With the new Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uprising DLC now available on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, fans of the multiplayer side of the game are truly spoiled for choice. So what are the most memorable Black Ops II maps? The ones that keep CoDers coming back for more month in, month out, eternally mashing that ‘replay map’ option? Here are our picks for the top five, in no particular order…
Long-range, sniper-rifle-loving players best gloss over this option, as it’s a dish best served with a side of buckshot from a point-running shotgun surgeon. Set in a rundown part of Panama City that certainly wasn’t the inspiration for the Van Halen song, you’ll want to switch to a close-quarters kit if you hope to make your enemies scream louder than David Lee Roth’s oft-quoted falsetto-chorus Pan-a-ma. At least that particular reference is in line with the ‘80s setting of the map; to date, the only Black Ops II map to borrow from the greatest time period for rock, action movies and the warming up of cold wars.
There’s no room for mistakes or saintly graces in the close-quarters frantic pace of Slums.
Contrary to that opening sentence, though, eager Hawkeyes can still pitch a tent in a conveniently placed park fountain to offer a well-placed ballistic slow-down for unaware rushers who dare to cross their crosshairs. Most of the action takes place on the main street, though, making for a veritable street parade of death and wanton destruction. Patient players can inconveniently hide out in a street-side convenience store for surprise kills, while a smattering of corridors are perfect for sneaky flanking manoeuvres and subsequent cheeky claymore counters.
Cars make for great temporary cover, but they tend to attract random grenades and not-so-random deaths.
Old-school Call of Duty veterans should feel a smack of nostalgia when playing Standoff, as the map mirrors the World War II mayhem musings of original Call of Duty classic Dawnville. Black and white-tinted glasses aside, the map is nestled on a hot spot between China and Kyrgyzstan, whose tight level design is second only to the difficulty of pronouncing the name of the latter country. Unlike our previous entry, keen-eyed Deathstroke wannabes can make practical use of long streets and multi-storey buildings, as these offer a perfect shooting spot without the requirement of a second shooter on the grassy knoll.
You’d think that the tank and the half-destroyed building would be fair warning that this isn’t a nice place to visit.
Those who are fond of Easter Eggs and Zombies, albeit hopefully not in the same sitting, should appreciate the nods to Treyarch’s ever-popular Zombie modes. Two buildings house whiteboards in the top floor that read ‘Zombies are coming…’, while a much more subtle reference can be deciphered from the hand positioning on a clock. Zombie references notwithstanding, the abundance of tight corners that open up to long roads mean this map is beautifully balanced for tactical combat in close quarters, at mid-range and across long distances.
Keeping an eye on entrances is essential for ensuring you aren’t a future teabag victim in Standoff.
Treyarch continues to embrace its comedic side with the best map from the Revolution DLC, Grind. This is a map that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game, but helmets and shin pads are unlikely to save you from 720-ing into dead place. Grind’s tight map design allows it to compete with the cramped likes of Nuketown 2025, but its greatest point of difference is the almost entirely curved architecture, which offers an initially unsettling illusion as to what does and does not constitute proper cover, even if you soon realise there is an abundance of it.
Beware of cover that changes height as you move alongside it, and don’t get distracted by the red Airdancer.
The skateboards may not be practical transportation options, but you should definitely avoid sprinting over the ramps and half-pipes or through the chokepoint interiors, unless you want to eat dirt. Grind embraces old-school Call of Duty map design logic, with two primary spawn areas and three main lanes, which make for fantastic sniping opportunities; just make sure you’re surrounded by friendlies when camped out at or cutting across either end, lest you fast find yourself in enemy respawn territory. Despite the skateboarding motif, there’s a distinct lack of grind on this map, with a firefight lurking around every corner that quickly separates the stoked leaderboard conquerors from the negative KDR posers.
Jumping off a ramp is a sure way to break everything from ankles to arms to a perfect KDR.
In the infamously cramped style of Modern Warfare’s Shipment map and World at War’s Dome, Nuketown 2025 rears its tiny head with an aesthetic facelift from the 1950s version of Nuketown in the original Black Ops. The map design may be identical to Nuketown 2025’s predecessor, but the ‘world of tomorrow’ vibe is a Guillermo del Toro-forged Jaegar shy of proper fanboy futurism. Of course, even the hordes of fans who have access to the map can only fire it up in custom modes or on rotation during special events such as Double XP weekends. Such a pity.
Welcome to the nuclear-explosion-filled world of tomorrow!
Snipers best leave their rifles at home, though; hell, even assault-rifle-toting mid-range experts best switch out a long barrel for something a whole lot shorter if they hope to have a chance of beating the (frankly, generous) average map life expectancy of 30 seconds. Nuketown 2025 plays out like a game of real-time Texas hold ‘em poker, where active bluffing and being dealt a favourable respawn position are just as important as being able to frag the player across from you. You can expect to die a lot, but you can, at least, expect to do it laughing.
Death and mannequins wait around every corner on Nuketown 2025.
The most recent batch of Uprising DLC brings with it one of the hottest maps to ever grace the series. (Seriously, this Japanese village setting is covered in liquid hot magma.) But before you raise a Doctor Evil pinkie to your lips, you’ll want to stand back and respect the tactical possibilities of a well-balanced map that has something for everyone and paints a picture that’s worth more than one mill-ion dollars (read: words). Snipers and campers can dominate the elevated sections above the lava in the centre of the map, mid-range Rangers can pick off foes on street level, while close-quarters fans and ninja wannabes can make use of a number of practical, tactical flanking routes.
The perfect spot for an ambush on any eager rusher foolhardy enough to risk the lava-surrounded narrow walkway.
The sunken centre path is the fastest way to cut across the guts of the map, but it’s also the perfect ambush position for oncoming enemies who cannot strafe to avoid incoming fire. You have to watch your step, though, as strafe firing can quickly result in a deadly lava bath; unless, of course, you find the latest yet-to-be-patched lava-glitching spot of the week, in which case you can pop off foes from the unexpected obscurity of molten rock. Just don’t get upset when you inevitably get raged at.
Close-quarters weapons or pistols are a must in this kill box.
What are your favourite Call of Duty maps? Let us know in the comments.
Nathan Lawrence is a freelance games journalist based in Australia, who spends far too much time playing both Call of Duty and Battlefield. You can ping him on IGN here, and why not hang out with the IGN Australia posse on Facebook or Twitter?
Source : ign[dot]com
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