The new map pack for Call of Duty 4 were my first foray into the DLC add-on craze that’s swept users of XBox 360 and PS3. I specify add-on because I have downloaded many other cool things, but this will be the supplement to a game I’ve physically purchased.
What can I say? I’m a Call of Duty fan. I’ve played every game in the series and, with the exception of the lackluster third installment, I’ve loved every one. I have to admit i was a little wary of the online multiplayer in the beginning, only having tried it after completing the solo campaign. It was a little frustrating at first, but definitely got better as the level ups unfolded and I found the technique that works best for me (GSC36 + grenade launcher attachment, Desert Eagle, Martyrdom, and Sonic Boom if you must know).
So I continued playing and playing, I leveled up as far as one could go then decided to take the plunge and Prestige which, for those of you who aren’t familiar, is sacrificing all of your rank, unlocked weapons, and accomplishment to start over and get a higher ranking medal when you become Commander (Lvl 55) again. It sounds a little silly, but I’ve seen some people with badges that are from a 4th of 5th Prestige, which is roughly 220 level ups. Yikes.
The thing about playing multiplayer games this long, though, is that you get to know, well, everything. You know the best sniper spots, the most likely places your enemies will come from, how long to cook grenades for a good explosion, and finally — every single corner of the map. I’ve heard people begging for new maps for about a month and Thursday’s release has seemed to satisfy. I took a little time over this (Double XP) weekend to play the maps to the fullest of my ability and I have to say that these maps definitely satisfy.
Creek could be my new favorite board. “Why?” you may ask and my answer is simple: “Because I love destroying snipers.” This board is like a haven for snipers. Long, open expanses and plenty of cover for these guys to just go prone and look for movement. This allow me the chance to either sneak thru the cave or come up along the ridge and knife ‘em in their stupid back.
Broadcast is another good one which takes cues from an actual level in the game. It’s a great mixture of open hallways and wide openness depending on whether you want to do battle inside or out.
Chinatown is a hectic, claustrophobic pseudo-remake of a level from Call of Duty 2 and it’s incredibly fun to play. There is so much interconnectedness and so many ways to the same place that it’s almost impossible not to find immediate action. There are also a lot of little places to duck into the shadows and just take people out, so it’s a great amount of fun.
Killhouse, as fun as it sounded, never came up in any of the online multiplayer modes so I took matters into my own hands and started a private game to explore it myself. It’s small. I’m talking tiny. You could run from one end to the other in 10 seconds, but that’s what will make it a great level. I’m thinking it’ll be for the smaller team games or, most probably, one-on-ones (which I rarely ever do).
After the dust was settling last night from a weekend of gaming the new map packs, I can say with surety that Infinity Ward has hit the jackpot with this game. If they make regular map packs and keep the prices reasonable, I’m sure they’ll have tons of people paying for all new experiences in a familiar setting.
I was prompted/inspired to write this blog after having read a little piece called “Confessions of a Grand Theft Auto Virgin” by Chris Kohler over at Wired News blog. Basically, up until a month ago he had never played a next gen (GTA3+) Grand Theft Auto game. In the weeks leading up to the eminent release, he played through each of the games and reviewed each on a variety of factors, years after the fact. Sound like a fun idea? It did to me, too, until I read the articles. Come on a journey with me. You can find the original article here: http://blog.wired.com/games/2008/04/confessions-o-2.html
How many of those (21.5 million) people have actually beaten the game? How many have even gotten past the first few hours of missions?
Maybe we should start a poll and find out. Anyone game?
I’d heard it thrown around that “nobody ever beats a GTA” or “nobody plays the missions.”
“I went on a few messages boards and the first couple threads said nobody plays the missions, so I didn’t either.”
…by trying to actually play through the Grand Theft Auto games without giving myself invincibility, infinite cash, or a never-ending supply of rocket launchers, I might have been getting a vastly different experience than the majority of the series’ biggest fans.
The biggest fans of this series are not the people mashing cheat codes, they’re the people who were in line on the release day waiting to tear into the game and get knee deep in the story. They were the people who were excited to hear that you could fly planes and ride bicycles in San Andreas. Basically, these were the people you’re not.
