Line #88 YMMV/ModernWarfare


1	* ''YMMV/CallOfDuty''
2	* ''YMMV/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare''
3	* ''YMMV/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2''
4	* ''YMMV/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3''
5	* ''YMMV/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019''
6	* ''YMMV/CallOfDutyModernWarfareII''
7	* ''YMMV/CallOfDutyModernWarfareIII''
8	!!RAMIREZ! Describe trope examples that you may or may not agree with!
9	[[foldercontrol]]
10
11	[[folder: A-M]]
12	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
13	** ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'':
14	*** Is the United States a peace-loving champion of justice, or a heavy-handed bully meddling in foreign affairs to get their hands on oil reserves? Both the United States and Al-Asad play up the righteousness of their causes via the media, while the American footsoldiers are too busy doing their jobs and following orders to pontificate about morality.
15	*** Is Al-Asad pursuing nuclear weapons proof he's a tyrant who poses an immediate danger to the Middle East, or is going nuclear literally the only way to put a dent in the US war machine and keep them out of his country's internal affairs?
16	** ''Modern Warfare 2'':
17	*** Was [[spoiler: Shepherd using Makarov to further his plans?]] Or [[spoiler: was it Makarov using Shepherd to further his own?]] The games leave it open to the point that [[spoiler: they were apparently trying to OutGambit the other]].
18	*** The remastered version of Modern Warfare 2 has a new animation during [[spoiler: the betrayal scene. Roach grabs Shepherd's arm after being shot, only for Shepherd to pull away in disgust.]] Was Roach trying to grab the DSM back? Was it him being DefiantToTheEnd? Or perhaps it was a "Why are you doing this" gesture?
19	* {{Anvilicious}}: Though it can be hard to spot between the exciting gameplay and over-reliance on RuleOfCool, the series has an [[WarIsHell anti-war theme]]. More specifically: the games are a harsh condemnation of nationalistic and [[WarIsGlorious jingoistic]] foreign policy wherein both American and Russian exceptionalism are portrayed as [[EvilIsPetty petty and destructive]], with none of them being subtle in their imagery (given that the series began near the tail-end of the Bush era, it might have been an attempt to criticize neoconservative interventionism by showing what it's like when your enemies hold a similar philosophy). The games practically rub players' noses into the horrific and broad-sweeping consequences of war with things like "No Russian", "Shock and Awe", "Eye of the Storm" and "Davis Family Vacation". Even the AC-130 level is making a point about how dehumanizing swatting people like flies from a gunship is. [[note]]Sister-series, ''Black Ops'' is, if anything, even more blatant.[[/note]] There's a reason they included all those quotes.
20	* BestLevelEver:
21	** ''[=MW2=]'' has quite a few, but ''Cliffhanger'' is probably the most remembered level in the game if not the series, thanks to it being an incredibly fun and engaging stealth mission in a frozen Russian base with a ton of unique set pieces, from the climb at the beginning to the snow-mobile chase at the end.
22	** "The Gulag" likewise is very exciting and spectacular. You spend the mission fighting through different setpiece battles while storming the titular gulag, ranging from long-range sniping int he prison yards, an intense fight for the central prison tower, and a remake of the shower gunfight from ''Film/TheRock''.
23	** "All Ghillied Up." Taking place in 1996 Chernobyl, you as Price work with [=MacMillan=] to kill Zakhaev. Much sneaking with absolutely well done atmosphere and tension ensue, most notably the tank patrol section, where one wrong move will undoubtedly result in death. All backed up with a perfect soundtrack, setting the tone in a fantastic way. Last but not least, the use of real life locations in Chernobyl, plus its inherent isolation making it a perfect place for terrorist deals, help lend much credibility and believability to the level.
24	** [=MW3=] has quite a few great levels, from taking on Ultranationalist commandos in India with the mood all perfectly set with a fantastic opening cutscene, to sneaking in Russian-occupied Prague assisted by Kamarov and freedom fighters. But none quite stand out just as much as the absolutely power trip inducing final level at a hotel in the Middle East. Playing as Price assisted on ground by Yuri and intel by Nikolai, you hunt down Makarov protected by the remaining remnants of his Ultranationalist Inner Circle. The thing is, you're decked out in juggernaut armor and [=LMGs=]. You take far more damage here and only go back to normal halfway through. It's a nice bone thrown to the player after Makarov and his men have killed so many of your allies. Finally, when you get to the end of the level you kill the piece of shit via a slow and painful death by hanging with a cable as he screams, plunging to his death.
25	* BrokenBase:
26	** The PC gaming community had a fit when Infinity Ward announced that there would be no dedicated servers for the second game, and that's nothing compared to the massive, massive split between players who think the campaign is good and players who think it's rubbish.
27	** Gamers everywhere were absolutely ecstatic upon the announcement that ''Call of Duty 4'' would be getting a remastered version for modern consoles...until it was revealed that in order to play it, you needed to buy the special editions of ''Infinite Warfare'', which was universally '''''loathed''''' before release for being yet another "futuristic" ''Call of Duty'' by a dev team that had yet to prove itself capable of making a ''Call of Duty'' that was in any way unique. The fanbase is now split between people who refuse to support Activision's tactics of holding a beloved game hostage behind a game they will never like, and those who really want to go back to a time when ''Call of Duty'' was good, not caring about their expenditures of up to $100. The fact that it's an almost-shot-for-shot remake of the original game yet is eight times the size (55gb, compared to 7 for the original game) is also criticized too. [[FromBadToWorse And then they added]] [[ScrappyMechanic Supply]] [[BribingYourWayToVictory Drops]]...
28	* CommonKnowledge: When discussing politics surrounding the game, there seems to be a popular assumption that the entire trilogy involves the player fighting Middle Eastern Muslim bad guys. While there are Middle Eastern Muslim bad guys, the games actually have you primarily fighting Russians, and Middle Eastern bad guys are only really present in the first game, having greatly reduced roles in the second game (only showing up for the first real mission) and being practically absent in the third. It was really the Modern Military Shooter genre that took off with the Middle Eastern Muslim bad guys idea, and ''Modern Warfare'' was unfortunately associated with this idea due to popularizing the genre.
29	* ComplacentGamingSyndrome:
30	** The first two games had serious issues with this (mostly in the form of quickscoping and, in the second, [[InfiniteSupplies One Man Army]] abuse), but the third is the worst by far. There are four primary strategies employed by the majority of players: Striker rushing (with a shotgun that averts the usual ShortRangeShotgun rules of these games), [[GunsAkimbo akimbo FMG]] [[MoreDakka 'spray and pray']], [[GameBreaker abuse of the Type 95, PP90M1, or MK14]] and, once again, [[ShortRangeLongRangeWeapon quickscoping]].
