By Addison Schwing – Editorial and News Editor

Ever since Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds sent the gaming industry into a frenzy in 2018, AAA studious have attempted (and some have succeeded) to recreate its sheer success. From the cartoonish “Fortnite” to Battlefield V’s brutal “Firestorm,” to the utter insanity of “Cuisine Royale,” hundreds of “Battle Royale” games and gamemodes have come and gone. Now, Activision and Infinity Ward have brought a newcomer to the scene; “Call of Duty: Warzone.”

“Warzone” is a new addition to 2019’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.” “Warzone” features two game types; Plunder and Battle Royale. Battle Royale is the more traditional take on the eponymous game mode, seeing both solo players and three-man squads duking it out on the streets of the fictional streets of Verdansk, and Plunder sees three-man teams fight for cash drops in a race to acquire $1 million. Both game modes have some similarities; they take place on massive maps and see skirmishes between 150 players at once. 

“Warzone” is all about planning and strategy; gone are the small-to-medium-size maps of traditional “Call of Duty” matches. Players drop onto the map from a cargo plane with only a pistol to their name, as they fight for weapons and upgrades. Money can be acquired as in-game drops that can be used to purchase ammunition boxes, mortar strikes, and even care packages that grant players their multiplayer loadouts. Vehicles dot the map, from ATV’s and SUV to tactical rovers and AH-6 Littlebird helicopters that can be used to cover a lot of ground very quickly or gain a vantage point to give your team the upper hand.

Of course, “Warzone” throws many hazards your way. A ring of chlorine gas quickly envelops the map, choking any player caught in the maelstrom. Warthog attack planes and mortar strikes bombard the map continuously, and care packages that randomly drop can be booby-trapped to bait unsuspecting combatants. With all these hazards, players need to think critically and one step ahead of their enemies. Sometimes holding a roof isn’t viable; there are numerous flank routes players can use to overwhelm a fortified position, and once the gas takes over your roof, you have no option to run. Snipers can cut down players with a single shot, and explosives like Claymores and Proximity Mines can sometimes wipe entire squads if used correctly. Luckily, on your first death, you are transported to the Gulag, where you can fight for your freedom in a 1v1 cage match. If victorious, you get airdropped onto the map with only your pistol. If not, it’s game over. 

“Warzone” is one of the best additions to “Call of Duty” in years. Following the failure of Black Ops 4’s “Blackout,” “Warzone” situates itself as a successful contender in the Battle Royale scene. Every match is an intense, brutal, and frustratingly difficult death match against an opponent that seems one step ahead of you, but there is a certain satisfaction to be had once you see your character get airlifted out of Verdansk as the credits roll, showing the names of all the players that died, save your own. It’s an incredible breath of fresh air into a once stale genre, and it shows that “Call of Duty” is still one of the biggest names in gaming, and it will continue to be that way for a long time.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars