Over the last decade or so, the campaign of Call of Duty has become a smaller affair, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 even ditching the mode altogether. While some fans have enjoyed this approach, believing that it makes the game's multiplayer mode more expansive, a good deal of fans adore Call of Duty's campaign modes, with even the worst ones still being packed full of memorable set pieces. Thankfully, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is doubling down on its campaign, and fans may want a refresher on the previous games' events before booting it up for the first time next week.
Releasing in a week's time, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 directly continues the narrative started in 2019's Modern Warfare. While this new series is technically a reboot, the two games still share some common threads with the original Modern Warfare trilogy, and it's definitely worth taking a look back at those games as well before Modern Warfare 2's release.
The Story of the Original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Trilogy
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare may not be a part of the same continuity as the current Modern Warfare series, but it is where fans got their first introduction to the iconic members of Task Force 141, and a few plot details do seep into the current timeline. Call of Duty 4 opens with the dictator Khaled Al-Asad staging a coup in the Middle East. At the same time, the SAS' Bravo Team, led by Captain John Price, receives a new recruit named John "Soap" MacTavish.
Bravo Team sets out on a mission to retrieve stolen nuclear materials, which are believed to be on a tanker in the middle of the sea. The team manages to find the shipping manifest, and discover that Al-Asad is the perpetrator. Bravo Team, assisted by Russian Loyalists, then rescue the Russian pilot Nikolai, who gave them the intelligence. Meanwhile, the US army invades the Middle East to stop Al-Asad. Believing that Al-Asad is cornered, the US army moves in, only to find out that it was a trap. Al-Asad uses a nuclear warhead to decimate the area.
The SAS team finds Al-Asad in his safe house but through interrogation learns that he did not set off the warhead, instead, it was the Russian Ultranationalist leader, Imran Zakhaev. Upon hearing that name, Captain Price confides in his team about an earlier mission in his career, where he and his Captain were sent on a covert mission to Pripyat to assassinate Zakhaev, but only managed to wound him.
Seeing no other option, the US army, SAS, and Russian Loyalists team up to capture Zakhaev's son, Victor, but he shoots himself to avoid being interrogated. In retaliation, Zakhaev threatens to nuke the US. Bravo Team finds the missile facility and manages to stop the nukes in midair. As the team attempts to escape, they're cut off by Zakhaev's forces, and their vehicle turns over. Lying on the ground, Soap witnesses the death of Griggs and Gaz before Price throws him his pistol. Soap catches the pistol and kills Zakhaev.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 picks up just a few years later, when the Ultranationalists have managed to take control of Russia. In Afghanistan, General Shepherd is looking to recruit a skilled marine for a secret operation. He decides to recruit Joseph Allen, who joins Task Force 141, an elite counter-terrorist team. Now a captain, Soap and his fellow TF141 teammate Roach infiltrate a Russian airbase and steal a satellite module from it.
Allen's covert mission has sent him undercover, where he joins the new Ultranationalist leader Makarov in committing a severe act of terrorism in a Moscow airport. After making their way through the airport, Makarov kills Allen, knowing he was lying about his identity, and using his nationality to spark a war between the US and Russia. Russia launches a surprise invasion on US soil, which leads to days of fighting across North America.
At the same time, Task Force 141 is given the go-ahead to break Captain Price out of a Russian gulag. Taking control of the task force, Price leads his team to a Russian nuclear submarine, where he launches a nuke toward the US. Detonating just above the atmosphere, the nuke acts as an EMP, disabling all electronics and vehicles in the area, and giving the US forces the upper hand. While trying to find Makarov, Ghost and Roach bring the intel back to General Shepherd, who betrays them and kills them. Price and Soap then temporarily team up with Makarov to get revenge on Shepherd, who they find in Afghanistan. After a brutal fight, Soap manages to throw a knife in between Shepherd's eyes, and the two escape in Nikolai's helicopter.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 takes place moments after MW2's ending, and sees the Russian invasion of the US come to an end. However, those loyal to Makarov stage a Europe-wide invasion, using chemical weapons in several major European cities, and using the chaos to invade Germany. Meanwhile, a badly wounded Soap, Captain Price, and ex-Spetsnaz soldier Yuri work together to try and assassinate Makarov, but it turns out to be a trap, and the three are caught in a huge explosion.
As Soap succumbs to his wounds, he tells Price that Makarov knows Yuri. Yuri reveals that he was once Makarov's right-hand man, but defected right before the Moscow airport massacre. After a series of covert special operations, Makarov's army is forced to retreat, and Task Force 141 is officially reinstated, and given the go-ahead to find Makarov and kill him. In an explosive finale, Price and Yuri find Makarov, and kill him, though Yuri dies in the fight as well.
The Story of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
Taking place in a new timeline, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) opens up with CIA agent Alex attempting to recover some stolen chemical gas. Once they find the shipment, the team is intercepted by unknown assailants, who take the chemical gas for themselves. This kicks off a worldwide hunt, and the CIA recruits Captain John Price to aid in the gas' recovery.
Meanwhile, in the heart of London, Sgt. Kyle Garrick is investigating a terrorist cell related to Al-Qatala, who start an attack in Piccadilly. In Urzikstan, Alex joins forces with Farah Karim, a freedom fighter who agrees to help the CIA in finding the gas if they help her push the Russian forces out of her home country. Price and Kyle's journey leads them to Urzikstan as well, where they try to hunt down Al-Qatala's leader, The Wolf.
While the team manages to capture The Wolf, he is soon set free by his right-hand man, The Butcher. Alex and Farah try to intercept The Wolf on a desert highway, but before they can take him down, Farah's brother reveals that he has the chemical gas. Price and Garrick head to St. Petersburg, and with the help of Nikolai, the team captures The Butcher and learns where Hadir is hiding. They find Hadir and discover the whereabouts of the Russian leader, Barkov's secret chemical facility.
The final act sees Price and the rest of the team infiltrate Barkov's chemical plant, with Alex sacrificing himself to destroy the facility, and Farah killing Barkov. The end credits show that Price is putting together a team, with Kyle Garrick being nicknamed "Gaz," and Simon "Ghost" Riley and John "Soap" MacTavish joining the team, designated Task Force 141.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launches on October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
