Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots - The Postgame Pub

Raider1one · 03-13-2008, 10:36 AM

Last year was exceptionally strong for first-person shooters. Yet despite being one of the latest genre releases in the year, Call of Duty 4 towered over its competition. There are so many shooters released these days that it's hard to stick with an online community for more than a few weeks, but even months later, we're still obsessively playing COD4's addictive online mode with no end in sight. So we counted ourselves among the incredibly fortunate when we headed down to developer Infinity Ward's Southern California offices recently to check out the game's first downloadable map pack, which is coming later this spring.

Broadcast is taken from and expanded upon the Iraqi TV station mission in COD4's single-player campaign.

We got a chance to chat with IW community relations manager Robert Bowling--better known to COD4 diehards by his online handle, "fourzerotwo"--about the pending downloadable maps. The first thing he told us was the first thing we wanted to hear about this pack: The Middle Eastern and Russian environments will no longer comprise the entirety of the retail game's lineup. Now that the team has moved on from the single-player campaign (and has time to work up some new art assets), we can expect to see new Call of Duty 4 maps set in entirely new locations separate from the original game.
Well, except one of the maps in this pack. It's called Broadcast and is lifted from the Iraqi campaign "Charlie Don't Surf," in which you assault a television station where the enemy is holed up. Don't think the team just copied and pasted the campaign map into this multiplayer pack, though. It does contain the iconic, cavernous main room with its dozens of computer monitors and TV screens, as well as a big map of the world on the wall. We can tell you from experience that that's a great place for multiplayer firefights, with all those cubicles to duck down behind and all that equipment just waiting to get shot up by you or your opponents. A large-scale multiplayer match concentrated in that room is going to be serious calamity.
But Broadcast has been expanded significantly throughout its incarnation in the campaign. There are multiple routes into and out of that main room. Some routes lead up to the building's second floor, replete with smaller rooms and hallways. The map is mostly indoors, so air strikes and helicopters will be largely ineffectual--except up on the roof, which you can access from the second floor, as well as in the expanded parking lot area outside the main building. On the other side of that parking lot is another new, smaller building that you can hide out in as well.
The second map we played is entirely new, and it's named Creek. But there's a lot more to it than a simple babbling brook. This is a very large-scale outdoor map with a small cluster of houses on one side of it. In the middle, there's a huge ravine circling the perimeter with multiple levels of pathways up its side. Down below, the trail leads along the eponymous creek bed to a waterfall. Elsewhere along the base of the ravine, there's a lengthy and winding cave that cuts underneath the hill then out to the other side. As big as it is, there are a lot of places to go on this map; from prone sniping atop the cliff face to hiding out behind a rock in the tunnel, you never know where an opponent will be attacking you.

Creek is a massive original map with a high ravine, cliffside pathways, and a tunnel through the base of the hill.

Broadcast naturally looks exactly like COD4's campaign, but Infinity Ward's artists have done a nice pass on Creek to give it a distinctive look, with rocky terrain and various sorts of foliage that are more verdant than what you've seen in the previous Russian maps. It all feels a little sunnier and more pleasant than the game's other forested maps, too--at least until you catch a slug between your teeth. Because there's so much underbrush and shrubbery on top of the cliffs here, Bowling pointed out that it's a great map for you to use the sniper's ghillie suit for blending in while going for some sneaky kills.
There will actually be four maps in the final pack, though we can only really tell you about these two. The other two will be Chinatown, which is pretty self-explanatory, and Killhouse, which is a "bonus" map that we didn't get any hard details on (though we were told to think of the single-player campaign's initial training level as a reference). The map pack will be available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the coming months for an unspecified price. But interestingly, Infinity Ward hasn't decided how the maps will be distributed on the PC, where players are much more expectant of postrelease bonus content being released for free. Realistically, Call of Duty 4's multiplayer is so absurdly good that would have gladly handed over cash for whatever maps the designers could have phoned in--so we're especially glad to see them putting so much time and care into this first release.

