The Good, The Bad And The Ugly - First Impressions on Warzone 2
Warzone 2 just dropped, and as you guys know, Warzone 1 had a massive impact on my gaming habits. So, naturally, I had to drop in and see what this new iteration was all about. It’s been a year since I last played, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I got the OG Uncle squad together, and we dove right into Al Mazrah. Here are my first impressions.
Now, I haven’t touched Warzone in a year and a half, ever since the cheating epidemic drove me insane. Honestly, nothing about the updates afterward seemed worth coming back for. Jumping in on launch day, like with all games, there were some serious issues. The friend system was completely broken. We had to use party channels to invite friends to our games, and the lobbies were glitching like crazy. It took us probably ten lobbies before we actually got into a game. People were waiting, then leaving – super annoying. But hey, day one issues are to be expected. My bar is set pretty low these days when it comes to game launches; they will figure it out once it hits prod. It’s sad, but it is what it is.
That said, here’s what I liked. For me, Warzone has always been a social game. You drop in, talk trash with your boys, and just have a blast. Proximity chat is awesome! It’s a huge W. I love being able to harass the other team when they’re close by. Of course, there’s a downside. If I have proximity chat on, the other team can hear us. So, I’m tempted to just use Discord for a slight advantage, but I do like hearing other players when you’re close by. “Yo, I’m right here, come get me!” Dope. I really hope other games bring proximity chat back.
After a few games, I’m really liking the Al Mazrah map so far. So, those are the pros. Now, for the things I’m undecided on. These aren’t complete cons, just things I think I can learn to live with. The pacing feels a lot slower. I feel like I’m spending more time looting. Maybe it just takes some time to get familiar with the game again and get some reps in.
The Gulag? It ain’t all bad. If you can get a key, you can communicate. I wish we got more ammo, though. A lot of times, it just turns into a boxing match, which is annoying. And having to pick stuff up instead of spawning with some basic gear is an annoyance. But I think I can work around it. I actually like the Gulag map itself; it’s cool and easy to navigate. The looting in this game isn’t seamless. They’re trying to make us think more about what we’re picking up and how much we’re carrying. Again, after a few games, it’ll probably become second nature, but right now, it’s kind of annoying.
Now for the low notes. Loadouts are a staple, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. I hate grinding guns, especially now that I’m super casual, two kids, playing maybe two hours a day. Grinding a gun to get it usable in Warzone? I hate it. But on the other hand, the ground loot in Warzone kind of sucks right now. I’m constantly checking how many attachments the guns have. Should I use this one? Should I use that one? Maybe if it was like Fortnite, with color variations, it would be better. I just don’t know how to get this right. Maybe it’s just something I need to figure out more. You don’t really have that ability to have a late-game reset now because you can’t just drop on your loadout and go at it. But loadouts seem a lot more fair and balanced now, so again, it’s not a con or a pro, just something I need to get used to.
What I really hate, though, is the whole Modern Warfare gun tuning and attachment tuning. That’s just going to complicate the meta. I don’t even know how the pros are going to go about testing every single tuning option; it seems insane. But look, these are just my thoughts after day one. We’re going to keep playing the game throughout the month and see how things evolve. Honestly, I think the server issues will be polished out within a week. I don’t expect a huge drop-off because of them. Proximity chat? People are probably just going to turn it off eventually, but right now, it’s fun, so I’m keeping it on. It’s just fun playing with the boys again. Hopefully, you guys are enjoying the game. This is just me, MugsyGopi, dropping in and doing our thing, getting bodied by bot lobbies. Peace!
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