Review: Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack #2

Call of Duty: World at War fans seem to have a penchant for Asian locations, as Treyarch has gifted us with another abundant map pack featuring some of the same breathtaking landscapes we have seen glimpses of before in previous parts of the game. Serving up three hot new maps along with a chilling new Japanese (not Nazi!) zombie swamp location, this map pack may just be the most impressive yet. How did it fare? Suppose you’ll have to read on to find out-that is, if you’re not too scared.

Banzai

Banzai is an absolutely gorgeous tropical location where Japanese soldiers and Marines face off near a sprawling, mossy bridge. Deep in Japanese-controlled territory, players will fight for their lives amongst the dense foliage and admittedly beautiful surroundings. If it weren’t for being in the middle of a battlefield, Banzai could be likened to a place you might visit on vacation. Two sides of the map make it desirable for Domination or Search and Destroy, or ideal for all of the campers who find it a terribly brilliant idea to wait at one end of the map and pick off oncoming enemies while in the comfort of the shadows. In the middle of the map you’ll find a cascading waterfall adjacent to a cave that occasionally houses campers and snipers who have bouncing bettys lying in wait for you. You’ll find snipers dotting the enormous bridge, which is something to watch out for, but all in all I’d have to declare Banzai my favorite map out of the extras to have been released. If you find sniping reprehensible, however, you may want to do your best to steer clear of this map. However, there are no real advantages to which side you spawn on, so you should find that amongst its clear favoritism toward snipers, it’s a pretty balanced map that should house some of the most intense firefights yet, especially in close quarters.

Sub Pens

Sub Pens is an interesting creature, though it isn’t too high on my list of favorite downloadable maps. Placed in extremely tight quarters, you’re tossed into a bombed-out Japanese submarine base, with live ammunition scattered throughout. Amongst the debris you’ll also find breached submarines and downed fighters who have been lain to rest in a pallid, eerie grave such as this. In the spirit of CoD4′s Shipment, this is a run-and-gun map that requires fast reflexes and the will to take down anyone in your path. You’ll find yourself losing patience after you’re downed every ten seconds by an errant grenade or a knife to the back. Because of the potential to die so quickly you can make use of various maps scattered throughout where there is just enough room to crouch and wait for an unsuspecting enemy, or snipe away. Because of its fast pace and frustrating difficulty when faced with a full roster of players, I can’t say Sub Pens was particularly enoyable. However, if you enjoy Shipment and lobbing nades every few seconds then you should have a ball here.

Corrosion

Rounding out the three multiplayer maps included in this pack, Corrosion is placed in a desolate Russian train yard. Placed throughout the map, you’ll find pipelines to slip into unnoticed and wait for enemies to pop by so you can cap them with your Thompson. The pipelines are obviously the most popular location gamers gravitate towards since camping/sniping is such a widely used tactic these days that you can’t avoid it. It’s inevitable that you’ll be reminded of CoD4′s Pipeline map throughout one of your plays, but that’s quite the admirable comparison as Pipeline is a fantastic map. Plenty of blind spots abound here, as well as elevated areas for snipers. Best advice I can offer up here is to pack an SMG and be ready for ambushes around every corner. This is another fantastic map that you can expect tons of heat from, and the disheveled Russian trains are quite the sight to behold.

Shi no Numa

Previously, we were only faced against the vile Nazi Zombies in Verruckt and Nacht der Untoten. Map Pack 2 brings us face to face with the dilapidating swamp zombies of Japan in Shi no Numa (Zombie Swamp). This interesting addition to the swarm of zombie games we’ve been seeing places heavy emphasis on the cooperative aspect of World at War. While it retains the same chaotic feel of the previous zombie maps, there are extra surprises to be found here, such as Hell Hounds, rabid, snarling ghostly dogs who will charge at you and explode upon reaching you. In addition, various new traps can be found such as the electric barrier, and new weapons (as well as familiar old weapons) are in abundant supply. While you can still get your hands on a ray gun or a flamethrower, the Wunderwaffe DG-2 is indispensible when it comes to making chains of electrified zombies extra crispy. It can electrocute absolutely any zombie within range, but if you get too close to them, you’ll be caught in the line of fire. It’s a rather explosive weapon that makes Shi no Numa such a blast to play.

In case you’re not in it for the gameplay anymore (don’t lie, some of you aren’t), there have been ten new achievements/trophies added to test your zombie-massacreing prowess. All in all, an impressive entry to the zombie apocalypse theme World at War has introduced. It would be appreciated if Treyarch would go ahead and try their hand at a zombie title. Too much to ask? In an interesting twist, you fill the shoes of premade characters including a Russian and a Marine. They’ll frequently spout some stereotypical battle cries (the Russian cries about the zombies getting his vodka, and the Marine is an all-around American badass). It’s pretty hilarious.

Overall, I have few complaints with this map pack. The new locations are gorgeous and varied, with new strategies required. The honor of my favorite out of the bunch goes to Shi no Numa simply for providing a zombie map that goes a bit against the grain. If you had been looking into purchasing additional content for World at War, this map pack is ten dollars well spent. Overall solid maps and great value continue to push Call of Duty out ahead of the pack. What are you waiting for? Add gamertag Molotov Cupcake for some zombie-slayin’ fun!

Doin’ It RIGHT: - Multi-faceted maps are a great value. - Shi no Numa provides brand-new zombie action. - As usual, the maps look fantastic.	Doin’ It RONG: - Would be nice to see more attention paid to zombie maps in a full package. - Price point may still be too high for gamers to pay.
FINAL SCORE: 8 / 10