Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0, all you need to know about the new Activision battle royale

Call of Duty

True, Call of Duty doesn't enjoy much consideration among hardcore gamers. Many of those who have fallen in love with experiences like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Elden Ring would most likely prefer to stroke a Royal Cobra rather than play a game of Activision's shooter and for this they often ignore even the most obvious merits. . In fact, there was a precise moment in time when a Call of Duty was able to transcend its nature and become a reason for aggregation, a portal to a place where it was possible to escape from an alienating and frightening everyday life. That place was Verdansk.

It's impossible to mention Warzone 2.0 without mentioning the first Warzone, and it's impossible to mention the first Warzone without mentioning the pandemic and the lockdown. Activision's battle royale exploded a few weeks after the first closures and became the companion of endless afternoons spent alone in the house.

It is not surprising, therefore, that even today, if you stop a boy on the street any to ask him where he used to throw himself into a game of Warzone, chances are that without asking any explanation he will answer "what question is, of course to Atlas Superstore".

This slightly nostalgic preamble was necessary to give the right context to the arrival of the very first information from the Call of Duty: Next of Warzone 2.0, the new version of the famous Call of Duty battle royale that will be available for free starting from November 16, 2022, a few weeks after the release of Modern Warfare 2. During last night's event, Activision revealed a long series of information about this new experience, which we can't wait to tell you in this article. Pack your suitcase, fly to Al Mazrah.

The new map, Al Mazrah

This is what Al Mazrah, the new map of Warzone 2.0 looks like. Although Verdansk is almost irreplaceable for the 125 million players who played Warzone in 2020, the systemic revolution brought about by Warzone 2.0 required the introduction of a brand new map, which Infinity Ward finally unveiled last night during the Call of Duty: Next event. Activision's battle royale will move to Al Mazrah, the "largest map ever made for a Call of Duty", a Middle Eastern and distinctly desert setting dotted with a good number of points of interest. Some of these, a bit like what happened in Verdansk, are taken from the most famous multiplayer arenas of the original Modern Warfare, so don't be surprised if during a walk in Al Mazrah you end up feeling a strong sense of familiarity with the place. Do you remember the Observatory? You can come back, starting next November.

Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 were developed in parallel from the beginning and it is not surprising, therefore, that the level design of the region has been modeled to give weight to the new mechanics who will make their debut in the Infinity Ward shooter. Al Mazrah is crossed by a large amount of waterways, along which spectacular chases on boats and amphibious vehicles can be developed, as we were able to admire during the trailer shown last night. It is very difficult to get an idea of ​​the new map starting from a single image, and for this reason we will suspend any preliminary judgment on it. We must admit, however, that we have very high expectations, towards those who created Verdansk.

Lots of new gameplay

In Warzone 2.0 we will have the opportunity to climb the roof of a vehicle to obtain a privileged position to fire from How does Warzone 2.0 really differ from its predecessor? First of all, from the presentation it seemed to us to understand that vehicles will play a leading role in the gameplay economy of the new battle royale. In fact, there are many new mechanics that closely concern the means of transport: the driving module has been redesigned from scratch to give each vehicle a more precise feeling, players will now be able to lean out of the windows to shoot and, in some cases , climb the roof of the vehicle to have a privileged fire position. You can puncture the tires to reduce the handling of the vehicle and you will also have to remember to stop from time to time for gas because yes, in Warzone 2.0 cars will run out of fuel while you are driving. To prevent this from happening, it is possible to reach one of the many service stations in Al Mazrah and refuel, perhaps using the opportunity to replace damaged tires. And maybe even grab some snacks for the trip.

Speaking of the loot, one of the most interesting news concerns the way in which you will search for weapons, objects and resources within the setting. If in Verdansk the equipment spawn was entirely causal, Infinity Ward has rethought the arrangement of each item to make it consistent with the game world. Do you need medicines? You can find them in a bathroom cabinet. Weapons? In the crates that the army left behind before fleeing. While if you are looking for banknotes, why not try browsing in some cash register? The intent of this small revolution is to make looting an orderly, rather than haphazard, process. In every game of Warzone 2.0 the loot will always be in its place and over time the players will end up learning about it and reaching it immediately, according to their needs.

During the live the developers also presented some substantial changes made to the dynamics of the circle, which in each battle royale narrows over time to circumscribe the game area. Infinity Ward wanted to put a "twist" on this aspect of Warzone 2.0 as well, but the room for maneuver is always very little when it comes to the only mechanic capable of defining all the experiences belonging to the genre by itself. The study has decided to make the games less monotonous by dividing the circle into three sub-zones, which narrow on the participants in a completely independent way, and then rejoin in the advanced stages of the match. The players, as well as the firefights, will then be separated into three large groups and in the end whoever survives each of the three small real battles that take place in the circles will win.

A whole new Gulag, Strongholds and AI

The Observatory will be just one of the original Modern Warfare maps to return to Warzone 2.0 Warzone owes much of its success to the mechanics of the Gulag and it was unthinkable not to expect it even on Warzone 2.0 in a completely revamped guise. In Activision's new Battle Royale, players, once defeated, will end up as usual inside the Gulag, which will however be very different from how you remember it. We will be called to temporarily ally with our enemy, because here the clash takes place between teams of two soldiers each and human opponents will not be the only threat to populate the arena. The enemy-friend dynamic is simply brilliant and we can't wait to find out what other dangers will populate the Gulag. The study made reference to AI controlled opponents, but it is not clear at the moment how these will integrate in the two-on-two fight.

The AI ​​will not only be present in the Gulag, but will oversee some points of attack. Al Mazrah's interest by offering to the teams that will dare to face it unique rewards, such as a drop of customized equipment with which to have a competitive advantage over other teams. The presence of soldiers managed by the computer, we must admit, does not excite us very much. While we recognize that well-researched PVE elements can lend additional depth to Warzone 2.0, we still have the memory of the disastrous Battlefield 2042 experiment, in which you never knew if whoever was shooting at you was a harmless AI or a fierce one. team of human opponents. We can't wait to see if the idea can work and fortunately not much is missing.

The rumored DMZ is finally a reality

Infiltration, exploration, extraction. Here is the DMZ mode Finally, the space dedicated to Warzone 2.0 ended with a cryptic presentation of DMZ, the sandbox mode that insiders had been waving on Twitter for several months now. The developers have not delved into the details, but have revealed that it will take place in the same map as the battle royale and will guarantee players to infiltrate Al Mazrah to accomplish their objectives before reaching an extraction point and running away, whatever. this means. In DMZ the entire area will be guarded by forces managed by the AI, much more lethal than those present in the battle royale or in Invasion, which will even be able to call reinforcements based on the aggressiveness we will show during the match. That's why, in some cases, raids can sometimes embrace a typically stealth approach. The developers have promised to reveal new details about DMZ very soon, also because this sandbox mode will be available from the launch of Warzone 2.0, along with all the other content.

The news of Warzone 2.0 will be able to bring out the Activision's battle royale from the downward parable it had undertaken? Although there are all the conditions for a great return of Warzone to the top of the most played battle royale, this market is particularly complex and very few mistakes are enough to lose the race. Waiting to try it for yourself, what do you think of Warzone 2.0? In your opinion, will it be able to rekindle the passion of the millions of players who have gone through a lockdown in the company of the original experience?

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