MW2 DLC: Resurgence Pack Review – Xbox 360

As we all know, Activision’s first Downloadable Map Pack – “The Stimulus Pack” – was priced at 1200 MS points and had a lot of gamers enraged. Many said that they would never buy it because it was overpriced. As it turns out, over 2 million people ended up buying it or, perhaps, many were able to snag a code to download the maps for free. Following the success of the first map pack, Activision released the second map pack called “The Resurgence Pack”. The Resurgence Pack, like the first, includes 3 new maps and 2 “old” maps from COD4 – Carnival, Fuel, Trailer Park, Strike, and Vacant. Again, this map pack is priced at 1200 MS points, but perhaps this time the maps are better than those in the Stimulus Pack and are more worth the 1200 MS points?

First up we have Carnival. Out of the 5 maps, this one is my favourite. The setting for the map, as you’d expect, is in an abandoned theme park. It’s a medium sized map and is great for any game mode. For campers, there are a lot of good spots to sit and wait for that unsuspecting enemy. However, for people who like to play properly, there is a lot of space to run around and plenty of cover as you weave around fences and walls, as well as in and around small rides. I really like the carnival setting and seeing the different flanks routes throughout. A lot of times I would see someone camping in the fun house watching the slide entrance, but I would always sneak up around them and kill them without warning.

Next up is a much larger map called Fuel; however, it can feel small and closed in depending on the game mode. The setting of Fuel is an oil refinery with numerous buildings and elevated terrain that provide a lot of cover. There are some open spots, but most of the time you should be able to find some paths where you can sneak around the map. Objectives are set up in semi open spots, but provided is enough of a surrounding for sufficient cover.

Trailer Park is the last of the new maps and, that’s right, you guessed it, it’s set in a trailer park. If you are familiar with trailer parks, the trailers are fairly close together with small roads that allow you to get from one end of the park to the other. This map has many open flank routes on the outside, but if you look closely on the inside, you will find smaller routes that you can use to surprise your enemy. Although it is a trailer park, you will find a lot of airplane parts around the outside such as engines and wings, and even a full backend to a passenger plane. It’s kind of strange, but fits in the MW2 setting. Out of the 5 maps, this is the smallest map, but it provides a lot of action. Be aware though that you will probably die a lot as spawn points are close together and there is probably an enemy around every corner. With that said, it’s still quite fun.

Returning from COD4, Strike is the same map set in a large urban desert town that has seen quite a massive firefight. I’ll be honest, I didn’t play COD4′s multiplayer that much, so I had to rely on some information from others, but apparently there are some extra additions; like a new building to provide cover in a certain area, and the obvious graphical upgrades. So, although minimal, it is improved. I do remember it from COD4 and I must say it is a fun map. Depending on the game mode and location on the map, it feels like 4 different maps in one.

Another returning favourite from COD4 is Vacant. Again, just like in COD4, this map is set in a deserted Russian office where a lot of fighting occurs inside with flank routes around the outside. Works great for most game modes; especially Free-For-All.

Overall, I personally felt like these maps were better than those in the Stimulus Pack. But then again, this map pack is titled Resurgence which means revival: bringing again into activity and prominence. I must admit, Activision sure picks proper names for the map packs. The first one stimulated our wallets for a purchase. The second, being Resurgence, definitely brought me back into the game and I actually felt like playing again. I felt that addictive quality that is attached to a COD game.

So back to the original question – Is it worth 1200 points? Not really. Although I did feel a sense of enjoyment and addiction that is attached to MW2, I did get bored of the maps fairly quickly. For better value, I think if they bundled all of the “new” maps together and priced them at 1200 points I, and many other gamers, would likely be quite happy. Even if they bundled the 4 old maps and sold them at 800 points, we’d once again be happy. I’ll say it again; the choice is all yours when it comes to these maps. They were fun, but the price makes you think twice about making the purchase.

Overall Score: 7/10

A code for the MW2 DLC was provided to us for review purposes from the publisher

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