Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Difference between revisions

 

== Alpha to Delta ==

* [[AKA-47]]: Mostly averted, only some weapons appear without their real names.

* [[All There in the Manual]]:

** "...the will of a single man."

* [[Armor Is Useless]]: In the Rio missions, the TF141 [[Red Shirt|red shirts]] who wear Kevlar vests are only slightly more durable than the gangsters, who wear soccer t-shirts. Averted by the [[Implacable Man|Juggernauts]], who are just as durable as their hulking appearance, [[Attack Its Weak Point|unless you can get behind them]].

*** [[Justified Trope]]: Modern infantry armor, while it will generally work against pistol rounds and shotgun pellets, is not going to reliably stop rounds from anything that is of at least assault rifle caliber. Now if the operators had hard armor with ballistic inserts, then they might survive rifle shots.

* [[Artistic License Military]]: In ''Modern Warfare 2'', when Task Force 141 is assaulting the Russian gulag, they get F-15s to soften up the landing sites first. F-15s are only used by the Air Force, not the Navy, and they're air superiority fighters. The Strike Eagle variant ''can'' act as a Wild Weasel (plane that neutralizes air defenses), but it would have made more sense to use the F/A-18 Hornet/Super Hornet, or given the [[Next Sunday AD]] setting, the F-35, both of which can launch from carriers, and are multirole fighters, so they would have been better suited for what those Eagles were doing.

* [[Asskicking Equals Authority]]: {{spoiler|1=''Captain'' "Soap" MacTavish}} in ''MW 2''.

** Captain McMillian in ''Modern Warfare 1''. Not even {{spoiler|breaking a leg when a helicopter falls on him}} can kill him... or even lower his sniping accuracy.

** Averted with Imran Zakhaev, the [[Big Bad]] of ''Modern Warfare''. {{spoiler|Despite surviving the loss of his arm in an earlier mission, in the final confrontation he goes down just as easily as any of his soldiers.}}

** Averted with [[The Dragon|Al-Asad]] (newly-assumed leader of an [[Qurac|unnamed Middle Eastern country]]) and Victor Zakhaev (son of the [[Big Bad]] and {{spoiler|commander of the Russian Ultranationalist forces}}) as well. Al-Asad {{spoiler|is captured as soon as you enter his safehouse, and is shot in the head}} after Captain Price [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique|questions]] him. At the end of "Sins of the Father," {{spoiler|you corner Victor Zakhaev on a rooftop. [[Better to Die Than Be Killed|He shoots himself in the head to avoid being captured]].}}

** The first time the ''Modern Warfare'' version of Price is seen going into action, he is smoking a cigar. After {{spoiler|he kills Makarov}}, he smokes a cigar.

** To a lesser extent, the same music plays during the starting and penultimate mission briefings. The starting and ending briefings also feature a short [[Character Filibuster]]. {{spoiler|Captain Price's is even a response to General Shepherd's.}}

** With the exception of Task Force 141 (voice of Ghost). [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1m7u4WU2hs He doesn't seem too concerned.]

** Notably the Spetsnaz announcer who seems to lose it on finding out.

** The politically correct German version, however, turns this into "But Thou Must Not" {{spoiler|by NOT allowing you to shoot civilians despite this [[Completely Missing the Point|being the whole point]] of the level (you get a [[Game Over]] for that). Considering that you still can't shoot your "allies," there's nothing much to do for you throughout the first half of the level, except perhaps shooting the skylights for the particle effects.}}

** Also, thou must reach the top of the White House to prevent the bombing run, even though when you get there there's already at least four other soldiers signaling, one from the same position as you, and Ramirez doesn't have any further role in the plot. So you could have died anywhere along the way and achieved the same result.

** Let's be fair: {{spoiler|Shepherd}} doesn't give two craps about anything less than his own personal satisfaction over accomplishing his goals. People will die, civilizations will crumble, and injustices will be committed so long as {{spoiler|Makarov}} is made to pay for the events of ''Call of Duty 4''. If the United States has to become the enemy of every armed force on the planet, that's an acceptable sacrifice.

