How To: Download & Play the First Strike Maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops

Black Ops gamers— you have new Call of Duty maps for your multiplayer adventures.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about— you might as well just sell that copy of Black Ops and pick up the newest version of Harry Potter you can find, because you're no Black Ops soldier.

If you are, you would have known that Treyarch released the first ever Map Pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops on February 1st, called First Strike.  Chances are, you're playing the new maps in First Strike right now.

It became available on Xbox Live for 1,200 Microsoft Points (about $15), and will also be available on the PlayStation 3 and PC soon.  The downloadable First Strike Map Pack includes five new diverse maps— four multiplayer maps and a new Zombie experience.

• Berlin Wall
• Discovery
• Kowloon
• Stadium
• Ascension (Zombie mode)

Here's a preview of the new maps from Activision:

Includes "Berlin Wall", allowing combat on both sides of the imposing wall; "Discovery", a desolate, frozen German outpost in the Arctic; "Kowloon", battle in the rain along the rooftops of a towering Chinese sprawl; "Stadium", an intense locale with a pro hockey arena backdrop; and "Ascension", where you fight zombies in a Soviet launch facility.

To download the new First Strike Map Pack on your Xbox 360:

Step 1 Sign in to Xbox Live

Step 2 Go to Game Marketplace

Step 3 Select All Games -> Browse

Step 4 Select C

Step 5 Select Call of Duty: Black Ops

Step 6 Select the Black Ops First Strike Map Pack

Step 7 Select Confirm Download or Redeem Code

It will now be added to your active downloads.  The maps will be downloaded to your console as soon as the console is online and not connecting to Xbox Live for an online game.

And now that that's over with... see them in action, for your viewing pleasure...

Some First Strike Map walkthroughs...

First Strike - Berlin Wall Map

HTOWNTODDLER shows you the basics to the Berlin Wall map.  See a general outline of the new map in the Private Match video, then click on the second one for some Team Deathmatch destruction.  Also, the third video will show you how to get across "No Man's Land".

First Strike - Discovery Map

Again, the first video is a basic overview of Discovery in a Private Match, with the second video showing all the guts and glory in Team Deathmatch.

First Strike - Kowloon Map

Same.  First video— basic walkthrough.  Second— Team Deathmatch-style for Kowloon.

First Strike - Stadium Map

And the last of the regular multiplayer maps— Stadium.  See the basic walkthrough video for information.

First Strike - Ascension Map

DudeFromUkraine is the man behind this quick walkthrough for Ascension, which gives you a quick tour of the new Zombie-infested map.