Storyline

The story will be once again like a summer blockbuster, one with you playing the leading parts!

BE WARNED, you are reading a story which contains SPOILERS if you have not completed the campaign yet. We strongly advise you to play the storyline before you read this.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's story takes place five years after the events of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, in a fictional 2016. Call of Duty 4 closed with the death of the leader of the Ultranationalist extremists, Imran Zakhaev. Modern Warfare 2 follows the fight against the Russian Federation through the eyes of soldiers in Task Force 141,a fictional task force built up of some of the world's best soldiers, and headed by the American General Shepherd. The storyline in Modern Warfare 2 is intended to be a cinematic experience, and some of the missions contained in the game make references to films. For example, the mission "Wolverines!", at the start of Act II is extremely similar to the film "Red Dawn".

Modern Warfare 2 opens as Private Joseph Allen, located at Fire Base Bravo in Afghanistan. Allen is instructed to show the Afghan soldiers how to use their rifles effectively by his commanding officer, Sergeant Foley. Allen shows the new recruits how to aim down the sights of their rifles and also how to throw a grenade effectively. This mission is intended as a tutorial for the player as opposed as an actual guide for the Afghan recruits. Upon showing the recruits how to use their rifles properly, Foley tells you that Corporal Dunn is looking for you at 'The Pit',which is a military course. Shepherd is overseeing your performance according to Dunn, as he is looking to pull a soldier from the Rangers into another squad.

Impressed with your performance, Shepherd decides he wants you for his squad. However, there are more pressing matters at hands: there are multiple Humvees coming in, ferrying the wounded. After these Humvees arrive, the game transfers to action around the area of Afghanistan, where you are encountering the enemy militia. The soldiers do not have clearance to open fire on enemies who were not firing on them, so they have to overlook the militia members who scouted them for their armed comrades. As the team push through the streets of the city, several members of the militia,armed with RPG-7s, appear on the rooftops, and fire at the Humvees travelling below them. The vehicle in front of your own is blown up, and your driver immediately splits from the group, speeding down smaller roads in the hope of escaping the militia who know the city inside out. After the Humvee is struck with a shot from an RPG, the squad move into a school, where the enemies have established a stronghold. When it is pushed through, the militia know better than to fight on, and flee. Upon regrouping with the rest of the US army who are present in the area, Shepherd informs you that you are no longer taking orders as a regular soldier – you work for him now.

The game then cuts to the two soldiers recovering the ACS module: "Soap" MacTavish, and Gary"Roach" Sanderson in the Tian Shan mountain range, in Kazakhstan.Initially the two men use climbing gear to reach the top of a mountain, but are interrupted by a fighter jet taking off. When they reach the top, they move forwards, slowly taking out hostiles who are completely unaware of their presence. Owing to the fact Soap has a sniper rifle, he tells Roach to advance and plant C4 at a location on the airfield, should they be compromised. He intends to give Roach covering fire, with the Thermal Scope on the rifle being used to pick out targets. After reaching the location where the C4 is to be planted, Soap tells you to meet him and get to the location where the ACS module is located: inside an aircraft hangar.

Upon finding the ACS module, Soap is compromised by enemy agents, who are surrounding the hangar, though are unaware of Roach's presence. Roach uses 'Plan B', which is to detonate the C4. The soldiers turn around, expecting to find additional attackers, but when they do this, they are gunned down by Roach and Soap. The two men then escape on enemy snowmobiles that have been 'repossessed' from their original owners.

Upon completing this mission, the game turns back to Allen, who is being briefed by Shepherd. The General says that seeing as two men were able to take down an entire military base, he expects much more from the Private than he did previously. Allen is then detailed on his mission for the task force. Shepherd warns him that what he will do will cost him a part of himself that he will never forget, though that the actions undertaken are acceptable. Allen has been adorned with many tattoos for his undercover mission, and Shepherd shows the man he is undercover to kill. This man is Vladimir Makarov, the successor to Imran Zakhaev as leader of the Ultranationalist extremists. Makarov loathes Western societies, and is pro-communist, Through his actions, Zakhaev has been remembered as a martyr -not as an evil leader of a terrorist faction. Furthermore, an airport in Moscow, capital of Russia, is named after Imran. However, Vladimir's intentions of using the Ultranationalists are much darker, and possibly more evil than his predecessors.

