Call of Duty campaigns have shipped with nearly every game in the series, and 2019’s Modern Warfare reboot featured a new, gritty–or grittier–take on the first-person shooter genre. Its story featured an action-packed blend of action, intrigue, and mustaches, and if you’re preparing to play the Modern Warfare 2 campaign, we’ll get you caught up. Here’s a recap of everything that happened in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. And if you want a video version of this recap, it’s embedded below.

Fog of War

The game kicks off in the fictional region of Verdansk, where a CIA operative known simply as Alex is raiding a facility with a team of marines to search for a shipment of chemical gas. Once the gas is located, things go sideways for the Americans very fast. The gas is stolen by a team of hostile insurgents who kill everyone except for Alex.

We then jump to the fictional country of Urzikstan, which is where much of the game’s action takes place. Here, we’re introduced to Station Chief Laswell–Alex’s CIA handler–who calls in the legendary Captain John Price to assist in the chemical gas mission.

Picadilly

24 hours later, we head to London, where Sergeant Kyle Garrick is investigating a terrorist group affiliated with an organization called Al-Qatala. After intercepting a van full of terrorists, Garrick and his team are thrown into heavy combat, with Captain Price arriving to avert a larger crisis.

Embedded/Proxy War

The story cuts back to Alex in Urzikstan, who is sent to rendevous with Farah Karim, a local resistance leader and Captain Price’s contact. Reaching a mutually beneficial deal, the two agree to help one another. Karim will aid Alex’s search for the chemical gas in exchange for help defending Urzikstan from Russian occupiers–led by General Roman Barkov. Alex assists Farah and her brother Hadir, taking down two helicopters.

Clean House

Back in London, Garrick has managed to track down the terrorists’ safe house. The information leads to a raid by Garrick and Price, where they learn the name of Al-Qatala’s leader: Omar Sulaman, better known simply as The Wolf.

Hunting Party/The Embassy

From here, Alex is brought on a mission to capture The Wolf at a nearby hospital in Urzikstan. He succeeds in his mission, but after bringing The Wolf to the US embassy, his right-hand man–The Butcher–launches an attack to rescue him. The Wolf is freed despite the best efforts of both Captain Price and Garrick to assist Alex and Farah.

Highway of Death

A controversial mission because of its name (the Highway of Death was a real location during the Gulf War), Highway of Death sees Farah, her brother Hadir, and Alex on a sniping post as they wait to ambush an Al-Qatala convoy. However, chaos soon erupts as Barkov’s men start shooting indiscriminately, and Hadir is revealed to be the person who stole the chemical gas. Triggering a bomb, Hadir’s gas kills everyone in range, though Farah and Alex both narrowly escape.

Hometown

Set 20 years earlier, Hometown sees the earliest days of Farah’s resistance. During Barkov’s initial invasion of Urzikstan, her father is murdered and gas destroys much of her neighborhood. Farah and Hadir both survive, as you’d expect given what came later, but are caught by Barkov and his men.

Captive

10 years later, Farah is held captive by Barkov. It’s Captain Price who finally comes to the rescue, freeing her and many of her fellow resistance fighters–setting the stage for the brutal war to come.

Old Comrades/Going Dark

Returning to the present, the story heads to St. Petersburg, Russia, where Price and Garrick believe Hadir is planning an attack. The two interact Al-Qatala fighters and locate The Butcher, who reveals Hadir’s plans only after Price threatens his family. Hadir is headed for Barkov’s estate in Moldova, and the two jump in a cop car to make it there before it’s too late.

The two avoid guards and locate Hadir on the third floor, extracting him and sparing his life in exchange for information on Barkov’s gas facility. However, Laswell turns Hadir over to the Russians before Price and Garrick meet up with Farah and Alex–the four head to Georgia to face Barkov.

