Call of Duty: The Latest in Battle Royale

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Warzone recently had an update. This update added into the free-to-play battle royale mode a solo, one vs all mode. Of course, in many respects this is harder and perhaps less fun than the team based gaming, but certainly feels more like the Japanese movie released back in 2000.

Most people probably think the battle royale mode is inspired by the Hunger Games or originated in Fortnite. The genre of battle royale video games, in which players fight to be the last man standing in a shrinking battle field, was inspired and took its name from the film. In turn the film was based on the novel published in 1999 by Koushun Takami. 

I first saw the student vs student fight to the death on its UK television debut in 2001. I was 12. It changed my life forever. Personally I think it is a film all teenagers should be encouraged to watch. It explores many of the insecurities and perils of growing up and also the relationship between adults, authority and young adults. It certainly made me reassess my perspectives. Granted the age of 12 is probably a little too young to be watching such a hyper violent film, but I have since seen it many times since and it still retains its powerful messages in adulthood that everyone can relate to on some level.

The film did not get a release in America until 2010 due to the fears of the impact on unstable teenage minds and a potential increase in high-school shootings. It is no surprise that the very same year we saw versions of the idea pop up in ARMA 3: Day Z and many more titles thereafter such as: H1Z1: King of the Hill, Player Unkown's Battlegrounds, Fortnite, Knives Out, Rules of Survival, Garena Free Fire, Apex Legends, Realm Royale and Call of Duty 4 Black Ops 4's Blackout mode.

ARMA 3

Eager to get involved I watched some streams of ARMA 3's Day Z. It looked fun but a little too hardcore for me, some time later during Season 2 of Fortnite I was encouraged to join in with a friend. Lacking the speed and quick reactions to build fortifications, I was never able to gain the glory of 1st place, but due to a mixture of cowardice and cunning I could generally get into the top 10.  Vowing not to waste my time on battle royale format games, I moved away from it. Much like I turned away from my Call of Duty addiction back in 2012, after having spent many years with the series. 

Roll forward to last Wednesday, scrolling the PSN Store I saw that Call of Duty Warzone was available to download and free to play. My close gaming buddy wanted me to get Modern Warfare on release, which I swiftly shunned as a "waste of money and time". Feeling a tad guilty and overly critical, I downloaded the whopping 100+ gigabytes and dived into the battle royal frenzy. 

The latest update added a solo 1 vs 149 mode but prior to that the game had squad based modes. One that is more classic to the battle royal format, a last man standing, while the other is a race for the first team to get to a sweet one million in cash. Having both as options keeps the game entertaining, fresh and soon I found myself in way too deep.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Warzone is what I have always wanted from a battle royale game. It allows me to feel like I am capable and doesn't distract with building, custom abilities or other fluffy extras. You get thrown into a huge arena, which is a delightful blend of many Call of Duty fan favourites, such as Terminal, and allows you to knuckle down salvaging and shooting in classic Call of Duty fashion. The visuals are beautiful and I feel really pushes my PS4 Pro to the limit. Out of all the games I have played it is the only one that eventually leads to the console sounding like its about to leave a runway.

During the match there is enough distraction and variation to prevent the boredom that I have been faced with in other battle royale games. Picking up mission contracts, along with standard season and daily objectives to carry out, gives the game a greater lifespan. Also, the season pass, much like other games such as Fortnite, Rocket League (plus others), provides a huge host of cosmetic goodness, that are all non essential but allows you to pump more customisation into the visuals of your experience. Unlike the other games mentioned there is also no breathing room in between seasons, as one ends the next begins. Waiting for the Outlaw Pass to start in Red Dead Redemption Online always leads to me leaving the game for a time, as I no longer have any objectives or goals in the now mostly objectively barren Western Landscape. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Warzone goes above and beyond to immerse me, give me my sense of gaming purpose and prevents me from zoning out with the active map, 149 other players and a very impressive host of customisation options.

Like many I was sceptical that Warzone was held as a "game changer" for both shooters and battle royale games, but I am addicted and can support these statements wholeheartedly. If you are a fan of FPS, Online gaming or battle royale games, clear some space and download it. Its a treat.