Upon being briefed as to Makarov, and who he is, the game takes Allen to Moscow, under the alias of Alexei Bodorin. The mission opens in the Zakhaev International Airport, and all of the men present are armed with weapons in service with the US Army, such as the M240 and M4A1.Makarov has orchestrated a massacre in the airport, and before the group embark on the slaughter, he says two words - "No Russian". The reasoning for using the same weapons as the Americans is simple: Makarov wants to implicate the US in the massacre, and drive Russia into a war with the United States.After completing the massacre, Russian police enter the airport, and are cut down by Makarov's men. Upon reaching the runway, the FSB enter the fray - the modern day successors to the legendary KGB. The mode of transport for the extremists is an ambulance, as they can leave the scene and look like they are ferrying the wounded. When Allen is climbing into the ambulance, Makarov's men say that they have sent a message today. Vladimir coldly responds, "That was no message. This is a message.", before turning and shooting' Bodorin', as he was known to the men dead. He explains to his associates that when the FSB find his body they will trace the attack to the Americans, as he was trying to set them up. His argument is that when the Russian soldiers find the body of an American at the scene, the whole country will cry out for war.

Back at the Task Force 141 headquarters,Soap and Roach have returned from their mission in the mountains of Kazakhstan,and are discussing the situation with Shepherd. They all know Makarov was responsible for the attack, but the evidence died when the bullet entered Allen. However, Shepherd tells the men to trace the shell from Makarov's pistol. The bullet is found to have originated from a Brazilian arms dealer,called Alejandro Rojas. To find Rojas though, will involve finding his assistant and extracting the information from him. This is also the first time you will encounter fellow TF141 operator "Ghost", who is voiced by the same person who voiced Gaz in Call of Duty 4. When traveling behind a van in a taxi, the van conveniently pulls over, when the driver and passenger go to talk to Rojas' assistant. The assistant does not look pleased to see them, and shoots them both dead. He turns on the taxi as well, firing and killing the driver. Soap and Roach leave the taxi and chase the man down as he runs, with Roach kneecapping him to stop him fleeing.

The assistant is then brought into a garage, where Ghost is preparing a battery and some wires for what may well be torturing the assistant. Meanwhile, Roach and two other operatives are instructed to move through the favela, neutralizing the criminal militia inside. The two operatives Roach is with are called Meat, and Royce. Neither of these two men are seen again in the game, and they are both scripted to die during the favela shootout. When through the slums, Roach manages to find the location of Rojas himself, and the team begin to chase him down. The chase closes with Rojas sprinting into a house, and leaping out of the window. However, Soap tackles him when he is leaping from the window, and the two land on top of a car.

Upon finding Rojas and getting the information from him, the squad choose to leave him tied up, allowing the Brazilian crowd to do what they wish to him. The information they were looking for relates to a Russian gulag, where an unknown prisoner is being held. All that is known about this prisoner is that he is someone who Makarov hates even morethan the Americans he has initiated a war with. The crowd who will likely deal with Rojas later are preparing to kill Roach, Ghost, and Soap. The three men run from rooftop to rooftop in an attempt of getting to a reasonably safe location for Nikolai to pick them up. Unfortunately, during one of the daring rooftop jumps, Roach slips and falls to the street below. While Roach is not injured, Nikolaineedsto take off now, and the men suggest Roach moves quickly. After sprinting across the Favela rooftops again, Roach manages to reach the chopper, by leaping to the rope ladder that has been hung from it over a massive drop. Had there been a US pilot in the Rio de Janeiro area, they would have picked up the three-man squad, but due to the surprise attack on the United States by Russia, all air support from the US has been cut off, and is being used to fight against their surprise invaders.

