I'm hearing that call

I’m making it my responsibility to rally the troops this week to welcome “Call of Duty 4:Game of the Year Edition”, which launches just in time for the arrival of a fantastic new Variety Map Pack.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has, unsurprisingly, picked up numerous awards since its release in November 2007. The pick of the bunch was ‘Console Game of the Year’ from the renowned Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS), and take it from me: Call of Duty 4, like Halo 3, is a game worth owning an Xbox 360 just to play. You don’t need to be an FPS fanatic to appreciate the drama, if you love movies such as Black Hawk Down and Tears of the Sun you’ll be in your element.

From early April a set of four new maps will be available via Xbox LIVE Marketplace , collectively known as the Variety Map Pack. Everybody that owns COD4 can download them for 800 Microsoft Points. The COD4 Game of the Year Edition comes with a special token for Xbox LIVE that allows you to download this too.

Here’s a brief lowdown on what these maps have to offer, without ruining too much of the surprise for you.

“Broadcast” is adapted from the Charlie Don't' Surf single-player mission, taking place inside an enemy communications tower where narrow passageways contrast with wide-open car parks. “Chinatown”, based on COD2’s Carentan, lets you hide in the shadows with only the moonlight and flickering neon to guide you. “Creek” you’ll also recognise from the single-player campaign mode, a tiny war-torn village where concealment is the key. Finally “Killhouse” is a training warehouse, much like the one that you see at the start of the game, but ideally staged for multiplayer sessions.

November, eh? Has it really been that long!

Graeme Boyd, Xbox.com Community Manager, Gamertag: AceyBongos

Out This Week

Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition

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