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I don’t know if you know but Call of Duty: Warzone is kind of a big deal. Over the past year, millions if not billions of people have been dropping into Verdansk, battling it out with squads (of up to 4) for that all-important and euphoric feeling of seeing Warzone Victory pop up on the screen.
But over the past months players have become increasingly tired of jumping into the same map time and time again. Whilst Activision has done well to bring new events throughout the year, especially the Halloween event (which will never make me feel safe opening boxes again), news that a new map was releasing spread like wildfire and gave the community a new spark.
Activision unveiled there was a live event occurring on the 21st and the 22nd of April. Players could log on and witness the destruction of Verdansk. Slowly rumours spread. What would happen? What will the new map look like?
So, let's take a look back over the past 2 days and what has the community revitalised.
Part One: The Destruction of Verdansk
The event started with the usual Versansk drop. Squad up, load-in and choose a place for your team. However, this drop had a twist.
Carry on with your usual warzone strategies. As you die, you become a zombie. Much like the Halloween event last October. This time its daytime. The zombies respawn over and over again. Eventually, a countdown is activated until the nuke lands on Verdansk. After the countdown, there was a short cutscene showing the nuclear missile lock oN. It flies through Verdansk and hits the stadium specifically, blowing up the whole of Verdansk.
Part Two: The Rebirth
After the Nuke has successfully blown up the whole of Verdansk, you’re dropped into the new reoccurring side game, Rebirth. However, Rebirth is now at nighttime.
This part is pretty much the same. The only difference? You can see the nuke blowing up in the background. If you are an avid fan of this game mode rather than the main mode, it’ll be a nice change for you. Although those Rose skins are that bit more annoying whilst playing in the dark!
Part Three: Destroy Verdansk and Turn Back Time
And finally, last night on the 22nd of April, players loaded into Rebirth for the last time before the reveal of the new map.
As players load into Rebirth they are again signalled with the alarm telling them that the nuke is about to hit Verdansk. A little while into the game players are urged to search for the device that will set off the nuke to its intended target. Once obtained your squad need to protect you in any way you can. A sort of protect the president vibe. All until the device is at 100% and you can set the nuke in motion.
Again, for anyone who is a fan of Rebirth, this is the most chaotic and exhilarating version of it yet. Players don’t die, respawning over and over either protecting their teammate or hunting down the man with the nuclear power. There is non-stop action throughout. Whilst it can be infuriating dying consistently, it was the best time I had had in Warzone for a long time.
After the victory team is announced, players are met with a short cut-scene showing the nuke in reverse. As the Nuke flies back we’re zoomed out to a wide shot view of the earth via satellite. The earth rotates, rewinding time, eventually stopping at the year 1984. Zooming back in we pan through a much more vibrant Verdansk. We come to the hospital to take a closer look at a door which seems to be glowing as a voice says ‘You have no idea what’s coming’
Loot. Kill. Win. Is your next instruction as you’re loaded into the new warzone map.
Overview
The map isn’t what I thought it was going to be. Activision seems to have run on the hype that everyone has created and lead us to believe that this is going to be a completely different map. It isn’t. 75% of the map is the same, aside from the new colours and style. The other 25% is a very fresh, new vibe and it's nice seeing different locations that we can venture through.
The event may have given me a bit of PTSD from the recent release of Xbox series X and PS5. The reason being is it took forever to actually get a piece of the action. Yes, Load times, Server cues and constant crashes were also another main topic throughout. A lot of tweets and general unhappy messages trended. I found myself waiting at least an hour for a game which overall was very irritating.
On the whole, I think the event was very successful. Warzone seems to have a Black Ops 2 feel going on. People are desperate to find out more. The cutscene was, without doubt, a highlight. Albeit short, they keep a story going which is keeping players invested, landing in different places on the map and searching for easter eggs.
I think this needs to be the main take away from the whole event. Activision has put themselves in a prime place to do whatever they want!