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Call of Duty 4 Maps are a step away from the usual linear "you start this side and we start that side" upbringing of FPS multiplayer maps. If you tihnk back to the Counter strike maps there would always be 2 or 3 choke points or a traverse where the enemy would have to move to reach the other side of the map.
Call of Duty seems to have changed all that with a non linear approach by seemingly creating the map first then deciding where to put the players. A slice of inequality and realism is served up on a plate when after playing a map many times you're still finding yourself being flanked and looking for new ways to use cover, if you find your oppenents unbeatable there's always an opportunity to run under fire through the derbis and flank the enemy back.
This idea that you have the freedom to find your own path and new ways to shoot down the opposition no doubt provides endless enjoyment for those who want to be flung into a war like action drama yelling "Lerooooooyyyyyy!!!" and for those who take their gaming seriously it provides the ultimate challenge of being a real warrior in all situations, a Rambo on steroids you might say... or well, on even more steroids that is! ;-)
Well anyhow, whatever route you take(lol), here's the maps in alphabetical order coupled with the best map locations and map strategies. If you have any comments or suggestions don't forget to leave them in Tangler Forum at the bottom of each page or on the main page and don't forget to Digg us!
Bloc is unmistakeably a Russian Pripyat Chernobyl cold setting and a snipers paradise. A good sniper can really take hold of a map here if they deploy claymores well and pick up dropped weapons. This map sees more Ghillie suits than it does intact windows. The centre of the square is a no go area if you value your life. Many people dislike the so called sniper maps but with the view that it is a sniper map you can easily deploy a "sweeper" class with a silenced P90 with Dead silence, it's easy to hide in a building and sneak up on the opposition, it's a proven tactic and will have the enemy coming back for more like moths to a flame. One of the saving graces of this map is it is beautiful, the idea of having 2 apartment blacks facing each other where fire will stream across the square is an FPS players dream, call of duty 4 really has looked for the most dramatic settings to pit players against each other.
The bog as most know is part of the Single player campaign map where you must defend a downed tank until it can be repaired. This attractive map looks like a real nitty gritty run and gun map until you start to find yourself being axed down by a hail of sniper bullets. Even as a sniper myself, i would agree that this map is sometimes ruined by snipers who can camp from spawn. This map would do well with a few more containers or tanks to provide cover. Many a time have i found myself trying to run and gun but being killed straight outside the spawn by a sniper, then incoming airstikes only need to be positioned over the spawn to kill a whole team. Nevertheless, in games with fewer snipers an enjoyable match can take place where the sound of the .50cal is replaced with fire in the hole! A saving grace of this map are the buildings where a good firefight can take place, moving through the buildings takes some intelligence as people tend to lay in wait or leave claymores laying around to claim a victim.
Countdown appears late in the single player campaign, the map itself looks great but online it can be the most frustrating map of all. There is generous amounts of cover, but rather than protecting you it seems to block your own view of snipers and the small concrete "walls" are very penetrable which leads to many players laying in wait, scouting the maps for feet which can be seen under the walls and then proceeding to pepper the enemy through the wall. The M16 takes hold here, that or an Overkill class consisting of a sniper weapon and an automatic. This map has given me my best streaks but still frustrates me at any attempt to come close to the enemy. On the other hand this can be a very tactical map, intelligent play and good eyesight can allow you to reign supreme, being able to spot the enemy from afar is the key, especially when you get the few that lay on top of the missile batteries. there is also large open silos in the middle of the map which players occasionally fall down, causing an stirr on the voice chat, heck i even did it myself once!
A downed helicopter surrounded by rubble and buildings is the setting for Crash. A favourite amongst the players there is a great balance of rich cover and derelict buildings providing a stage for dramatic firefights and to top it off there's even a burnt out helicopter in the middle of the map. This map really does give balance to the Sniper/Automatic users. There is one position though, that can win a match if held by 2 snipers, although intelligent play allows a grenade to counter act it which will be discussed further in map strategies. One interesting point to make about this map is the difference in the layout, each side of the map is drastically different from the other. In terms of cover and positions to shoot it seems like the marines have the advantage in starting locations but as is demonstrated time and time again skill/intelligent play can really turn a game. If you're a big fan of Crash like i am then head over to the Perk Combos page, the Hardcore Sniper Perk combination works really effectively on this map if you know how to use it! Check back and for Map strategies soon :).
District is a war torn inner city market place contained by a well in a yard, a petrol station and streets that run parallel. There are few opportunities to snipe in this map and i wouldn't condone it unless in hardcore mode. The layout of the buildings creates a very complicated setting for tactical play, possibly too complicated there is no middle ground for players to meet apart from sniper street which runs parallel to the highest point in the map. It's questionable if this map would be worth more to free for all gametypes although in highly co ordinated clan games i can see this would be a very challenging map opening up many opportunities to deploy winning strategies. There does not seem to be any one sided advantage to any team considering starting locations, both are equally as random in the surroundings and also by any stretch a good map for a pure sniper. In fact the only use for a sniper is on sniper street in hardcore while using overkill.
