This is part of my new top ten lists which I will release at the end of every month.
First Person Shooters. Let’s talk about them. I like the FPS genre. I also like fighting against friends or working together with them in a team. But in order for me to enjoy a good multiplayer mode in an FPS it needs good maps. I’m here to look at some shooters’ maps and pick my personal favorites. These maps range from small to big and competitive 1V1 to fun casual team maps from shooters throughout all ages. Is yours in? Probably not. But maybe you will see these maps in a new light or just reminisce the days of yore. So with that said let’s get into this.
#10:complex (Goldeneye)
Goldeneye has found my weakness and that weakness is Complex. Now I haven’t played that much of Complex but when I played, I usually went to this map. Aside from the strange blood red sky Complex sports grey metal walls and vents which makes it so recognisable. When I think of all maps on the list, this one is the weakest layout-wise but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it any less than the other maps. It’s the map I think of when Goldeneye gets mentioned. There are just some parts that don’t make that much sense like the hole under the bridges. Players can just wait at the only exit to easily kill their opponents and then there are those black holes in the ground which I found baffling and don’t get me started on the pillar room. Nonetheless, this still is my go-to map. I like the hidden walls you can hide in and the small areas that look over the bigger areas. It makes this like a whack-a-mole game. Anytime I play with someone I “forget” to tell them and jump out to kill them. Yeah people don’t want to play Goldeneye that much with me.
The blood-red sky matches the floor when I’m done with you!
#9:Chemical Plant(Timesplitters)
So the reason I took this map over a map from Future Perfect of 2 is that I haven’t actually played those that much. If I did you can bet Mexican Mission would probably have been number one. What I like about Chemical Plant is that you always play on two levels. Ground floor and the many cat-walks that run in the plant. There are outside sections and inside sections both of which complement their long and short-range encounters. Got a shotgun? Better stay in the inside parts. Got a sniper? Go outside and smell the chemical air. Just be careful when sniping from the upper parts of the level as the guys with shotguns can be right next to you. Again I really like the encounters that happen on the catwalks outside and of course, the battles players undergo on from said high spot with player down below. There is also just something fun about seeing two players above you chase each other up top while you have your own battles down on the main floor. On the Chemical Plant there was always something going on no matter if you were actually involved with the battles or not.
Always keep an eye on the cat-walks or the ground.
#8:Crossfire(Tribes Ascend)
So here’s one nobody probably saw coming. Tribes Ascend is an amazing game and while it’s been a while since I played it, I still felt like Crossfire deserved to be on the list. Crossfire is kinda like Unreal’s Face but for Tribes. Your team starts on their ship and stares down the enemy’s ship in the far distance. As soon as the match begins you can see the enemy team just pour out of the ship like water behind a floodgate. Both teams ski their way to the other’s ship with just a few defensive classes staying behind to defend the flag. In between the two ships is nothing but an oasis. If you want to go for a dash and grab, use the hill right in front of the ship which if you aim correctly and don’t have to deal with a lot of resistance you can just fly through the ship and grab the flag in one smooth swoop. You see, the flag is on the ship but the place is open from the back and front allowing players to actually grab the flag and be out the enemy base in not even ONE second. It’s just fun to grab the flag so fast that the enemy team barely knew what hit them. You can also try to take down the enemy generator by infiltrating the ship which is no easy feat. The fast-paced cat and mouse game on this map is great and fighting in or on the ship is intense and make for more personal skirmishes between players which is something Tribes doesn’t has that much considering most encounters are so fast.
Grabbing the flag in one fell motion is the best feeling ever.
#7:Nuketown(Call Of Duty: Black Ops)
Shout-outs go to Hijacked, Crash and Castle. So I actually tried incredibly hard to find a map I like more than this one but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. It’s not that I wanted to take a different map just for the heck of it, but there are so many amazing maps in this series. But at the end while Nuketown isn’t the actual best map in the series I have the most memories of this one. There isn’t too much to say about the map other than it’s an absolute blast with four friends. I always liked to climb on the balcony and go into the houses that way. People don’t seem to expect when you enter from the balcony. There’s also this hole in the fence in the backyard that leads to the other side of the map by way of a little dirt track for your RC-XD. I love that track. Running from one side to the other was intense. The battles inside usually revolved around who could pull the trigger the fastest. No tactics just reflexes. It’s a map that’s going to return again and again and again because it’s just so damn iconic.
This was a fun map to play with friends. As long as no one used Claymore’s like a cheater.
#6:2fort(Team Fortress 2)
Shout-outs go to Sawmill, Hightower and Eyeaduct. 2fort is iconic and probably the most played map. Originally in Quake and Team Fortress classic this map is the one I pick for Team Fortress 2. What I like about this map is that there are actually some underwater battles which you don’t see that often in multiplayer FPS’es. The entire deal of this map is to either infiltrate from the sewers or slip through the cracks on the battlefield. Both teams’ bases are right in front of each other with only a small bridge between them. When both teams confront each other all hell breaks loose. You either kill enough of the enemy team to get to their base through the front or you drop down the bridge into the water and try to infiltrate through the sewers. You feel like Solid Snake trying to get through the sewer sections of the map and fighting off anyone who’s in there. Scouts or Soldier can actually go through the upper part of the base where the opponents spawn. It’s nuts to take that route and once you’re in it’s an absolute mad dash for the intel. And that’s what’s the best about this map. You either sneak in, brute force yourself or sprint like a madman. The layout of the map also does a great job of showcasing every class’ mechanics.
