped by the special skills gained through perks such as Overkill which allows you to carry two primary weapons, Tracker makes your enemies leave a trail and shrapnel that enables you to spawn with extra lethal equipment. These are just a handful among many other perks that you could unlock over time to provide you an advantage over other players. Thus, a loadout drop adds a whole new dimension to the game. So, one of the few ways left to reignite some sense of luck into the game is by devising a randomized system to provide only a limited selection of perks for each match. 

The Gulag

Once you are killed on the field, you along with another player will be imprisoned in a cell. The only way to escape and respawn is by eliminating your opponent. You will be provided with a randomized weapon, so it is important to be familiar with multiple weapons. Although, the gulag will only be in play during the early phase of the game until a certain quota of players is killed. The only way of getting back in to play from then on is if your teammates revive you or they are able to use their cash to bring you back. You can be brought back into play multiple times, as long as your teammates can fund it.  

Call of Duty: Warzone Gulag

The map

Verdansk is a massive fictional map created by the developers. The map replicates an abandoned city with changing landscapes complete with perfectly designed buildings and interiors. There is a great deal of detail given to each and every aspect of the map, making the game very immersive.

The map

Plunder

The main aim of this mode is to raise money, with the winner being the person/squad that collects the most cash by the end of the match. There is no shrinking safe zone; the entire map is in play. Also, there is no need for a Gulag as you are able to respawn multiple times but you will have to wait a set amount of time before you are respawned.  In order to collect money, you can compete for cash drops, kill other players, and scavenge for supply boxes. Thus, this mode is comparatively much more relaxed and due to the unlimited respawns you can gain much more XP in a match. Most players take advantage of this fact in order to level up.

System requirements (PC)

The following are the minimum and recommended system settings to play Call of Duty: Warzone on a PC by Nvidia. You can visit the following link to refer to more information.

 MinimumRecommended  
GPU      GeForce GTX 670 OR 1650GeForce GTX 970 or 1660
CPU      Intel Core i3-4340 or AMD FX-6300Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen R5 1600X
RAM8 GB12 GB
HDD175GB HD space175GB HD space
NetworkBroadbandBroadband
SoundDirectX-CompatibleDirectX-Compatible
OSWin 10 64-BitWin 10 64-Bit
System requirements(PC) for Call of Duty: Warzone

The game can be downloaded for free via the official Call of Duty: Warzone site. The download file size of the full game totals up to about 216 GB. And simply follow the instructions given on the site following the download of the game for installation.

User reviews of Call of Duty: Warzone

Most users report a pleasant user experience with minimal bug reports. A decently powerful PC with the recommended system requirements will be able to handle the game without any fps or connection drops.

But there were complaints by players regarding issues with imprecise sounds, footstep sounds cannot be traced properly and gunfire noises were resonating inaccurately. These caused players unwarranted and affected their gameplay.

For the most part, though, the reviews were positive. Players have rated the game to be extremely exciting and immersive.

Final Verdict on Call of Duty: Warzone

Activision has successfully merged the Call of Duty experience with the exciting multiplayer world seamlessly in Call of Duty: Warzone. The end result is a great free to play cross-platform, cross-play battle royale game. It can be an addictive solo player game as well as a fun and easy multiplayer game to enjoy with your friends.

Chamath Perera

Author of Get Basic Idea - Knowledge Base.

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