The Call of Duty series is filled with memorable moments. From the crazy boat chase at the end of Modern Warfare 2, to storming Menendez's compound in Black Ops 2, the games are jam-packed with sequences to get your blood pumping with the thrill of battle.
However, in between the action there are also events that throw punches of the emotional sort, too. These moments come as a shock, often deviating drastically from CoD’s usual bombastic machismo, and sometimes bringing the drama a little too close to home. Even if you don't have any military experience, these moments were likely to leave have left a lasting impact.
1. The death of president Al-Fulani (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
This scene marks Infinity Ward's debut in the Modern Warfare franchise, and set the stage for CoD’s approach to drama for many years to come. President Al-Fulani, deposed leader of an unknown, middle eastern country, is taken as a hostage by the usurping Al-Asad's men. In a lengthy sequence, the player left to watch helplessly as Al-Fulani is thrown into a car, hit in the head, and taken for a ride through city streets left ravaged by war. It's a haunting trip, with your captors paying him scarce attention as they carry him to a very final destination.
The real kicker here is that the entire sequence plays out in first person, with you taking the role of the captive. After some more rough treatment, you awaken tied to a post, while Al-Asad preaches to the baying crowd around him. A TV camera stands to your side, recording your miserable fate. Al-Asad turns to the camera and says “This is how is begins.” Then, with the whole world watching, he walks calmly up and shoots you in the head.
What makes it so impactful
The entire sequence was a far cry from what we'd seen in previous Call of Duty titles. CoD 4’s opening subverted the usual heroic empowerment of the player by leaving you utterly helpless. The villains are cleanly established, and the game informs you that no one, not even the player, is safe. Though much of your time in CoD is spent during heated gunfights, there’s something distinctly unsettling about staring down a gun barrel up close. The opening credits close with the shot still ringing in your ears.
Later titles have since milked the first-person death sequence dry, but it’s first appearance here proved distinctly memorable. The opening leaves you shocked and confused, perfectly setting the stage for the game to come.
2. The Nuclear Explosion (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
Shock and Awe is one of the most intense, hard-hitting sequences the series has to offer. In this level, a US military group invades a city in the hopes of tracking down terrorist Al-Asad, only to discover he's already long fled the scene. In the middle of rescuing a downed pilot, your squad is informed that Al-Asad has left behind a trap for the US, arming a nuclear device within the city. As you flee desperately in a helicopter, the device detonates and creates a catastrophic explosion leveling everything in its wake. You can only watch as the shock wave rushes towards you.
What makes it so impactful
The level doesn’t end there – instead, you continue to watch your soldier as he crawls from the wreckage, and see through his eyes the mushroom cloud looming off in the distance. You’re given a minute or two to crawl feebly across an ashen street before you finally succumbs to your injuries. This moment gives players a firsthand look into one of the greatest horrors of war – a nuclear explosion.
The nuclear threat is an ever-present fear in modern society. The atom bombs dropped during World War 2 have left a dark and permanent imprint in humanity’s history. Visiting the impact sites in Hiroshima or Nagasaki offers a sombre and harrowing reminder of the devastation these weapons can cause. Infinity Ward's recreation of an event like this is a difficult one to watch, and its impact is only amplified through the futility of your actions as you lie dying on the floor.
3. Mason’s Brainwashing (Call of Duty: Black Ops)
The first chapter in Treyarch’s Black Ops trilogy presents a turning point in the series’ storytelling methods. Stepping away from Modern Warfare, Black Ops attempted a more complex, human-oriented tale.
In this level, the game’s riddle-laden narrative begins to unravel through the devastating truth about Alex Mason, and his association with Russian soldier Viktor Reznov. Mason and Reznov are on the hunt for Steiner, an ex-Nazi doctor who tortured them both in prison. As the level reaches its climax, Mason watches as Reznov appears to execute Steiner, crying out his desire for revenge. Jumping back and forth between a present, Mason, locked to a chair and interrogated by unseen faces, you soon learn that Reznov couldn’t has killed Steiner, because in reality he died far earlier in the game.
