Gamings' Greatest Arenas: Top 15 Multiplayer Maps Of All Time

Posted 09/22/2011 at 12:01pm | by Brad Chacos

Here in the red-pill real world, the scenery’s a bit hit and miss. For every beautiful beach resort, there are a hundred ho-hum forgettable towns. Multiplayer maps in blue-pill PC gaming land suffer from the same problem. It shouldn’t come as a surprise; with hundreds of games sporting thousands of maps, most of them are bound to be filler. A few diamonds manage to rise above the mountain of coal, however, and they offer an amazing experience that simply begs to be played over and over again, preferably while wearing bright blue megaarmor and wielding a rocket launcher.

Dreamers like Cliff Bleszinski, Richard “Levelord” Gray and Paul Jaquays create virtual worlds that are chock full of unforgettable landmarks and perfectly designed fragalicious goodness. Join us for a stroll down memory lane as we take a look at 15 of the most memorable video game maps of all time, and feel free to leave a comment to let us know which totally awesome levels we idiotically left out.

1 of 15

Top 15 Multiplayer Maps

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We already tipped our hat with this map in the teaser pic, so let's get it out of the way. The Battlefield series' Wake Island map is utterly humongous and features a ton of vehicles that makes massive battles all the more chaotic. Just like in real life, the key to flag-claiming victory is often found in the air. Image Source
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At one time, Counter-Strike was synonymous for FPS. Tons of awesome maps were available -- cs_assault, cs_office, or fy_iceworld, anybody? -- but de_dust is a classic thanks to its simple, open design and penchant for choke points. Seeing the bright sun shining overhead was a rarity in gaming at the time. Image Source
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If you played Unreal Tournament back in the day -- and who didn't? -- and played Capture The Flag in Unreal Tournament back in the day -- and again, who didn't? -- you played it on Facing Worlds, or as we like to call it "Sniper's Playground." UT3 featured a remake of the level. Image Source
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Not all gaming happens in the first person. Back in May, Starcraft 2 players overwhelmingly voted Xel'Naga Caverns as the best 1 vs. 1 melee map in all the land. Why? "Xel'Naga caverns is a good, balanced, well thought out map with no position imbalances," a player named Evoken wrote on the Battle.net post. Image Source
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Vertical design? Check. Rocket launchers and railguns? Check. Hours of multiplayer hijinks? Double-check. You're never safe in Tokay's Tower, and the level's crazy design narrowly beats out The Dark Zone's telefragging fun for king of the Quake 2 maps. Image Source
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Okay, Halo was never quite as popular on the PC as it was on the Xbox, but it was still a blast to play. Hang 'Em High and Lockout were memorable, but Blood Gulch comes up aces thanks to its symmetrical, Facing Worlds-esque layout, wide open design and epic Warthog battles. Get the flag! Image Source
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Oh, did we say CTF? If Unreal Tournament's Facing Worlds is a little too old for your tastes, check out the simple brutality found in Team Fortress 2's classic 2fort map. The name says it all, and now that TF2's free to play, there's no reason not to dive in. Yeah, it's a bit spammy, but that's all part of the fun. Image Source
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Some of the most hair-raising gameplay in Left 4 Dead 2 occurs in The Atrium, when players have to work together to fuel up a car and escape the mall before the undead start eating faces. Tossing gas cans down to a teammate several stories below while dodging the zombie horde is an experience that grays hair like few others. Image Source
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Battlefield gives you big maps, but Grand Theft Auto 4 opens up all of Liberty City to up to 32 gamers at once. Nothing else quite compares, especially when tanks and helicopters get involved. Our only wish: bring back the parachutes from GTA: San Andreas! Image Source
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The Longest Yard may not be the best balanced map in the world, but when we think about Quake 3 Arena, we think about this level. Combining bounce pads, railguns and openly visible platforms was smart. Adding quad damage and rocket launchers to the mix was a stroke of genius. Image Source
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There's no way to make a list of the top multiplayer maps and leave Call Of Duty off of it. A lot of people love the Crash map, but we actually prefer CoD4's massive Overgrown level. There's a ton of indoor areas for shotgun fans, open spaces and high grass for snipers, and a couple of bridges that act as natural choke points. Image Source
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Doom fragfests were wearing out keyboards long before Quake and Unreal Tournament hit the scene. Hangar, otherwise known as "The Very First Level," was the best multiplayer map in the game. Even if you'd only played the first single-player level, you knew the layout of the deceptively simple map, which packed in a good weapon variety and the kickass computer room. Image Source
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Warcraft 3's Defense of the Ancients rocks because of its tight 5-on-5 gameplay and hero-orientated design. Players control a single upgradable hero character while the AI handles the lackeys, which takes the focus off of traditional RTS resource gathering and places it on teamwork and ass kicking. You can still find it played in professional tourneys around the world. Image Source
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When Jim Morrison sang "Blood in the streets, it's up to my ankles," he must have been thinking about Battlefield 2's crazy Strike at Karkand map. Whereas Wake Island is all about open areas, Strike at Karkand mixes claustrophobic city streets with tanks, a mighty fine combination. Image Source
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The best map you'll ever play is one you whip up on your own in a level editor and pour your heart and soul into. There is a ton of software and games out there that let you make the map of your dreams, from id's GtkRadiant to Valve's Hammer Editor (pictured)/Source SDK to the CryEngine that powers Crysis and Far Cry. Give them a whirl; designing a map is a lot of work, but it's worth it! Image Source

