Shipment (Call of Duty)

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Shipment
Call of Duty location
"Shipment" as it appears in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
First appearanceCall of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
Last appearanceCall of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023)
Created byGeoffrey Smith
GenreFirst-person shooter
In-universe information
LocationChernobyl, Ukraine

"Shipment" is a multiplayer map in the Call of Duty series of first-person shooter video games published by Activision. Originally set in a shipping yard outside of Chernobyl, the map is a small, compact square with numerous shipping containers inside that the player can traverse through. As a result of the small design, the map is notorious for fast paced combat, as well as being a popular place for players to have duels. "Shipment" has been met with a mixed reception, with some praising it's fast-paced action and simple layout, but others criticizing it for those same reasons.

Design[edit]

"Shipment" is a multiplayer map from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007), a game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. The map takes place in a shipping yard near Chernobyl, Ukraine. The map's design is extremely small and simple, with the layout being a square with four smaller squares made of shipping containers inside it. Additional, angled shipping containers that the player can traverse through and take cover in are leaned up against each wall. No other elements are featured in the map.[1] Due to its small size and simplicity, fighting on the map is often extremely frantic, with players sometimes being killed immediately upon spawning, which is known as "spawn-killing".[2] This has made the map an ideal location for players to have duels, or "1v1s".[3]

The map was created by Geoffrey Smith for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007), which he served as the multiplayer design director of. Prior to becoming the game's multiplayer designer, Smith created custom maps for Counter Strike 1.6 under the username "compoSITe". "Shipment" has been noted to share numerous similarities with "fy_iceworld", a famous map in the game's community. Due to Smith repurposing his own Counter-Strike maps for Call of Duty titles, it's possible that "Shipment" was directly based on "fy_iceworld".[1] The map was originally designed exclusively to be played in a split-screen setting.[4]

History[edit]

"Shipment" first appeared in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as a multiplayer map. According to Smith, the map was never intended to be included in the final game, and was instead meant to serve as an internal testing map. Somehow during development, the map was added to the main multiplayer map selection, a mistake that wasn't noticed until the game had already shipped and it was too late. Smith has since commented that the map to be an accident, as well as the "bane of [his] existence."[4] The map also appears in the game's 2016 remaster. The map was intended to be a part of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009), though was removed from the game before release.[5]

"Shipment" reappears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019), the reboot of the original game from 2007. The map was added after the games launch, and this version takes place in London instead of Chernobyl.[1][5] The map has since appeared in the other games in the rebooted Modern Warfare sub-series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023). The iteration featured in Modern Warfare II moved settings again, this time taking place on a container ship.[6][3]

Other Call of Duty games have included maps based on "Shipment", though have given it different names, changed the setting, or changed the layout. These versions are "Container" in Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified (2012), "Showtime" in Call of Duty: Ghosts (2013), "Shipment 1944" in Call of Duty: WWII (2017), as well as a version in Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021).[5]

Reception[edit]

"Shipment" has been frequently referred to as one of the most popular maps in the Call of Duty series, as well as one of its most iconic.[2][6][7]

PC World's Brad Chacos praised the maps inclusion in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, describing the map as making up for the issues present within the game. He praised the maps fast paced combat, which allowed him to work around what he viewed to be a flawed system for leveling up his weapons.[8] Some outlets have considered "Shipment" to be one of the best maps in the Call of Duty series due to its fast-paced nature, including Kotaku and GameRevolution.[2][9] The latter wrote the map to offer "an experience that is unparalleled in first-person shooters to this day".[9]

In contrast, PC Gamer's Morgan Park referred to the map as the worst map in video game history, commenting that the reasons people loved it were the same reasons why it was bad. Writing that the map "makes zero sense on paper", he criticized the maps layout and lack of cover provided, and described the map as being more of a meme or a tool to level up than a respected map. Furthermore, citing the fast-paced action that frequently occurred on the map, Park referred to the map as summarizing the points that people don't play Call of Duty espouse against it, a "brainless, low-effort meat grinder."[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Yang, Robert (2020-04-22). "The legacy of fy_iceworld, Counter-Strike's divisive and hugely popular custom map". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  2. ^ a b c "The 10 Best Call Of Duty Maps Of All Time". Kotaku. 2023-08-30. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  3. ^ a b "1v1 Me On Shipment, Coward". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  4. ^ a b "One Of Call Of Duty 4's Most Beloved Maps Was Only Left In By Accident". Kotaku. 2023-05-15. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  5. ^ a b c Mudd, John (2021-09-23). "Call of Duty: Every Version of Shipment So Far". Game Rant. Archived from the original on 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  6. ^ a b "Call of Duty 4's iconic Shipment map included by accident, developer "forgot" to remove it". Eurogamer.net. 2023-05-16. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  7. ^ "One of Call of Duty's most iconic maps was originally released by accident". VGC. 2023-05-15. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  8. ^ "Shipment makes Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's worst parts fun". PCWorld. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  9. ^ a b Ashworth, Mack (2018-10-18). "Best Call of Duty Maps - From Shipment and Rust, to Castle and Raid". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  10. ^ Park, Morgan (2022-11-11). "The worst map in all of videogames is coming back". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
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