Foley, Dunn, and Ramirez are three of the soldiers who have been called up to fight against the Russian invaders, who stormed the country and are beating their way to Washington D.C. The attackers invaded from the East Coast of the United States, and the team are engaged infighting in the north west of Virginia. The first fight against the Russian attackers takes place in a food court, where the Rangers are exposed, but need to ensure the safety of a highly valued American target, who has been codenamed"Raptor". Raptor is found to have passed out, and Foley carries him to a safer location while the war is ongoing and the Russians are relentlessly pouring in.After stopping the flow of soldiers looking to kill you, the Americans send a chopper to collect you, as well as codename Raptor. Upon saving Raptor, the next mission as a US Ranger takes place in the suburbs around north eastern Virginia as well. Again, you are tasked with saving another High Priority Target from the Russians, who will surely be looking to get this man after Raptor narrowly slipped away. This target is codenamed "Icepick", and he is located in a house further through the suburbs. As to be expected however, the Russians have stepped up their forces for this attack in a hope of finding Icepick before the American soldiers tasked with hunting him down. In order to aid you in finding Icepick, the US Army has given you some vehicular back-up: a Stryker APC, nicknamed "Honey Badger". However, the operators of the Stryker have been instructed to fireonlyon your mark, and in order to get them shooting at targets, you must "laze" the target, so that they will turn their guns on the problem andhopefullyobliterate it.

Soap MacTavish has a theory, which he shares with the rest of Task Force 141 during a briefing. His idea is that the group should break Prisoner 627 from the cell in the Russian gulag, and it might flush Makarov out. Finding Makarov would easily end the war… assuming they actually pull it off. In order to reach the gulag itself, the soldiers are going to need assistance, and also to take control of the oil rigs in the sea around the gulag's location, as they are being used as SAM sites (Surface-to-Air Missiles). Task Force 141 are aided by the Navy SEALS, Marines,and the US Navy, who agree to help break the prisoner from the gulag. After fighting through the oil rigs and taking them from the forces that control them,the team leave in a helicopter for their main target: the gulag.

Upon arrival at the gulag, the US forces are already raising hell on the area, with explosive ordnance being used to soften the area up to aid the entrance to the buildings. Soap and Roach enter the gulag, and fight their way into the inner sanctums of the prison. When inside the prison, the two-man squad have difficulty locating Prisoner 627. However, by pure fluke they breach through a wall, and find the prisoner engaged in fighting with a guard. The prisoner manages to floor Roach as well, before discovering that he is working with Soap MacTavish. The prisoner is: Captain Price, from all of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty games. Soap says to Price, "I think this belongs to you, Sir", before handing over an M1911 pistol. This scene references Call of Duty 4, where Price gives Soap his M1911 in order to kill Imran Zakhaev and his two bodyguards. It is implied that Soap carries the gun with him as a memento, or simply to remind him of Price. However, as the expanded team begin to leave, the Navy begin their bombardment of the prison.Soap demands General Shepherd calls off the Navy firing, but Shepherd declines and says now they have begun to fire he can't really stop them, and that he recommends they get out as quickly as possible. The salvo fired by the Navy causes critical damage to the prison, and one of the walls collapses, closing off any route of escape the team had. By sheer luck, one of the US choppers drops a rope down a large gap in the wall, where the team are successfully able to escape before the entire building collapsed.

