COD4 – NoobTubeTV

Dear Call of Duty Modern Warfare – Please Come Back We Miss You

I know some gamers out there would blow up every Call of Duty (COD) game in the world if they could. Personally, I can only think of a few I genuinely couldn’t stand (COD 3, World at War, Black Ops and Ghosts). I have enjoyed most of the other titles quite a bit. My favorites have always been the collection of the Modern Warfare Trilogy.

These titles were not only great campaigns (albeit a bit predictable) but they had hands down, the best multiplayer experiences I ever had in a COD game. The maps were usually well designed with the occasional spawn camping nightmares that would see me rage quit pretty fast. Even with the spawning issues these titles held up well. My favorite part about the move into Modern Warfare (COD4) was that it introduced kill streaks. I loved the simple 3, 5, 7 system that made every map feel like there was potential to get a UAV, Air Strike and Helicopter. They were basic and didn’t typically overshadow the battling on the map between the players.

Eventually, we got to dive into MW2 and experience the best maps, the best weapons and some of the best kill streaks ever. The only aspect that seems negative in retrospect is the introduction of the tactical nuke on top of the growing trend if overpowered killstreaks. Don’t get me wrong… I loved the AC-130 and the Pavelow, but these were game-changers for the future of overpowered killstreaks.

Even with these gains I looked forward to MW3 and it didn’t disappoint, but it also didn’t impress me much on the map end of things. They seemed uninspired at best and the kill streaks felt stale. This is something that seems to have become a habit and legacy issue of late… not to mention the weak campaigns over the last four games after MW3… and that doesn’t seem like a trend that will end any time soon.

I truly miss the smooth handling and true battles I felt like were possible on Modern Warfare before they started adding jump boosting and wall running. Now they are adding overpowered killstreaks to a game that doesn’t need any sort of additional reason to make Call of Duty into a caricature of itself. Be it the mini-tank or the robot soldier or the HATR that shows the location and movement of every opponent in real time… these are all overpowered and take away from what Call of Duty used to be back in Modern Warfare.

Maybe I am the curmudgeon of gaming and dream of yesteryear a bit too much. I don’t think that is the case. I truly believe it’s time for Call of Duty to go back to its roots. Make it a battle between players with weapons moving around maps. Take the AI out of it and bring back Modern Warfare.

Is Black Ops 2 Suffering From Disinterest?

Call of Duty was one of the most impressive franchises for this console generation. When it started to become a yearly online shooter version of Madden it lost a lot of luster. If you were among the people that purchased an Xbox 360 early on and made Call of Duty 2 your first 360 game. Something drastically changed when Infinity Ward (thankfully) changed the time period from World War 2 to modern times with Call of Duty 4 – Modern Warfare.

Something even more drastic happened after Call of Duty took a more modern approach – the creation of prestige, leaderboards and record keeping of Kill/Death ratios. One of our first articles talked largely about leaderboards and their negative impact on online gaming and the catalyst for the current state of online shooters was Call of Duty 4.

We have since made it through four iterations of Call of Duty and the process has seen the online community grow to new heights and sales of the game to go through the roof. Call of Duty is one of the most action-packed and entertaining games to play online or offline – but why does it feel so bland now?

It seems like Black Ops 2 is one of the most underwhelming and least hyped CoD titles to be released. The last time I remember not looking forward to a Call of Duty game was when CoD 3 was announced to once again focus on World War 2. Black Ops has shifted from the Cold War era to the ‘near future’ in Black Ops 2. Outside of the time-shift, there have been a few tweaks and changes to gameplay as well as a new set of weapons (which we will be covering in the coming months). The question that must be asked again and again is whether or not the Call of Duty series will command the same attention that it has in the past.

Where do you stand with Black Ops 2? If your opinions are anywhere close to those for Madden 13 it could be an interesting reaction.

Favorite Maps Make Your Old Games Worth Keeping

After skipping out on Call of Duty Elite I was feeling upset that I didn’t have the new maps that Infinity Ward released to the Elite Community. After thinking about how dumb I would feel to pay $50 for two maps that are being kept from the rest of the lowly gamers out there that don’t want to continue to bend to the will of Activision’s new subscription service – I started thinking about some of the better maps I have played (DLC or not).

Modern Warfare has a habit of releasing older maps that people enjoyed (or at least they assume people enjoyed). Some of my favorite maps from old Modern Warfare games haven’t made it into MW2 or MW3 yet. The beauty of these maps are that they are on games that you can buy used for much less money than MW3. Even if you have to buy map packs in order to play some of these, it will still be cheaper (and more enjoyable) than some of the maps in the newer game(s).

My favorite map from any Modern Warfare game has to be Broadcast –

While some maps give you the ability to do one type of strategy over another, Broadcast really allowed people to post up and snipe from either the TV station or the buildings outside. You could also run around and gun people down as you flank from the many doors and corridors inside and outside.

Another map from COD4 is Backlot

In Backlot, you need to master the art of grenades and stabbing to accompany your aiming skills for which-ever gun you prefer. I loved this map because it allowed me to approach every match with a new tweak to my style of play. New players find new ways to play maps and it was always a breath of fresh air to play this map because of that.

Modern Warfare 2 had its fair share of decent maps as well. One of my favorites was one of the biggest maps in any COD game – Derail.

Derailed — Snipers and sprinters reign supreme! Get a AC-130 and it is game over.

It is one of the most fun and frustrating maps you will ever play. If you get into a bad run, it is really difficult to rebound… however, if you get a strong killstreak and find your ‘groove’ you will probably end up with 25+ kills. This can be said for any map really, but I really found this map to allow me to run the huge landscape and sprint-stab my way to victory by simply out-flanking the opponents.

The last map I miss is Storm

I truly enjoyed this map when I downloaded it from the Stimulus Package DLC on MW2. It is a big map with rain (it is titled ‘Storm‘ for a reason) and that is one of those things that really adds to the mood of a map. Fighting in tropical or arid places is nice, but it isn’t a true depressing/scary warzone without some rain and lightning. Not to mention the sniper/assault friendly layout gives a bit of leeway to people that prefer one over the other.

This post will be updated with gameplay from these maps to accompany the pictures.

If you are annoyed with having to wait until March to play the new maps on MW3, just go back and play the older games and enjoy some ‘new’ old maps!
Happy Hunting!