Plot
"This is for the record."
— Captain Price
Modern Warfare 2 is set five years after the conclusion of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Despite the efforts of the Marines and the SAS, the Ultranationalists seize control of Russia and enshrine Imran Zakhaev, the deceased leader of the Ultrantionalists, a hero and martyr. Meanwhile, Vladimir Makarov, one of Zakhaev's former lieutenants, begins a reign of terror against Europe by staging numerous terror attacks. The game begins in Afghanistan, where US Army Ranger Private Allen of 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment participates in an operation to retake an Afghan city from local militia. Impressed, General Shepherd recruits Allen as a CIA operative and places him in Makarov's organization as an undercover operative. Meanwhile, Soap and Roach infiltrate a Russian airbase to recover an American ACS module. Allen then participates with Makarov in a terrorist attack on a Russian airport.However, Makarov is somehow aware that Allen is an undercover CIA agent, and kills Allen before fleeing the airport. The terrorist attack was made to look as if done by Americans as Makarov and his squad speak English and use NATO weapons (i.e. M4A1 and M240). Allen's body is left behind for the Russians to find, which will be identified as American and incite anti-American sentiment in Russia. This may be a jab at the huge anti-Arabic sentiment left in America following the infamous September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Angered by what they believe is an American-supported terrorist attack, Russia initiates a surprise invasion of the United States East Coast. (This may, likewise, be a jab at the subsequent invasion of Iraq following 9/11) The 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment is called upon to defend Virginia and Washington D.C. from the Russian attack. Meanwhile, Task Force 141 now shifts their attention to Makarov. They go to Rio de Janeiro to investigate an alleged contact of Makarov, Alejandro Rojas. After capturing and interrogating Rojas, the Task Force discovers that one of Makarov's most hated enemies, known as Prisoner 627, is being held in a Russian prison. Soap decides to spring Prisoner 627 and use him as bait to draw Makarov out. With assistance from the Navy SEALs, Marines, and American Navy, Task Force 141 storms The Gulag to free Prisoner 627, who is revealed to be Captain Price. Price agrees to help them track down Makarov, but knows they must do something extreme to end the war. He temporarily goes rogue, hijacks a Russian nuclear submarine, and launches an ICBM at Washington D.C. However, Price rigs the warhead to explode in the upper atmosphere, which destroys the International Space Station but spares Washington.
The resulting electromagnetic pulse cripples both the US and Russian forces in the city. Planes and other flying vehicles crash to earth, and Sergeant Foley and his squad discover that the Air Force has assumed that D.C. is lost and carpet bomb the city. The only way to abort the operation is to set off green flares on the roof of the White House, which is under Russian control. Foley and his squad fight their way to the roof the building and manage to set off their flares in the nick of time, while green flares on the roofs of other D.C. landmarks signifies that the city remains firmly in American hands. Foley and the squad vow to take the fight to the Russians, burning down their capital just as they did to Washington.
However, Makarov is still on the loose. Narrowing down his hiding place to two separate locations, Task Force 141 decides to split up. Soap and Price go to the boneyards in Afghanistan, whilst Roach and Ghost raid Makarov's safehouse in the Caucasus Mountains. It is revealed to be a trap, but Task Force fights their way through the safehouse and obtain vital intelligence to put an end to him for good. However, General Shepherd betrays them and kills both Ghost and Roach. He intends to take advantage of the global crisis to turn himself into a global hero as well as write history how he sees fit. Price and Soap manage to escape Shepherd's ambush, and convinces Makarov to reveal Shepherd's location to them. In Afghanistan, Soap and Price decide to take revenge on him in one final, bloody suicide mission. They attack his base there, but he escapes on a boat. They chase him on a boat down a Afghan river, and Price shoots the helicopter Shephard tries to escape in down, but he and Soap fall down a waterfall. The heavily wounded Soap stumbes through the crash site and chases Shepherd, but Shepherd knocks him out and stabs him with a Knife. As Soap lay dying, Shepherd and Price fight. By ripping the knife out of his own chest, Soap manages to kill Shepherd with a knife throw to the head. Nikolai then arrives to extract them. Price warns Nikolai that they will be international fugitives for what they've done, but Nikolai insists he knows a safe place to take them.
