The Stimulus Package include includes five maps. Three are brand new to the series, and the other two are what Activision defines as ‘classic’ Call of Duty 4 maps. The two flashback maps are Crash and Overgrown. Series veterans’ will recognise these environments as the urban district with the crashed helicopter and the grassy paddock filled with houses, barns and a ditch, respectively. You certainly get a kick out of playing these old maps, if only for the pure nostalgia. Its fun running around familiar hangouts with Modern Warfare 2’s new kit and perks, while employing old strategies (if they still work). Nonetheless, you cannot help but feel you’re playing something you may already own and that the two old maps are just a bit of padding.
Return of the helicopter.
Things are much fresher with the three new maps, Bailout, Storm and Salvage. Regardless of your personal play style, there is something in each of these new environments for everyone. Bailout is a loose complex of apartment buildings connected by stairs and walkways. It’s great for snipers and players sporting long-range assault rifles, thanks to the plethora of windows and vantage points. Salvage is vastly different, packing players into an icy and claustrophobic junk yard made up of trenches and wrecked cars, with near to no cover. This is a one map where you will definitely want to call shotgun. Camping is not advised, so expect plenty of mayhem (and entertainment) if defending a certain point. Last but not least is Storm, an assortment of warehouses and shipping containers drenched by rain. This map is also great for team-based games, but unlike Salvage, there plenty of hiding spots to get the drop on the enemy. Also expect to shoot the mannequins loitering around the indoor environments more than once.
Overall, the Stimulus Package is a great compilation of maps. However, things become undone in the pricing and infrastructure departments. If you want to be guaranteed a match on one of the new maps, you must select Stimulus or Hardcore Stimulus from Modern Warfare 2’s menu of multiplayer options. The playlists rotate through each of the new maps, while selecting the game types at random. Whether you get to play Team Deathmatch or Search and Destroy, for example, its purely chance. The process for selecting new maps is far from bad, but it could have done with an extra filter or two for narrowing down the options.
Storming the enemy.
The next issue with the infrastructure is matchmaking. Even though Modern Warfare 2 has been out for a while, the process for connecting to and staying in matches is still rather buggy. The latest patch makes ping the priority when searching for games. However, not once did we get the best ping (or second, third or forth best ping) when looking for a game. After a few minutes, you may get into a match. On balance, the majority of games we played (once we got in) had good connections. Nonetheless, we still experienced problems with lag and being booted out of matches randomly. We mention the matchmaking issues because they should be a consideration in deciding whether to buy the Stimulus Package. Until the multiplayer system is nailed down perfectly, its difficult recommending the new map pack.
The final issue is price. The Stimulus Package sets a new benchmark, coming in at 1200 Microsoft Points (approximately AU $20). This is much more than the 800 Microsoft Points for each of Call of Duty: World at War’s map packs, and also more than what is costs to download full games such as Shadow Complex and Perfect Dark. In the end, it will come down to how much of a Modern Warfare 2 fan you are. As Infinity Ward’s Robert Bowling said in our recent interview, “you really just have to put a value on what you think [the] amount of gameplay is worth to you”. Diehard fans will want to pick up the package, and will certainly get countless mileage from it. For casual fans or defectors to other shooters such as Battlefield: Bad Company 2 though, it will be a different story. While fun, the Stimulus Package has no new weapons, perks or achievements, and doesn’t show anything that we haven’t seen before. Ultimately, given the premium price, the Stimulus Package will be a difficult sell for most.
Worth buying? Maybe
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Downloadable content ratings system
We've given a 'buy' rating of 'Yes', 'Maybe', or 'No'.
Yes means that the content is either great value or brings some substantial additions to the game, or possibly both.
Maybe means that the content may be fun while it lasts, but may either be too short or not enough to fully justify the price tag.
No means that we don't recommend downloading this insubstantial content.
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, there are things far worse tho that id never buy in to.
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