Petra and Phil (picture similar) discuss and gameplay and launch of Warzone 2.0, Micha is also there (not in the picture because the car fell into a hole).
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Version 2.0 sounds newer, better, bigger, like a general overhaul and the next generation. But do these attributes really apply to Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0?
Not if you look at the bumpy launch of the Battle Royale shooter: bugs, graphic errors, crashes – from a technical point of view, Warzone 2.0 can confidently be called a false start.
But what about the playful content – on the one hand in the Battle Royale, on the other hand in the new DMZ mode, which is based on extraction shooters like Hunt: Showdown and Escape from Tarkov?
Micha discusses this with two guests in the podcast:
- Petra Schmitz tested Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 for GameStar and has heard two hearts beating since then: on the one hand she is genuinely enthusiastic – especially about the Battle Royale – on the other hand she would like to gently shake Infinity Ward for certain design decisions.
- Phil Elsner has – like our vacationing colleague Dimi – spent more hours in Hunt: Showdown than other people in general on the internet, which is why DMZ naturally appealed to him. As a hunt veteran, how does he rate the new Warzone mode?
All episodes and formats can be found in the podcast overview
Among other things, we are concerned with the question to what extent Warzone 2.0 represents an “anti-Warzone”, as Dimi already found in the test. While the first Warzone was geared towards fast action and accessibility, the sequel shifts down a few gears.
For example, with the detailed inventory system, “realism” features such as refueling cars and the partly slowed down game speed. There’s more brains behind these changes than meets the eye, however. Petra and Phil can explain the design philosophy behind Warzone 2.0 very well, but that doesn’t mean that this philosophy has been implemented to their mutual satisfaction.
At this point, please introduce a heated debate about Warzone 2.0’s new loadout system. Oh no, you don’t have to, you can hear them on the podcast!
We also have to discuss the new Map Al Mazrah. Because it’s undeniably superbly designed and – copy-paste buildings notwithstanding – extremely atmospheric, but it’s also big. Very large. So big that games can feel very tough because you just don’t meet anyone. And no, the new AI opponents are not a replacement.
And then of course there’s DMZ, with which Activision jumps on the extraction shooter bandwagon after Dice’s painful fall off in Battlefield 2042 and Hazard Zone. Does Warzone 2.0 succeed in capturing the Hunt feel better? Well, let’s say it plays well at least.
DMZ, which officially smolders in beta status, still seems to us, but strangely – aimlessly.
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