Call of Duty

Online play is not slanted to new players. Established players have access to some essential perks and better weapons, giving them a very big advantage. I recommend new players start out with the MP5 and play Headquarters rounds. The MP5 is one of the best all around weapons in the game, with decent range, firepower and accuracy. Players will rack up a lot of experience points playing Headquarters maps, allowing you to rank up quickly to unlock better perks and weapons faster than by playing a death match or free for all round.

New players are also wise to avoid hardcore maps. The Hardcore game play eliminates the mini-map and weapons are a lot more deadly. The knife is very effective in close quarters. Concentrate on completing challenges, as they give extra experience points. Weapons challenges give up to 1,000 experience points as well.

Concentrate on getting kill streaks. A kill streak of three will give you the option to call in a UAV. That will show everyone on the map for a brief time to your team. If you run up a kill streak of five, you can call in an airstrike anywhere on the map. A streak of seven will allow you to call in helicopter support. Any kills generated by an airstrike or heli go to your round score. But, if you don't use a UAV or Airstrike, you will lose it if your kill streak goes to seven. You will be able to use an extra strike or uav if you die before activating it. When calling in an airstrike, its prudent to find a secure place to hide while you look at the map! You also get additional xp points for every UAV, Airstrike and Helicopter called in a round, and eventually those will complete challenges as well.

Deathmatch: Probably the most popular is the old school team Deathmatch. Simply get the other team before they get you. Points are awarded for kill assists and kills. There isn't a whole lot of strategy involved, but its a lot of fun.

Free for all: Its every man for himself. There are some definite kits combinations that are helpful. Depending on the map, one of the better combinations is the RPD with the sleight of hand perk (faster reload) and the steady aim (better accuracy without being zoomed in) perk. Another good combination is the G36c with bandolier (extra ammo), double tap and steady aim.

Domination: The object is to hold three points on the map. The more points your team holds, the more points the team earns in the round. Which ever team has more points wins the round. C4, Claymores and flash/stun grenades are extremely useful in defending points against enemy rushes.

Headquarters: In this mode, the object is to "capture" the headquarters. As a twist, the headquarters location will move around the map. The team holding the point will gather points in 5 point increments. The opposing side must capture the headquarters to stop the other team from gaining points in the round. The team members killed after the HQ has been captured can't respawn until the enemy destroys the HQ. At the end of the round, the team with the most points wins the match.

Sabotage: One side has a bomb that they must plant on a specific target. The target is defended by the other side. The round ends when the target is destroyed, the bomb deactiveated or if all of the team members on one side are killed.

Search and Destroy: A similar game mode to Sabotage, except that each side has a bomb target. Round ends when one of the targets has been destroyed, or ends in a draw if the time runs out. There are 8 total rounds, the team with the most "wins" in a single round wins.

Most of the challenges are pretty straight forward. Do x and y to complete the challenge. There are also some hidden challenges that aren't revealed until all of the other challenges in that category have been completed. As you advance in rank, you will unlock more difficult challenges.

For example, there is a challenge to kill an enemy with a "cooked" grenade. To cook it, hold down the throw command for several seconds, then throw it. The grenade will detonate a lot sooner so make sure you don't hold it too long! You can also complete a challenge by cooking the grenade, taking out yourself and other enemy players.

Gold weapons: You will receive a gold 45 once you receive sufficient rank. However, you can get other gold weapons as well by completing all of the weapon challenges in that particular weapon's group. For example, you would need to complete the Marksman and Expert challenges for every SMG before you could try to unlock the gold weapon, which is the Uzi. Other gold weapon unlocks include the gold dragunov, gold AK-47, gold M60 and a gold M1014 shotgun. There is a bonus weapon unlock as well, the MP44, once you gain sufficient rank.