By Dave Snell
GameZone.com
OK, in a blatant bid to start a flame war, we – at GZ – have decided to bring you our top 5 choices for Modern Warfare maps to bring back from the dead. Activision have shown the love so far with Vacant, Strike, Crash and Overgrown included in the current expansion packs, but we just want that little bit more. Here is what we would like to see in any future expansion packs:
Crossfire
This was one of the most opinion-polarizing maps whatever console or server you have been on, Crossfire offers a wide-open street with many buildings, allowing snipers to have a field day, yet still creating some great close-range combat too. However, Crossfire is also notorious for the sheer number of glitches it shipped with; climbing up to the top of the buildings was a cinch to learn, and teleporting to “The Pig” was likely one of the first glitches we all learned. The wealth of good camping spots (the building next to the OpFor spawn was great for both view and concealment, the “red car”) and alley ways running parallel to the main street all add up to a nicely balanced map.
Pipeline
Another server favorite, Pipeline is a mid- to long-range dream. Spacious rooftops with cover allow for any sniper (or decent scoped rifle) to pick off the players below whilst providing a certain degree of decent protection. Shotguns are generally a no-no, until you hit the tunnels, whereby you go from fodder to a death machine. The ebb and flow of battle is nicely covered with many key holding points easily identified and fought over: a whole battle can hinge on one player having a good run in the tunnels, or a particularly sneaky sniper covering a decent expanse. Try camping under the loading dock near the pipe coming out of the tunnels; a silencer ensures plenty of kills before you get spotted.
Backlot
Mounted turrets, tight quarters and a large central building ensure that Backlot favors heavy gunners, shotties and subs over snipers, despite a couple of decent high-up spots. The layout also allows some great grenade spam into and out of windows, and the buzz during an assault in a full server is hard to beat. Claymores do a great job with all the corners and walkways, and the aforementioned turrets are easy to clear with a scoped weapon. A perfect map when you just fancy a run-and-gun, Backlot often throws tactics out the window and instead relies on good old-fashioned quick trigger fingers.
Ambush
It´s all about snipers and spam here. Nearly everyone has got a random grenade kill here at least once. Wide and open, with vehicles to hide behind and low buildings littering the area, a straight up snipe-fest is great on this map, although the quick and stealthy can really mop up with a bit of practice. One well-placed smoke grenade can lay the opposition useless, allowing the fleet-footed to really lay into the slower snipers (so long as you have Bomb Squad equipped to detect the ever-present claymores!) and turn the tide of a match in seconds. It may cause a groan as it loads, but nearly everyone enjoys a match out here once the bullets fly.
District
Exploding cars, narrow side streets, open main roads, and spam at the start (aim for the central market area) make district the map for everybody. Snipers have the rooftops, mid-range weapons are good for below, and expect shotguns around every corner in the narrow back streets. A nice trick is to put claymores near to the cars; if the initial blast doesn’t get your opponent, the exploding car will. Every corner can hide an enemy. Getting knifed is the order of the day, unless it’s you racking up the stealth kills. Frantic, deadly, and another map that can hinge on a few key chokepoints, District is a prime example of why COD4 still draws in the crowds after the release of its sequel.
As we said at the start, this is merely our choices – what do you think of them? Join the thread in our forums now, and tell us about the ones we missed, or purely disagree with everything we said. Or tell us some of your war stories: how many kills could you get with one car in District, or what was your favourite glitch on Crossfire? Let the debate begin!
