A week ago, I wrote about Modern Warfare II’s release, so why not talk about its protégé project, Warzone 2.0, the remastered version of Warzone, bringing a couple of new things with a mix of the old.

The battlefield is based in Al Mazrah, a fictional location that consists of rural and urban, and it works pretty well. A total of 18 named locations, it’s definitely a step up from the last map, Caldera, which was all grass and trees and I would say it’s on equal footing with the very original map, Verdansk, which was also a mix of rural and urban. I think the spacing is just about right, but vehicles definitely feel like a must at some points. 

I’ve also enjoyed the new systems that they’ve added throughout the game. For example, the zone splits into three separate locations, but it could definitely be better if there were smaller zones to keep the fighting alive and the game more fast-paced. Another system is the strongholds that hold a lot of cash, better guns, and utility like airstrike markers, self-revive kits, and gas masks. The best one so far is definitely proximity chat. Being able to hear enemies communicate with each other in a gunfight and when everyone is just messing around, provides a good laugh and some funny exchanges between everyone. These help the game stay fresh and it’s a new experience in some aspects.

The biggest problem is that looting from the floor, backpacks, and crates are all extremely clunky and unorganized. When you kill someone, their loot is stored in a backpack on the floor, but the gun they were using would land right next to it. It clutters the floor and sometimes they overlap with each other, so you can’t access or pick up what you want. The other problem is that some loot crates will throw all the items on the floor, or you have to individually pick each item from it. The inconsistency has been pretty difficult to balance, especially if I land in a contested zone and if I end up with a crate I have to individually pick from, I usually die most of the time which gets annoying to deal with.

Along with the other problems from the main game, there are definitely some things that need to be cleaned up to make the game better than its predecessor. It’s on a good path though, I think the additions have really boosted the game, so as long they fix the small things, Infinity Ward will have another long future with their battle royale.