Upon extracting Price from the gulag, he agrees to help Task Force 141 to end the war with Russia, and he brings his own unique plans to the proceedings. Price suggests a highly unorthodox method of ending the war, and explains it as putting out a fire with a bigger fire – the bigger fire snuffs out the oxygen to the smaller fire. In order to do this,Price says they're going to need a pretty big bang, and also suggests where such a bang could come from. He recommends that the team reverse-engineer a Russian submarine and fire one of the nuclear missiles present on it. Shepherd tries to dissuade Task Force 141 from performing this action, but the captain disrupts the connection to Shepherd, before saying "We've lost connection".After this, Price , Roach, Ghost, and some minor members of the team decide to enter the area where a Russian submarine could be found. Unfortunately, the men do not all land in one area, and Price and Roach are split up from the rest of their team. The two men slowly work through the soldiers present in the area,with suppressed sniper rifles (this mission is similar to "All Ghillied Up" from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare). The two men successfully snipe their way along, until they are spotted by a Russian tank,which attempts to give pursuit. Price leads Soap into the forest, where their vehicles cannot follow. Sadly however, the Russian infantrycanfollow, and send in several groups of troops to search and neutralize (the area this mission takes place in is recycled for the Spec Op mission "Invasion",which is found in the Alpha section). The group make it to the location of Roach and the rest of the allies, and are instructed to land a Predator missile somewhere it will cause as much chaos as possible. Doing this will obliterate the stealth plan, but it will take out more of the hostile forces due to the size of the blast that the Predator will make on impact.

Upon impacting the Predator, the team need to advance through the snowy town, and Price suggests that you abandon the M21now that stealth is no longer an issue. The mission is full of enemies wielding AUG HBAR's, and is one of the few places you can find a Scoped AUG. After killing your way through the picturesque village, the next step is to get down to the harbour, where the Russian submarine is present. Getting to the submarine will have at least two problems: the submarine could potentially submerge, and it's well protected. The only option is to drop another Predator missile on the harbour, and take out any resistance, before advancing quickly to the submarine's location. The resistance is built of a large number of infantry, an Mi-24 Hind, and a Russian jeep. Generally, the most effective method of advancing is to use the Predator and destroy the Hind before it gets airborne, though waiting for the jeep to pass by the first group of infantry.When it gets within the blast radius, you can drop the Predator between the two. Regardless of the option selected, the Russians will be aware of your presence regardless, and you will need to reach the submarine within four minutes, or it will submerge and the chance will be lost. After reaching the submarine, Price enters it and tells Ghost and Roach to cover the sub for a few minutes. Once this objective is completed, Price will launch a missile from the submarine, which will be seen shooting from it at extremely high speed.

The next mission, which is arguably more of a cut scene, takes place outside the International Space Station (ISS). Forth is mission, you play as "Sat1", an astronaut aboard the ISS, who is asked by Houston to look to the dark side of the earth. The commander, back at NASA,asks if there were any scheduled satellite launches for the day, but apparently there were not. As the 'satellite' passes over the United States, it detonates,causing a massive shock wave. The nuke Price launched was intended to work as an EMP. For some reason, the EMP shock wave tears the ISS apart, and Sat1presumably dies from being hit with debris from the Space Station.

After the death of Sat1, you return to the role of Pvt. Ramirez, alongside Dunn and Foley. The Rangers had no idea of Price's intentions, but they are now aware of aircraft falling from the sky.Ramirez is stuck inside a stricken Black Hawk helicopter, and after escaping the wreckage, the team must enter a building to avoid the falling aircraft. The soldiers encounter a fellow Ranger, who tells them that Shepherd is assembling the soldiers at Whiskey Hotel. This is the callsign for the White House, in actuality. The United States Air Force (USAF) have been instructed to carpet bomb Washington D.C relentlessly, as the belief is that the Russians have control of the capital. The only way to prevent this happening is to place green flares atop the roof of the White House, which will signify the capital is being controlled by the friendly forces. With pure luck, Foley's squad arrive and are waving their flares just as the bombers arrive. There are many green flares appearing across the rooftops of other buildings around the D.C area, and this shows the control of Washington D.C is not contested – the capital is firmly in American hands. Dunn expresses his wishes to travel to Moscow and cause the same chaos that the Russians did, but bomb the city to the ground. Despite the incredible success of the Rangers, the mastermind who caused the attacks is still at large: Vladimir Makarov.

