An Infinity Ward developer has addressed one ofCall of Duty:Modern Warfare 2’s most unpopular launch maps, Santa Sena Border Crossing, and explains the logic behind its controversial layout.Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is currently midway through its third season with Season 4 expected to begin next month.
Modern Warfare 2launched last year with 10 multiplayer maps. One of these maps, Santa Sena Border Crossing, pits two teams against each other at a disarrayed border crossing filled with abandoned cars, trucks, and buses. The map sports a three lane structure with a wider lane down the middle flanked by narrower lanes on either side separated by two long corridors. Many hardcore players disliked the structure of the map as well as the abundance of vehicles primed to explode at any moment, often leading to a great deal of frustration. While Santa Sena Border is definitely a unique map in layout and setting, itcaught the ire of many players in the hardcoreCall of Dutycommunity.
RELATED:Call of Duty Developer Infinity Ward Reveals That Shipment Was Originally A Mistake
In an interview with Dexerto, Infinity Ward’s Multiplayer Design Director Geoff Smith spoke about the Santa Sena Border Crossing map and addressed the backlash ofone ofModern Warfare 2’s most unpopular launch maps. Smith cited a responsibility for the team to balance between more experimental maps for the casual playerbase to enjoy and maps that cater to the competitive audience.
“Not all of them are super sweaty, balanced ones. There’s ones where ‘hey, it’d be really cool to fight over a border crossing.’ And I know that map’s not super popular in certain groups, but we like to keep it fun and it’s really neat to move through those cars, channeling Sicario. So we try to keep it fun and switch it up, but there’s a balance.”
Since the sea of exploding vehicles seems to be the biggest criticism of the Santa Sena map, manyCall of Dutyplayers feel it would be best to not have the cars explode at all. However, exploding vehicles have been a part ofCall of Duty’s dynamic nature for quite some time, so having cars on the map that don’t explode would be inconsistent with the gameplay of the franchise. Another more viable idea would be to have all the cars already destroyed before the match begins. While it might work, the idea doesn’t quite mesh with the map’s opening scene of all the people frantically fleeing their vehicles as the players spawn in.
It’s important that Geoff Smith is acknowledging and valuing the casualCall of Dutyaudience who may care more about the uniqueness and environmental designof maps over the competitive viability of them. Millions of gamers purchaseCall of Dutyeach year and a good portion of players simply want cool and interesting looking maps to enjoy; Santa Sena Border Crossing definitely leans in that direction.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
