Gaming Thoughts: CoD Warzone / Modern Warfare 2019




A few months ago I decided I to try out the free to play Call of Duty: Warzone. I've not enjoyed a CoD game since Modern Warfare 2. So my expectations were low. I just don't enjoy CoD these days - was my initial and incredibly incorrect thought.

But I'm a game Designer, this is the new hot shit, I need to take a look!

It's good. Very good.

Several months later I'm still regularly playing (with a Season 3 battle pass maxed out and a paid for copy of the full game).

Here's some of the reasons I love it:

  1. Cross platform support + Free to play is a very powerful combination of systems. It means I have a group of around 10 friends, some playing on Xbox, some on PC and some on PS4. For no cost, we can group up and play together. I realise CoD isn't the first game to do this (looking at you Fortnite) but that doesn't detract from just how accessible this makes the game. Plus, the fact this game out shortly before the world went into lock-down and we were all looking for new ways to socialise probably helped the initial up take.
  2. High tension. Battle Royal games have taught us that there's nothing worse than sitting on the sidelines watching your friends have fun or your whole team getting wiped.The contrast between the increasing amount of gameplay momentum players experience (gathering cash, looting executing contracts, gaining kills etc.) and the penalty of sitting out or being removed from the match if killed creates an escalating tension. Reinforced by the closing gas this crescendos in the final moments of the game. It's brilliant. 
  3. Multiplayer map design. There's a lot of multiplayer maps in this iteration of CoD, including a selection of classics. But its clear a lot of lessons from past titles have been applied. Each map merits its own breakdown. They keep me coming back for more (shoothouse 24/7 anyone?)
  4. Multiple avenues of progression. Rank progression, gun progression, battle pass progression, single player campaign, co-op missions. Everything you do advances you slightly towards a longer term goal. It's a nice touch that means even if your game is a complete disaster you still get a little reward. 
As I mentioned earlier this is a huge game with loads of content that's worth breaking down and dissecting. These are just a few high level observations that I think are worth taking note of.

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