MODERN WARFARE FIELD GUIDE

Call of Duty 4 Story

Campaign spoilers ahead. Six illustrated beats recap the original 2007 game’s SAS and Marine storylines, including the ending.

The SAS locates a nuclear device on the freighter in the original Call of Duty 4 mission Crew Expendable. — Campaign scene: the SAS discovers a nuclear device aboard the freighter in Crew Expendable. Picture source

STORY BEAT 1 OF 6

The SAS, a shipment and a coup

New SAS recruit Soap joins Captain Price and Gaz. A freighter raid uncovers a nuclear shipment linked to a Middle Eastern coup. Al-Asad executes President Al-Fulani, while the SAS rescues Russian informant Nikolai with help from Kamarov’s Loyalists.

F.N.G. — Call of Duty Guide · Crew Expendable — Call of Duty Guide · The Coup — Call of Duty Guide · Blackout (Call of Duty 4) — Call of Duty Guide

Jackson’s first-person view of the devastated city after the nuclear blast in the original Call of Duty 4. — Campaign viewpoint: Jackson looks over the devastated city during Aftermath. Picture source

STORY BEAT 2 OF 6

The Marine campaign ends in disaster

The American campaign follows Marine Sergeant Paul Jackson under Lieutenant Vasquez, with Griggs fighting alongside them. Their search for Al-Asad reaches the capital. After rescuing a downed helicopter pilot, Jackson’s evacuation is caught in a nuclear explosion. He dies in the devastation.

Paul Jackson — Call of Duty Guide · Shock and Awe — Call of Duty Guide · Aftermath (Call of Duty 4) — Call of Duty Guide

Captain Price answers Al-Asad’s phone during the original Call of Duty 4 mission Safehouse. — Campaign scene: Price answers Al-Asad’s phone during Safehouse. Picture source

STORY BEAT 3 OF 6

The man behind Al-Asad

Nikolai directs Price’s team to Al-Asad’s Azerbaijani safehouse. Price interrogates him, answers his ringing phone, recognizes Imran Zakhaev’s voice, and kills Al-Asad. The apparent regional war is connected to Zakhaev’s Russian Ultranationalist campaign.

Safehouse (level) — Call of Duty Guide · Khaled Al-Asad — Call of Duty Guide

Captain MacMillan leads Lieutenant Price through Pripyat in the original Call of Duty 4 mission All Ghillied Up. — Campaign scene: MacMillan leads Price through the grass in All Ghillied Up. Picture source

STORY BEAT 4 OF 6

Price remembers Pripyat

Price recalls a mission fifteen years earlier. In 1996, he and Captain MacMillan infiltrated Pripyat to assassinate Zakhaev. Price’s shot severed Zakhaev’s arm but failed to kill him. An injured MacMillan had to be carried to their extraction.

All Ghillied Up — Call of Duty Guide · One Shot, One Kill — Call of Duty Guide

Handwritten missile abort codes from the original Call of Duty 4 mission No Fighting In The War Room. — Mission detail: the handwritten abort codes used to destroy the missiles in flight. Picture source

STORY BEAT 5 OF 6

Stopping Zakhaev’s missiles

The team pursues Zakhaev’s son Victor, who kills himself rather than be captured. Furious, Zakhaev seizes a missile facility and launches nuclear missiles at the United States. Soap, Price, Gaz and Griggs fight into launch control, where Soap uploads the abort codes.

The Sins of the Father — Call of Duty Guide · Ultimatum — Call of Duty Guide · No Fighting In The War Room — Call of Duty Guide · No Fighting In The War Room/Transcript — Call of Duty Guide

Captain Price slides his M1911 to Soap on the bridge in the original Call of Duty 4 finale. — Campaign scene: Price slides his M1911 to Soap during Game Over. Picture source

STORY BEAT 6 OF 6

The last stand on the bridge

Their escape ends on a shattered bridge. Griggs and Gaz are killed; the wounded Price slides Soap his pistol. Soap kills Zakhaev as Loyalist helicopters arrive. Kamarov evacuates Soap while a medic tries to revive Price. Mile High Club follows as a separate hostage-rescue bonus.

Game Over — Call of Duty Guide · Game Over/Transcript — Call of Duty Guide · Mile High Club — Call of Duty Guide

References

Covered edition: Original Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007), its PC/Mac editions and original console maps. Wii Reflex (2009) shares the campaign and launch maps, with differences noted. Modern Warfare Remastered, the 2019 reboot and the separate DS game are outside this wiki.