Shepherd later announces to TF141 that two potential safe houses where Makarov could have been located. Roach and Ghost head to an estate located on the Georgia-Russia border, while Price and Soap travel to an aircraft scrapyard in Afghanistan. When in the estate, Roach and Ghost are instructed to find and acquire a DSL from the house with all of the files from Makarov's computers present on it. Upon arrival at the house, theTF141 operatives are immediately trapped by mines laid on the entrance to the house. One soldier is killed, though Roach is able to drop and survive the mine. Upon finding the computer to transfer the files from, Ghost and Roach simply have to protect the computer from being destroyed by Makarov's men. When this is done, they are to leave and meet Shepherd's forces. When this is done,Shepherd thanks the two men for cleaning up one loose end, before pulling out a.44 Magnum and shooting Roach. Ghost tries to fight with Shepherd to get his pistol unholstered, though Shepherd calmly shoots him as well. He instructs his men to dispose of the bodies, and you are then shown being thrown into a pit,where Shepherd's forces douse the bodies in petrol. Shepherd personally lights a cigar, and tosses the match into the pit, beginning the blaze. As he does so,Price comes in over the radio roaring "Do not trust Shepherd!". Unfortunately, his message came a little too late,and both operatives are dead. Shepherd has been given a 'blank check'(limitless sum of money) to stop Makarov by any means necessary, but he wants to be remembered as a hero of the war. This causes him to betray his own squad.

Back in the scrapyards of Afghanistan, Price and Soap are ambushed by Shepherd's forces, known as Shadow Company. These forces are intended to do the same thing that the other group from Shadow Company did with Roach and Ghost: kill the TF141operatives. As this is ongoing, the remnants of the Ultranationalists are fighting back against the Shadow Company. Both groups are hostile towards the Task Force, but Price manages to get in contact with Vladimir Makarov. He asks Makarov to give him the location of Shepherd, and in a moment showing Makarov to potentially be scared, he hands over the location Shepherd's forces are located at. However, he closes with a terse "See you in hell", to which Price coolly responds with"Looking forward to it. Give my regards to Zakhaev when you get there". The escape from the Shadow Company soldiers culminates with a TF141 operative getting the men into a stolen Russian jeep,and attempting to drive into the loading bay of an AC-130 as it travels down the runway. One of the Shadow Company soldiers fires a shotgun from the window of an SUV, killing the driver. As this happens, Soap takes control over the wheel of the jeep and guides it safely into the AC-130.

The penultimate fight against Shepherd's forces shows the regular briefing screen, with only Soap and Price talking. Price mentions how the human mind does not want to think about its own death,but he finds that almost liberating to do. He feels that knowing he is likely to die doing something means that he is not afraid of dying during it. Soap seems to share this feeling, and the two men agree to go on a suicide mission to kill Shepherd. If their deaths are needed to dispose of Shepherd, they both feel it is justifiable. Soap and Price head to Hotel Site Bravo, where Shepherd is currently located, with help from Nikolai. Price tells Nikolai not to bother coming back for them, as if the plan goes ahead neither of them would begetting out alive. After fighting Shadow Company, they reach a helicopter, which Shepherd climbs into in order to make his escape. Price and Soap jump into a small boat and begin to give chase to the rogue General. The two men are attacked repeatedly as they follow along the route Shepherd takes by enemy forces, though when they reach a waterfall, Price strikes the plane with gunfire, and manages to take it down. During the attempt to down the chopper however, the boat shoots off the waterfall. By sheer luck, both Price and Soap are still alive, though Price cannot be found. Soap attempts to fight with the American general, but is stabbed in the chest. As Shepherd stands by him, he loads his Magnum and gives his speech to MacTavish. As he is speaking, Price runs in and tackles him to the ground. The two fight for a few minutes, with Shepherd taking the upper hand during the fighting. As this happens, Soap pulls the blade from his chest, and hurls it at Shepherd. The knife strikes the General in the eye, killing him instantly. Price immediately goes to Soap' said, and manages to help him to his feet. As he does this, Nikolai lands in a chopper, and tells them to get in, as he knows somewhere safe that he could take them.