31	** With the introduction of Support killstreaks that don't reset upon death in ''3'', some players opt for the handful of offensive killstreaks in the list, such as the Stealth Bomber, EMP, and Juggernaut Recon. You'll hardly go into a game without either one of the three going off. Bonus points if a single player uses both the Stealth Bomber and EMP/Juggernaut.
32	** Assassin Pro makes all the above even worse.
33	* CompleteMonster: See [[Monster/CallOfDuty here]].
34	* ContestedSequel: Whether any of the sequels to the original ''Modern Warfare'' are better than it can vary depending on the person. That said, ''2'' has enough of a fanbase to be considered a strong contender, although the same cannot be said for ''3''.
35	* DemonicSpiders:
36	** In the first game, it's G3-wielding enemies. It has the firepower and accuracy of a semi-automatic weapon but in the campaign it can be used as an automatic weapon by both the player and enemies, and the AI uses this to deadly effect. Expect to die very quickly to this weapon on higher difficulties, not helped by the fact that the G3 is a common find throughout the whole game.
37	** Those blasted Riot Shield users in ''Modern Warfare 2''. This is about half the reason the Shower Block of the Gulag is so damn difficult to get through, with around 5 or so of them in there. The fact that they get to shoot at you ''while'' receiving frontal protection from their riot shield, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard which is impossible for players,]] only makes it worse.
38	** Dogs. The first time you get tackled by one, you're dead. The ActionCommand is just too unforgiving for you to reliably kill them in melee combat. For perspective, you only get one chance to press "melee attack", and whereas the later ''World at War'' allows you to just mash the button through the entire animation and win, here you have to be pinpoint with your timing - obviously, hitting the button while you're in the animation of the dog actually knocking you down won't work, but the timing is so ridiculously strict that you'll even fail it if you hit the melee button ''after the prompt telling you to hit the button actually shows up''. For the second game they lengthened the timing window just enough that getting knocked down by a dog isn't ''always'' instant death, but still usually is; the third game seems to have finally accepted mashing as a strategy.
39	** Those goddamn Juggernauts, elite {{Giant Mook}}s who wield near instant kill light machine guns and can soak up ridiculously unrealistic amounts of damage. ''Nothing hurts them''; they never flinch and require nearly three mags of assault rifle fire, multiple .50 BMG rounds to the head, or a metric ton of explosives (upwards of five C4 packs right underneath their feet just for the ''less-armored ones'') to kill. Survival Mode makes them even worse, both by pairing them with Heavy Commandos and Little Birds and by introducing a variant ''that carries a riot shield.'' As if they weren't indestructible enough.
40	** In Survival Mode, the enemies get stronger and stronger as the rounds go up. Militia and light troopers are a joke, medium troopers and commandos are tougher but manageable. Then you get to the level where you're facing [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/callofduty/images/8/87/Heavy_Commando.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120605232854 Heavy Commandos]]. Heavy Commandos are distinguished by their [[DoomTroops all-black clothing, face masks,]] and [[HeavilyArmoredMook bulky plated body armor.]] They're all armed with the FAD assault rifle (highest AR DPS in the game), they're very good shots, they require upwards of a dozen assault rifle rounds or multiple knife hits to kill, and they constantly spam grenades with terrifying accuracy. All of this wouldn't be ''too'' big of a deal for EliteMooks, except they're ''the standard enemies'' by the time that they appear.
41	** Little Bird attack helicopters in Survival can be a severe threat, not simply for their firepower but for the fact that as long as they're flying, your maneuverability options are severely limited, as you're stuck in areas with overhead cover (and they can still pick away at you through high windows). Not quite so bad on easier maps, as the helicopters spawn either at the same time as the rest of the wave or make up the entire wave on their own, so you can take them out quickly with concentrated light machine gun fire before the rest of the wave arrives, but on the higher-difficulty maps, the helicopters spawn in the ''middle'' of the existing wave (which usually includes Juggernauts, bomb dogs, and suicide bombers) so you'll be in the middle of fighting/fleeing from the close-assault troops when the Little Bird shows up and perforates you if you're not in overhead cover, and if you are in overhead cover, you're stuck there until you can kill all the enemy infantry and concentrate on the Little Bird - easier said than done when three Juggernauts are closing in.
42	* DoNotDoThisCoolThing:
43	** As noted under MisaimedFandom below, the series is a brutal {{deconstruction}} of national supremacy and militaristic foreign policy, with WarIsHell being a major theme which permeates throughout the campaigns--When you're downed, the screen shows a quote from various historical figures condemning ultranationalist ideals and lamenting the cost of violence on humanity. However, the weight of these quotes seems lost amidst the exciting gameplay--no one can deny that it's pretty fun to be a OneManArmy caught in the middle of WorldWarIII. Not helping matters is the fact that the multiplayer and spec ops modes (which became ''massively'' more popular as the series went on) are comprised almost exclusively of run-and-gun action--lacking any of the campaigns' anti-war commentary.
44	** The commentary above becomes far more noticeable when playing the campaigns on higher difficulty settings (e.g. Hardened and especially Veteran), as the increased threat-of-death forces players to be more mindful of their surroundings and consequently amplifies the whole WarIsHell theme.
45	* EnsembleDarkHorse:
46	** Gaz was immensely popular with fans, so much so that [[spoiler: even though he died]], Infinity Ward brought in the character of Ghost, who was played by the same actor and more or less fulfilled the exact same role Gaz had in the last game. The popularity of Gaz also resulted in another returning character, Wallcroft, becoming yet another copy of him in the third game.
47	** Ghost. If there's any fan made work (be it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMrwNz24j_g parody]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzQMGMuD1sU&feature=relmfu tribute]]) it will usually star Ghost, or have someone who looks [[{{Expy}} suspiciously like Ghost]]. The guy even got his own comic!
48	** Despite appearing in only two levels, Capt. [=MacMillan=] is easily one of the most popular characters in the game, though this may be because he was an actually-useful NPC and, even when his legs were crippled, was still a Grade-A badass. [[spoiler:He then appears in ''3'' as "Baseplate", the CO of the SAS at Hereford.]]
49	* EvilIsCool: Despite their involvement in an infamous TearJerker, Shadow Company is somewhat of an EnsembleDarkhorse, with many people wishing they were a playable faction in Multiplayer. It seems as though Infinity Ward caught onto this, as following Season 5 of ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019 Modern Warfare (2019)]]'', Shadow Company has playable Operators and Mil-Sims alike.
50	* FanNickname:
51	** "Grenade of Grenade: Grenade Grenade" and "Stay Frosty [[MilitaryAlphabet Oscar Mike]]: [[DoAnythingSoldier Ramirez]] Do Everything!"
52	** "Dead Man's Dick" for the Dead Man's Hand death streak in ''[=MW3=]'', courtesy of [=YouTuber=] [=TheShwantz27=].
