The Call Of Duty franchise exploded onto the scene all the way back in 2003, where its many competitors overshadowed it for a few years. Modern Warfare revolutionized the first-person shooter in 2007, and it has only grown since, with the latest in the franchise (rather confusingly also called Modern Warfare, without being Modern Warfare 4) has leapt to even greater heights.
One thing Infinity Ward seems to love is letting gamers revisit multiplayer maps of old. As with any game, some of these maps are brilliant and some are...well...not. As such, we’ve got some advice for the next installment regarding which maps fans want, and those we don’t need to see again.
10 WANT TO SEE: Perplex (Advanced Warfare)
Perplex is an underrated and often forgotten map from Advanced Warfare. Sure, the game itself is considered to be one of the worst entries into the franchise thanks to an over-reliance on futuristic technology, but you can’t deny both the beauty and intrigue of this map. It’s one of the only COD maps that forces much of the action to take place vertically. That very fact will mean its reappearance will have to wait for another highly futuristic game, but still, we can dream.
9 DON’T CARE ABOUT: Derail (Modern Warfare 2)
Modern Warfare 2 might be the pinnacle of COD history. One of the finest FPS campaigns of all time, and a multiplayer full of brilliant maps and exciting weapons. However, Derail wasn’t one of its strong points.
The huge, snowy map was set most outside, with a derailed train splitting it into two halves. Its major issue was the inclement weather, which ruined the visibility of most players, except those with thermal scopes, giving them a massive advantage.
8 WANT TO SEE: Dome (Modern Warfare 3)
Everyone loves a tiny Call Of Duty map. There’s nothing better than running for two seconds before coming face to face with an enemy, and that’s exactly what happened on Dome. Just enough contrast between inside and out, with the central dome creating some intense games of cat and mouse as players chased each other in a circle.
7 DON’T CARE ABOUT: Seelow (World At War)
Way back in World At War, the COD games were still learning to distance themselves from the realistic depiction of real-life wars. This incredibly large map was too big for any meaningful one-on-one combat, and spend most of the time totally overrun by the five tanks that roamed the edges.
6 WANT TO SEE: Nuketown (Black Ops)
Nuketown is a strange map to include on this list simply because it is probably the most famous map in the history of the game and has appeared in every single Black Ops installment. However, it’s exactly that which makes us want it to come back again; it’s interesting to see how they can keep the same layout fresh every time.
5 DON’T CARE ABOUT: Stonehaven (Ghosts)
Ghosts is typically considered to be the worst Call Of Duty game. The campaign was lacking in comparison to all of the previous installments and the online was so bland that audiences basically gave up on it.
Stonehaven is, admittedly, a beautiful map to look at thanks to its setting in Serozh Castle, Scotland. However, it gets repetitive and the size and terrain make close-quarters combat difficult.
4 WANT TO SEE: Detroit (Advanced Warfare)
Even though Advanced Warfare, as mentioned above, wasn’t exactly loved by fans, there were a few moments of brilliance dotted around. The map Detroit, for example, provided a great mixture of long-range roads and tiny rooms, as well as the map-specific score-streak, the Tram Turret. This was exactly what it sounds like: a turret attached to a tram that roamed the map shooting enemies.
3 DON’T CARE ABOUT: Piccadilly (Modern Warfare [2019])
Modern Warfare is one of the most popular games in the world at the moment, bringing groups of friends isolating around the world together in the mean streets of Verdansk. However, the map Piccadilly (a version of London’s Piccadilly Circus) has been referred to as ‘the worst Call Of Duty map ever made’ by former Optic clan member Nadeshot. It’s a big claim, but many fans have made it clear that they agree.
2 WANT TO SEE: Highrise (Modern Warfare 2)
Highrise is another of those classic Modern Warfare 2 maps that helped the game prove that it was one of the most perfect FPS games of all time. Two opposing buildings gave positions for snipers, while well-covered outside spaces allowed teams to charge dramatically toward each other.
Advanced Warfare got its own remake called Skyrise (genius), but we are yet to see the return we so desperately crave since then.
1 DON’T CARE ABOUT: Wasteland (Modern Warfare 2)
Wasteland is one of the most divisive maps in COD history. It has a lot of fans who back the coverless open space and a minuscule amount of indoor cover, but most consider it to be a pointless breeding ground for thermal-equipped snipers and those who know exactly where to shoot the grenade launcher as soon as the game starts.