Into the Furnace

The final mission sees Price and Garrick leading an assault on Barkov’s men, working to plant explosive charges as Farah and Alex move to intercept Barkov himself. However, Alex holds the detonator for the charges, and it malfunctions, requiring him to activate them manually at the cost of his life. Farah makes sure his death is not in vain, stowing away on Barkov’s personal helicopter and stabbing him to death before she makes her escape alongside Price and Garrick. Back at base, we get a tease of what’s to come later, with Task Force 141 making its debut. Garrick is revealed to be “Gaz,” and the team will also consist of Soap MacTavish and Simon “Ghost” Riley.

Spec Ops

Taking place after the campaign mode, the cooperative Spec Ops mode takes us to Verdansk. Al-Qatala has a new leader named Khaled Al-Asad, who you might remember as the initial antagonist in 2007’s Call of Duty 4. He’s doing business with Victor Zakhaev, the son of Imran Zakhaev, who ended up being the final antagonist in Call of Duty 4.

Warzone

It’s unclear how much of Warzone’s content will be canonical in the rebooted Modern Warfare timeline, but the mode features several familiar characters. Gaz and Price move to Verdansk as they work to bring down Zakhaev, with a PMC known as Shadow Company joining, as well. Farah and ally Nikolai join the fight, as well, with Price stopping an extremely powerful missile from launching as Zakhaev is killed.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare rebooted Infinity Ward’s iconic Modern Warfare trilogy with style. With Modern Warfare 2’s release imminent, what better time to refresh yourself on the original game’s story, from its campaign, through to Spec Ops and Warzone.

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War… War never changes. Over the course of 16 games, Call of Duty has become one of the world’s biggest gaming franchises. Although many players may have their own personal favorites in the series, none is as vastly popular as the Modern Warfare sub series. With the Modern Warfare 2 reboot just around the corner, these are 10 things you didn’t know about Modern Warfare 2019.

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Mark “Billy” Billingham served in the British SAS for over 17 years. He was responsible for planning and executing strategic operations across the world, and has led countless hostage rescues. Since leaving the military he has worked as both a celebrity bodyguard, appears on Channel 4’s “SAS: Who Dares Wins”, “SAS Australia”, and has just released his latest book “Survive To Fight”. Today he’s joining us to break down and react to Modern Warfare 2019’s iconic SAS Clean House mission. You can find more o

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With nearly two decades under its belt, the Call of Duty franchise has featured some fairly memorable guns over the years, but those weapons have not always been perfectly balanced. Some of Call of Duty’s most unforgettable moments come from either the absolute fun or frustration of having completely overpowered weapons disrupting the game’s multiplayer. From shotguns that acted like snipers to assault rifles with laser-beam precision, some of Call of Duty’s weapons had no right to be so good. Here we look back and break down some of the most ridiculously overpowered and popular weapons to ever be featured in a Call of Duty game.

Our list includes guns from as far back as 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, ranking weapons so wildly powerful they could be deemed “broken” guns, and others that were just so powerful and easy-to-handle, a player might feel at a disadvantage for wielding any other weapon in the game. Of course, this weapon list is subjective, so some might disagree and view other unlisted weapons as more or equally overpowered. Here’s hoping Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 don’t demand additions to the list later this year.

Image credits: Ahoy, Ozerec, Fortunate, and Hectorlo on YouTube.

10. Black Ops 1’s Famas

Image: Ahoy on YouTube

The Famas is a weapon that has surfaced in several Call of Duty titles, but the most powerful version was Black Ops 1’s full-auto Famas assault rifle. The weapon boasted an extremely fast time-to-kill, and it was deadly at all ranges. Eventually, Treyarch nerfed the Famas to give extra recoil, but the recoil was still so manageable that the gun remained the most popular and powerful weapon to use in Black Ops 1’s multiplayer.

9. Modern Warfare 3’s MP7

Image: Ozerec on YouTube

The MP7 is a submachine gun featured in several Call of Duty titles, but the most powerful version of the gun comes from Modern Warfare 3. Normally, submachine guns have limits and work best in close-quarters situations, but the MP7 was one of the most powerful and versatile guns in the game. Modern Warfare 3’s MP7 boasted a high rate of fire with very little recoil, and it could challenge enemies at greater range than any submachine should.

