Call of Duty 4 is the number one played game on Xbox Live and with good reason. It is one of those games that gamers just can’t seem to remove from their console, and with new downloadable maps out, there are now even less reasons for any of them to want to.

For ten dollars, or 800 Microsoft points, gamers will be treated to four new maps. The maps included in the pack are Broadcast, Creek, China Town and Kill House. If you are an avid Call of Duty player, then I am sure you have already purchased the maps and are too busy playing them right now to read what I have to say about them. However, for the rest of you, before you jump in and make that ten dollar purchase, you may want to give it some thought.

Currently, all of the new maps are set aside in their own playlist with the exception of Kill House, which is worked into cage matches and team tactical, as it is a very small map. As of print, if a player is in one of the new map play lists, they will receive double XP for any kills. This will give gamers more incentive to experiment with the new maps.

The first map I tried out was Broadcast, which is a modified version of a level from the single player mode. The map consists of a large building with a lot of tight hallways and a parking lot outside, in the vein of a map like Vacant. This map feels somewhat unbalanced to me. It lacks structure, and you will find yourself getting attacked randomly from all directions. There really are no “sides” to this map, so it is hard to plan out any kind of a strategy.

The next map I spent some time on was Creek. Creek is a huge map, larger than most of the maps that shipped with the game. Creek is a very Sniper friendly map, as most conflicts will occur at long range, unless you can manage to make it across the dried up river over to where your enemy is spawning. I enjoy Creek more than Broadcast, but it still doesn’t feel quite as good as most of the maps that shipped with the game.

My most anticipated map was China Town, and it definitely lived up to the hype. It is a very well balanced map, with a lot of buildings for players to hide out and plenty of windows to shoot from. China Town is a city map, with very Asian themed art. It is a great addition to the Call of Duty 4 map lineup, and one I look forward to experimenting with a lot more.

The last map addition is Kill House. Kill House is the map I have experienced the least, because it is not in the double XP playlist; however, I did get a few games in team tactical on it. It is set in an abandoned training facility, filled with wood bunkers, and some high ground. Kill House is a great map, the best of the new maps, without question. It’s balanced perfectly, and its size is perfect for team tactical. It is not as small as Shipment, but it’s not as large as the average Call of Duty Map.

Overall, the new maps are good, but not great. My expectations for these maps were extremely high, and they didn’t live up to it. If you are a hardcore Call of Duty 4 player then you should pick the maps up, but if you only play casually, I would recommend saving your money.