Raider1one · 03-17-2008, 10:45 AM

In November of 2007 the gaming industry was formally introduced to the fourth installment in one of the most popular first-person franchises of the last decade. The hype train had been chugging for quite some time but unlike most big releases, Call of Duty 4 delivered the goods and then some. So much so that not even Bungie's epic conclusion to Halo could hold a candle to what is arguably Infinity Ward's greatest achievement. Nearly six months removed and COD4 is still atop the Xbox Live charts with Halo 3 nipping at its heels.

We recently traveled to Infinity Ward's Burbank studios to get our hands on the first round of downloadable maps. There are four in the pack; three main attractions and one small bonus map. After honing our skills on the new playgrounds and tooling around nearly every mode, we feel obligated to let COD4 addicts know it's time to budget some cash for early April. Oh, and put away the sunscreen, you won't be needing that for awhile.

First things first, the names of the new maps: Broadcast, Creek, Chinatown (modeled after Call of Duty 2's Carentan), and Killhouse. We'll begin with Broadcast. As you may have guessed it's basically ripped from the "Charlie Don't Surf" level from early in the single-player campaign. As with most COD4 maps there are both outdoor and indoor sparring grounds with multi-tiered structures that can be used to a team's advantage if played properly. The inside of Broadcast is an office environment complete with cubicles, a separate room with television equipment, a main lobby area and what appears to be a copy room that's home to a massive skylight where the enemy can try and get the drop on an unsuspecting opponent. The smaller outdoor portion features abandoned vehicles which can be used as cover as well as a staircase leading to the roof and the aforementioned strategic skylight.
We demoed standard team deathmatch, search and destroy, and domination on Broadcast and came away feeling as though the map was best suited for search and destroy. One of the two rotating bomb sites sits right underneath the skylight making for some interesting firefights. On more than one occasion I got caught trying to crash the enemy's party and was left with nothing more than a view of my dead body falling to the ground below. A sight made all the better by the new kill cams for grenade and rocket kills.
Next up was Chinatown which features the requisite neon lighting and ancient looking statues to go along with the many shops that provide the perfect reprieve from the showdowns that take place on the streets. While Broadcast showcased many alternate routes and relatively wide open spaces, Chinatown was more about close-quarter combat. The kind of stuff that shotgun-toting madmen dream about. The buildings have tightly wound staircases that can be dangerous if you aren't properly equipped. Snipers can try their luck at peeking out one of the second story windows in hopes of landing a few shots, but hiding places don't last long. The map was easily the most straightforward in the new pack, but that doesn't mean that deathmatch won't be a blast to play.

Last of the three main maps is Creek, the biggest map that has been in seen in Call of Duty 4 to date. As you might have guessed, it's an outdoor stage with rock faces that feature winding paths and trees and sandbags that provide cover at the top. It's perfectly suited for snipers to peer down on those trying to run along the creek and into the caves or up one of the paths to the small village with its shanty buildings and shacks. Creek was my least favorite as it was clearly geared towards long range battles and sniper exchanges. A few of the facets of Call of Duty 4's gameplay that have always escaped me.

The fourth map is called Killhouse and, as the name indicates, is all about putting a group of players in a small, confined space and letting them loose. It's based off of the training level that introduces players to the COD4 world and is sure to be home to some of the most heated battles in the game. Killhouse is composed of many small wooden structures with one lookout post sitting in the middle of the map. The level was fairly symmetrical with concrete walls and structures providing plenty of cover for those looking to flee a standoff. The roof is open so airstrikes and helicopters are a serious advantage if you can stay alive long enough to earn them.

Of the four maps that we tried, Broadcast was probably my personal favorite. It seemed to do a good job of providing players with different outlets to try and get the upper-hand. I never found myself pigeon holed into going the same route over and over and the skylight certainly provided us with plenty of harrowing moments.