* [[Call Back]]: Many of them in ''Modern Warfare 2'':

** The family briefly seen in England is named Davis, the same as [[Call of Duty]] 2's British [[Player Character]].

** In the first SAS mission in MW3, you have two invulnerable NPCs with you: Wallcroft and Griffin. If these two names have an inkling of familiarity to them, they were part of the assault team in the first SAS mission in ''Call of Duty 4'', and they were also generic names for British soldiers in ''Call of Duty 2.''

* [[The Cavalry]]: Normally, the extraction copter has a squad of soldiers inside it that immediately pours out and begins shooting anything that moves. This is normally when you're in a tight spot, as in the second part of the Pripyat sniping mission in ''Modern Warfare''.

** Also played straight by {{spoiler|Nikolai}} in ''Modern Warfare 2'' when {{spoiler|he saves Soap and Price ''three times'', first in Brazil, again in the boneyard and once more after Shepherd's death}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Cavalry Betrayal]]: General Shepherd and Shadow Company.}}

* [[Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys]]: Averted. France is merely one of the ''many'' European countries the US comes to the aid to. You fight alongside [[Gauls With Grenades|the GIGN, who prove themselves to be very capable]]. Also while Delta ultimately take Volk down, the GIGN were the ones who found him. France is also one of the countries NATO manages to hold onto; Germany, meanwhile, is clearly falling. GIGN troops are also a support option in Survival, and are extremely durable and more than able to hold their own against anything short of a Juggernaut.

* [[The Chessmaster]]: ''MW 2'''s {{spoiler|General Shepherd appears to have been outmaneuvered when his deep cover agent is used by Makarov to frame America and set off a war. And then it turns out Makarov was playing into his hands, and Shepherd is using the resultant chaos to cover his tracks.}}

** {{spoiler|Arguably, Makarov was ''hired'' by Shepherd to kill Allen and precipitate an invasion of the US by Russia. He certainly seems to think it would happen at the end...}}

** And in ''MW3'', {{spoiler|Price places it upon Soap's body in tribute after he dies.}}

** A subtle example in the third game: Baseplate is {{spoiler|1=Captain MacMillan}} from ''MW1. At one point, Price says, {{spoiler|"You still owe me for Pripyat."}}

* [[Controllable Helplessness]]: The level "The Coup" in ''Modern Warfare''.

** And the "Aftermath" level, where you get to control the {{spoiler|dying American}} protagonist after the nuclear explosion, as well as the [[Fission Mailed]] sequence near the end of the game, at least until Price throws you a pistol.

* [[Cool Guns]]: Obviously.

* [[Co-Op Multiplayer]]: ''Modern Warfare 2'' featured "Spec Ops" missions, which can be played alone, or with a friend. A few require a buddy (such as one that places one player into a vehicle, like an AC-130 or a Black Hawk]).

* [[CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable]]: Doubly Subverted {{spoiler|At the end of "Game Over" Soap can see a soldier start CPR on Price. Soap apparently blacks out, and the soldier is now pounding on Price's chest in an attempt to revive him. The game ends giving you the impression that it fails however. ''Modern Warfare 2'' reveals that Price is alive, meaning it did revive him; but it should be noted that it is unclear how long it took, or what Price's condition upon being revived was.}}

* [[Crapsack World]]: Hoo, boy. Aside from {{spoiler|multiple nuclear detonations}} and an army of West-hating psychopaths in control of Russia, there's also more subtle indicators of just how screwed up MW-Earth is, like how even private terrorists have access to large amounts of heavy-duty military hardware, and the sheer size of the favela gangs in Rio leaves you wondering just how ''bad'' things are down there.

* [[Death by Disfigurement]]: Subverted with {{spoiler|Zakhaev's assassination attempt. Turns out, "shock and blood loss" didn't take care of him as expected.}}

* [[Death From Above]]: The levels ''[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Death From Above]]'' and most of ''Shock and Awe'' in ''Modern Warfare 1'', as well as the gameplay moments where you can call in airstrikes and/or artillery barrages.

*** Other kill streak rewards do this to a lesser degree by calling in Predator UAVs with missiles, Harrier Jets, helicopters or an AC-130 'Spectre' Gunship.