53	* {{Fanon}}: Fans speculate that the soldier on the cover of the first game is Sgt. Paul Jackson and the one on the sequel's cover is Pvt. James Ramirez. Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson is usually depicted with [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/p__/images/e/e9/Roach_MW2.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20220610200305&path-prefix=protagonist this appearance]] in fan works, which seems to have become AscendedFanon with the Activision-endorsed ''WebVideo/FindMakarov'' fan film and Roach's appearance in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyMobile'', in which he takes the appearance of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'''s [[https://titles.trackercdn.com/modern-warfare/db/images/ui_loot_operator_milsim_usmc_mef_1_1.png?10697530 USEF I mil-sim model]], which looks very similar.
54	* FranchiseOriginalSin: One of the main criticisms leveled against 2019's reboot of ''Modern Warfare'' was its portrayal of Russia as evil imperialists committing war crimes against civilians. This depiction has its roots in the original trilogy, wherein ''[=MW2=]'' had them invading the US in response to a botched CIA mission which resulted in hundreds of Russian civilians dead, after which players would spend most of the time killing Russian soldiers who are launching brutal attacks on American cities and (later) European cities in ''[=MW3=]''. The difference however is that ''[=MW2=]'' and ''3'' were explicitly set in an AlternateHistory wherein Russia suffered a second civil war which resulted in an extreme "ultranationalist" movement taking over the country, and their war with the U.S. in ''2'' was [[spoiler:purposefully set up by ''an American military general'' as part of a jingoistic power fantasy]]. Ironically, this criticism would fall flat when the real-life Russian Federation launched an invasion of Ukraine in 2022 with widespread documentation of war crimes against civilians.
55	* GameBreaker:
56	** The [=M16A4=] with Stopping Power in Call of Duty 4, full stop. It dominates basically everything else at any range. Expect games to be ''filled'' with users of the rifle. It's just as good in Modern Warfare 2, and in fact is even worse thanks to a glitch with the Holographic Sight significantly reducing its recoil, making it even easier to make sure all three bullets you need to kill someone hit. Add onto that the Bling perk to match that holo-sight with any other attachment of your choice - such as the heartbeat sensor, which is placed on the M16 in such a way that you can still see the entire sensor when aiming.
57	** The GrenadeLauncher. It's a bolt-action rifle... that fires grenades (with the predictable accuracy of one) that detonate on impact. With predictable results of general rage and gnashing of teeth for the other team. It seemed to be less so in ''Modern Warfare 2''... until [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ziSCrNeCHBc the One Man Army exploit]] happened. Watch as the guy uses his grenade launcher and claymores to earn easy killstreaks, uses those killstreaks to get [[DeathFromAbove a Chopper Gunner]], then proceeds to lay waste to the enemy team. The final result? Over ''100 kills and 3 deaths'' in about 5 minutes, in a game where getting 30-40 kills with 10 or so deaths is considered to be pretty damn good.
58	** In ''Modern Warfare 2'', MLC. Short for "Marathon, Lightweight, Commando". This combination of perks gives you infinite sprint, a faster sprint, and the ability to knife someone from ridiculous range. The Pro versions of these let you climb ladders and hop over obstacles faster, fire your weapon immediately after sprinting, and take no damage from falling. Sounds pretty broken already, right? Use a sub-machine gun and have a pistol with a Tactical Knife attached, and behold as you become the equivalent of Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog. You are now able to easily avoid incoming fire and stab all that cross your path.
59	** The "3x frag" perk in ''[=MW1=]''. Smaller maps were unplayable due to GrenadeSpam, moreso in the PC version where you could have up to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK4WXnfOiLU 50 players at once]].
60	** ''Modern Warfare 3'':
61	*** Assassin Pro. The normal version makes you undetectable on any UAV unless somebody has Recon and you were caught in an explosive blast. Pro makes it even worse by making it so you cannot be affected by Counter UAV or EMP. Everyone uses it now that Stopping Power has been removed, so get used to having any radar-related killstreaks become utterly useless. Unlike in Black Ops, the "advanced radar-related killstreak" does not do anything to deal with this, meaning that a player could theoretically camp in a corner for the entire game.
62	*** The akimbo FMG-9 machine pistols. A benign [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpul_FMG-9 easily-concealed Glock 18 variant]] in real life, it turns into an ''unstoppable sword of pain and fury'' once you reach the requisite proficiency level and unlock Akimbo. With an obscene fire rate and more ammo than [[BottomlessMagazines your average action hero's machine gun]], it would be overpowered as a primary weapon... but instead it's a ''secondary''. Laugh maniacally as you surprise snipers... and then scream in frustration as they whip out their portable bullet hoses and kill you in a millisecond[[note]]Someone did the math on their time to kill and found out that they literally do take 0.08 seconds to kill, provided the first three bullets hit.[[/note]]. All of the machine pistols in the game are ridiculously good in this game, being barely a step down from the primary [=SMGs=] on top of the advantages secondary weapons get (with the only one that gets any noticeable recoil balancing that out with pistol-like instant switch time), but the FMG-9 is the undisputed and undefeatable king.
63	*** With the removal of the FAMAS, and the nerfing of the M16, players cried for a new 3-round burst weapon. Enter the Type 95. This thing is pure evil, able to kill anything at range within one burst. If you ever get randomly killed without even getting a bloody screen, there's a high chance your killer is using this weapon. It's also super-accurate and practically never misses unless at close range. What's worse is that you can equip Rapid Fire to it, boosting its already amazing fire rate, and essentially making it a long range shotgun.
64	* GeniusBonus:
65	** The corkboard in the kitchen in the ''Modern Warfare 2'' mission Loose Ends (Makarov's safehouse) has a chemical structure drawn on it - [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDX RDX]], a military-grade high explosive.
66	** One mission in ''Modern Warfare 2'', which takes place during what is later clarified as WorldWarIII, involves the destruction of a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII memorial [[spoiler:in Washington DC]]. Obvious {{Irony}} aside, [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/165a7dc72f8d7a5b4b1214822d01ae54/tumblr_metvrzx3X81qd38boo1_500.jpg something similar actually happened in World War II]].
67	* GoodBadBugs:
68	** In "Cliffhanger," you can get [=MacTavish=] to push you off a cliff. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2bWMvaqxfU He loves hearing you scream.]]
69	** Some of the challenges for titles are glitched. There are reports of people getting Perfectionist by firing a single sniper rifle shot (challenge is to fire an entire magazine into enemies without missing one shot), Grim Reaper by killing only two people with a Predator (challenge is to kill five or more), and Carpet Bomb by killing five people with multiple airstrikes (challenge is to get five kills with a ''single'' airstrike).