Along with these four maps gamers will also get a retooled playlist. Gone is Old School Free-for-all and the Hardcore modes are being condensed into one grouping. New additions include Variety Pack Team Deathmatch and Variety Pack Team Objective which will be the two playlists to have the new maps and only the new maps available.

The first round of new maps for Call of Duty 4 are set to be released on Xbox 360 and PS3 in April. The price point for the pack has yet to be decided.

2.2L EH2 · 03-28-2008, 02:30 PM

Nice, I'm lookin forward to the release of the maps.

2.2L EH2 · 04-05-2008, 04:28 PM

Any of you XBL users get the new maps yet?

**P J Shaker** · 04-06-2008, 07:18 PM

yea i got them last night....played a couple of them...i wasnt a fan of creek..but china town and broadcast were nice...i havent played the 4th one yet

RNPoo7 · 04-06-2008, 07:31 PM

Been reading awesome things about this game. I would buy it if I had the console.

**P J Shaker** · 04-06-2008, 07:54 PM

yea its a sweet game...it came out just in time to save me from the failure which was Halo 3

Mr. Pink · 04-06-2008, 09:28 PM

Hehe, I told everyone that COD4 would dominate Halo, but nobody wanted to believe. Anyway, I got the pack friday and have been playing all weekend. Creek I'm not sure what to make of, I like the layout, but I'm always either really up or really down when I play it. Broadcast is fun, really great layout with lots of different hotspots during Deathmatches. I really, really love Chinatown, but thats because I was sick nasty at Carentan on COD2, so I already know the layout. Havent had a chance to play Killzone yet, but I walked it by myself and it looks like a more fun version of Shipment.

Raider1one · 04-07-2008, 10:07 AM

PLayed the XBL versions of the map this weekend.. Very cool.. I like creek the best, just chillin in my ghillie suit snipin Like a mofo.. Maps should be out on PSN thie week Tues. or Wed.

RNPoo7 · 04-07-2008, 10:55 AM

Question for you gaming guru's. I have been out of the gaming world ever since I started dumping my money on my cars.

If i was to buy this game, would I be screwed since I haven't played the previous versions?

Raider1one · 04-07-2008, 11:07 AM

No, Not at all. COD 4 uses a very easy to learn Control scheme and Has nothing to do with the previous games, which were all WW2 simulations. This Game is set in modern Day.. Pick it up if you are going to play online: You won't regret it.

Mr. Pink · 04-07-2008, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RNPoo7

Question for you gaming guru's. I have been out of the gaming world ever since I started dumping my money on my cars.

If i was to buy this game, would I be screwed since I haven't played the previous versions?

Not at all, most of the people I've played online with haven't played a previous version of COD. Like Raider said, its really easy to just pick up and play. Just be careful, it'll take over your life real quick, lol.

**P J Shaker** · 04-07-2008, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RNPoo7

Question for you gaming guru's. I have been out of the gaming world ever since I started dumping my money on my cars.

If i was to buy this game, would I be screwed since I haven't played the previous versions?

i went from the computer version to this one...cod4 is by far better than the older ones....its not hard to pick up the controls but it is tricky to get the feel of the weapon kickback and the fact that your gun moves when you walk...i dont know if you played any halo but those games didnt do that...

one thing i have to say is at first you will get killed.......alot.......you wont have the weapons everyone else has or the perks and attachments that go with the guns...but as you rank up and kill people you will unlock new guns,perks, and attachments.

