Published by: Activision
Developed by: Infinity Ward
Score: 70

Rockett and I have been playing Call of Duty 4 (CoD4) for a while now, almost 5 months and average around 2-3 sessions a week. In this time, we’ve been able to understand the intricacies of the game and basically the layout. We never did a full review for CoD4 simply because every single game site you could possibly imagine had done a review and said everything you could possibly say about it. “Great,” “Super,” “It’s like the second coming of Jesus only without the judgment.” So, rather than add to the list of singing praises, I’ve decided to go another route and review the Variety Map Pack that was released on April 4 for 800MS points (approximately $10).

Creek
Now, how do I say this gently? I hate the Creek. Okay, okay, I messed up let me try again. I wish the Creek were a person so I could commit homicide. Damn it, okay, maybe I can’t say it gently, but anyway, I don’t like Creek. It’s a huge map, the biggest map in fact. So naturally snipers will look forward to this map, but what makes it even better for them is that it takes place in a huge forest. Trees, rocks, bushes, and all other sorts of natural constructs will be there to cover snipers and make killcam almost useless because no sniper will have a hard time moving to a different spot and being equally as effective. Of course this is where my hate comes in because I loathe sniping, actually scratch that, I loathe being sniped, but that’s beside the point, because to be honest it’s actually an okay map. You can use the M16 or M4 and get some pretty decent results for assult rifles if you can be quick to aim and keep an eye on what enemy snipers are doing. However, if you like the shotgun or any type of SMG, prepare to hit the brick wall because you will go no where. If you like using a stealth class then you may be able to do pretty well. There is an underground cave that allows you to traverse between both “sides.” However, everyone else is also going to be familiar with this route and may set up mines and/or ambushes, so keep an eye out for that. Long story short, snipe good, run n’ gun bad. Aesthetically, the map is one of, if not the best looking maps in the entire game. It’s huge and lush and really does a good job of showing off Infinity Ward’s CoD4 engine. Don’t let my hatred of it get it twisted, it’s a good map, it’s just not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

Broadcast
This may be the best map out of the entire pack simply because it’s an excellent blend of sniping capability, close counters, and medium range fighting. Basically, you can use just about anything, but of course, we know the M16 will be the king as usual. I liked the layout of this map because you can get to anywhere in a reasonable amount of time and be in time for the fireworks your team might already be engaged in. This will make Headquarters a little more interesting if a team can hold on to a spot and actually go on the offensive to stop any incoming attacks. Team Deathmatch is actually a lot of fun because your team can hog up one spot and you can go around the perimeter in a short amount of time if close encounter is your sort of thing. I found that using a stealth class P90 actually was fairly effective in going all the way to the outside section and being able to ambush any snipers while maintaining enough closeness to run back and help any teammates that might run into enemies doing the same thing.

Chinatown
If you don’t like dying you may very well hate this map. Chinatown is basically a bunch of buildings and some alleys and streets along with a small “park.” If you like to snipe, and that includes using the M16 for long range purposes, then the second story areas with windows will appeal to you especially if you like to set up base by planting mines and such. There are some turrets, but really they don’t do much because there are so many places to run to hide and cover that you may easily be picked off by someone you may not see right away. Assault rifles may be the best choice because despite there being a number of close encounters in the matches I played there were still a number of times I spawned on the streets right in the path of an M4 or G36C to easily take me down from on corner. The darkness of the level did make me suspect to many deaths that required me to take the time to look at killcam to determine where I had been shot from, but it wasn’t too bad.

Killhouse
I didn’t play this very often simply for the fact that it’s a small map that didn’t appear in my usual gametype, Team Deathmatch, however, I did play with some others and found this is like Shipment but far less annoying. Deathmatches of any sort can instantly become frenzied due to the proximity of players and the inevitable “throw frags every damn place” technique. However, it’s due to this setup that can lead to some back and forth matches that will leave even a loser satisfied because it could’ve gone either way. If you wanted to fulfill your shotgun challenges, then this might be the map for you because there will be tons of close range combat. Submachine gun fans may also love this map.

Overall, I would say the Variety Map Pack is worth it for $10, but not by a whole lot. I think the maps are pretty straight forward and add some new locales, but really that’s about it. There isn’t one single map that adds a whole lot or changes anything, but it can be said that it’s maybe because the online multiplayer never really needed a whole lot to improve upon. Should there be another map pack, which I assume there will be, I do wish they would offer another map so as to allow for even more diversity in some of the playlists.

On a slight aside I would say that I am disappointed that the new patch and update for the game did not address an issue that was created by the first patch which is the matchmaking. Before the first patch getting into games was very simple and ,though still not very lengthy now, it does take more time to get into matches. However, the worst part may be that if you play solo (and even playing with a party) there is a very good chance you’ll be stuck into the middle of a started match on the losing side. Now this happened before as well, but not nearly as often. In addition, people leaving game lobbies were very quickly replaced by other players, we’re talking seconds here, but now after the first patch, a lobby can dwindle down to 3 or 4 players from 12 or more and never recover. My message? Infinity Ward, please fix your mistake. Yes, you fixed ACOGs and helped snipers, but it made the backbone of the online multiplayer weak.