** One of the Spec Ops levels in ''2'' involves one player as a Blackhawk door gunner clearing a path for a 2nd player on the ground, and another is basically the first game's Death From Above with the second player taking the place of the SAS team. However, in both cases the player on the ground is no more durable than he normally would be, and friendly fire is not disabled.

** Price becomes this to Yuri in ''Modern Warfare 3'' after {{spoiler|Soap's final words were that Yuri and Makarov somehow knew each other too well. After learning the truth about the two, Price grudgingly lets Yuri tag along in the next mission, but says he has to keep up at his pace. This is mostly gone by the end of the mission though.}}

* [[Dummied Out]]: Hackers have found a surprisingly large amount of abandoned content in the first game, including different reticule images for every rifle scope (in the final game, due to a programming oddity, all rifle scopes use "scope_overlay_m40a3," but there are ''seven'' others, including two for the M21), [http://callofduty.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Call_of_Duty_4_Cancelled_Levels several abandoned levels] including one where the player would have controlled an attack helicopter, and the AT4 rocket launcher, which is in the game but never accessible without cheating. ''Modern Warfare 2'' was planned to have a level set on board the ISS rather than a brief scene featuring it, but this was cut due to fears it damaged the flow of the game.

* [[Dynamic Entry]]: Soap tackles Rojas off a first floor balcony and onto a wrecked car as soon as you catch up to him.

** In the third game, an American tank drives ''through'' an office that a group of Russians are taking cover in. {{spoiler|Later in the same mission, [[Big Damn Heroes|another tank comes to your rescue]] by exiting ''directly through a brick wall'' without warning right on top of the Russian troops that had you pinned down, and blows up a Russian tank.}}

** In Survival Mode in ''Modern Warfare 3'', enemies get stronger over time, until you are fighting [[Gas Mask Mooks|commands and heavy commandos]], who take seven to ten rifle rounds or two to three knife hits to bring down, and carry western assault rifles (like the ACR) and tons of grenades.

* [[Emergency Weapon]]: The knife, although several of the ''Modern Warfare 2'' perks and the Tactical Knife 'attachment' make it less so.

** There is also an {{spoiler|inflatable sex doll}} found in a bathtub in {{spoiler|Makarov's hideout}}. No telling whose it was.

* [[Enemy Chatter]]: After a [[Deal with the Devil]], {{spoiler|Price somehow manages to score not only Shepherd's location but also a "decryption code" allowing himself and Soap to tap into Shadow Company's wireless voice communications}}.

* [[Enemy Mine]]: After {{spoiler|Shepherd's betrayal, Price invokes this to get Makarov to divulge the location of Shepherd's hideout}}.

** More subtly, in "Game Over!", black birds (presumably ravens) can be seen when the helicopter first comes into view. {{spoiler|That helicopter then blows up the bridge you're going over for extract, sealing Gaz and Griggs's fates.}}

** Also, towards the end of "Of Their Own Accord", you can hear [[Mission Control|Overlord]] ordering every unit in the city to "get the hell out of there!" {{spoiler|before the nuclear missile Price launches in the next level hits}}.

** When Sandman is first introduced, there's a picture of him and two guys with blacked out faces. They're {{spoiler|Price and Ghost, and the picture is the [[Fatal Family Photo]] of Operation: Kingfish.}}

** An unintentional example: also in "Persona Non Grata", when taking control of the UGV, looking back at the control station reveals Yuri using Kamarov's model from ''Call of Duty 4''. {{spoiler|Kamarov shows up to help later on, though he doesn't actually do much before he dies.}}

* [[Genre Savvy]]: {{spoiler|General Shepherd}} knows when an entire squad of men suddenly drop out of contact that {{spoiler|he's being hunted by Soap and Price}} and orders an immediate evacuation, knowing they can't stop them.