the game is a blast and i have only met one p

03-13-2008, 10:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
Raider1one PGP PIMP Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: WEST COAST Posts: 418 vCash: 2702 Donate Rep Power: 9	Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots Last year was exceptionally strong for first-person shooters. Yet despite being one of the latest genre releases in the year, Call of Duty 4 towered over its competition. There are so many shooters released these days that it's hard to stick with an online community for more than a few weeks, but even months later, we're still obsessively playing COD4's addictive online mode with no end in sight. So we counted ourselves among the incredibly fortunate when we headed down to developer Infinity Ward's Southern California offices recently to check out the game's first downloadable map pack, which is coming later this spring. Broadcast is taken from and expanded upon the Iraqi TV station mission in COD4's single-player campaign. We got a chance to chat with IW community relations manager Robert Bowling--better known to COD4 diehards by his online handle, "fourzerotwo"--about the pending downloadable maps. The first thing he told us was the first thing we wanted to hear about this pack: The Middle Eastern and Russian environments will no longer comprise the entirety of the retail game's lineup. Now that the team has moved on from the single-player campaign (and has time to work up some new art assets), we can expect to see new Call of Duty 4 maps set in entirely new locations separate from the original game. Well, except one of the maps in this pack. It's called Broadcast and is lifted from the Iraqi campaign "Charlie Don't Surf," in which you assault a television station where the enemy is holed up. Don't think the team just copied and pasted the campaign map into this multiplayer pack, though. It does contain the iconic, cavernous main room with its dozens of computer monitors and TV screens, as well as a big map of the world on the wall. We can tell you from experience that that's a great place for multiplayer firefights, with all those cubicles to duck down behind and all that equipment just waiting to get shot up by you or your opponents. A large-scale multiplayer match concentrated in that room is going to be serious calamity. But Broadcast has been expanded significantly throughout its incarnation in the campaign. There are multiple routes into and out of that main room. Some routes lead up to the building's second floor, replete with smaller rooms and hallways. The map is mostly indoors, so air strikes and helicopters will be largely ineffectual--except up on the roof, which you can access from the second floor, as well as in the expanded parking lot area outside the main building. On the other side of that parking lot is another new, smaller building that you can hide out in as well. The second map we played is entirely new, and it's named Creek. But there's a lot more to it than a simple babbling brook. This is a very large-scale outdoor map with a small cluster of houses on one side of it. In the middle, there's a huge ravine circling the perimeter with multiple levels of pathways up its side. Down below, the trail leads along the eponymous creek bed to a waterfall. Elsewhere along the base of the ravine, there's a lengthy and winding cave that cuts underneath the hill then out to the other side. As big as it is, there are a lot of places to go on this map; from prone sniping atop the cliff face to hiding out behind a rock in the tunnel, you never know where an opponent will be attacking you. Creek is a massive original map with a high ravine, cliffside pathways, and a tunnel through the base of the hill. Broadcast naturally looks exactly like COD4's campaign, but Infinity Ward's artists have done a nice pass on Creek to give it a distinctive look, with rocky terrain and various sorts of foliage that are more verdant than what you've seen in the previous Russian maps. It all feels a little sunnier and more pleasant than the game's other forested maps, too--at least until you catch a slug between your teeth. Because there's so much underbrush and shrubbery on top of the cliffs here, Bowling pointed out that it's a great map for you to use the sniper's ghillie suit for blending in while going for some sneaky kills. There will actually be four maps in the final pack, though we can only really tell you about these two. The other two will be Chinatown, which is pretty self-explanatory, and Killhouse, which is a "bonus" map that we didn't get any hard details on (though we were told to think of the single-player campaign's initial training level as a reference). The map pack will be available on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in the coming months for an unspecified price. But interestingly, Infinity Ward hasn't decided how the maps will be distributed on the PC, where players are much more expectant of postrelease bonus content being released for free. Realistically, Call of Duty 4's multiplayer is so absurdly good that would have gladly handed over cash for whatever maps the designers could have phoned in--so we're especially glad to see them putting so much time and care into this first release.

