variety

POST UPDATED:

We we’re able to move up the date so we ship DLC worldwide on the same day!! Read the updated post here: http://iamfourzerotwo.com/2008/04/21/cod4-ps3-dlc-worldwide-release-april-24th/

Hey Everyone –

As you know, the Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare went up on Xbox Live at 6:30 AM this morning. I wanted to give you the details on how it all works for now and how it’s all going to work in a couple of days.

Once you’ve downloaded the maps you’ll notice two new playlists:

Variety Team Deathmatch

Variety Team Objective

These two playlists will only contain the new map packs on the Team Deathmatch and Objective gametypes, and is currently the only place you can play the new maps. Players on these two new playlists may be able to grab some extra XP this first weekend, so keep your eye on it closely.

DON’T WORRY THOUGH, I already know what you’re thinking…”but I want to play all the gametypes on the new maps!”… and you will; because over the upcoming days the new maps will also be added to all other playlists and gametypes. This will allow people to get some gametype on the new maps right out the gate and get familiar with them on the more popular gametypes without dividing the community in half. Over the next few days as more and more people download the maps and join in, the maps will start showing up in the map rotation for all playlists.

So in short:

New Maps are in the Variety playlists.

In the upcoming days the new maps are going to be added to the rotation of all the playlists.

Let me know if you guys have any questions or problems, meanwhile ENJOY THE MAPS and I’ll see you online!

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.496893&w=425&h=350&fv=] from www.gametrailers.com posted with vodpod

Looks like the official release time for the new Variety Map Pack DLC for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is going to be 6:30 AM PST Friday morning. It’s currently 11:47 PM Thursday night at the time of this posting, so only 6 more hours to go before we can jump on the new maps. To go along with the news of the exact release time, Gametrailers has posted up two new videos that we shot yesterday at the Infinity Ward studios about the map pack. There should be one more in the pipeline for Chinatown, meanwhile enjoy the new Broadcast and Creek videos where I lay out some of my favorite strategies for the new maps as well as a general overview of what you can expect after 6:30 AM when the maps are available for download via Xbox Live!

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.496901&w=425&h=350&fv=] from www.gametrailers.com posted with vodpod

In addition to the map packs hitting, I hear there may be a little extra XP up for grabs this weekend when playing on the new maps. So I’ll definitely be online this weekend to play the new maps.

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.495330&w=425&h=350&fv=] from www.gametrailers.com

Despite what the internet might tell you (including some “official” sources), the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare variety map pack has NOT been delayed until the 10th. As of right now we’re pushing certification for an on-time release for April 3rd or 4th. As of right now though, I’m being told that it’s a good chance it will be released worldwide (except for Japan) tomorrow night / early-Friday morning.

With that said, we also have a new video up on Gametrailers that show off the new maps in action, so check it out above.

For those of you asking when you should take off work, I’d take off Friday, as it looks like they should be available late Thursday night / early Friday morning, which means Friday you should be able to play all day. Also, those of you who have tokens already (either from Game of the Year edition or won them at the Gamestop event we held) you’ll be able to use them as soon as the Map packs are available on Xbox Live.

Update for those of you who bought the Game of the Year Editions:

I see a lot of questions for those of you who have the Game of the Year Editions and visited http://gameoftheyear.callofduty.com/ where all the April 10th delay date rumors spawned from. However, I wanted to let you know that I am currently working to get that changed so that it reflects the correct release date of the maps (April 4th) as well as allows users who buy the GOTY edition to redeem their code for a token as soon as the maps are available (on April 4th) instead of April 10th. I hope that clears up any confusion and I will keep you updated if anything changes, but I wanted to let you know I’m working to make sure you’re taken care of.

We’ve touched down in New York and are held up in Hotel Chandler getting ready to head over to the Gamestop on Broadway to check out the set up for the Variety Map Pack hands-on event tomorrow. Before that though I made sure we took advantage of being on the East Coast and hunted down the first White Castles we could find to score a Crave Case of cheeseburgers.