As everything comes to a head, you jump back in from different viewpoint and watch as Steiner is killed by none other than Mason himself. Mason is suffering from the effects of a sabotaged brainwashing attempt, distorting his sense of reality. Reznov, your companion through many chapters of the game, was simply an artifact of Mason’s imagination, with the protagonist often losing his sense of identity between the two.
What makes it so impactful
While it might not be as devastating as the other moments included in this list, Mason's brainwashing ties into a bigger problem affecting many soldiers today. How war can affect the mind. While Mason proves capable throughout the rest of the game, the idea that he would blame his actions on a nonexistent figure is a chilling thought.
It’s also the first time the Call of Duty series plays with the concept of an unreliable narrator – an interesting prospect for an interactive medium. The revelation causes you to look back at your path through the entire game, parsing the story into lies and truths. It’s a real headspin moment, with clear inspiration from the film Fight Club.
Okay, Black Ops doesn’t quite pull it off smoothly. As the CIA interrogate Mason, they repeatedly question him on “decoding” a recurring number sequence, despite later announcing they already knew it was a wakeup call for sleeper agents across the US. As Mason finally comes back to reality, he hardly solves some great conspiracy — instead simply remembering the location of the signal’s broadcast centre. The game also goes to the silly lengths of heavily implying Mason was behind the assassination of JFK (yes, really). It’s not flawless, but it’s great to see a big series like CoD attempting something different when it comes to the single player and plot, a trend Treyarch continued in later titles.
4. The London Attacks (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3)
In this scene, the American Davis family are vacationing in London. Watching through the lens of the father’s video camera, his wife and young daughter point excitedly toward Big Ben in the distance. As the young girl becomes distracted by a flock of pigeons, a truck pulls up in the road behind, with the driver jumping down and fleeing without a word. Seconds later the truck explodes, killing all three family members and sending plumes of toxic green smoke through the city. The camera keeps rolling for a few additional moments, letting the sounds of people screaming in the background wash over you before the footage abruptly cuts out.
What makes it so impactful
This sequence is tailor made for the typical American audience, for whom London is an appealing holiday destination for families travelling outside the US. Children are typically spared from violence in videogames, but Infinity Ward go the extra step, making you witness the death of an entire family while your attention is focussed on the young girl.
Modern Warfare 3 was released after the deadly 7/7 london bombings in 2005. Since then the capital city has been the unfortunate target of four more fatal terrorist attacks, though none close to the scale depicted in Infinity Ward’s title. Even six years after the 2005 attacks, the sequence hit fairly close to home, and, much like the infamous No Russian mission (we’re getting to that), Infinity Ward included the option to skip past the scene if preferred.
5. No Russian (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)
This list wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of No Russian, Modern Warfare 2’s most infamous level. We’ve already discussed at length just what made No Russian the most controversial level in gaming history, so it’s safe to say this level won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
This level plants CIA agent Joseph Allen deep undercover, joins the series villain Makarov's group as they lay waste to a crowded airport in Moscow. Methodically making their way through the building, the team (and player) gun down hundreds of innocent people. The whole sequence plays out in first-person, with Makarov’s team expecting the player to join in the massacre of civilians.
What makes it so impactful
First, there's the terrorist attack itself. It’s a horrific and entirely believable scenario, which is sprung suddenly and unexpectedly on the player. Barely giving time you time to register your surroundings before crowds are gunned down before you.
Setting the player up in a position to assist in the massacre is what really pushed this level past the limit, however. No Russian proved extremely divisive, viewed by some as a cheap an insensitive inclusion for shock value. Whatever your thoughts, No Russian was certainly one of Call of Duty’s most unpleasant moments, and one that burned itself into many players’ memories.
Finally, remaining complicit in the mass murder turns out to be playing directly into your enemy’s hands. Makarov knew Alan was a spy all along, and kills him at the mission’s end. Leaving his body behind, Makarov sets Alan (and the US) as the culprits while he makes his escape. Acknowledging the level’s unpleasant content, Infinity Ward provided a pre-game warning with an option for players to skip past the scene if they didn't feel like taking part.