Top 10 Call of Duty Multiplayer Maps

Sep 19, 2011

We here at PCP are a community of like minded older gamers first formed while playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.  Since then, our ranks have grown and with it, our depth of knowledge of all things CoD.  We have what I can only estimate as a combined decade of play time; we know our games.  That is why I asked my peers to vote on what they thought was the best CoD multiplayer levels of all time.  Each clan member was given 5 votes a person (to get a wide variety of maps selected as well to make choosing easier for each voter), and 56 maps received at least one vote.  Members could vote on any map between Modern Warfare, World at War, Modern Warfare 2, and Black Ops but could only vote for a map once per person.  Here are PCP’s favorite maps:

10th Place:Cliffside

The only World at War map to make the list, Cliffside has recently been remade into Hazard for Black Ops.  It encourages long distance fighting with a very clear left, right, and center option of attack.  The genius of the level is that these three paths are so evenly separated from one another, that no matter your spawn each team must struggle for a balanced, united front on all three lest you be outflanked and wiped out in one fell swoop.  These options have a nice variety to them while still keeping a consistent, long distance, and standoff feel.

9th Place: Overgrown

A CoD4 map, there has never been one quite like it since.  Very often maps offer sniper and stealth opportunities, but never do they offer them with the variety or scale of Overgrown.  A skilled sniper is in a league of their own here, as the tall grass offers tactical options we still haven’t seen again in four years.  Those same options do wonders for players trying to do their best Solid Snake impression with a silencer and UAV Jammer.  It still stands out today, and it’s no wonder the map was chosen to be remade for a MW2 map pack.

 

8th Place: Vacant

The go-to close-quarters map of CoD4, Vacant is a map seemingly designed for two things, shotguns and martyrdom.  The tight, dark hallways and plethora of corners offer incredible action as the tide of battle changes constantly.  The majority of the map is the building itself with a outdoor area.  With a building so large with so many entrances, it is impossible to keep an entire team out of it for long.  Even with so many cramped spaces, the map does make room for an LMG or assault rifle in areas like the outside dumpsters, long, narrow hallways, and most of the outside.

7th, 6th Place (Tie):
Summit

This Black Ops map turns a simple idea into a fantastic close-quarters map; the idea being that one building will dominate the majority of the map, with the rest of the map serving as a variety of ways into that building from a couple different spawns.  This is what Summit does better than any other.  The number of entrances and exits into the building is varied to the point of it takes a very well coordinated team to defend it.  This back and forth of taking and retaking it is what makes this map great, not to mention being the most shotgun friendly map in Black Ops.

Wasteland

A MW2 map that is a remake of the original Call of Duty multiplayer map Brecourt, Wasteland instantly makes an impression on players as the most wide open map in a Call of Duty game.  A small bunker system and large hedgerow are all that separates players from each other for the majority of the map.  A sniper and air support paradise, the maps biggest thrill comes with being the first brave soul to take one of the hedgerow’s three corners.  This either lets you catch the enemy team with their pants down, or become their new target practice.

5th Place: Nuketown

Love it or hate it, Nuketown is a Black ops level of unusual design that made it to number five on our list.  Uniquely narrow, it offer no flanking chances and instead funnels each team from their spawn into a mosh pit in the center.  Taking the center area is the key to winning this map no matter the game mode, as controlling it means you control the finite approaches the other teams has from their spawn.  The corridor this level turns into has become home to many randomly-thrown grenades and noob-tubes shot with only pure luck to guide them; it would be pure hell without flak jacket.

4th Place: Crash

My favorite, Crash is a CoD4 level that was re-released in a map pack for MW2.  It has the perfect mix of sniper and shotgun locations, with every weapon under the sun being viable in the right hands.  The three story building that looms over the crash site dominates the landscape, creating some king of the hill style fights.  What separates this map from the rest of the pack is the number of balanced second story rooftops and alcoves teams can take control of.  If you control them then you control the area around them, but the more tactically significant they are, the more exposed they leave you. for example, two of them  give you with great lines-of-sight, but little more than a street curb to hide behind.  The cramped helicopter remains offer great ambush chances as well, just don’t linger too long or the thin walls will trap rather than hide you.  This map is so well designed, that in a recent interview with Mark Rubin (producer of MW3) stated that he believed it was the best level they had ever created, and that IW was looking back to it when designing MW3 maps.

3rd Place: Firing Range

This Black Ops map is all about fast paced, white-knuckle action with players never being more than a few second away from the enemy.  Almost all of the “cover” on the map is nothing more then thin scrap metal and plywood, making most over-watch and corner camping spots worthless after a kill or two.  This puts the emphasis on mobility, and it isn’t unusual for each member of each team to be in a full out sprint to find the enemy.  With spawn positions that are perhaps the easiest in the game to flip, I have been part of domination games where the fight for B can only be described as epic.

2nd Place: Jungle

A perfect example of classic level design, Jungle for Black Ops is simplistic in design and perfect in execution.  Each team can go, left, right, or straight; that’s it.  Each route presents it’s own challenges, advantages, and disadvantages to the teams objectives.  These varied avenues of attack have ample opportunity for a single player to succeed with his own agenda while still contributing to the team as a whole.  This is because the map is the exact size it should be; it is big enough for a single player to sneak, flank, and make a stand, but small enough so you are never too far from the enemy team and your objectives.

1st Place: Terminal

Terminal for MW2 is PCP’s favorite map.  It does so many things so well.  There is always guaranteed action in the main hallway and airplane, with high risk/high reward areas such as the cabin and gift shop.  The riot shield is key in the narrow halls and corridors, stopping an entire enemy team in their tracks and spearheading a new attack with great effect.  This map also has one of the best B domination flags, placed so each team has a unique, yet equal opportunity to capture and defend it.  Each weapon has it’s own strengths and weaknesses depending on the area of the map you are in, leaving room for every style of play.  Also, there is always someone in the gift shop.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote.