I dont get why people are bitching about Karkand.... Yeah, I play it a lot too. And no... Not because I score points faster, I already have all of my unlocks, and I've had them for a while, I play to have fun, not to score points anymore.
I play other maps besides karkand, but which ones depends on my mood. There are some maps that are just plain shitty, fortunately Karkand aren't one of them.
Yes, I hate it when USMC rape at the hotel, but dont FOR A SECOND believe that MEC doesn't do the same if USMC caps the hotel. But people only GET to rape at the hotel because people are TOO STUPID to spawn at another site. And THATS what I REALLY like about Karkand... The flags are so close that you CAN DO THIS. You CAN AVOID BEING RAPED TO KINGDOM COME by simply spawning one flag back and run for 20 sec. Not 2-3-5 MINUTES of running from flag to flag, just 20 sec and you're back in the action !
While I'm no real fan of CS or all the other clones (I believe BF2 is and SHOULD be different from the other FPS games out there), I happen to ENJOY the fast paced action on Karkand. You get a chance to do a lot of damage, get the adrenaline rushing and have LOADS of fun playing the game because it's fast paced. On how many other maps do you see people die this fast ? Staying alive is fun and hard work at the same time, and getting a LEGIT 23-0 score as sniper is just too much fun not to at least try it.
I play other maps aswell, I like the city maps beacuse of the fast paced action. I dont play Mashtur a whole lot because IMO the flags are too far apart, and thre's no real "natural progression" from one flag to another like there is in Karkand, thus the infantry spreads out too thin to get any real action with flanking maneuvers and tactics employed. Infantry style (and IRL military tactics) should be/is about taking, securing, and holding a position and then moving on to the next postition. I LIKE that. Sharqi has some of this, but I usually find that if I dont play MEC, I dont enjoy Sharqi as much because I dont have any real GOAL untill the MEC forces take over a flag. I do with Karkand because as MEC the US come swarming and battle ensues within SECONDS of the map starting, and as US you're in the thick of it REAL fast as you move for the flags.
If I want some hot fast paced, lowscoring action, I go for Wake or Dalian (I think my best round on either of these is HALF what I can get on Karkand). They're both fun, Dalian in particular has lots of armor combat, which is nice, and there are no bombers on either side, so the chances of a plane taking you out in a single bomb is small (though with so many attack helos on Dalian, they can EASILY pose a problem), and with less TOWs and fewer people playing AT on Wake, it's fun to be a tanker or FAV rider there once the action comes to the island.
Anyone who thinks they can just put their head under their arm and go play Karkand, are not playing very smart. Karkand like any other map poses lots of challenging situations and requires a LOT of situational awareness. While the map is prone to spawnraping because of the relatively small amount of starting locations pr CP, I dont think of this as a problem. It's tough for the US to take the hotel from determined defenders, and it's not that hard to hold on to the rear flags as MEC because of the ease of access to transports whereby a squad can move to another flag a LOT faster than the US can do on foot (by this definition, the vehicle drop HAS given the USMC a huge advantage on Karkand, but that's just another thing to overcome). Only little teamwork is required.
Being on the US, I PERFER to take the hotel first, simply because of the sheer fun of the battle. Going for a rear flag always makes me feel like I'm cheating. But on the other hand, if you finally get to the hotelflag, and your squad spawns on you and DONT take the flag, but rather run away from it like it's poison to go to a nice spot to rape, then you feel equally dirty.
People who bitch about the US armor going straight for this or that road to spawnrape (while at the same time being able to enter battle faster becuase they dont have to drive as far as the MEC armor) have it coming to them. I cannot COUNT the amount of times I've seen the US armor standing at the edge of the city afraid to enter due to mines on the roads (gotta love the no FF on mines option, now it's actually possible to DEFEND karkand without getting kicked for TK'ing all of those senseless tankers who think the skulls are powerups). Just 1-2 engineers can make a WORLD of difference. But get used to it... MEC forces hates playing engineer (I dont understand why, I've gotten 26 AT mine kills, plus a few shotgun kills, in a SINGLE round on a fully populated 64 player Karkand server). Even the tank whores are rarely (if ever) engineers. So bitch all you want about Karkand, if you can't cut it, then your tactics is flawed, because its a GREAT map, and the "regulars" on the servers I frequent all do rather well. Regardless if they're playing MEC or USMC.
In conclusion: I like to play Karkand because I get faster and more diverse, as well as more intense infantry action on this map than I find on any other map in BF2. The faster paced action is cause for the need to employ more teamwork and superior tactics, rather than relying on dumb luck, or having the superior pilot on your team. And subsequently, on this map a single inf unit can turn the tide of battle. No other map provides the inf with that kind of power, so as a hardened groundpounder, I LOVE KARKAND !