03-17-2008, 10:45 AM	#2 (permalink)
Raider1one PGP PIMP Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: WEST COAST Posts: 418 vCash: 2702 Donate Rep Power: 9	Re: Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews amd Screenshots In November of 2007 the gaming industry was formally introduced to the fourth installment in one of the most popular first-person franchises of the last decade. The hype train had been chugging for quite some time but unlike most big releases, Call of Duty 4 delivered the goods and then some. So much so that not even Bungie's epic conclusion to Halo could hold a candle to what is arguably Infinity Ward's greatest achievement. Nearly six months removed and COD4 is still atop the Xbox Live charts with Halo 3 nipping at its heels. We recently traveled to Infinity Ward's Burbank studios to get our hands on the first round of downloadable maps. There are four in the pack; three main attractions and one small bonus map. After honing our skills on the new playgrounds and tooling around nearly every mode, we feel obligated to let COD4 addicts know it's time to budget some cash for early April. Oh, and put away the sunscreen, you won't be needing that for awhile. First things first, the names of the new maps: Broadcast, Creek, Chinatown (modeled after Call of Duty 2's Carentan), and Killhouse. We'll begin with Broadcast. As you may have guessed it's basically ripped from the "Charlie Don't Surf" level from early in the single-player campaign. As with most COD4 maps there are both outdoor and indoor sparring grounds with multi-tiered structures that can be used to a team's advantage if played properly. The inside of Broadcast is an office environment complete with cubicles, a separate room with television equipment, a main lobby area and what appears to be a copy room that's home to a massive skylight where the enemy can try and get the drop on an unsuspecting opponent. The smaller outdoor portion features abandoned vehicles which can be used as cover as well as a staircase leading to the roof and the aforementioned strategic skylight. We demoed standard team deathmatch, search and destroy, and domination on Broadcast and came away feeling as though the map was best suited for search and destroy. One of the two rotating bomb sites sits right underneath the skylight making for some interesting firefights. On more than one occasion I got caught trying to crash the enemy's party and was left with nothing more than a view of my dead body falling to the ground below. A sight made all the better by the new kill cams for grenade and rocket kills. Next up was Chinatown which features the requisite neon lighting and ancient looking statues to go along with the many shops that provide the perfect reprieve from the showdowns that take place on the streets. While Broadcast showcased many alternate routes and relatively wide open spaces, Chinatown was more about close-quarter combat. The kind of stuff that shotgun-toting madmen dream about. The buildings have tightly wound staircases that can be dangerous if you aren't properly equipped. Snipers can try their luck at peeking out one of the second story windows in hopes of landing a few shots, but hiding places don't last long. The map was easily the most straightforward in the new pack, but that doesn't mean that deathmatch won't be a blast to play. Last of the three main maps is Creek, the biggest map that has been in seen in Call of Duty 4 to date. As you might have guessed, it's an outdoor stage with rock faces that feature winding paths and trees and sandbags that provide cover at the top. It's perfectly suited for snipers to peer down on those trying to run along the creek and into the caves or up one of the paths to the small village with its shanty buildings and shacks. Creek was my least favorite as it was clearly geared towards long range battles and sniper exchanges. A few of the facets of Call of Duty 4's gameplay that have always escaped me. The fourth map is called Killhouse and, as the name indicates, is all about putting a group of players in a small, confined space and letting them loose. It's based off of the training level that introduces players to the COD4 world and is sure to be home to some of the most heated battles in the game. Killhouse is composed of many small wooden structures with one lookout post sitting in the middle of the map. The level was fairly symmetrical with concrete walls and structures providing plenty of cover for those looking to flee a standoff. The roof is open so airstrikes and helicopters are a serious advantage if you can stay alive long enough to earn them. Of the four maps that we tried, Broadcast was probably my personal favorite. It seemed to do a good job of providing players with different outlets to try and get the upper-hand. I never found myself pigeon holed into going the same route over and over and the skylight certainly provided us with plenty of harrowing moments. Along with these four maps gamers will also get a retooled playlist. Gone is Old School Free-for-all and the Hardcore modes are being condensed into one grouping. New additions include Variety Pack Team Deathmatch and Variety Pack Team Objective which will be the two playlists to have the new maps and only the new maps available. The first round of new maps for Call of Duty 4 are set to be released on Xbox 360 and PS3 in April. The price point for the pack has yet to be decided.

