Call of Duty: Modern Warfare gives players a new vision of the legendary series that gripped millions. While seasoned Call of Duty fans are ushered into the new era through Captain John Price, first-time CoD-ers have a whole cast of new characters to invest in while saving the world. With a squad assembled from across the globe, it’ll take everything in your skillset to stop a dangerous new threat from plunging the world into a deadly new war. So let’s take a look at this new group of heroes and villains that players will get to know in Call of Duty Modern Warfare.
CAPTAIN JOHN PRICE
Everyone’s favorite mustached Captain returns to the Modern Warfare series to take down the Butcher and the Wolf. After appearing in the original Modern Warfare series and as a downloadable character in Black Ops 4, Captain John Price comes back to take the center stage. The officer excels in unconventional warfare, knowing when to toe the line and when the rules need to be broken to get the job done.
Even after Task Force 141 was betrayed and disavowed during Modern Warfare 2, Price continued his mission to stop General Shepherd. The British Captain specialises in counter-terrorism, close quarter battle, sniper tactics, and rescuing hostages. He’s a versatile jack-of-all-trades who can navigate and can control a battle no matter which warzone he’s in. Price has a precise mantra that he reminds new recruits of whenever a situation seems dire. “All it takes to change the course of history… is the will of a single man or woman.”
SERGEANT KYLE GARRICK
When players meet Sergeant Kyle Garrick, he’s been serving in the Special Air Service for six years, mainly hunting terrorists and coordinating with Navy SEALS to get the job done. Kyle believes that when it comes to being a member of the S.A.S. and facing the worst of humanity, it’s brains over brawn – and that being able to take the mental toll of the brutal work they do is a key strength. “Everyone talks about the physical aspect of being in the SAS but my job is mostly mental. Give me a guy who’s got his mindset right over a guy who’s twice as fit any day of the week.”
After he was called home from his last tour in the Middle-East thanks to the increasing pressure on foreign forces, Kyle began working on counter-terrorism operations in Europe. While the vauluable counter-terrorism work Kyle and the S.A.S carry out undoubtedly save lives, the Sergeant feels the need to get back out to the Middle-East to pull out the root of the problem before it makes its way onto our shores. It’s not going to be a quick or easy job, but it’s one that Kyle’s willing to throw everything he has into.
ALEX – ECHO 3-1
What do you do when none of the Special Forces can undertake a mission for political or legal reasons? You send in the best the CIA have to offer. Alex, A.K.A. Echo 3-1, leads covert missions without anything that could be tied to the US Government. His operations are small but devastating since he’s sanctioned to undertake missions and sabotage high value targets without the authorisation of the Pentagon or even the White House. While other units fight terrorists by traditional methods, Alex uses information warfare, drones and cultural knowledge to gain the upper hand.
While players will learn that Alex is handy with a light-machine gun – utilising local fighters and building human relationships are what really give Echo 3-1 everything he needs to sabotage the enemy. Whether that’s through acquiring stolen aircraft or using a rocket-propelled drone depends purely on the mission. But will his empathy for those most at risk in Urzikstan ultimately lead to his downfall?
KATE LASWELL
Like any complicated fight against terrorists with weapons of mass destruction, the boots on the ground need someone able to keep their focus and manage their missions from above. In Modern Warfare, that person is the resilient Kate Laswell. She supervises missions in the Special Activities Division of the CIA. In the early years of her career, Kate survived a terrorist bombing at Camp Lemonnier in Africa – but this only cemented her goal of striving to make the world a better place.
She currently manages operatives through an elite element of the CIA, the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented, or TS/SCI. This allows her agents to work without compromise, meaning the operations on which she works with Alex are swift, brutal, and don’t have any public blowback. While her methods are sometimes controversial within the intelligence community, it’s clear to everyone at the CIA just how valuable Kate really is.
HADIR AHMED KARIM AND FARAH AHMEN KARIM
Players won’t just control SAS or CIA operatives, but members of the Urzikstan Liberation Force too. After years of Russian imprisonment, Hadir and Farah Ahmed Karim are dedicated to releasing Urzikstan from under the Russian occupation. When General Berkov’s army rolled through their home, their lives were changed in an instant. Their childhoods were stolen after being placed in a prison camp – which ultimately gave the siblings the mean streak they needed to free themselves and begin their guerilla revolution.
Although Farah’s rejection of sexist notions that women have no place in the theater of war is admirable and inspiring, it’s also made her target for the Russians and the terrorist group, Al-Qatala. While Farah strives to make her guerilla forces a protective group that are purely defending their home, Hadir wants to expand their operations and take the fight to their oppressors. They don’t have the high-tech equipment or weapons players are used to, so get ready to embrace guerilla tactics to fight the Russian occupation with tooth and nail.
THE BUTCHER AND THE WOLF
But aside from the Russian occupation and General Berkov, who else will players be facing off against? The Butcher and the Wolf run a vicious terrorist campaign across the world, striking fear with Al-Qatala’s anarchic ideologies and methods. The Butcher (AKA Jamal Rahar) holds no country as his own, working only to bring down society to give the world a twisted sense of freedom.
But while the Butcher is a merciless, violent executioner – the Wolf is the head of the terrorist group, laying siege to the world after seeing how corruption and upper-class entitlement warps Governments, corporations, and society itself. The villain’s reign of terror is largely what will make Modern Warfare feel ripped from the headlines. His ‘lone wolf’ philosophy earned him his stoic title that goes hand-in-hand with his ferocious terrorist plans. After losing his sight in a Russian airstrike, his wounds only inspired his followers further after the Wolf released a statement; “the blood of revenge, is never in vain”. Even if the Wolf is killed, will his death only intensify Al-Qatala’s message?
Players will have to navigate morally complicated situations in the fight against Russian occupation and Al-Qatala in Call of Duty Modern Warfare when it arrives on PS4, Xbox One and PC, October 25.
