Introduction

In the chaotic multiplayer game mode in the Call of Duty titles, there is an important element that makes the gameplay engaging while being chaotic. And one element is the map design.

Map design is a tremendous deal in the multiplayer mode, because it has a massive influence on whether the matches will play well or terribly. Over the decades, there were maps that became beloved and fan favorites, with them even being remade in the modern titles.

This blog post will explore the most iconic maps in the entire franchise, starting from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which is a game released back in 2007. These are timeless classic maps that have an enormous impact on the multiplayer modes.

Nuketown (Black Ops)

Nuketown is one of the most iconic maps in the entire Call of Duty franchise. It has been remade in every Black Ops game because of its massive popularity. What makes this map special is its iconic location and super-fast pace.

It has an eerie feel to it because of its being a nuclear test site, especially with the several mannequins placed around the entire map. Players are fighting in the middle of a test site where a nuke can go off at any moment (which it does at the end of every match).

One neat Easter egg that adds to this eerie feel is that in BO3, mannequins can follow players if the Easter egg is done right.

Since the map is tiny, this makes the gameplay chaotic and very unpredictable. Action takes place every second, making the gameplay very chaotic with no time to breathe. If a team does extreme work, it will dominate the matches by destroying the opposing team. Players love this as this gives this adrenaline rush and a satisfying feeling.

Shipment (Modern Warfare)

Another iconic map in the franchise is the Shipment map from the 2007 title, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Like Nuketown, this map is small, and even smaller than Nuketown, making the matches extremely fast-paced and chaotic.

Its location is on a Russian shipping yard, which is a tiny map encouraging extremely fast-paced, chaotic matches. There is no break or breathing room to take when there is too much action happening, as this makes this map a fan favorite.

One correlating factor is that fans love maps that are compact and provide constant action, which is something Shipment delivers. Since its size is tiny, it is a great map for a few players, such as 1 vs 1.

Rust (Modern Warfare 2)

The legendary Call of Duty title, Modern Warfare 2, has some of the most iconic maps in the entire franchise, with Rust being one of them.

Just like the two maps above, Rust is a tiny map offering plenty of action and chaos. It doesn’t take forever to find opposing players, making the map also great for 1 vs 1 matches.

One unique factor is the ventilation ducts leading to high heights, which provides more depth to the map design. While Shipment is overall flat, Rust’s map design is much more unique and enjoyable than Shipment.

This map has been remade and included in different titles for these reasons. Despite Modern Warfare 2 was released in 2009, Rust is still an iconic map and a fan favorite.

Terminal (Modern Warfare 2)

Another iconic map from Modern Warfare 2 is Terminal. While this map is larger than Nuketown and Rust, it offers a much more unique map design that works well.

What makes this map unique is that it is not a traditional three-lane map because of its location. There is an airplane in a very open space, which leads inside the airport from multiple directions. Not only that, but it also offers more vertical views for players to enjoy different playstyles.

Even though this map is larger than Nuketown, it is still considered an amazing map to this very day. It even was added to Modern Warfare 3 for free.

Raid (Black Ops 2)

In Black Ops 2, the map Raid has become a fan favorite due to how well it plays. While the map design is not entirely innovative or interesting because of its three-lane map design, it offers a well-designed flow for matches.

The map offers plenty of areas to hide from enemy streaks, and there are plenty of paths to take to get to the objectives. This makes finding enemies easier and faster with no need to worry about the timer.

Firing Range (Black Ops)

In the first Black Ops game, Nuketown was not the only iconic map. Firing Range was also a map that became a fan favorite due to how well it was designed.

While it is a three-lane map, it still offers an interesting map design. The map has a more triangular design, with the theme of the map being at a firing range. Then, there are buildings to enter with a sniper tower placed in the middle of the map to climb up to.

Even though it is not entirely unique as Terminal, it is still a great map to play, and the matches are very enjoyable, making this an iconic map.

Hijacked (Black Ops 2)

In Black Ops 2, the map Raid has become a fan favorite due to how well it plays. While the map design is not entirely innovative or interesting because of its three-lane map design, it offers a well-designed flow for matches.

The map offers plenty of areas to hide from enemy streaks, and there are plenty of paths to take to get to the objectives. This makes finding enemies easier and faster with no need to worry about the timer.

Crash (Modern Warfare)

Finally, the last map is Crash from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It is another fan favorite because of its map design and the helicopter crash site in the middle of the map.

The map offers a well-balanced layout with several buildings to use for cover and multiple routes to use. Then, with the buildings, players can access greater heights, which helps make the map stand out more.

Then, there is the iconic helicopter crash site that changes how the map flows in the middle of the map. It is also worth noting that the map size is small compared to other maps, making the matches much faster.

Honorable Mentions

There are many other maps that are fan favorites and considered by fans to be iconic. Here are some more listed below that are worth mentioning and would be iconic:

• Favela [MW2]

• Summit [BO]

• Dome [MW3]

• Jungle [BO]

• Crossfire [MW]

• Castle [WaW]

There are many others that deserve to be mentioned, because they are also very popular maps that are beloved for similar reasons. However, the blog post cannot cover all maps nicely because the list will be extremely long.

In summary, there were many iconic maps in the franchise that are still heavily favored to this very day, such as Shipment and Rust. They became fan favorites because of their design and flow, making matches very enjoyable.

Having a well-designed map made these maps stand out and even be remade in newer Call of Duty titles such as Nuketown. Small maps might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but their size changes up the pace of the matches, usually in a good way.

What are your thoughts? Do you think there are other maps that are iconic and deserve to be mentioned?