8. Black Ops 4’s S6 Stingray

The S6 Stingray was a two-round burst tactical rifle with high damage and a fast time-to-kill. The gun also boasted impressive accuracy and handling that made using the S6 Stingray feel effortless. As if the base stats weren’t beefy enough, there was also an Operator Mod for the weapon that granted powerful explosive rounds that were difficult to counter. The overpowered stats of this weapon were made even more controversial by the S6 Stingray being a DLC gun locked behind Black Ops 4’s loot boxes.

The S6 Stingray was one of several weapons added to the Days of Summer event in Black Ops 4, which were DLC guns only found in “Reserve Crate” loot boxes. Though the crates could be earned for free through completing challenges and leveling the game’s battle pass-style “Contraband” tiers, these loot boxes gave a random item. Chances of getting a weapon was slim, and it could easily feel like pressure to keep buying additional loot boxes to increase the odds of getting a powerful DLC gun. Many players struggled to get their hands on the S6 Stingray, making this weapon feel like a pay-to-win gun. Treyarch eventually nerfed the weapon to be a little more fair, but the tactical rifle remained powerful and hard to obtain.

7. Infinite Warfare’s NV4

The NV4 assault rifle was one of the most commonly used weapons in Infinite Warfare, which is due to the gun being so versatile and easy to handle. Infinite Warfare also featured stat-based weapon variants, and while some of them were just gimmicky perks, the legendary Flatline variant of the NV4 provided the already-powerful assault rifle with unlimited range. Players could lay down in the spawn and kill their opponents across the map with laser-beam precision.

6. Advanced Warfare’s BAL-27

Image: Ozerec on YouTube

The BAL-27 assault rifle was an overpowered nuisance in Advanced Warfare’s multiplayer. The base version of the weapon was powerful, with a high fire rate and fast time-to-kill, but the gun was even more frustratingly effective with Advanced Warfare’s stat-based weapon variants, which players could only hope to obtain from loot boxes.

Advanced Warfare not only introduced advanced movement to Call of Duty, but also created the temporary trend of having DLC locked behind the random luck of loot boxes. The game’s “Supply Drop” loot boxes could be earned simply by playing the game, but additional Supply Drops could also be purchased as single loot boxes or even in bulk for $40 or more. The extra power behind the variants of BAL-27 could easily make players feel like they need to spend money to level the playing field.

The Obsidian Steed variant gave an additional damage boost to an already-overpowered weapon, and the Inferno variant increased the fire rate and hip-fire accuracy, making the assault rifle a melt machine at close-to-medium ranges. Not only was it easy to feel at a disadvantage for not using at least the base version of BAL-27, it felt even more frustrating for those unlucky players who were unable to get these high-rarity variants of the gun from supply drops.

5. Black Ops 3’s 205 Brecci

The 205 Brecci was a semi-automatic shotgun in Black Ops 3, which could guarantee players a two-hit kill, and the shots were consistent no matter if the gun was hip-fired or while aiming down sights. The 205 Brecci also had a pretty large magazine, making the shotgun a very spammy and overpowered weapon that never received a proper nerf by Treyarch.

4. Modern Warfare 2’s ACR

Image: Hectorlo on YouTube

The ACR was Modern Warfare 2’s most-popular assault rifle, which was mostly due to the weapon’s efficient damage range and lack of recoil. This was such an easy-to-handle assault rifle, and when paired with the red dot attachment, players were beaming each other across the map with the ACR. This is definitely one of Call of Duty’s most effortless assault rifles of all time.

3. World at War’s MP40

Image: Fortunate on YouTube

There have been several iterations of the MP40 submachine gun over the years, but Call of Duty: World at War’s version still stands out as the most overpowered version of this World War II-era gun. The gun was unlocked for everyone at a very early level, giving players access to a submachine gun with an impressive damage range that felt viable at any range. The SMG became even more powerful with the 64-round drum attachment and the Steady Aim perk.