Once we finished up destroying the Crave Case we stopped by the Gamestop location to check out the early set-up process. The first few hundred attendees will snag a token to download the new Map Pack for Free next week on Xbox 360. Along with that we’ll be hosting a tournament on the new maps tomorrow a the Gamestop here in New York where players can win a $1000 in Giftcards to Gamestop as well as some other prizing and swag including Call of Duty 4 Dog Tags to those in line, and a more swag.

If you’re in the area check out the details below, I’ll be there the entire time tomorrow hanging out and playing the new maps. Don’t forget we also have the same event going down in San Jose, CA for our West Coast players:

Be sure to sign-up and get all the details on Gamestop’s page:

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/cod4ftp/default.asp

Locations:

New York
3/28/08, 9:00PM - 12:00AM
Store# 1363 33rd/Broadway
1282 Broadway
New York, NY 10001
(212) 967-9070

San Jose
3/28/08, 8:30PM - 11:30PM
Store #812 San Jose
3580 Stevens Creek Blvd
San Jose, CA 95117
(408) 261-9011

We’re heading back over to the Gamestop now to load up the new Maps and test them out to ensure all is good to go tomorrow evening. We’ll try to snag some more photos and will be sure to report back tomorrow to let you know how it all went down. Looking forward to meeting those of you who emailed me or let me know you’ll be there tomorrow night!!

Some more photos…

The epic opening of the long awaited crave case we walked miles to get and another shot of the Gamestop being set-up. If we snap some more photos tonight when testing out the new maps and set-up I’ll post them up here.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.998950&w=425&h=350&fv=object_ID%3D902590%26downloadURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fxbox360movies.ign.com%2Fxbox360%2Fvideo%2Farticle%2F859%2F859870%2Fcod4_chinatown2_031408_flvlowwide.flv%26allownetworking%3D] from fourzerotwo.vodpod.c

As promised this past weekend, a full preview of the upcoming Variety Map Pack for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare went live today on IGN, TeamXbox, and Gamespy. Along with four new exclusive gameplay footage videos. You can check out the Creek video above courtesy of IGN, and a Chinatown video below courtesy of Gamespy. For videos of Killhouse and Broadcast be sure to check out the full articles on the sites below.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.998947&w=425&h=350&fv=object_ID%3D902590%26downloadURL%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fxbox360movies.ign.com%2Fxbox360%2Fvideo%2Farticle%2F859%2F859870%2Fcod4_theravine_031408_flvlowwide.flv%26allownetworking%3D] from fourzerotwo.vodpod.c

The IGN, TeamXbox, and Gamespy crew were here last week and spent the entire day playing through the entire Variety Map Pack. So what did they think? Be sure to check out the full articles on their respective sites but here are some excerpts from each:

IGN Says:

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.

He’s def right about the alternating routes. Broadcast is all about the alternating routes and is a huge map. We received a lot of demand to play in the TV station from single player in multiplayer, so we took that and ran with it, but don’t expect a copy / paste from Single Player as this level has been completely reworked. We kept the signature large center room everyone loved in SP and fully opened up the rest of the station. So you can explore multiple floors, shoot from window vantage points for floor to floor combat and make your way throughout the entire station as well as outside area with surrounding buildings (one with a great sniper spot to shoot inside the TV Station) and side rooftops.

Gamespy says:

The first map we checked out was called Creek, and it’s one of the largest Call of Duty 4 maps to date. Creek is an asymmetrical map that features a multi-building village on one side and a farmhouse on the other. Despite the trees and bushes that dot the landscape, it’s actually possible to see a fairly long distance, making this a great map for those players who love to snipe. Separating the two landmark areas is a dry riverbed that lies in a valley between a gently sloping hillside and a steep cliff with switchback trails cut into it.

TeamXbox Says:

Chinatown has the look of an inner-city neighborhood. Again, mixing the outdoor areas of the street and alleys with the two-story indoor areas of the building makes for a very nice mix of close quarters and long-range style fighting.

Again, be sure to check out the full articles as they go indepth on everything you need to know about the upcoming new maps. In addition it looks like we’ve finally been able to narrow down pricing and a closer release date for the map pack with it hitting in early to mid-April for 800 MS Points with similar pricing for PS3.

Update: I just noticed one of the articles mentioned Hardcore playlists would be condensed. That’s not accurate. We will not be removing or condensing any Hardcore playlists, if anything we’ll add more.