70	** In ''Modern Warfare 2'', the Perk "Cold Blooded Pro" requires you to shoot down 40 aircraft with Cold Blooded active. However, if you shoot a helicopter while it's crashing, each bullet that hits the helo on the way down will register as a kill as far as the perk's progression was concerned. Players with rapid fire machine guns and a little luck can go from having never used the perk to unlocking the Pro version in a single match.
71	** In All Ghillied Up, a bug can occur that will cause [=MacMillan=] and the enemies to be unable to shoot each other, even at point blank range, leading to gems like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sniSxHJ8Gk8 this.]]
72	** The third game's Survival mode allows you to reset your sprint duration by jumping while sprinting. This essentially turns the mode into a hybrid of current and classic FPS gameplay mechanics: aim down your weapon's sights and try to go for the head to expend as little ammo as possible, then bunny-hop away at top speed.
73	* {{Griefer}}: "Boosting" is when players using outside voice chat on opposing sides would kill each other for the 25 killstreak Nuke with minimal deaths in the same location utilizing Tactical Insertions. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NITwwUHwy4 Booster Justice]] is the most well known response to this tactic.
74	* HarsherInHindsight:
75	** The gunship level in [=MW1=] is eerily similar to the 2010 published video of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_12,_2007,_Baghdad_airstrike this 2007 event in Iraq]].
76	** ''No Russian'', due to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Domodedovo_International_Airport_bombing 2011 blast at a Russian airport.]]
77	*** Even harsher after the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocus_City_Hall_attack terrorist mass shooting in a Russian concert hall]], which even involved the attackers succesfully driving away from the crime scene.
78	** A PresidentEvil Arab military dictator allied with the Russians named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad Al-Asad]].
79	** The gas attacks in Europe due to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2015_Paris_attacks Paris being one of the attacked cities]].
80	** Shepherd's speech at the beginning of ''Modern Warfare 2'' where he's wondering whether the Afghan National Army soldiers would turn against their US trainers takes a much harsher meaning in the wake of 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
81	** Depending on how you feel about Russia, the series' premise of an "[[CommieNazis Ultranationalist]]" movement taking over the nation and declaring war on NATO [[RealismInducedHorror becomes far more disturbing]] in light of rising political tensions between Russia and the West as of the late 2010s--with the former shifting towards a more authoritarian system of government while also seeing NATO as a threat to its national and cultural sovereignty. The [[spoiler:invasion of Europe]] in ''[=MW3=]'' is particularly unsettling given [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine in 2022]]. Further, the Ultranationalists' goal of restoring the country to its imperial/Soviet-era glory sounds strikingly evocative of similar sentiments expressed by Russian President UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin (many critics have made comparisons between the Ultranationalists and the ideology that is currently active in Russia known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Bolshevism National Bolshevism]], and many commentators have noted that Putin's views are similar to theirs despite his apparent efforts to distance himself from them). Even the series' antagonist, Vladimir Makarov, almost looks like Putin albeit with a different hairstyle. You can only take comfort that the Russian military is woefully underperforming in Ukraine compared to the games.
82	* HesJustHiding: [[spoiler:There were a ''ton'' of EpilepticTrees about how Ghost wasn't dead, even moreso after a quote from Robert Bowling in a 2009 IGN interview stating "Ghost... isn't exactly dead... but you'll see what I mean soon" (though this would turn out to be a comic dedicated to his backstory). This also happened with his predecessor Gaz (whom some believe ''is'' Ghost).]]
83	* HilariousInHindsight:
84	** The first mission in [=MW3=] is "Black Tuesday", wherein you have a shootout inside the [[BlandNameProduct "Manhattan Stock Exchange" (MSE)]]. One wonders if the mission would have been named "Occupy Wall Street" had development started a little bit later.
85	** The "[[http://callofduty.wikia.com/wiki/International_Space_Station_(level) International Space Station]]" level in Modern Warfare 2 was cancelled because fighting in space was "considered impossible". Fast forward to ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts'', where the first level included a firefight on and around a space station recycled from the cut level. Then further forward to ''VideoGame/CallofDutyInfiniteWarfare'' actually having combat in space, and it seems [[BrokenBase some people still don't think highly of space combat in the series]].
86	** One of the most oft-criticized elements of ''Modern Warfare''s plot is the massive amounts of EasyLogistics involved with Russia's invasions.
87	*** They manage to blitz the U.S. Eastern Seaboard and go all the way from their border to Paris; each within a day. Fast forward to the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War, and Russia's shambolic performance became a huge meme. Particularly the fact that Russian convoys would simply run out of fuel and get abandoned by their drivers (the Ukrainians [[https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html literally captured more abandoned tanks and other vehicles than they lost]]), as well as the fact that the grunts had to either loot local civilians for such mundane things as ''wheat'' or pawn their gear to those same locals in cheap barter exchanges. The kicker? All of this happened within ''a few dozen miles of the Russian border'', with an operation they had been planning for ''months''.
88	*** Though, the sequel immediately wastes no time deconstructing MakeTheBearAngryAgain by agreeing with the idea that modern Russia is not the Soviet Union by showing that the devastating invasion in ''[=MW2=]'' was literally all it could do and required the nation to throw ''everything'' it had the west. Thus, once the Americans begin properly counterattacking as in the opening Delta Force mission, Russia is unable to recover its losses that are already stretched pathetically thin and the President must sue for peace in a conflcit that lasted ''weeks'', far shorter than Russia's invasion of Ukraine. One could effectively construe the opening of ''[=MW3=]'' as a warning to Russia's government as to what would actually happen should it take on the West, and probably should've been required media consumption for its officials to avoid its ongoing issues in Ukraine.
89	* HoYay: Well, it was bound to happen in a series where there were fewer than five female characters seen [[spoiler:and all but one of them get killed off within five minutes of their first appearance]].
90	* HypeBacklash: One of the most well-known in gaming. ''Modern Warfare'' (and ''Call of Duty'' in general) went from one of the most influential series ever to one of the most despised and/or mocked within the span of a few years. Granted, most of the hatred comes from the series' popularity, or the stereotype of all COD players either being screaming kids or obnoxious fratboys than the games themselves, with a few exceptions (specifically the later ''Ghosts'' and ''WWII'').
91	* IKnewIt: Theories that [[spoiler:[[BigBad Vladimir Makarov]] was the First Horseman]] were correct.
92	* ItsPopularNowItSucks: One of the most infamous examples in the history of the medium. If this series was ''half'' as popular as it is, do you think it and ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' in general would be the ButtMonkey franchise that it is, that people automatically hate on the ''basis'' of being ''Modern Warfare'' or ''Call of Duty'' and not whether or not it's a ''good Modern Warfare'' game? The games still become best sellers despite receiving near universal hatred from gamers. So obviously, the devs are doing ''something'' right.
93	* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Some people criticized the second game for not vastly improving on the first, even going so far as to complain about {{Sequelitis}}. Gameplay trailers for [=MW3=] were filled to the brim with people saying either they are going to buy ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'' instead or "This is the same thing as [=MW2=]".