The approach of a casual gamer like Chris (perhaps just entering the series) would be to just put in some cheats and rampage the day away, but it seems a little silly to paint all of the other players with the same brush. I’ve successfully completed both Vice City and San Andreas and admittedly got pretty far (to the fabled third area) in GTA3. What shines the most in these games is, hands down, how they tie incredibly fun missions into the twisted web of story. Sure, Vice City was almost a direct rip of Scarface, but who didn’t love the mission where you goal was to get a spotlight shining “Candy Suxxx” across the side of a building. Who didn’t like cruising down The Strip of Las Venturas in San Andreas or earning the Jetpack / Fight Jet combo on your own personal hangar? What about the awesome final missions of the game where CJ inevitably goes home to find the whole city rioting? These are moments that you’d otherwise never see or experience in the game if you just sat around blowing up the same cars/trucks the whole time.
If anything, a lot of people who’ll be picking up a copy of GTA4 along with myself on the 29th will be playing through it all so they can add to the mythos behind the story. They may not get anywhere near 100% completion (I mean, who has?) but they could very well beat the game, regardless of how many hours it takes. If people are willing to take their time with a RPG on the caliber of a Final Fantasy or Suikoden, surely it can’t be so different for fans of the GTA series.
www.mint.com looks like it will work out quite nicely for me…
Quite nicely, indeed. ::queue evil laugh::
Update 4/23: Mint’s service isn’t compatible with Citizen’s bank, Doh!
I think popularity with blogs is commensurate with amount of comment spam. As of late, I’ve had quite a bit of comment spam. It builds up during my long periods of being away, then when I finally return I just empty it out in one feel swoop. I think hooking my blog up with the Akismet plugin is in order this weekend.
Other than working a lot, my 17 month anniversary with Jackie, the government jackin’ me for $1500 in taxes, and not updating this blog — only a few things have been going on that are noteworthy:
I have to be purposefully vague with this in case certain people read this blog, but I’ve set the wheels in motion for making money on a one-time effort that could prove to be quite fruitful. We’re talking one-time payments for services that range from $500 to $5000. Those are pretty substantial chunks of change and not something I would mind making, even if it was just once or twice a month. On a related note, I’ll be redesigning four pretty huge sites in my life: this one, dark driving, B7M (I’ll be vague on this one for the time being), and IntuitSolutions.
Where I used to be stressed about designs for these majors in my life. I’m going to sit down and just do whatever comes naturally for me. If that means that Greater Satellites is a black site with white text and no images, so be it. At least it’s done for the time being and I can expand upon it later. I’ve come to realize, more and more, that content is king, and it’s time I get some bangin content in my corner.
On a semi-related note, I’m thinking about starting a blog solely dedicated to reviewing all the horror movies I’ve ever watched. I talked to a few people here at work and everyone seems to be crazily on board, so there might be more on that soon. Should be pretty cool.
Finally, my five point plan for taking back the web and interacting with others who might like what I have to offer:
Assuming everything pans out, I should have all sorts of interesting contacts across the interwebs in no time flat. Next task: seeing the light of day!
So little to say and so much time… Here goes something….
My name is Andrew to everyone who knows me and nothing to the people who don’t. I rarely feel inclined to write about myself and this small text blurb is no exception. I’m a film maker, of sorts. A designer, of sorts. A musician, of sorts. A photographer, of sorts. An armada of etceteras march behind these four generals.
The point I’m trying to make is that I enjoy art in all of it’s forms, and try my best to creatively express myself in every medium I take a liking towards. As always, things like life get in the way of being a non-stop idea factory, but that life is something that I’m thoroughly enjoying at the moment.
It consists of my beautiful girlfriend who I am very much in love with, a job that pays me well to do work that I would otherwise be doing for free, and a family and friends that I wouldn’t trade the world for. It’s safe to assume that I’m walking on air/over water/atop mountain peaks (pick one… hell, pick all three).