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Comments

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FastFeet

September 29, 2011 at 8:07am

I would have picked the map CHECKMATE from the game Red Faction 1; as well as the OASIS and GOLDRUSH maps from the game RTCW: Enemy Territory.

clundwall

September 25, 2011 at 5:43am

There are definitely some maps missing from here. First off, The Edge in quake 2 may be the best FPS map ever.

second, the are no entries from MOHAA or COD, hugely popular games. From MOHAA I say Destroyed Village,

Sothern France or Stalingrad, and from the first COD Carentan or Dawnville. The other choices from the article I agree upon.

navalverde

September 23, 2011 at 4:19pm

I think I would have left out l4d here if you are going to include that sort of thing, then the Cow Level from Diablo 2 should have been included as well. I'm not so sure about COD4 here either. It's a shame that a map from the original COD didn't make it in here I agree with other people except Carentan & Brecourt are the real classics. Also while Xel Naga caverns is certainly an excellent map, its a shame something from BW isn't included such as Heartbreak Ridge, where all of the most legendary Koreans cut their teeth.

As for honorable mentions:

My favorite map from UT was Lava Giant. While not as iconic as facing worlds, using a combination of gravity boots and translocating, you could reach the top of the middle ridge and snipe noobs all day.

FrancesTheMute

September 23, 2011 at 9:06am

Should include the original Day of Defeat's Charlie map. A pretty faithful recreation of the D-day invasion of Normandy, the Allies start in the Landing Craft at the beach, the Axis have MG and Sniper spots in the bunkers.

Nyarlathotep

September 23, 2011 at 11:55am

I loved that map too. I remember always looking for servers running that map in the server browser and almost always finding them full. I guess we weren't the only ones.

steelcobra@hotm...

September 23, 2011 at 8:23am

While I was a huge Halo player back in the day, and Blood Gulch was pretty good, it is not symmetrical. In CTF games the Blue team is at a disadvantage because of the hill directly in front of the base blocking view of 2/3rds of the map that can be seen from red base, and the tunnel access giving almost free flank access from their teleport exit.

I miss the lost maps that didn't carry over to later sequels. Longest was destroyed in the "improvement" to enlongation, taking away the claustrophibic shotgun-friendly corridors for another wide-open space map. And prisoner had narrow, vertical gameplay perfected. Playing king of the hill, invisible, no shields, half health, only rockets (teams optional) there was basically the definition of fun.

Brad Chacos

September 23, 2011 at 8:26am

At LAN parties, we used to love to play sniper matches on Boarding Action in Halo 1.

steelcobra@hotm...

September 23, 2011 at 8:32am

Oh, yeah, that was fantastic. We actually had a place to go to friday nights for 16-player events.

Only now you go in there and all the regulars are playing MTG and staring at you because you're not one of them.

szore

September 23, 2011 at 6:33am

Wha tha fu...

No 'Bridge' from America's Army? Hospital? Weapons Cach SE?

tsch tsch tsch

and BTW what is up with these 'word verification'? Get a system like Discuss already, sheesh... this is the only site I know that punishes you for posting.

theaznguy808

September 22, 2011 at 10:33pm

I used to play a TON of Halo 1 (pc) a while ago, so I was expecting Blood Gulch :D

I was surprised when I saw xel naga caverns...D: my favorite map

Mighty BOB!

September 22, 2011 at 9:14pm

Whar's my Goldeneye?

Good maps in that list however even though I have spent a looot of time in 2fort, there are better intel maps than that.

joeking

September 22, 2011 at 8:56pm

Can't comment on any of the other maps, but as a 10-year on and off CS player, I can say definitively that de_dust is a poor choice. Anyone who's played CS for a while will agree. Dust2 is the superior map, that is why it's used in online competition play and LAN. Very little public servers put dust in their map rotation, if any.

There is no doubt that the original de_dust is a staple map for Counter-Strike. It's in every version of the game, including the upcoming CS:GO. But in my opinion, it is far from being a top 15 multiplayer map of all time. It's a relatively one-sided map, with excruciating choke points.

chronium

September 22, 2011 at 8:36pm

I'll throw an interesting one into the mix but Alterac Valley in WoW is still a hell of a lot of fun to play.

GreenTurtle

September 22, 2011 at 6:39pm

Was going to say Baldurs Gate but then saw the " Multi Player ". Now I just feel like a tool.

onisuriyuuu

September 22, 2011 at 6:00pm

No league of legends? Come on! you included warcraft!

sinned.

