Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's campaign is an ambitious attempt to tap into the most thrilling and successful parts of the series' campaigns over the last couple of decades. For the most part, it works, with the 17 missions on display each offering something different. The strength of the characters portrayed also serves as the glue which holds Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's narrative together, with favorites such as Ghost, Soap, and Captain Price all as likable and memorable as ever. In terms of villains, the character of Phillip Graves is a worthy addition to the franchise's roster of antagonists, but the manner in which he is disposed of will ultimately disappoint players.
Modern Warfare 2's single-player campaign arguably feels more personal than its predecessors. Thanks to the situations the characters find themselves in, the narrative demands for players to get to know these elusive personalities more so than ever before. Relationships are formed not just between the protagonists, but between the player and characters too. As a direct result of this, the betrayal that serves as the narrative's main twist is likely to be taken more personally by players, and Phillip Graves is likely to become the antagonist that players will want to see suffer. His death, then, which takes place inside an exploding tank, will probably leave many feeling rather unfulfilled, with his body never even seen.
Modern Warfare 2 Fans Will be Disappointed With Graves' Death
In Modern Warfare 2, the story follows the counter-terrorist unit Task Force 141, led by Captain Price and made up of the squad of Ghost, Soap, and Gaz. The team is working under the command of General Shepherd, played by Glenn Morshower, a face that will be recognizable to fans of Fox's long-running Television show 24 which went off the air in 2014. Shepherd's 2nd in command is Phillip Graves, a ruthless commander who initially works alongside Task Force 141 at Shepherd's behest, while also leading the mysterious private firm Shadow Company.
The game's big twist sees Graves and his Shadow Company turning on Captain Price's squadron, forcing them to flee after being hopelessly outnumbered. The campaign then spirals in a very different direction, with missions becoming a desperate scramble for survival. Graves plays a huge part in this, with his betrayal being experienced firsthand by players, who then witness him executing civilians as he searches the streets for Ghost and Soap in the mission Alone. This leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of the game's protagonists, who are obviously thirsty for revenge.
The opportunity comes sooner than they expect, with Price's men eventually converging on Grave's makeshift headquarters, the Fuerzas Especiales HQ in Las Almas, in the mission named Ghost Team. After Graves realizes his plight, he flees, scrambling into an armored tank before peppering Soap and his ally Rodolfo Parra with projectiles while simultaneously taunting the pair. Thus begins a game of cat and mouse, with Graves maneuvering his tank around a handful of derelict buildings that the protagonists are using for cover, at the same time as Soap is attempting to plant C4 directly into the tank's pathway.
Soap eventually succeeds in his mission, blowing up the tank with Phillip Graves still inside it. This brings Graves' arc to an abrupt and somewhat unexpected end. Many players will expect to see a badly-burned Graves emerging from the tank with a grenade launcher, or something equally outlandish, but instead, he is never seen or spoken about again. No last words, not even a look at his body, or the chance for Soap to look into the eyes of the man who betrayed him and his team before claiming his vengeance. The game's campaign gets a lot of things right, but not giving players a more personal showdown with one of Call of Duty's most memorable villains feels like a missed opportunity.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
