Cove deposits
players on the sandy, golden beaches of a deserted tropical island. The roughly
circular arena-style map is dotted with giant boulders that serve to create a
series of twisting paths into a central killzone that is divided into two
halves by the smoking ruins of a crashed plane’s fuselage. A ground-level cave
system along with strategically placed rocks and various plane wreckage offers
plenty of cover for those who prefer to skip the central area and skirt around
the fringes of the map. Take note, however: instant death waits for those that
step into water that rises above your head. There’s a safe path around the
perimeter of the island, but you’ve got to watch where you step.
The cockpit provides an elevated vantage point
from which to observe and snipe at enemies coming from the opposing spawn.
Directly across from the shattered cockpit window is another elevated vantage
point, situated at the mouth of a cave, offering a similar recon advantage.
Both locations can be flanked, but both can also be assaulted from the front by
vaulting onto the rock formations in front of them.
SMGs once again will be dominant here, but there
are plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in an pick people off with silenced
weapon. Keep an eye out for equipment like claymores and bouncing betties that
could make the outer rim and the pathways through the center death traps. Your
two real choices are to camp, or be extremely aggressive. Moving hesitantly
will cost you.
Detour is
a long, symmetrically oriented map set on a crumbling, war-ravaged bridge.
Wrecked vehicles and thick construction barriers dot the upper central portion
of the map and support catwalks on the east and west sides offer flanking
routes below. The map is relatively straightforward, with similar cover and
flanking opportunities accessible from each spawn working to create a balanced
playing field for the opposing sides. The only hitch is a pair
of gaping holes in the central portion of the bridge; fall through one of
these, and it’s instant death.
It’s very easy to become entrenched on Detour. A
communicative team will have one or two snipers in the central bunker-like
structure providing above-ground overwatch while the rest of the team splits
off and covers the flanking routes at either side of the map. Rooting out a
deeply entrenched team requires similar levels of coordination, since you’ll
want to have part of the team keeping enemy attention on the central bridge
while a smaller, faster-moving force takes advantage of the catwalks. Note too
that the pipes running along the extreme outside fringe of the bridge function
as platforms, providing a more heavily covered, if treacherous, alternative.
That also makes them ripe for traps.
Assault rifles can work here, but the map is
small, and with the exception of the central areas that snipers can control,
the rest of the map is a good shotgun or SMG arena.
Rush turns an abandoned
indoor/outdoor paintball facility into a roughly rectangular battleground with
a variety of routes and vantage points designed to suit every type of player.
Shotgun and SMG artists will want to stick to either side of the map. The indoor
paintball course is the preferred route, thanks to its multiple points of
entry/exit and abundance of brightly colored cover. Two elevated rooms,
accessible via ramp, run along the opposite side of the map, though the long,
relatively cover-free and camper-friendly hallway that connects them can be a
very dangerous place to step into.
The central, open-air route comes with some
perfect sniper opportunities, both elevated and ground-level. Snipers also have
an advantage in the parking lot spawn area, with the abandoned white van in the
back corner offering perfect cover to watch the ramp, the central
approach, and the office leading to the
indoor paintball course. There’s a definite advantage for teams that start in
the parking lot spawn. The trick with Rush, more than many other Call of Duty
maps, is to learn the various routes. This is a complex and very open map with
a lot of different access points, making it easy to suddenly find yourself
being flanked from directions you wouldn’t have expected.
If you are running a close quarters loadout,
lightweight is a good bet, especially if you spawn in the course instead of the
parking lot. Making a quick break up the elevated left side can give you the
jump on enemies, and with a few teammates helping you, you can control the
entire outside section of the map.
Uplink is a carbon-copy
of Summit from Black Ops, in much the same way
that the previous Uprising map pack’s Studio was a carbon-copy of Firing Range.
Your fighting still rages across a mountaintop, but the snowy landscape of
Summit is replaced now with the greenery of a Malaysian jungle. Cosmetic shift
aside, the layout is otherwise exactly the same. Much of the fighting tends to
center around the large, open control facility in the middle of the map. The
second-floor hallway offers great vantage points for snipers, though an
abundance of flanking routes prevent the roost from being a sure thing.
This is a map that favors mid-range attackers
the most, though long-barrel-fitted SMGs can be fairly effective if your
reflexes are quick and your accuracy is spot-on. There’s a few long-sightline
locations that favor snipers, particular the rocky path that runs below the
outside of the control room, but you’ll want to back up your scoped weapon with
something a little less long-range.