For some reason downpour reminds me of my grandfathers greenhouse, although it is anything but as pleasant. The only flowers watered here are daisies and rightly so. Downpour looks great, trudging through the muddy grass surrounded by a few sheds and farmhouse buildings complete with a tractor you face quite a linear yet interesting map. Light Machine Guns do well on this map with deep impact, there is a lot of thin cover to shoot through so giving the wooden sheet metal buildings a good old spray when your UAV is blinking can result in a good amount of kills, especially on hardcore. There iss a lot to be said for tactics on this map, when playing public I find that it's best to hunt alone unless your team are decent. If your opposition are better than your own team or you're faced with a full clan vs public you will find your spawns being hunted and flanking you very quickly. I find this map really fun, there aremany strategies you can use when you approach this map, most include tracking/predicting enemy movement and watching corners for them to appear from. Pay attention to your UAV on Downpour.
The lush overgrown features of this battlefield offer perfect cover for a smart combatant. It seems there is a dried up river running through the centre of the map which provides alternate routes around the map, this is important since a lot of snipers will take advantage of the open bridges and can easily rack up the kills. The ghillie suit is a favourite amongst players in Overgrown. You will quickly find yourself scanning the horizon for movement since the vegetation provides amazing cover for snipers. A savy veteran can no doubt dominate the scene with an MP5 or M16(i prefer the M16 for the long shots) by using a stick and move tactic to sweep through the buildings. The two bridges are usually a no go area for those who value their life, they provide the prime spot for snipers to glance over since they are the quickest route across the large muddy dry river. Careful thinking when you plan to move is a must. Also, for an Easter egg check the tanker vehicle near the stone bridge and read the licence plate on the back.
Pipeline is a Russian trainyard littered with warehouse-like buildings with lots of elevated positions making it a very complex and interesting map for search and destroy gamers looking for a challenge requiring advanced tactics. The close quaters firefights on Pipeline also suit free for all matches where you can use underground tunnels to escape or gun down opponents. There's also space for would be snipers who can use the grassy hills or the elevated positions to setup a great spot for sniping and overlook the centre of the map. This map is a mixed bag since you can use pretty much any weapon if you play to it's advantages.
The tiniest map of all, i think this was created for 1v1 games or just for the hell of it(literally!). Don't expect any real tactics on this map except to be pulling the pins out of your grenades and spraying as fast as possible before you die a horrible death! Airstrikes are feared and loved on Shipment. The 1v1 side of things makes the size od the map plausable and provides what you want which is a simple ground level skirmish involving sneaking round corners and listening to footsteps.
Showdown has provided me with so much fun and frustration. It's basically like a small compound or somehting like Saddams palace. All battles take place on 2 levels of elevation so it's not too hard to understand where the enemy will be which tends to work against a run and gunner because the key to this map is watching corners. There's lots of chest level objects or gaps in objects for people to pick you off while you rush a corner. I love the dusty look of this map and it's really fun to pick people off. There's some great ways to play, i find using the M16 or G36C to watch corners pays dividends andd if you're a run and gunner the Skorpian provides some really useful speed and accuracy. Grenades come in handy on this map too since there's a few very good spots that's only grenades can desroy effectively, if you can discover them, they're really worth it!
Strike looks like the back end of Baghdad after the bombings, it's in ruins and i love it. One of my favoutie maps there's cars and debris everywhere. There's a lot of buildigns and alleyways to play out team based tactics and it's a great public map to test all your skills from sniping to using the RPG! There's a handful of key buildings here which can provide you with a healthy amount of kills as long as you take a few claymores with you and watch what's happening around you. If you play it safe and take the key shots you can easily get 10 or 20 kills streaks.
You won't find Ricky Gervais in this office! Full of near empty rooms this office has been deserted for what must be 10 years. The most interesting point about Vacant is the limited area to use Airstrikes! Vacant really provides the run and gunner with the fast paced action he/she wants. There are a few good spots and a few GREAT spots to shoot from on this map. One spot i use to rack up 15 kill streak a game in public. You can deploy lots of tactics here, one of my favourite involves an RPD with deep impact since as you might imagine, these walls don't look like they're made of bricks! (atleast the game thinks so).
Last and in my opinion least is our old pal Wetwork. Not many people like this map and i am one of them. The map is basically a container ship at sea. It's quite annoying because you find yourself being killed from all over the place and the spawn killing is rampant. At first i could see the potential for it to be a snipers map but as you will find, it isn't(think being shot but not having a clue from where). It seems the onyl way to play is to try and shoot people when they don't know you're there and you will be on top, other than that it's basically a run and gun sort of map with no real goal other than to reach the other spawn point to spawn kill the enemy. I'd love to make soem good points about this map but it's not very good at all and the only dissapointment in my opinion.
