Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2

Modern Warfare 2 is set five years after the conclusion of Call of Duty 4. Despite the efforts of the Marines and the SAS, the Ultranationalists ultimately seize control of Russia and declare Imran Zakhaev a hero and martyr, erecting a statue of him in the heart of Red Square. Meanwhile, Vladimir Makarov, one of Zakhaev's former lieutenants, begins a campaign against Europe by committing numerous acts of terrorism.

The game begins in Afghanistan, where U.S. Army Ranger Private First Class Joseph Allen helps in the taking of a city from insurgents. Impressed by Allen's performance in combat, Lieutenant General Shepherd recruits him into Task Force 141, an elite, multi-national counter-terrorism unit under Shepherd's command. Meanwhile, two other members of Task Force 141, Captain "Soap" MacTavish and Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson, scale a mountain of the Tian Shan to infiltrate an airbase in Kazakhstan to recover a lost ACS module from a downed satellite. Allen is later sent on an undercover mission in Russia for the CIA under the alias of "Alexei Borodin." Allen joins Makarov in a massacre of civilians at the Zakhaev International Airport in Moscow. It is soon revealed at the conclusion of the attack that Makarov is aware of Allen's true identity and before leaving, kills him to expose his identity as an American, leading the Russian police to believe that America was responsible for the attack.

Angered by what was believed to be an American-supported terrorist attack, Russia retaliates with a massive surprise invasion of the United States after bypassing its early warning system, revealing that the ACS module from an earlier mission had already been compromised before its retrieval. Sergeant Foley leads his squad of U.S. Army Rangers, including Private James Ramirez, in the defense of a suburb in northeastern Virginia against the Russian attack. They then proceed towards a war-torn Washington, D.C., where more U.S. forces are fighting a desperate battle against the Russians for control of the capital city.

Meanwhile, Task Force 141 begins its search for evidence that would implicate Makarov as the true mastermind behind the airport massacre. Intelligence leads it to Rio de Janeiro, where the Task Force investigates leads on Makarov's contact, weapons dealer Alejandro Rojas. It finds out that a major nemesis of Makarov is locked up in a Russian gulag east of Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula. As a result, Task Force 141 assaults the prison and manages to free the prisoner, who turns out to be Captain Price. Price agrees to aid in the tracking down of Makarov. While attempting to stop a nuclear missile launch aboard a Russian submarine, he appears to go rogue, himself allowing the launch of a SLBM that is aimed at Washington D.C.. However, he sets the warhead to explode in the upper atmosphere, which destroys the International Space Station, but spares the capital city from utter destruction. The resulting electromagnetic pulse cripples the vehicles and electronic equipment of both the U.S. and Russian forces in the city. Back on the ground, Ramirez and his squad discover that the Air Force has assumed that the Russians have overrun D.C. and plans to launch airstrikes on the city. The only way to abort the operation is to set off green flares on the roof of the White House and other important buildings that are under Russian control. Ramirez and his squad fight their way to the roof of the White House (codenamed "Whiskey Hotel") and manage to set off flares in the nick of time, averting an airstrike. Green flares may be seen on the rooftops of other D.C. landmarks, signifying that the city is in American hands.

Narrowing down Makarov's hiding place to two separate locations, Task Force 141 decides to split up. Captains Price and MacTavish travel to an aircraft boneyard in Afghanistan, whereas Sanderson and Ghost raid Makarov's safehouse in the Caucasus Mountains. At the safehouse, Sanderson and his team manage to obtain vital intelligence from enemy equipment. However, as the player narrowly escapes overwhelming enemies and is seemingly 'rescued' by General Shepherd and his forces, Shepherd betrays Task Force 141 and kills both Sanderson and Ghost, taking the intelligence with him to make him seem responsible for its acquisition. Meanwhile, Price and MacTavish quickly learn of Shepherd's betrayal and escape an ambush with the help of Nikolai. After managing to contact Makarov and learning of Shepherd's location, Price and MacTavish decide to take revenge on Shepherd in one final, bloody suicide mission. During the infiltration, Shepherd tries to escape and a long boat pursuit ensues.
Shepherd appears to have escaped when he drives his boat into the back of a hovering MH-53 helicopter. However, Price manages to shoot the helicopter down just before the boat he and MacTavish are on tumbles over a waterfall. After recovering from the fall, a heavily-injured MacTavish attempts to kill Shepherd with his knife, but Shepherd blocks the attack and in turn stabs MacTavish. As MacTavish lies on the ground, Shepherd prepares to execute him with his revolver, but before he can, Price attacks him and knocks the revolver away. Price and Shepherd then engage in an extended fist fight while MacTavish struggles to pull the knife out of his own chest. Finally managing to do so, he throws the knife at Shepherd, killing him. Price attends to MacTavish's wounds as Nikolai arrives in a helicopter to extract them. Nikolai warns the two that they will be pursued, but Price insists that MacTavish receive medical attention; Nikolai mentions a safe place to go to.