Features

I love the smell of Paintball in the morning

If your dream as a Call of Duty fan is to run around one of your favorite maps, Call of Duty XP weekend gave you that chance exactly. At the event in LA over the 1st, 2nd and 3rd September Activision had recreated the Scrapyard for fans go wild on in a game of Domination.

The rules were simple, in the 7 minute match, you had 5 minutes of infinite respawns, after that it was one shot and you're out. Within those precious minutes, it is your team task to raise all three flags that are set up on the level.

The level was very accurate and a decent size for 32 players, 16 players on each team, to run about on whilst shooting each. Each team was in a different jumpsuit and body armour, including full face mask.

Now LA was hot enough but when you then put a jump suit, body armour and helmet over what you're already, you really start to feel the heat! Before the actual match began we were given some safety information and tried to, quietly, strategies with our fellow soldiers...

When the instructors had finished talking we were taken to our "spawn points", despite this being paintball, you couldn't help but feel a little bit nervous. With a few last minute tactics shared, we turned the safety switches on the guns off and got ready for the match to begin.

With the whistle blowing the team ran from the spawn point into a hail of Paintballs, which we quickly returned. Within seconds both teams had raised hands to signify a loss, but as it was infinite respawns, shot team mates would raise their hands and run back to spawn points, so they could be cleaned up and then sent out into battle.

First in line for Scrapyard COD XP

The fighting was fast and furious with friends and "enemies" ducking, covering and just generally getting into it. As the game mode was domination, some team members focused on the flags whilst others just focused on the ills no change from a real COD match then! Problem is, like a real CoD match, neither worked together!

Those wanting to raise the flag ran ahead expecting the others to follow; those who wanted to get the illsjust ran off. There were some good attempts from both teams but it remained a draw until the middle flag got raised by the opposition. And then the whistle went which signified one shot and youe out.

Within seconds, both our team and theirs had been reduced to two men! With them winning and my team mate eyeing the middle flag, I decided to make a dash for their own flag. Within seconds I had run across the pitch, grabbed the rope and raised tour flag bringing the match to 2-1 in our favour!

Behind me though I noticed my team mate was walking off the pitch with his arm raised, so it was just me and against them. Unfortunately as their flag was now mine, they knew exactly where I was. I turned a corner saw the first one opened fire, caught him in the chest and the arm. As I started feeling jubilant I felt a sharp pain in my left calf muscle and my left ribs, and knew exactly what it was had been shot in the leg and the ribs.

The whistles blew and the match was over! We had lost. Whilst I had been raising their flag, they had lowered ours and the central flag! I felt angry at the loss but as my team pointed out, I was the last man standing, and walked away with the Scrapyard badge and 3 Prestige badges.