03-28-2008, 02:30 PM	#3 (permalink)
2.2L EH2 PGP HoFer Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: USA Posts: 663 vCash: 3474 Donate PSN Gamertag: j-rock95 Rep Power: 16	Re: Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots Nice, I'm lookin forward to the release of the maps.

04-05-2008, 04:28 PM	#4 (permalink)
2.2L EH2 PGP HoFer Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: USA Posts: 663 vCash: 3474 Donate PSN Gamertag: j-rock95 Rep Power: 16	Re: Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots Any of you XBL users get the new maps yet?

04-06-2008, 07:18 PM	#5 (permalink)
P J Shaker On the verge of greatness Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 6,330 vCash: 53004 Donate XBL Gamertag: P J Shaker Rep Power: 100 Awards Showcase Total Awards: 1	Re: Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots yea i got them last night....played a couple of them...i wasnt a fan of creek..but china town and broadcast were nice...i havent played the 4th one yet __________________ If god gives you lemons, GET A NEW GOD!!!

04-06-2008, 07:31 PM	#6 (permalink)
RNPoo7 Bomber Man Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: SC Posts: 2,494 vCash: 9348 Donate Rep Power: 65 Awards Showcase Total Awards: 3	Re: Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots Been reading awesome things about this game. I would buy it if I had the console. __________________ 06 TSX 95 Del Sol S 00 Integra GS-R

04-06-2008, 07:54 PM	#7 (permalink)
P J Shaker On the verge of greatness Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 6,330 vCash: 53004 Donate XBL Gamertag: P J Shaker Rep Power: 100 Awards Showcase Total Awards: 1	Re: Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots yea its a sweet game...it came out just in time to save me from the failure which was Halo 3 __________________ If god gives you lemons, GET A NEW GOD!!!

04-06-2008, 09:28 PM	#8 (permalink)
Mr. Pink I don't like you... Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 244 vCash: 3434 Donate XBL Gamertag: ZeroNotHero Rep Power: 6	Re: Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots Hehe, I told everyone that COD4 would dominate Halo, but nobody wanted to believe. Anyway, I got the pack friday and have been playing all weekend. Creek I'm not sure what to make of, I like the layout, but I'm always either really up or really down when I play it. Broadcast is fun, really great layout with lots of different hotspots during Deathmatches. I really, really love Chinatown, but thats because I was sick nasty at Carentan on COD2, so I already know the layout. Havent had a chance to play Killzone yet, but I walked it by myself and it looks like a more fun version of Shipment. __________________ -Jay

04-07-2008, 10:07 AM	#9 (permalink)
Raider1one PGP PIMP Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: WEST COAST Posts: 418 vCash: 2702 Donate Rep Power: 9	Re: Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots PLayed the XBL versions of the map this weekend.. Very cool.. I like creek the best, just chillin in my ghillie suit snipin Like a mofo.. Maps should be out on PSN thie week Tues. or Wed.

04-07-2008, 10:55 AM	#10 (permalink)
RNPoo7 Bomber Man Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: SC Posts: 2,494 vCash: 9348 Donate Rep Power: 65 Awards Showcase Total Awards: 3	Re: Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots Question for you gaming guru's. I have been out of the gaming world ever since I started dumping my money on my cars. If i was to buy this game, would I be screwed since I haven't played the previous versions? __________________ 06 TSX 95 Del Sol S 00 Integra GS-R

04-07-2008, 11:07 AM	#11 (permalink)
Raider1one PGP PIMP Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: WEST COAST Posts: 418 vCash: 2702 Donate Rep Power: 9	Re: Call Of Duty 4 DLC Previews, Reviews and Screenshots No, Not at all. COD 4 uses a very easy to learn Control scheme and Has nothing to do with the previous games, which were all WW2 simulations. This Game is set in modern Day.. Pick it up if you are going to play online: You won't regret it.