94	* ItWasHisSled:
95	** ''No Russian'', oh ''No Russian''. Also, both nukes.
96	** In ''[=MW2=]'', the reveal that General Shepherd is ''not'' to be trusted. Also doubles as a LateArrivalSpoiler, as anyone who starts with the third game (which gives the twist away in the opening cutscene) and works their way back will not be surprised in the least.
97	* LoveToHate:
98	** [[RenegadeRussian Vladimir Makarov]], BigBad of the entire ''Modern Warfare'' trilogy, is arguably the most popular villain in the entire Call of Duty franchise even to this day, and for very good reasons. He's [[TheSociopath vicious]], [[TheChessmaster intelligent]], and [[HateSink utterly detestable]], [[spoiler: making his gruesome death at the hands of Captain Price [[CatharsisFactor all the more satisfying]].]]
99	** [[spoiler: [[GeneralRipper General Shepherd]] from the second game is no slouch in this department either, with his [[HeroKiller betrayal and subsequent burning of Roach and Ghost]] firmly solidifying him as a bastard in every player's eyes. He also puts up one ''hell'' of a fight in the end, nearly taking out Soap and Price all by himself while injured.]]
100	* MagnificentBastard: See [[MagnificentBastard/CallOfDuty here]].
101	* MemeticBadass:
102	** [=MacMillan=], overlapping with EnsembleDarkHorse. He's pretty badass in the game, as even [[TheCaptain Captain Price]] looks up to him, but the fandom took it and ran with it.
103	** Price and Soap. This is even recognized in-universe, where the two kill a full squadron of Shadow Company mercs in the penultimate level, with one of the voices over their radio insisting such a feat ''isn't possible'' - while Shepherd immediately recognizes that it's indeed Price and Soap coming for him, and [[GodzillaThreshold responds accordingly]].
104	** Ramirez became one for how blatantly the Ranger campaign uses ItsUpToYou - ''anything'' Sergeant Foley needs done, he tasks Ramirez to do. [[HypercompetentSidekick And he always gets it done!]] Eventually escalated to completely absurd things like "Ramirez, use your throwing knife to take down that AC-130!"
105	* MemeticMutation:
106	** "Grenade of Grenade: Grenade Grenade" (when referring to ''Modern Warfare'')
107	** In general, it's Grenade of Grenade. Some popular subtitles are Modern Grenades, More Grenades, Grenades Grenades, Grenade Warfare, and so on. If you haven't caught on yet, this game has quite the thing with grenades. That said, this kind of died with ''Modern Warfare 3'' and beyond, where Grenade Launchers were toned down and eventually removed.
108	** Since the inclusion of authentic military dialog like saying "Oscar Mike" for "On The Move," and "Hooah" for "Affirmative," and the sheer amount of times you hear those two words when playing as a Ranger, ''[=MW2=]'' has come be known as "Call of Oscar Mike: Modern Hooah."
109	** Or "Stay Frosty." Even [[spoiler:Shadow Company]] uses it!
110	** Thanks to ''WebVideo/ArbyNTheChief'', there's also "Cock of Doody 4: Modern Gayfuckstupid" (coined by Master Chief, who in that series is a parody of your typical ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' fanboy).
111	** A scan of the Website/GameFAQs message board would suggest Foley's usage of the term "Oscar Mike" (On the Move), alongside the fact that he entrusts everything to Ramirez, is becoming one. RAMIREZ! [[ItsUpToYou DO EVERYTHING]]!
112	** Infinity Ward briefly released [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td352xP-NZ8 a mock-PSA]] (starring [[UsefulNotes/{{Baseball}} Cole Hamels!]]) about Grenade Spam, but then pulled it because of their juvenile FunWithAcronyms (The '''F'''ight '''A'''gainst '''G'''renade '''S'''pam)
113	** And on a bit darker side, [=MW2=] being "not balanced for lean" is nearly the [[VideoGame/RidgeRacer new]] [[GiantEnemyCrab Sony's]] [[AttackItsWeakPoint 2006 E3]] in a way.
114	** "Ramirez, America is under attack! Defend Burger Town!" ItMakesSenseInContext, but Foley ordering Ramirez to secure a fast-food joint while the rest of the US is going to hell came off as being [[SkewedPriorities incredibly funny]] for a lot of players.
115	** A more specific one is parodying [[spoiler: Shepard's speech at the end of the game by changing specific words to nonsensical things (i.e. "Five years ago, I lost 30,000 dollars in a blink of an eye, and Obama just fucking watched").]]
116	--> "Thirty thousand years ago, I lost 5 men and my fucking watch."
117	** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq7Pnt0GD8Y&feature=related "TANGO SUCKA!"]]
118	*** '''YOUR MOTHER!'''
119	*** '''CALLING YOUR MOTHER!'''
120	*** '''FISHEYE!'''
121	*** '''ME LIKA A PORNO MAGAZINE!'''
122	*** '''WesternAnimation/{{BAMBI}}!'''
123	** Makarov [[{{Pun}} dropped the Soap, but he had to pay the Price]].
124	** "Remember, no X." combined with the starting elevator scene of No Russian had slowly became an infinitely exploitable image for almost every unwanted topic imaginable.
125	** 360 noscope. ''Modern Warfare'' is the series that made such an act popular and memetic.
126	** Montage Parodies. These are parodies of overedited multiplayer montages, usually consisting of poor editing, loud dubstep music, overexaggeration of mundane topics, and memes of every kind shoved in your face. ''Modern Warfare 2'' was the originator of such parodies, and the video edit style had since stayed and persisted into a [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/montage-parodies meme subculture]]. The game itself contributed a few common elements to the meme, like the quickscoping Intervention, the [=FaZe=] clan symbol, the MLG symbol, and the hitmarker.
127	** Some of the announcer voices in ''Modern Warfare 2'' became memes. The most famous ones are "Mission failed. We'll get'em next time.", "Tactical Nuke Incoming!", and "You're the last one, complete the mission."
128	** "Remember - switching to your pistol is always faster than reloading."[[labelnote:Explanation]]A tutorial quote from Gaz in the original ''Modern Warfare''. Inexplicably popular to be used when describing the situation of reloading versus switching to your pistol.[[/labelnote]]
129	** "50,000 people used to live here, now it's a ghost town." how one recalls a once-populated site has now been completely abandoned.
130	** Martyrdom. Drop a live grenade when killed.
