It seems like there’s never been a clear-cut answer in a debate that’s raged for years: What’s the best spot to one-vs-one in Call of Duty between Nuketown and Rust?
Rust joined the franchise in the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 while Nuketown followed in 2010’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, and both small maps have been home to many, many grudge matches and battles throughout the years. Everyone seems to have an opinion on the debate, including ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
The 56-year-old TV personality who’s made his career talking about sports on TV has now weighed in on the gamer discussion, thanks to a segment on his ESPN show where he fields questions from Twitter. And of course, it was the 100 Thieves official Twitter/X account that came through with the business.
Both maps are classics and have been rehashed and brought back multiple times in different series entries, and both are favorites and legends in their own right. But where does Stephen A. stand?
“This is Call of Duty, y’all didn’t think I know that, did y’all?” Stephen said. “It’s Call of Duty, baby, I know this. I’m gonna tell you this. Rust. It’s what I like, you understand?” So, Stephen likes Rust, but not for reasons you might think.
“It just looks like a town that’s hardcore, that’s ready to handle business, ready to handle things, used to adversity, adverse circumstances, overcoming the odds and stuff like that,” Smith said.
Smith may not realize that Rust is not a town at all, and instead is an oil yard located in the middle of a desert, and was originally the locale of the final battle in the OG MW2 campaign. But what about Nuketown?
“This looks like these kids going to some schoolhouse,” he said. “I like the Rust look. I like that, that’s what I’m going with.”
Nuketown is, as its name may imply, a town built to simulate the effects a nuclear weapon may have on a small town near the epicenter of a blast, fully fit with mannequins as stand-ins for human beings.
Mr. Smith, we think it’s time you hit CoD up for some one-vs-ones to learn a thing or two—even if it’s just the lore or locations behind the maps.
