14 DAY TRIAL // The new piece of downloadable content for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the map pack entitled Resurgence, has been launched on Xbox Live. The pack features five more combat areas for the game's multiplayer component and is priced at 1,200 Microsoft Points, that is, about 15 dollars, like the Stimulus Package before it. To celebrate this release, Infinity Ward will host an increased XP weekend, which means the Experience Points gaining rate will be doubled from the 4th of June up until the 6th of June.
Three of the maps are newly developed, but the other two have also been available in the first Modern Warfare. The old maps are called “Vacant” and “Strike,” while the new ones are named “Trailer Park,” “Carnival” and “Fuel.” They will arrive on the PlayStation 3 and the PC too, but at a later point, probably in a month's time.
The three new areas are meant to emphasize different play styles. “Trailer Park” is a dense location that features a lot of cover, favoring close combat and melee attacks. “Fuel,” on the other hand, will give snipers the occasion to dominate the battlefield, having big, open areas to chose their targets from. Finally, “Carnival” will be quite a novelty for Modern Warfare 2, featuring a decayed amusement park that will let the virtual soldiers confront each other next to fallen roller-coasters and fun houses.
Infinity Ward, Modern Warfare 2's developer, is in disarray right now after the forced departure of its studio leads and the constant stream of resignations that followed, with Modern Warfare 3's development under question. Furthermore, Treyarch is trying to take the reigns of the Call of Duty franchise with its next installment, Call of Duty: Black Ops. The game is set during the Cold War and showcases the secret military missions that took place at that time. This gives the franchise a new focus, with Treyarch not having to follow in Infinity Ward's footsteps anymore .