131	** "Soap trusted you." [[labelnote:Explanation]]The scene where Price punches Yuri down a flight of stairs after realizing he worked with Makarov and then says this has become something of a JumpScare [[InterruptingMeme punchline]] to other memes in catching the viewer by surprise.[[/labelnote]]
132	* MisaimedFandom: The series is often described by a substantial number of fans and detractors alike as being a [[WarIsGlorious mindless celebration of warfare]] wherein AmericaSavesTheDay from evil Russians and Arabs. (So infamous did this reputation become in fact that it led to many potshots at it from other [[DeconstructionGame deconstruction games]] and commentators in the industry; see ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''.) However, ''Modern Warfare'' is itself a deconstruction of exactly that type of mindset: for starters, the series mainly revolves around ''British'' soldiers--assisted by many local and even Russian forces, no less--fighting extremist cohorts in the hopes of toppling the war machine, whilst America serves mainly to ''deter'' the Ultranationalists rather than ''defeat'' them. Furthermore, the trilogy is a ''scathing'' condemnation of warlike foreign policy wherein both American and Russian exceptionalism are portrayed as [[EvilIsPetty petty and destructive]], and though the Ultranationalist-led Russia ''is'' portrayed as being more in the wrong than the West ([[AlwaysChaoticEvil mainly because their actions result in more civilian casualties]]), the overarching conflict is still not as black-and-white as many make it out to be--the main villain in the second game is [[spoiler: an American general who intentionally set off the Russo-American war in order to drum up patriots]], and much of the first and third game is spent fighting both ''as'' and alongside Russian moderates and loyalists who also want peace. Finally, in ''Modern Warfare 1'' and ''2'', America ''doesn't'' save the day and its actions end in failure (be it a [[spoiler: nuclear blast which wipes out 30,000 marines]], or a [[spoiler: botched CIA mission which results in Russian civilians dead and an American soldier's finger on the trigger]]). And though ''Modern Warfare 3'' did end up taking on a more standard AmericaSavesTheDay plot, it arguably leans further into the WarIsHell angle than any game in trilogy (as the story ends with [[spoiler: the U.S., NATO, and Russia in disarray, countless civilian lives lost, nearly every player character or fellow soldier dead, and moderates on both sides calling a truce when the costs no longer justify the goals]]). To be fair however, this commentary [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing kind of got lost amidst all the bombastic action sequences]] and multiplayer, and subsequent ''Call of Duty'' titles near-dropped the angle entirely, so it's not ''entirely'' unfounded--just misguided.
133	* MoralEventHorizon:
134	** Al-Asad crosses it in the first game when he [[spoiler:and Makarov]] detonate a nuke in his own city, killing thousands of soldiers and also [[spoiler:being the catalyst for Shepherd to ally with the Nationalists.]] It’s extremely cathartic, therefore, when Price and his cohorts finally capture him and finish him off by blowing his brains out.
135	** The player character in the level "No Russian" of ''Modern Warfare 2''. You can either cross it by shooting civilians[[note]]like every beta tester who played that level, apparently[[/note]] or not cross it by just staying out of the terrorists' way. If you shoot the civilians and ''[[VideoGameCrueltyPotential laugh it up]]'', [[YouBastard you've crossed the Moral Event Horizon yourself.]] [[spoiler:No matter what you do during the level, it ends with the BigBad figuring out that you were a CIA agent and shooting you down as he gets away in an ambulance.]] It can be averted by skipping it whenever asked if you want to play this level or not, such as at the beginning of the game, and may be skipped during the level. The Japanese version fully averts this; shooting civilians earns players a NonStandardGameOver.
136	** Nothing compares to [[spoiler:General Shepherd shooting Roach (who you are playing as) and Ghost, and then having his men ''dump kerosene on the two of you, and burning you alive'']]. Regardless of his motivations, after that scene it's nearly impossible to have any empathy whatsoever for him. [[spoiler: After tracking him down, he stabs you (as Soap) in the chest with your own knife and nearly kills Price in a fistfight. Thankfully, you rip the knife out of your chest and throw it right at his face, killing the bastard with an EyeScream]].
137	** If ''Loose Ends'' didn't drive the point home how willing Shepherd is to sacrifice his men, [[spoiler: in the attack on his base, he gives the order to have his base bombed, killing any of his men inside...just to get at two, count 'em, ''two'' men after him]]. In fairness, [[spoiler:by then the base had been effectively cleared out anyway by the only two men aware of his treachery; with the possible exception of a particular guard, all of the Shadow Company troopers encountered indoors by Soap and Price were definitely killed; four of them had been preparing a detonation charge when their room was breached, possibly causing the process to start way earlier than planned. When it turns out that Price and Soap got out in time, Shepherd then orders an artillery strike. However, the smoke and dust clears to reveal multiple Shadow Company troopers, slumped against the terrain or crawling about in a daze, at the mercy of the unharmed Price and Soap]]...
138	---> [[spoiler: '''Price''': [[IronicEcho Since when does Shepherd care about danger close?]]]]
139	** Makarov crosses it by orchestrating and leading the "No Russian" bit above in [=MW2=].
140	*** And he crosses about 5 more during the course of ''Modern Warfare 3''. In no short order:
141	*** He kidnaps the Russian President, and plans to use his daughter to extort the Russian nuclear launch codes out of him, so he can turn all of Europe to glass.
142	*** He unleashes a lethal toxin into the streets of various cities around Europe, killing thousands of soldiers and citizens to pave the way for an ''en masse'' Russian invasion.
143	*** He sets a trap to kill the remnants of Task Force 141, which ends with [[spoiler:Soap's]] death, and Price losing trust in Yuri for knowing Makarov.
144	*** [[spoiler:As it turned out, ''he'' was the one who gave the order for the aforementioned warhead's detonation in the original Modern Warfare.]]
145	*** He levels most of Berlin to get the Russian President's daughter, and when he has her, he TORTURES her to get the Russian president to break.
146	*** In essence, Makarov orchestrates WWIII just to further Russia's power and for profit. If there is anyone more capable of evil, I'd like to see it.
147	* MorePopularSpinoff: ''Call of Duty'' is a pretty well-known franchise, but ''Modern Warfare'' has a massive impact upon pop culture and is one of the most successful series in the history of video games. Indeed, a vast majority of ''Modern Warfare'' players have never played the first three ''Call of Duty'' games.
148	** Prior to ''Call of Duty 4'', the series was strictly World War II-focused. Since ''4'' the series has gone back exactly once (the following year's installment, ''World at War'') and otherwise never looked back (although now Modern Warfare itself is in the past as, starting with ''Black Ops II'', the series now exists in the future). It did ''return'' with ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWWII'', but the quality of that game was contentious (to say the least), so it's likely that won't stick.
149	** Originally, ''Modern Warfare 2'' would have launched without the ''Call of Duty'' label, but was returned for brand awareness.
150	* SugarWiki/MostWonderfulSound: The iconic Tactical Nuke countdown sound in ''Modern Warfare 2'' sounds absolutely cathartic if you were the one who earned it.
