Remastering and reintroducing legacy multiplayer maps into newer franchise installments is common Call of Duty practice; from the map Carentan from the first Call of Duty reappearing in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as Chinatown to the endless rehashings of the fan-favorite Nuketown, almost every Call of Duty multiplayer mode has received recycled content in some form. This practice continues with Radar in Call of Duty: Vanguard, which is, as demonstrated by Reddit user PistachoTerrorista, a remake of the map Dome from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Reskinned to fit the tropical island theming of the game’s Pacific update, Dome was one of the smallest multiplayer maps in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Featuring a very compact three-lane design, both teams spawn in incredibly close proximity to one another and vie for power positions like the underground bunker or the catwalk. While the decade-old map is well-replicated, there have been a few crucial changes to the overall flow of the multiplayer arena.
The most obvious change is the introduction of destructible barriers, which are something of a gimmick in Call of Duty: Vanguard. Though they’re easily destroyed, these new barriers surround the map’s iconic catwalk vantage point, allowing savvy players to potentially earn some easy kills before they’re caught.
Additionally, the map’s interior areas are now much darker than they originally were, and the decreased visibility may slow down encounters taking place indoors. Contrasting this, however, is the remarkably bright exterior color scheme in the Call of Duty: Vanguard version, with greenery allowing the map to pop in ways the drab desert theming of the 2011 original never could. Of course, less muted colors mean enemy players could be more difficult to detect at an instant’s notice, putting new players at a disadvantage.
Visibility is a major topic of discussion in PistachoTerrorista’s Reddit thread, as well. Older Call of Duty titles were often criticized for their dull, washed-out color schemes, but this new approach to visual design has an equal amount of detractors. User iPapaCrash seems to sum up the sentiment concisely, commenting “I prefer the MW3 version. It was easier to see enemies.”
It’s also worth noting that Dome seems like an odd choice to include in Call of Duty: Vanguard. Not only is it the fourth legacy Call of Duty map to be added to the game—joining Dome, Castle, and Sub Pens—but it originally belonged to an entirely different subseries of games. That said, while Infinity Ward held the reigns for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s development, it was the first Call of Duty title to which Sledgehammer Games contributed, and it could be that the developer would like to pay homage to their roots in the Call of Duty franchise.
Call of Duty: Vanguard is available now for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One.