* [[Giant Mook]]: The Juggernauts. They soak up .50BMG rounds like a sponge, and nearly everything else is useless. To elaborate, killing a Juggernaut takes about 2.5 full magazines of assault rifle fire, 14 shotgun blasts, nearly 60 rounds of machinegun fire, or 5-6 direct hits from a M203 40mm grenade launcher, putting them on par with fantasy enemies like Heavy Armor soldiers from ''[[First Encounter Assault Recon|F.E.A.R.]]'' or Boomers from ''[[Gears of War]]''. Fortunately, for realism and balancing issues they don't appear in the story campaign, only in the bonus Special Ops missions.

* [[Gondor Calls for Aid]]: After the {{spoiler|EMP strike}}, the Rangers encounter a fellow soldier acting as a "runner", who has been sent to regroup the remaining soldiers to retake {{spoiler|the White House}}.

* [[Gosh Dang It to Heck]]: "Sarge? Did HQ just tell us to go "F" ourselves?"

* [[The Greatest Story Never Told]]: Oh so much. Raid on the cargo ship? Lost in a storm. Your heroic saving of Pelayo? No one knows about it thanks to {{spoiler|the nuke.}} Your CO's {{spoiler|executing Al-Asad? Nope. He's presumably said to have died in the nuclear explosion.}} How about {{spoiler|SAVING THE US FROM A MASSIVE NUCLEAR INVASION, watching your friends be gunned down and killing the world's [[Big Bad]]? Nope! "Missile tests" and "skirmishes".}} Hijacking a submarine and {{spoiler|stopping a Russian invasion? Of course not!}}

** Most likely averted with Team Metal's actions though. Their turning the battle of New York (and the invasion of America) isn't going to be forgotten (their commander even calls it "one for the books"), they won't be forgotten for saving the Vice President, the President knows that they took down Volk, and {{spoiler|them [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrificing]] themselves to save the Russian President and end WWIII definitely won't be forgotten}}.

* [[The Gump]]: In ''Modern Warfare 3'', it turns out that Yuri {{spoiler|1=was there when Zakhaev's arm was shot off, watched the nuke go off in MW1, and was supposed to join Makarov in the "No Russian" airport massacre, but Makarov gut-shot him in the underground parking lot after Yuri had a change of heart. Yuri even managed to crawl up to the main terminal and was steps behind Makarov, Private Allen et al., trying to stop them before passing out from his injuries.}}

** {{spoiler|Makarov himself gets this treatment for most of that scene as well, showing him as the driver that got Zakhaev safely away after he was shot, and as the one who ''detonated'' Al-Asad's nuke.}}

** Dual Desert Eagles as '[[More Dakka]]'? Please. Dual P90s (there's a reason it's called a "bullet hose") w/ the "Rapid Fire" or "Extended Mags" attachments. ''That's'' [[More Dakka]].

** Dual lever action shotguns.

** In ''Down The Rabbit Hole'' Grinch dual wields Desert Eagles, ''at two different targets.''

** Oddly inverted with an unfixed bug in ''Call of Duty 4'' - attaching a suppressor to the G3 causes knife stabs initiated with it to take upwards of a second to register, by which time it's entirely possible for your target to move out of the way or just knife you first.

* [[Gunship Rescue]]:

** Subverted in ''Modern Warfare 3''. {{spoiler|At the end of the "Black Tuesday" mission, Frost's helicopter takes a hard hit and it looks like it's going to crash into a New York high-rise, but it levels out just in time and flies away safely.}}

* [[Heroic Mime]]: The player character never speaks while you are playing as him. However, a [[Flash Back]] mission in ''Modern Warfare'' has you playing as the otherwise-talkative Captain (then-Lieutenant) Price, and the guy you play as in "Death from Above" is just as talkative as the rest of the gunship's crew. In ''Modern Warfare 2'', {{spoiler|Soap, the PC from the previous game, is now your team leader}}, though he stops talking when you play as him.

** Averted in the last mission of ''Modern Warfare 3'', where, in the vein of ''Black Ops'', {{spoiler|Captain Price}} is just as chatty as ever when it's his turn to be the [[Player Character]] {{spoiler|again}}.

** Also averted briefly in "No Russian" in ''Modern Warfare 2'', where Private Allen is heard once ("Copy, second floor window!") while responding to a teammate.