2. Modern Warfare 2007’s M16A4

Image: Hectorlo on YouTube

The M16A4 burst-fire assault rifle from the original Modern Warfare game was a powerful weapon to use, as the gun featured little-to-no recoil and an impressive damage range. Even when Modern Warfare was remastered in 2016, the M16A4 was an absolute menace in multiplayer.

1. Modern Warfare 2’s Akimbo Model 1887

Image: Hectorlo on YouTube

When thinking of overpowered guns, longtime Call of Duty players will most likely recall the reign of terror caused by the Akimbo Model 1887 shotguns from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2. Modern Warfare 2 was one of the most unbalanced Call of Duty multiplayer experiences of all time, but nothing ever felt as broken as these dual-wielded shotguns with the fancy, Terminator 2-style twirling reload animation. The Akimbo Model 1887 shotguns arrived with the power and damage range to quite literally snipe players across the map, and even after a nerf to the damage range, these shotguns remained an overpowered menace that required players to keep their distance.

Honorable mention

Image: Hectorlo on YouTube

Modern Warfare 2’s “Noob tubes.” While not a gun itself, an honorable mention must be given to Modern Warfare 2’s grenade launcher attachment. A grenade launcher could be equipped to any gun in the game’s assault rifle class. Players could rack up kills immediately upon spawning with very little effort, and the ammo was unlimited when paired with the game’s One Man Army Pro perk.

This isn’t to say that there haven’t been other powerful guns in Call of Duty’s history. Certainly no one has forgotten the sheer power behind Modern Warfare 2019’s AS VAL or Infinite Warfare’s OSA assault rifle. Thankfully, developers are catching overpowered weapons and nerfing them before they can wreak havoc for too long, but the earlier days of Call of Duty will forever be remembered for having some of the most overpowered and unbalanced guns of all time.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019 was something special, thanks to a gritty campaign, weighty gunplay, open maps, and Warzone. Let’s talk about what made the game so special.

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A group of quality assurance testers at Call of Duty developer Raven Software have voted to create one of the first video game unions in the United States, and the first at a major studio in the country.

22 staffers at Raven Software voted, and the motion passed 19-3. The group, known as Game Workers Alliance, can now move ahead with contract negotiations with management at Activision Blizzard. It’s not immediately clear what specific terms the group is seeking.

The Game Workers Alliance said in a statement to The Verge, “Our biggest hope is that our union serves as inspiration for the growing movement of workers organizing at video game studios to create better games and build workplaces that reflect our values and empower all of us. We look forward to working with management to positively shape our working conditions and the future of Activision Blizzard through a strong union contract.”

In December 2021, QA workers at Raven went on strike. Some QA testers were later shifted to “embedded” jobs within other departments at Raven. Labor expert Tom Smith told Polygon that this was “nothing more than a tactic” to try to stop Raven QA staff from organizing.

Activision Blizzard later announced that it would convert 1,100 temporary workers across the company to full time and increase pay to at least $20/hour with eligibility for bonuses and benefits.

A spokesperson for Activision Blizzard told GameSpot, “We respect and believe in the right of all employees to decide whether or not to support or vote for a union. We believe that an important decision that will impact the entire Raven Software studio of roughly 350 people should not be made by 19 Raven employees.”

In December 2021, workers at the small North American studio Vodeo Games formed a union. Contract staff workers at BioWare are now also setting the stage to form a union. A worker at Nintendo of America is taking action against the company and has filed a claim with the National Labor Relations Board that accuses the Mario maker of firing them for trying to start a union.

Looking more widely across the labor market, workers at Starbucks and Amazon are also in the process of seeking to form workers’ unions right now.

Jessica Gonzalez, a former QA staffer at Activision Blizzard who founded the activist group ABetterABK, told The New York Times that the vote from Raven QA staff to unionize would be “the spark that ignites the rest of the industry, I believe” as it relates to collective bargaining.

US Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin celebrated the news, offering congratulations to the workers at Raven, which is based in Madison, Wisconsin.

Activision Blizzard is in the process of being acquired by Microsoft, but it remains to be seen how that proposed merger could affect Raven’s potential union.

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