This latest chunk of new stuff for Call of Duty signals another interesting shift for the franchise, which you can expect to see more of in the next game. Nuketown - the cosy kill-zone that Black Ops fans loved - seems to have inspired a new game mode. Face Off launched early last month, and Collection Pack 2 brings the number of dedicated maps up to four. Focusing on 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 battles, these cosy little killzones are perfect for a bit of split-screen revival.
Lookout is a miniature dusty village with some great sniping points for those brave enough to risk them, while Getaway is almost too gorgeous to discharge a weapon in. This luxury beach-chalet is full of cool stuff to look at, and you're never more than 20 feet away from somebody new to shoot - proving the old adage that people who live in glass houses shouldn't invest in light machine guns.
The best of the bunch is Oasis, a posh Middle-Eastern hotel complex full of corridors, courtyards, and shining surfaces. This map has a lot in common with the Hotel level from Black Ops, and provides a real treat for fans of modes like Domination, with plenty of pillars and balconies favouring tactical progression over rush-tactics or camping.
The Spec Ops missions in first Content Collection were exciting, varied, and perfectly paced. The two on offer here are a real let-down. Driving a tank in Iron Clad might sound cool, but the reality is a depressing reminder of Call of Duty's tendency to rely on stock ideas instead of innovating. Kill Switch feels clichéd too, but the execution is much better, with one man providing sniper support while a buddy below soldiers through to try and set off an EMP blast. It's this weaker Spec Ops offering which lets the package down, but fans will still be trigger-happy.
3 comments so far...
bamozzy on 13 Jun '12 said:
The 'Face Off' maps do look very good - as does Oasis and Sanctuary - not so much Foundation and I agree that I would love to live in the house on 'Getaway' too.
However the Face Off game mode is significantly flawed. In 1v1 I have lost count of the amount of time I have been asked to 'boost' or If you get 3+ kills in a row and/or take a lead, the inevitable rage quit happens - you hardly ever finish a game. This happens a bit in 2v2 too but not so much in 3v3.
3v3 is certainly the better way to play in my opinion as the maps are quite large (about the same size as MW3's Dome and certainly a lot bigger than Rust, Nuketown and Shipment) so 3v3 is better suited to thee Maps as they can seem very under-populated with so few players. The other issue I have is the game moes themselves - you only have TDM and Kill Confirmed. I have found that 'Face Off' got quite boring and quite quickly too. I wish they had added these to other playlists!
I personally think they would have been so much fun in Team Tactical (4v4) AND given us a lot more game modes too. I also think they would work in any of the 6v6 game modes too as well up to 12 FFA (probably 8 would be best) and also Gun Game. As I said they are of a similar size to Dome and that works in these modes. It also worked for Rust, Nuketown and Shipment too and these Maps are amongst the favourite maps of the community. They also provided a very fast paced, intense gun on gun action that only small maps with lots of players provide. The Face off Maps with their limited players (and limited game modes) can play quite slowly (a bit like Liberation with only 6v6 or less) and get quite boring too.
I Just wish they would add these 4 maps to Team Tactical at the very least as they are amongst the best looking Mpas EVER to have been in a CoD game BUT they just don't get the use they deserve because of the restricted numbers and game modes.
Wonky Sausage on 13 Jun '12 said:
Personally, I think all of the DLC maps bar Piazza have been absolute tosh (in terms of actually playing on them - they look nice, but to play on they're boring, slow and unimaginitive) I'm all for larger maps on MW3 as I'm sick to death of being killed by this games atrocious spawn logic, and more peed off with the absolute laziness, or more probable the cluelessness of how to remedy it.
Overwatch is appalling perhaps the worst DLC map ever made, Liberation is not as bad but again it's boring (and then there's the stupid dome like spawn logic on such a big map???)
DLC 2 maps are not so bad as DLC 1 maps, but I could have quite easily not bothered buying them at all. A lesson learned for the next IW version of CoD (Which judging on MW3, I probably won't be buying anyway) IW have lost a lot of credibility with me, and sure one person isn't going to dent their profits but at least I won't be as peed off, being a die hard CoD Player playing such a dismally poor CoD, by not owning any future IW Garbage.
bamozzy on 13 Jun '12 said:
to be honest the most difficult map for me is 'Oasis' - I love the look of it but find it quite difficult to play! Overwatch isn't that difficult and I also like Liberation too. I think it is better to have a range of different sized maps to bring variety and a change of pace. The disc based maps are all of a similar size so these additions bring a different feel to the MP