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	[[folder: N-Z]]
154	* OlderThanTheyThink: It's surprising how many fans of the first game think the term "noob tube" is unique to the series. It's been around since the M203 first started appearing in multiplayer games. As an example, [[VideoGame/{{Battlefield}} Battlefield 2]] came out two years earlier and had horrific issues early on with "dolphin diving noob tubers" because a player who jumped in the air then went prone could kill an enemy instantly with a grenade launcher while not taking damage themselves. A lot of things people think are original to [=CoD 4=] and [=MW2=] were in the earlier games too, most notably Captain Price and the teddy bears.
155	* OnceOriginalNowCommon:
156	** When Call of Duty 4 came out, it was cited as a great FPS which managed to at least help to revolutionize the genre with its modern war setting and well-done online multiplayer, noob tubes aside. Now, the series has been criticized for doing nothing new ever since then, [[FranchiseOriginalSin if not since the very beginning]], along with the whole modern war FPS genre has been considered very stale since 2012.
157	** The [[spoiler:death of Sergeant Jackson via a nuclear blast, which you can do nothing to prevent]], was incredibly shocking at the time. Then comes ''Modern Warfare 2'' and ''3'', where [[spoiler:a good half of the playable characters die, one of them in each game just half a minute after you take control of him,]] making the whole thing old-hat.
158	* PlayerPunch: Dear God:
159	** ''Modern Warfare 1'': The player controls two characters, a British SAS operator and an American Marine. During the Marine's segments, he and his commanding officers are established as sympathetic and heroic characters, even going so far as to risk their lives to stop and rescue a downed - and similarly sympathetic - helicopter pilot in a city where a nuclear warhead has just been discovered. [[spoiler: The Dragon ends up detonating the warhead before either character can escape, killing everyone and allowing the player to experience the Marine's slow, agonizing death from radiation poisoning in first person. At the end of the game, after escaping the Russian missile base and evading the Ultranationalist pursuers, the bridge gets blown up, and you get to watch as Griggs gets ventilated while trying to help you to your feet and Zakhaev executes Gaz. The wounded Captain Price slides you his sidearm, which you use to kill Zakhaev. When the cavalry arrives, you then get to watch as a medic tries to resuscitate Captain Price while you're loaded onto the helicopter. [=MacTavish=] (the "you" in this POV) does survive for the sequel. And so does Price.]]
160	** ''Modern Warfare 2'' was even worse. If the death of [[spoiler: Private Allen]] wasn't bad enough, the scene where [[spoiler: Roach and Ghost are shot by Shepherd and set on fire (in Roach's case, ''while still alive'') is like being kicked in the balls.]]
161	--->'''Shepherd:''' Do you have the DSM?\
162	'''Ghost:''' We got it sir!\
163	'''Shepherd:''' [[spoiler:Good. That's one less loose end. ''(Gunshot. Gunshot.)'']]
164	*** Even worse is Ghost's anguished scream right before [[spoiler: Shepherd]] shoots him.
165	*** Then there's the state of [[spoiler: Washington D.C.]]
166	** ''Modern Warfare 3.'' "Blood Brothers." [[spoiler:Soap's death. It's slow, long, and drawn out, and watching him bleed to death right in front of you with nothing you can do to help him tugs at your heartstrings.]]
167	** [[spoiler: Team Metal's death, especially with Price screaming at the pilot to stay so they can all make it. Lessened somewhat, by the fact that they at least got to go out via HeroicSacrifice instead of being horribly killed like everyone else]].
168	* ScrappyMechanic:
169	** For some, the use of killstreak/scorestreak rewards breaks the balance of multiplayer matches, as they essentially give rewards to the winning team, which results in a feedback loop where the winning team starts steamrolling the losing team with their killstreaks, and because they are steamrolling the losing team, the winning team gets ''more'' kills to fuel their killstreaks.
170	** The [[TakingYouWithMe Martyrdom]] perk. DEAR GOD.
171	* SequelDifficultyDrop: In ''Modern Warfare 2'', you can survive ''much'' more damage than in the first ''Modern Warfare'' game. This is balanced out somewhat by the SequelEscalation that results in you often fighting more enemies at once, sometimes in open environments where it's very easy to get flanked from all sides. It also dispensed with the infinitely-respawning enemies, allowing players to approach the levels more conservatively.
172	* ShockFatigue: ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty4ModernWarfare'' shocked players by having the United States side of the story [[DownerEnding end in disaster]]. The US Army's zeal to capture a terrorist leader leads to a nuclear bomb being detonated, [[EverybodysDeadDave killing everyone present]], and the player is treated to a drawn-out sequence of ControllableHelplessness as their character [[TheHeroDies succumbs to his wounds]] in the destroyed city. It quickly became a tradition that the ''Modern Warfare'' titles would have at least one heavily-publicized scene designed to shock the audience, but compared to "Aftermath" from ''[=CoD4=]'' they gradually began to suffer from diminishing returns. ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2 Modern Warfare 2]]'' had "No Russian", where the player as an undercover agent joins a terrorist attack on an airport that involves slaughtering crowds of innocent civilians using machine guns before being killed by the terrorist mastermind to implicate America in the massacre; this for the most part garnered the intended reaction, since while being an obvious attempt at shocking players, it still at least had a reason to exist in the context of the story. Then ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare3 Modern Warfare 3]]'' had "Davis Family Vacation", a scene that comes out of nowhere to focus on a young girl and her family on vacation in the middle of London for a minute before a truck suddenly explodes and kills them, which attracted criticism for being [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity a blatant effort to drive sales through moral outcry]].
173	* ShockingMoments:
174	** The nuke scene in the original game, where you are entreated to all of the full horrors of what a nuclear attack and the subsequent fallout would look like if it were ever to occur again. And the real kicker behind it all: You '''can't''' stop it. And '''you can't survive it''' - there are stories of multiple players reloading the mission over and over because they were absolutely ''certain'' their character dying from the fallout was avoidable and that they simply did something wrong.
175	** ''Modern Warfare 2'''s controversial "No Russian" mission where the player is undercover as a terrorist group massacring an airport. [[spoiler:Turns out the whole thing was a BatmanGambit to frame America for the attack. By leaving the PlayerCharacter's body behind.]]
176	** "Wolverines!" involves [[spoiler:the US being invaded. Imagine intense fighting house-to-house in the suburbs of frakkin' ''Virginia''.]] Especially [[spoiler:the player's first glimpse of "Raptor". It's just a guy in a suit, and you wonder who rates all the effort to prot-- [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStates OH MY GOD]]]]. And that's before [[spoiler:we see Washington, D.C.]] The D.C. missions ''Of Their Own Accord'', ''Second Sun'', and ''Whiskey Hotel'' ratchet that up considerably, [[spoiler:especially post-EMP]].
177	** It's especially shocking if [[spoiler: you live in or visited DC. All of those areas that are now battlefields? You've been to them.]]