I really like the sewer fights and the crazy escape attempts from the enemy base.
#5:Face (Unreal Tournament)
Perhaps the most popular map in the history of any map ever. This was Beaver Creek before Beaver Creek, and way more imposing too. Just two gigantic towers staring down each other in space with just above Zanzibar. There are just two slim pathways connecting the two towers which mean that if you advance to the enemy base(which is literally your only option) you WILL have to engage with at least one opponent. All the while snipers try to take you out from their tower. If you were in the tower with a sniper and an opponent was doing the same thing shit got super real. It turned into intense sniper vs sniper battles. The map is simple but elegant and unlike most maps on this list doesn’t provide the player with any alternate routes. But in this case, it’s what made this map so special. It’s just your team against the enemy team going at each other head on. It was a mad dash to get in, grab the flag and get the hell out. Teamwork was always an important factor on this map and what I liked to do is get into the enemy base and snipe from their tower hoping no one would find me. Truly a map of legends and one I will never get bored with.
Two titans staring each other down. God what a map.
#4:Davamand Peak(Battlefield 3)
Shout-outs go to Wake Island. So what makes Davamand Peak so good. Well aside from a great level design there is one thing that just makes this map a blast to play on. So imagine playing Battlefield 3’s rush mode on this map. So at first, the defending team starts off in a small base with concrete walls around two container offices and a communication tower that stretches high for snipers and spotters. The attacking team comes from cliffs down and tries to invade the base. So that’s great already but it’s not why this stage is so good. After the second stage the attacking team captured the helipad and has to get this… jump of the helipad 500 meters down. It’s one of the greatest things to do in this game if not any FPS. As the attacking team falls down at the warehouses they try to avoid incoming fire and the defending team just sees a hailstorm of enemy players hail down on them. If you haven’t played Battlefield 3 you just don’t know how cool this entire part of the level is. Oh after that the attacking team has to fight their way through an underground mining tunnel. Great stuff.
You see those buildings below? Yeah that’s another part of the map you go to.
3#:Dust 2(Counter Strike 1.6)
Shout-outs to Italy and Aztec. Okay you knew this. If any Counter Strike map would have been in here, this would have been the obvious choice. What’s there to say about this map. This map IS Counter Strike. Even if I would have wanted to play on another map(which I didn’t) I couldn’t because it’s by far the most dominating map on the servers. Its level design is iconic and just so well-balanced. With the exception of a few spots that are useless this map has so many ways to approach your opponents. I like the long stretch between the gate that’s partly opened and roughly where the terrorists spawn. Then there is the other door not far from that catwalk. It’s a game of patience or you just throw a flash bang and spray’n pray. Yeah that never works. The encounters in the inside area seem to always be the most intense for me. Truly a legendary map for a legendary game.
God this map is so good. Nothing needs to be said.
#2:Reckless Abandon(Quake 2)
Now I haven’t played a lot of Quake. I remember as a kid playing Quake 2 once somewhere and this map made such an impression on me. This is the ultimate one on one map for when you needed to know who is the best. It’s a map that complements vertical play. I especially love the dumb gear room and the stupid rotating bridge hall on the ground floor. The before mentioned floor is connected to the main room by way of a t-shaped bridge surrounded by lava. The main spot where shit keeps popping off is not the main room but it’s the top floor’s red armor hallway. Players keep fighting for that red armor and having the red armor can heavily turn the odds in your favour. Controlling the entrances from the top with a rocket launcher or rail gun is what you want to do. It’s too bad that this map never returned in the next Quake instalments and that people don’t seem to remember this map as fondly. If you ever need to settle an argument quickly do it with Reckless Abandon.
Got some beef to settle with someone? Do it right here in the ring.
#1:Blackout(Halo 3)
Shout-outs go to Blood gulch, the Pit and Ivory tower. And there you have it. My number one map. This was another hard decision. While Blood Gulch is fun and iconic I’m picking my favorites, not the most popular or well-known. Blood Gulch was fun with multiple people and felt like a crazy war zone when things started to pick up. That being said, when shit got real and you wanted to settle the score one on one than Blackout was the place to be. Other maps like Cold Storage, Ivory tower, the Pit or Guardian were good choices but Blackout felt just right. Not too big not too small. I always loved the part in Halo 2’s incarnation(Lockout) you could stand in the middle of the map where there was a window on the ground you could see players passing but you couldn’t fight them. I also liked the fact that picking up the sniper rifle could be a trap because it was right next to explosives. So you grab a Battle rifle and wait until the enemy goes for the sniper and then you just blow them up with one shot. It’s a legendary map not only for its level design but also for the legendary myth in the Halo community called the Ghost of Lockout. This is a map with a history.
The hours I spend on this map with my friends can’t be counted. Ah the memories.
And that’s another list done. The Call of Duty map was legit the hardest for me as I tought back at so many cool maps. And to think that there isn’t a Killzone map on this list is nuts to me. But hey there are a lot of maps and a lot of games. If you think you know better don’t be afraid to let me know in the comment section.
Check back next months for another list.
