3Up, 3Down with Call of Duty: Warzone
Call of Duty: Warzone launched last week and has immediately made an epic splash on the battle royale genre. Warzone takes place on a massive map called Verdansk, which features a variety of recognizable Call of Duty locations strewn about it. Millions of gamers on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have made the drop into this battle, and the player count seems to be growing daily. At the time of this writing, Warzone features two separate modes: Battle Royale and Plunder. For the purpose of this piece, we’ll solely focus on Warzones Battle Royale mode. In Warzone, you’ll be placed in squads of three – and like other battle royale games, the objective is simple, be the last squad standing. Let’s take a look at the three best and three worst things about Call of Duty: Warzone.
The Three Best Things About Call of Duty: Warzone
1) It’s Free
Call of Duty: Warzone is 100% free-to-play for everyone on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The only caveat is that Xbox One players need to have an active Xbox Live Gold membership – but I imagine if you’re playing other games online, you already subscribe. And since it’s free-to-play, you’re free to jump in and find out for yourself if it tickles your battle-royale fancy or if you’d rather stick with Apex Legends, Fortnite, or Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode. In my opinion, considering the price, it’s worth playing.
2) Stayin’ Alive
In my opinion, one of the biggest annoyances about battle royale games is the one-and-done style of gameplay. In most battle royale games, once you’re dead, you’re dead – although there are a few exceptions to that rule. In Call of Duty: Warzone, death is not the end. In fact, you have two opportunities for resurrection during a match – one of which is within your control, the other is at the mercy of your squadmates. The first time you “die” in Warzone, you’ll be imprisoned and sent to the Gulag with other players that have met the same fate. From there, you’ll square off in a one vs one Gunfight-style match with another deceased player – with the winner given another chance to join the Warzone. It’s not easy but it gives you a bit of control over the situation. Failing in the Gulag, or dying in Warzone a second time, will leave you at the mercy of your squadmates. For a hefty sum of money, your squadmates can buy you back into the match at one of the shops scattered throughout the battlefield. If they would rather spend their hard-earned money on kill streaks or other perks, so be it – but I imagine most would agree that an extra pair of hands on the battlefield is definitely the best option. It’s worth noting that at some point in the match, the Gulag will be closed and resurrections will no longer be possible. So, this is ideal for those of us who die early on.
3) Contracts
If you’re like me, you’re not going to round up that many kills in a battle royale match. That’s not to say I can’t hold my own, but I’m just not as badass as some of the more dedicated players. This usually leads to some matches feeling a bit lacking in action. Basically I’m just slinking around the map, collecting weapons and hoping I don’t get spotted. Enter Contracts. Randomly placed around the map, you’ll find a variety of different Contracts that you can start which provide mini-missions to complete. Completing Contracts will earn you rewards such as cash, which is handy for buying dead teammates. Contracts come in a number of varieties, such as locating special crates, holding down a specific area (kind of like claiming a flag in Domination), or hunting down a specific player. For me, Contracts give me something to focus on while trying to avoid dying which makes the matches feel much less dull.
Check out page 2 for the three worst things about Call of Duty: Warzone