178	** Pick a mission in ''Modern Warfare 3''. One mission opens with you smashing through the front gates of an enemy base while a Hind provides overhead cover. Another has a high-speed subway chase. A third involves an amphibious assault on Hamburg. A fourth involves the player getting into a gunfight with hijackers on an airplane, complete with fighting the hijackers in ''zero gravity'' like something straight out of ''Film/{{Inception}}'', and that's before the plane is forced into an emergency landing and gets ripped apart.
179	* TearJerker: The number of these increases over the course of the trilogy, which is fitting given the whole WarIsHell theme.
180	** ''Modern Warfare'': [[spoiler: The nuclear explosion and the ending]].
181	** ''Modern Warfare 2'':
182	*** "No Russian." Just, ''No Russian''...
183	*** [[spoiler: The Washington D.C. levels]].
184	*** In "Loose Ends", there's [[spoiler: Roach's and Ghost's callous betrayal and deaths by General Shepherd]].
185	** ''Modern Warfare 3'':
186	*** [[spoiler:The Russian FSO agent gets shot by Makarov just when he thinks he's safe. "Objective Failed." scrolls across the screen]]
187	*** As you make your way through Paris in "Bag and Drag", you can see dead bodies everywhere, likely victims of the [[spoiler:gas attack]]. You start in an apartment, where you can see an entire family--a couple and their daughter--dead.
188	*** In Iron Lady, [[spoiler: the fall of the Eiffel Tower.]]
189	*** [[spoiler:Kamarov's and Soap's deaths]]. The latter is particularly heartbreaking because the normally stoic [[spoiler: Captain Price ''completely loses his shit'' when he watches him die.]]
190	*** "Objective: [[spoiler: Stop the massacre]]." And you know that you're ''trying'', dammit, but you ''can't'', [[ControllableHelplessness despite your best efforts]].
191	*** [[spoiler:Team Metal's death, especially with Price screaming for the pilot to wait for them, and then trying to raise Sandman on the radio]]. The scene is doubly sad if you've watched ''WebVideo/FindMakarov: Operation Kingfish'', as the situation in-game is an exact reversal of the one present at the end of that film: [[spoiler: Price left behind; Sandman screaming for the pilot to wait for him]].
192	*** The intro for "Dust To Dust"--[[spoiler: "This is for Soap"]].
193	*** [[spoiler: Yuri's death]], right when Price was beginning to trust him again.
194	*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyuILHDD-pY The ending credits theme]]. It really sounds like a farewell to [[spoiler: Vasquez, Jackson, Griggs, Gaz, Ghost, Roach, Soap, Kamarov, Yuri, Sandman, Grinch, Truck, and all the brave soldiers who fought and died throughout the entire ''Modern Warfare'' trilogy.]]
195	* ThatOneLevel: It's safe to say that every game in the series will have at least one of these, with [[HarderThanHard Veteran difficulty]] ramping up that probability.
196	** ''That Ferris wheel''...
197	** ''Mile High Club'' on Veteran. It doesn't require a guide so much as choreography.
198	** There's a special level of hell reserved for the designer of the Rio levels in the second game. ''Especially'' your first level in that city. Enemies virtually coming from every side and gunning you down. It's neigh impossible to get through the level without dying.
199	** The Gulag's shower block. If you'd been breezing through ''Modern Warfare 2'' to that point, those shower blocks will make you cry. Can you say ''vertical'' outflanking?
200	** You think that's bad? Try defending a portable hard drive from constant Russians. They throw ''flashbangs'', love to waste you the second you leave the house, will one-hit-kill you by striking you if you try to shoot them up front, and eat up all your claymores like there's no tomorrow. And after ''that's'' done, good luck getting to the escape chopper with mortars bracketing your path and swarms of RPG-carrying enemies bearing down upon you...
201	** The very last level on the speedboat, once you exit the caves and are out in the open. Despite Price's remarks to stay out of the open, the only thing that seems to work is to go out in the open, and zig zag a lot. Even then, it's a crapshoot.
202	** Half of all Spec Ops missions fall under this on Veteran, especially the last two in ''[=MW2=]'', in which you must kill 10 and 15 [[DemonicSpiders Juggernauts]], [[NintendoHard often more than one at a time, the first only giving you explosives and a knife to do it]].
203	** "Homeland Security" is pretty brutal as well, even on regular difficulty. Most of the difficulty comes from that goddamned Predator Drone bombing you like crazy almost every time you set foot outside of a building, and if that wasn't hard enough, you also have to deal with choppers and [=BTRs=]. And the last wave has ''two'' choppers ''and'' a BTR; you have to be masochistic to even ''attempt'' beating that mission on Veteran.
204	** "Wardriving" can also be very frustrating. Primarily because the lighting of the level, combined with the colour of the enemy soldiers' uniforms makes it almost impossible to see anything.
205	** "Dust To Dust". ''Painful'' in Hardened and Veteran, especially once you lose your [[spoiler:Juggernaut armor]]. Grenade-spamming enemies who can get around your cover using balconies, blind corners, way too many open windows and doors to be shot through... oh, and after the spoiler above, it's timed.
206	** "Charlie Don't Surf". The TV station hub. Yes, the [=OpFor=] can and ''will'' plug you with bullets if you peek out of cover for 1/1000th of a second.
207	** While the first half of "Heat" is relatively easy, the second half, where you have to fight your way down the hill while under constant assault, can be this, [[LuckBasedMission depending on just where and when the enemy spawn]]. They will keep pouring up the hill, and you have to pick a route down the hill and shoot through the enemy Ultranationalists. This has a good chance of you ending up being flanked from multiple directions, which can be a death sentence on Hardened or Veteran difficulty.
208	* VindicatedByHistory: The two sequels, but especially ''3'', were [[CriticalDissonance incredibly divisive]] among critics and fans. Critics usually gave Modern Warfare 2 and 3 solid 80-90 while fan reaction of Modern Warfare 2 is that it's generally considered a GenreShift towards Creator/MichaelBay style actions and theatrics, and Modern Warfare 3 got a lot of flak from fans considering the game to be [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks too similar to the last two]] and the storyline being rushed for a quick buck. Today, they're looked on more favorably by (mostly returning) fans thanks to the mixed reception of ''Videogame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'' and the very well received but largely plotless ''Videogame/CallOfDutyMobile'' bringing nostalgia for the now older fans by featuring iconic characters from almost the whole series. Then there is how fans look at the COD series from ''Ghosts'' onwards suffering from an AudienceAlienatingEra by too much milking wildly fictional, usually future eras (while ''WWII'' was criticized for being a ClicheStorm that made too much use of rare guns or guns that weren't depicted correctly for the era), and considered them [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks too radically different]].
209	[[/folder]]

Context YMMV / ModernWarfare