Characters
Task Force 141
Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson is a playable character and member of Task Force 141.
Captain "Soap" MacTavish (The main playable character from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) is the Commanding officer of Task Force 141.
Captain John Price (Soap's commanding officer from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) returns to fight alongside Soap.
Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley is a member Task Force 141.
Nikolai (a Loyalist that was rescued by Captain Price and his squad in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) returns in the missions The Hornet's Nest, Endgame, and The Enemy Of My Enemy.
U.S. Army Rangers
Lt. General Shepherd is the commander of the U.S. forces and Task Force 141.
Private James Ramirez is a U.S. Army Ranger, and a playable character.
Sergeant Foley is a the leader of Ramirez's squad in the U.S. Army Rangers.
Private First Class Joseph Allen is in Foley's squad of the U.S. Army Rangers, and later a member of the C.I.A.
Corporal Jake Dunn is the second in command in Foley's squad in the U.S. Army Rangers.
Raptor is a High-Value Individual rescued in "Wolverines!". He carries valuable information in a briefcase.
William Cullen is the Secretary of Defense mentioned in Loose Ends and heard in Second Sun.
Central Intelligence Agency
Alexei Borodin is the undercover alias of Joseph Allen in No Russian.
Russian Federation
Major Petrov is the airfield commander in the level Cliffhanger.
Boris Vorshevsky is the president of Russia and becomes leader of the Ultranationalists.
Ultranationalists
Vladimir Makarov is the new leader of the Ultranationalists.
Viktor is one of the terrorists in "No Russian".
Anatoly is one of the terrorists in "No Russian".
Lev is one of the terrorists in "No Russian".
Kiril is one of the terrorists in "No Russian".
Langley is one of the terrorists in "No Russian".
Jester is one of the terrorists in "No Russian".
Brazilian Militia
Alejandro Rojas is an arms dealer based in Rio de Janeiro.
Rojas' assistant is Rojas' right hand man.
Campaigns
Act I
S.S.D.D. — Help train the Afghan National Army and run the training course for General Shepherd.
Team Player — Assault an Afghan town after the bridge is destroyed by OpFor soldiers.
Cliffhanger — Infiltrate a Russian mountain base with Capt. MacTavish and recover a downed ACS module.
No Russian — Assault a Russian airport with Vladimir Makarov while undercover.
Takedown — Engage in a running fire-fight throughout Rio de Janeiro to capture an arms dealer named Rojas.
Act II
Wolverines! — Locate and protect codename Raptor during the beginning of the Russian invasion of America.
The Hornet's Nest — Fight through the Brazilian Militia defences and escape the favela.
Exodus — Crush Russian forces in the suburbs and retrieve the HVI from the panic room.
The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday — Infiltrate an oil-rig, rescue hostages, and clear the way to the Gulag.
The Gulag — Assault a Russian Gulag and rescue Prisoner #627.
Of Their Own Accord — Assault Russian positions at the Department of Commerce, and protect the evacuation site at the Washington Monument.
Act III
Contingency — Evade enemy patrols, crush Russian defences at the sub base, and help Cpt. Price secure a nuclear submarine.
Second Sun — Dodge falling debris, and push through remaining Russian forces to Whiskey Hotel.
Whiskey Hotel — Assault the White House, clear out Russian forces, and get to the roof to wave off friendly fighters.
Loose Ends — Search for Makarov at a safehouse on the Georgian/Russian border, and capture Makarov's Operations Playbook.
The Enemy Of My Enemy — Let Shepherd's and Makarov's men kill each other and link up with Captain Price to escape the Boneyard with Nikolai.
Just Like Old Times — Search the Afghan cave network for Shepherd.
Endgame — Chase and kill Shepherd through the rivers with Price.
Bonus
Museum — See dioramas of every level, location, and event in the storyline in a museum. Every weapon featured in game is also found here, and the player is able to pick up any of them. An Ammo Box Care Package is available in the 2 rooms the weapons are found in. A red bell in the 2 rooms with NPCs calls all the characters featured in the dioramas in the individual rooms to action, and they all try to kill the player. A third room features vehicles used, but are not animated like the characters in the other two rooms.
Modern Warfare 2 
