Ranking the Modern Warfare 3 Maps

Although there are no numbers here, these are in order of most favorite to least favorite.

The Favorites

Village

Probably my favorite map at this point. Although there is a horrible choke point, it often leads to exciting battles. I like the brightness of the map and the different paths that are available to get around. All game modes seem fun on this one.

Outpost

The only snow map in Modern Warfare 3, it is very reminiscent of Sub Base from Modern Warfare 2, which was also one of my favorites. Although the falling snow creates a haze at long distances this map has a couple of great spots and is spread out enough that it’s fun. There are some sniper spots, but they aren’t as one sided as other maps.

Fallen

Another bright outdoor map. This one has a couple of tailor-made sniper spots, but after you learn to avoid those areas it’s a lot of fun. Great map for taking out UAVs. because of the clear, blue sky. Some places, the wall color makes it very hard to see people, so the Marksman perk) is very useful here.

Dome

Chris’s favorite map, but just 4th on my list. While the games are fast and intense, lives end so fast that it’s just not my cup of tea all the time. Also, the point streaks tend to pile up on this map and that doesn’t always make things better.

The Next Best

Bakaara

One of the few large, spread out maps in the game, and right out of the movie Black Hawk Down. Definitely a few sniper spots, but spread out enough that it’s hard to stay in one place for too long. Another map where Marksmen is huge.

Resistance

I hated this map the first few times I have played it, but it has really grown on me as I have learned the places people frequent and where to go and not go. Like the pipe on Hardhat, people seem to love the house in the middle of the map, despite the fact that there is only one way in and out.

Downturn

Probably my favorite map the first couple of weeks, but it has grown stale on me. Because of all the concrete rubble, it is often very difficult to make out other players because the uniforms are gray. This leads to a lot of surprise encounters.

Hardhat

Very similar to Modern Warfare 2′s Quarry, this one is a the construction site of an unfinished building. There is a concrete pipe that people congregate in for some reason, despite the fact that once you get in, it’s difficult to get out. This map has it’s moments, as long as you stay out of the pipe.

Interchange

Another gray concrete map that is all spread out and has occasional snipers. Sometimes probably too spread out and too much time running around. Also impossible to shoot down UAVs because of a hazy sky.

The Disliked

Underground

The London subway map seemed cool for a while but has more annoyances than fun spots. All the maps I like have something in common, a place I like to frequent. This map doesn’t have that.

Lockdown

Although the middle bridge in Lockdown is tons of fun, especially with a partner and a riot shield, the map overall has lots of stupidness, including windows where snipers frequent just waiting for players to run by.

Mission

A couple of weeks ago I would have put this map at the bottom, but it has grown on my some. Like most maps, if the worst spots are avoided it can actually be fun. The one side where sniping takes place is the place to avoid, but the middle alley is a fun spot.

The Avoid At All Costs

Seatown

At one point my least favorite map, I don’t dislike it as much as the ones below but it is still one I will avoid whenever I can. There are no good spots and way too many elevated positions that make it a pain. Lots of camping from the elevated spots on this one.

Carbon

Another map with far too many elevated positions and because of the colors and darkness to this map it’s often hard to see players that are further away.

Arkaden

A horrible maps with horrible hiding places and choke points and absolutely nothing good about it.

Bootleg

There is nothing good about this map either. It’s a decent map to go riot shield on for Domination but as with many maps people tend to congregate in bad spots and when they don’t they like to snipe from the corners.

Apps Tie Me To The Platform

Brett Kelly:

Personally, I own many dozens of iOS apps, several of which are on the more expensive side (relative to most). Disregarding that most of these apps simply aren’t even available on Android, having to buy them all again would be quite costly. Either way, though, none of the apps you own on one platform will come with you to the next one.

Whenever people talk to me about Android, and would I switch, and why I won’t consider it I tell them that at this point, it has less to do with the hardware and more to do with the software that I have invested in.

It’s both the combination of money spent and the way that many of these applications fit into my workflow and routine.

(Click to view source article)

± Permalink

Being Tech Support

Marco Arment:

I spent Thanksgiving weekend in my hometown and visited my friend’s parents. They used to generously pay me to fix their computer problems, but it wasn’t always productive: everything took far longer than I thought it would, and my efforts to fix one problem often created others. It was inevitable: they’re an architect and a graphic designer, and I was a computer nerd with very little professional IT experience, so I never fully appreciated the complexity of their software setups or their priorities for getting their jobs done.

Although I never got paid, while I was in high school and college I also used to provide tech support for many of the people I knew. I ran into the same pitfalls as Marco. Fixing one thing would always create a new problem. And not knowing or understanding a person’s setup, workflow or priority would often cause new problems.

A big issue is that non-IT people tend to do things in unorthodox ways. They store files in peculiar places. They use applications in ways that tech-savvy people don’t.

Thankfully I don’t get many of these requests anymore because most people have someone in their family who can help them with this.