September 22, 2011 at 4:53pm

I am going to have to say Meat Grinder from Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. I have played that map so many times and I never get tired of it. Infact I still fire up the over 8 year old game now and then to give it a run. I know BHD was a smaller game compared to most of these mentioned but how many will still be filling servers 8+ years later. (I know 1942 and CS are the exceptions). Just my 2 cents...

jagstangsrule

September 22, 2011 at 3:57pm

What about fighting video games? You forgot about Final Destination in Super Smash Bros. The map was basic as heck. But it was so good, it was in all 3 games and the only map used in tournament quarter finals, semi finals and finals. http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/16387/stages_final.jpg

X2brute

September 23, 2011 at 12:13pm

everyone i know says the biggest mistake ssb ever made is taking out the zelda level from the first one, awesome level

Brad Chacos

September 22, 2011 at 4:04pm

That's a great suggestion, but I was trying to keep it PC-focused. Otherwise, I would have included the Gears of War 2 map "River" for all of its "Hold down the house, they're coming over the bridge!" Horde mode goodness. Yes, you read it: River is better than Avalanche.

vanseters1991

September 22, 2011 at 3:14pm

AHHH the memories!!! Battlefield 1942's Wake Island easily the best on that list and possibly the greatest map ever! So glad it won the feature picture slot. It was also nicely redone for Battefield 1943.

I would also include several CoD1 and CoD2 maps in the mix like Toujane, Carentan, Brecourt, and El Alemein.

Going to dust off BF1942, install it and play it right now!

Brad Chacos

September 22, 2011 at 3:52pm

I loved Carentan too, but now I can only think of that scene in the Office when I hear it's name.From IMDB:

Josh Porter: This is not working, okay? We're getting slaughtered out there.
Andy: It's the new guy.
Jim Halpert: Um, sorry, I don't know what we're talking about.
Andy: See what I mean?
Josh Porter: We just need a strategy, okay? We're gonna set up a trap in the gun room. Alright, Jim, are you using the MP40 or 44?
Jim Halpert: Um... sniper rifle.
[Andy and Josh gets upset]
Josh Porter: [shouts] Sniper?
Andy: [shouts] What? Jim, are you playing for the other team?
Jim Halpert: [shouts] You don't snipe on Carentan, okay?
Andy: [shouts] Saboteur! Saboteur! I'm gonna kill you for real! This game... the game is over, I'm *really* going to shoot you.

RatPatrol

September 22, 2011 at 3:04pm

5D Space

http://marathongame.wikia.com/wiki/5-D_Space_%28Level%29

Mars Needs Women

http://marathongame.wikia.com/wiki/Mars_Needs_Women_%28Marathon_Level%29

TommM

September 22, 2011 at 3:00pm

Pretty broad topic (albeit a fun one). I think you could have listed 150 classic all-time great maps and would still have folks wanting to know why their favorite didn't make it.

I loved many of the UT3 maps. And some of the player made maps for that game were extroadinary. That was a game just built for map customization.

And just to show my age I'll toss out one more - the random map generator for "Populous." You never knew what you were going to get and it made you coming back for more and more.

Dartht33bagger

September 22, 2011 at 2:37pm

2fort is the worst map in Team Fortress 2...

kevjohn

September 22, 2011 at 2:12pm

This article brings back some memories!

Minor quibble: The images don't enlarge any when you click on the "enlarge image" button. What's the point of that?

Captain_Steve

September 22, 2011 at 2:04pm

So L4D2 makes it on here, but no L4D No Mercy? I think I've spent more hours playing No Mercy online than I have L4D2 altogether. Quite disappointed.

I Jedi

September 22, 2011 at 1:02pm

Ah, yes, I remember playing on a number of these awesome maps!

alex_dh9

September 22, 2011 at 12:48pm

I loved that map on Quake 3 Arena

Nimrod

September 22, 2011 at 12:45pm

While i like the BF maps a few of the others in here do not belong. Namely the LFD and TF2 maps. In fact i dont think those games belong in this list at all.

"V2_Rocket Facility," "The Bridge" or even "LOL_V2" or any other map from MOH:AA would have been good.

Theres plenty of other classics out there as well that would have been a better fit than LFD and even TF. I just dont think that game has reached the level of Video Gaming Godlikeness that afew of these others have.

SoSaysCory

September 23, 2011 at 8:17am

I would argue that L4D and TF2 are both hugely popular in the gaming world, and just as godlike as many of the older games on this list. In 10 years, TF2, DotA, L4D, and BF2 are going to be the games that we look back on and feel nostalgic about. MOH was a huge game, but if you look at the playerbase of TF2 still, after so many years, it's such a huge staple in gaming that there is no WAY it wouldn't make this list.

Personally, I would have chosen a different map, because 2fort is so notorious for being poorly designed. I probably would have used CP_Badlands or maybe one of the PL_Goldrush, simply for their enjoyment factor, and the fact that Badlands is basically THE competitive map, and Goldrush is a huge pub game map.

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