Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 fundamentally changes the familiar Warzone experience and brings new features to the game. MeinMMO author Maik Schneider celebrates many changes, but also fears being yelled at by strangers on the battlefield.
The first Warzone was my gaming highlight of 2020. By far. Finally, a battle royale that I enjoyed and I already knew the weapons and mechanics from CoD MW 2019. I can’t say for sure if my free time back then would have been different without the lockdown.
Accordingly, my expectations for Call of Duty: Warzone 2, which launches on November 16 are high. A teammate from the old crew is even coming over on the first release weekend to consume an unhealthy amount of shooter content.
Looking at the new features and changes compared to the first Warzone, two things particularly caught my eye that could create a very special dynamic. But it also scares me a little because I know how some players behave in the Call of Duty chat.
I’m talking about proximity chat and the new “interrogations”.
CoD Warzone 2: A bit too personal?
What are these features? With proximity chat, you can hear the voice chat of nearby enemies. One loud smacking sound and you know the enemy’s position.
This feature isn’t new but has recently made a small comeback. MMORPGs like New World and Mortal Online use it – I know it from Killzone 3 from 2011, back on the PS3.
The second feature is “interrogations”. If I knock out an enemy, I can approach them and start the interrogation. This briefly pings the remaining players to me and allows me to see them on the mini-map.
I’ll include a short video with Shroud, who was able to test the mechanic at a CoD event:
What is the problem? In itself, the mechanics are good additions. But when I think about what happens when the two things collide… it makes me a little uneasy.
Call of Duty has always played with chat – the “Death Coms” are still a highlight feature today. This allows you to briefly hear the enemy in multiplayer after you’ve killed them.
However, if the enemy is sitting right in front of me and yelling at me because they take the interrogation a little too literally, then I’m already scared about what might be thrown at me.
You only need to look at what happened recently to a family-friendly streamer who wanted to spread good vibes in the CoD chat. Let’s just say – the chat wasn’t on his wavelength.
Overall, I’m still very excited and happy that Warzone is becoming a bit more “personal”. I find such social elements very important, even in shooter games.
That’s why I was especially pleased about a small change in matchmaking that came just before the release of CoD MW2.
What do you think of the new mechanics of Warzone 2? Templates for nightmares, comedy, or just stressful? Leave me a comment on the topic.