(Click to view source article)

± Permalink

Modern Warfare 3 Updates Coming

Robert Bowling on a future Modern Warfare 3 update:

Hot Fixes after TU6: Weapon Rebalancing (Dual FMG-9, Type-95, CM-901 Attachments)

The Dual FMG-9′s are my (and many, many people’s) choice for a secondary weapon because they are stupidly good. There is no recoil pretty much at all and it’s so easy to get kills. It will definitely change my gameplay (especially with the riot shield) when they fix this, but I knew it was coming.

Meanwhile, sometime during the Game-A-Thon, Chris and Dave convinced me that the Type 95 was so awesome that I had to try it. I gave it more of a chance and fell in love. Now they are going to change it in some way. I am thinking they will make it less powerful since it seems a little too good, but we shall see. I will be sad if they weaken it too much since I like it so much now.

(Click to view source article)

± Permalink

The Original Taking of Pelham 123

Tom from ACSlater.com:

If you only experience one version of “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three” make it this version. While the more recent remake with Denzel Washington and John Travolta isn’t the worst film I’ve ever seen, the original is far superior and seemed to work better for me.

I have seen both the original and the remake, and find the original, which I saw 2nd, to be superior. The acting was better, it was funnier and the story was better. Overall, much better movie and worth your time.

(Click to view source article)

± Permalink

Buehrle Interest Should Not Be Surprising

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times on Mark Buerhle:

What has become apparent is that the Sox made a small miscalculation on what the market for Buehrle would be like. According to a source, the Sox thought that there would be five or six teams interested in him and that a two-year deal would get it done.

Wow. The most worrisome part of this is that the White Sox didn’t know this. I have seen plenty of sportswriters list Buerhle as one of the top 5 free agent starters out there. Because he is dependable and durable it makes sense for a contender to add him as a number 2 or 3 starter. And there are plenty of 2nd tier teams who could use a durable guy as well.

I for one am not at all surprised.

(via MLB Trade Rumors)

(Click to view source article)

± Permalink

Advertisements Are Ruining Web Design

Rian from Elezea on reading on web pages:

As advertising clickthrough rates continue to drop, the ads become more desperate and invasive, and readers are starting to notice and do something about it. I’m doing the majority of my reading in RSS and Instapaper where I can read in peace without being pummeled by distractions.

I concur. In my entire life I have purposely clicked on advertisements on websites less than 5 times, and I spend hours on the interwebs daily. Even still, I would gladly pay for an ad-free experience on the web sites I spend the most time on.

(via Daring Fireball)

(Click to view source article)

± Permalink

Electronic Devices On Airplanes

Nick Bilton of the New York Times on personal electronics on airplanes:

New technologies are often greeted with fear and that is certainly true of a disruptive technology like cellphones. Yet rules that are decades old persist without evidence to support the idea that someone reading an e-book or playing a video game during takeoff or landing is jeopardizing safety.

Although I am sure this could be easily confirmed, I don’t think it has much to do with interference as it does with other safety-related things. I am pretty sure that most emergencies happen either just after takeoff or just before landing, and people having laptops, iPads and iPhones out could just get in the way.

Part of my reason for thinking this, is that on a recent trip the airline I flew was very inconsistent with when they had us turn off devices. On the outgoing trip we had to turn off electronics like 25 minutes before we landed, while on the way back it was almost less than five. It’s possible they just forgot, but it’s also possible the this no longer has anything to do with electronic interference.

(via Ben Brooks)

(Click to view source article)

± Permalink

GamePro Is No More

GamePro.com:

Thank you for your loyalty, support, and participation in the GamePro.com community. At noon on December 5, 2011, the U.S. version of GamePro online will shut down as an independent site. GamePro will become part of PCWorld.com (http://www.pcworld.com/gamepro) offering gaming news, reviews, and how-tos from the PCWorld team. Thank you to the entire GamePro staff for their hard work and dedication.

GamePro will forever be one of those things I remember from my youth despite never having it myself. I have never visited GamePro.com but this is just yet another victim on the list of print publications who could not make a successful online transition.

(via Andrea Rene)

(Click to view source article)

± Permalink

Bobby Valentine Is Back

Tim Kurkjian of ESPN.com on new Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine:

He was a great football player; he once scored six touchdowns in the first half of a game at Stamford (Conn.) High School. He was heading to USC to replace O.J. Simpson at tailback, but he chose baseball over football after then-Dodgers general manager Al Campanis asked him, “What would you rather do, play against the best football players in the Pac-10 or against the best baseball players in the world?”

Amazing. Definitely never knew that. Kurkjian’s piece is very glowing, and he talks about Valentines’ knowledge as a baseball man. He does mention Valentine’s smugness, but what he fails to mention is why this “great baseball mind” hasn’t been a manager in the big leagues for 9 seasons. I know he managed in Japan, and has been associated with some openings the last few years, but there might be something to this.

But at the same time, he might be the kind of manager the Red Sox need to get back on track.

(Click to view source article)

± Permalink