Mourning the loss of amazing Call of Duty campaigns, I reminisce about a time when each entry in the franchise gave us heart-stopping, adrenaline-pumping action. A turn for the worse, the open-world missions we’ve endured in recent entries are so far removed from what made CoD campaigns special and memorable. Distracted by delivering cutscenes over gripping and challenging scenarios, the era of unforgettable CoD missions seems to be long forgotten.
I bought Call of Duty every year, not for the multiplayer (although League Play was legendary), but for the campaigns. An enthusiast for strong single-player games with narrative at the forefront, CoD campaigns kept me engaged and in awe, perhaps more from the glorification of war standpoint. But the golden era of Call of Duty, with the original Modern Warfare and early days of Black Ops, saw realistic settings that didn’t care too much about its iconic characters.
While Loose Ends from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is legendary for having one of the biggest plot twists in video game history, there are other campaign missions that top Loose Ends with their perfect narrative, level design, and gameplay.
All Ghillied Up
Game: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (2007)
All Ghillied Up may be the most realistic mission Call of Duty has ever done, for its slower-pacing and strategic gunfights. Showcasing the patience of a sniper, All Ghilled Up is the perfect military mission that features balanced stealthy gameplay, delivered in various ways that keep the mission feeling fresh, and provide excellent pacing. The setup is realistic, where the edge of the level is riddled with radiation, keeping you within its confinement—but it never felt restrictive.
The best part of All Ghillied Up is that it doesn’t feel like an ordinary video game level. The way this campaign mission is crafted fully immerses you inside the tall grass you have to crawl through to avoid detection. The patrolling AI doesn’t feel like it’s restricted to a particular path, either. All Ghillied Up should be the standard for CoD campaign missions as it features immaculate pacing, balanced stealth that doesn’t ever get repetitive, and leads into a satisfying climax that makes being patient feel so worth it.
Cliffhanger
Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
Stealth may not be for everyone, but occasionally mixed into the endless action breaks up the chaos and creates a balanced formula that only strengthened Modern Warfare’s realism. It isn’t flashy, but Cliffhanger stands out for its level design and openness to try new things. You aren’t forced to tackle the objective a particular way. The level is larger than others and non-linear, where you need to reach the satellite while remaining undetected. All-out war is an option, too, if you like your odds as a one-man army. What makes this level so good is its blizzard environment, which makes seeing beyond two meters near impossible. This, paired with the Heartbeat Sensor offered a tense situation that rewarded patience.
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Cliffhanger demonstrated you didn’t have to stick to a linear format to deliver a great mission. You can complete this mission however you want, making this the perfect campaign level, as soldiers would have to come up with new strategies depending on the number of hostiles holding a single position. A snowmobile chase sequence at its conclusion was the cherry on top, making a point to pause the gunning and running so you can focus purely on the thrill of escaping with your life intact.
No Russian
Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
A content warning off the bat, I felt like a right rebel going into Modern Warfare 2. But I didn’t realize No Russian would be as impactful as it was, being the most shocking campaign mission in the history of Call of Duty. Playing from the terrorists POV, the life of being an undercover agent goes terribly wrong when you’ve not only been compromised, but you’re forced to partake in truly evil acts. While other missions have replicated the shock factor of this mission (e.g., MW3‘s Passenger), nothing comes close to the original if you played it without knowing what was going to happen.
A false flag operation set to paint America as the villains, the terrorist attack takes place in Vladimir Makarov’s homeland, Russia. The title and Makarov telling his comrades, “No Russian,” is impactful for the context of the mission. This short act of terror remains the most unforgettable mission for the nauseating content that you must partake in to move on, leaving the hundreds of innocent lives behind, all in an act of war. In a franchise where we must always outgun our opponent to ensure our survival, there’s nothing but disgust, shame, and fear as you shoot petrified civilians.
Suffer With Me
Game: Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012)
What makes Suffer With Me a unique mission is its setup. The narrative is very different from what we’re used to seeing with CoD campaigns, as we jump around timelines, all delivered within a 30-minute runtime. Suffer With Me concludes the 80s events leading up to the Second Cold War. This campaign mission is a short game in itself, delivering a high-octane level with serious choices at the end. Although it’s short, we’re shown a glimpse into the family life of the soldiers, showcasing their humanity. In a desperate attempt to capture Noriega, Woods and Mason’s mission is far different than what they prepared for.
Suffer With Me offers a dark story about soldiers being used for another person’s gain, where lives are manipulated and lost to help one side gain an advantage. The brotherhood between Woods and Mason, a mission being one that took a life and left the other mentally and physically broken, makes Suffer With Me a truly cinematic masterpiece. Left in the dark with scattered and unclear comms, yet unable to back away from the mission, Suffer With Me shows the brutality of war. It has one of the most devastating and shocking climaxes in CoD history.
Vendetta
Game: Call of Duty: World at War (2008)
A harrowing start to a mission, we’re shown the aftermath of war from a soldier’s perspective, seeing fallen comrades on either side. Crows lie in wait to pick your brothers’ rotting flesh apart as enemy lines infiltrate to clean up what remains of your comrades. You cannot help but watch, unable to do anything about the massacre on-screen. It’s a stealthier mission coated in a palpable darkness as you must crawl past the bodies of fallen men, soaking your knees in a deep crimson.
But the mission never stops. You cannot lose sight of your target, and Vendetta reminds you of what you came for. There is nothing enjoyable about this mission as it instead shows the very real devastation of war. Handling multiple intense situations, you and Reznov must keep moving, navigating around the wolf’s den, in what can only be described as a hopeless setting. Vendetta shows that fighting doesn’t stop until you’re dead.
Vorkuta
Game: Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)
Kicking off Black Ops strong was Vorkuta. Unlike other CoD missions, Vorkuta felt like an act of self-defence against the assailants that held you captive. Participating in a rebellion, wielding only a knife, you follow Reznov to freedom. Showcasing camaraderie between soldiers under different regimes, the prisoners band together for the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The dark and gritty aesthetic of Black Ops perfectly captured the more psychological elements of the game’s narrative, showcasing the impact war has on the mind.
A brutal fight for survival, fellow prisoners are led out as bait, following their leader’s commands. Vorkuta shows battle outside of what we’ve grown used to seeing: following orders and completing objectives to fulfil our duties. It demonstrates our pure animalistic fight for survival, our ability to work together regardless of the odds, and use whatever resources we can to overthrow a worse evil. Vorkuta has perfect pacing as its gameplay and technology you use throughout the mission develop, almost portraying the evolution of man. This mission is completed by the mad dash to freedom on the back of a dirt bike.
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