Map Pack Follow-up: The Day After

So after a weekend of binge playing the new map pack for CoD4, I am still over 300 headshots away from my golden Kalashnikov.  Double exp didn't help with my resolve to resist another round of prestige, but I wanted to put my best foot forward on these new maps.  So after eagerly checking Xbox Live every five minutes on Friday morning, I finally downloaded the maps around 6:30 a.m.  Needless to say, I was stunned.  Broadcast is a delightful mash-up of a heated close quarters fracas within the station and a healthy dose of sniping and precision BOOM HEADSHOT-ing between the buildings in the parking lot.

  Tips for Broadcast: Use Extreme Conditioning when starting out in the parking lot to get onto the roof before the Op-For and pick them off as they come out the rear stairwell.  Watch out for flankers coming from the main lobby though.  The second tip is to sneak around in the conference room close to the stairwell and the roof entrance.  You have a good vantage point of the station floor in the back and a good hiding place crouching by the conference table.  Just pick people off as they cross from the stairwell to the roof.

Creek, I have mixed feelings about.  First of all, I'm not really a sniper so I've been frequently perforated by a hail of sniper bullets whenever I peek my head out.  However, the map is a lot of fun even if you don't want to snipe.  The map is nicely balanced with an open area to snipe any unwary combatants through the middle, and buildings on each side for some up-close confrontation.  As a in-close kinda guy, I really liked standing right next to snipers and taking a few extra seconds for that headshot.  You know that Kill-cam is going to piss them off, and after getting taken down like a buck in deer season for five minutes, the revenge is soooooo delicious.  

Tips for Creek: If you're not a sniper like me, an effective alternative is to equip an assault rifle with an ACOG.  You get the best of both worlds with a scope for hunting down all those pesky snipers and a good close-quarters firearm for those "Oh-SHIT" encounters.  In the cave, be wary of campers and claymores, and don't be afraid to throw a little smoke.

Chinatown is a nostalgic walk down memory lane.  CoD2 fans will take the first minute and a half going, "WTF?  This isn't Carenetan!" but after getting over the contrastingly shadowed corners and the vivid neon, they'll soon sink back into the groove that is Carentan.  Some noticeable and exploitable differences are the trashcans next to the walls by the lions' gate which allow for opportunities to flank, the third story in the central building looking out over the lions' gate.  This also allows for a overhead view of the small courtyard between the buildings (not the big courtyard with the cars).

Tips for Chinatown: Get to the building across from the mounted .50 cal with a good long-range assault rifle and pick off people as they look out that window.  I swear they're like moths to a flame.  Other than that.... Its Carentan, dude!

All in all, the CoD4 map pack is definitely worth the 800 Microsoft points on Live.  Four brand spanking new maps, two of prodigious proportions, one filled with bittersweet memories, and one to freaking pwn your best-friend in. 

Sable Caine out and watching you down iron sights.