Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is a 2016 first-person shooter game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. It is a remastered version of the 2007 game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and was initially released as part of the special edition bundles of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in November 2016 for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. A standalone version was released for these platforms in mid-2017. The game's story follows the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the Special Air Service (SAS), who take on missions to fight against a separatist group in the Middle East and an ultranationalist group in Russia.

Development began after an online petition requesting a Modern Warfare remaster began circulation. Activision enlisted Raven Software—who had assisted in the development of past Call of Duty games—to develop Modern Warfare Remastered, while original developer Infinity Ward supervised. Modern Warfare Remastered features extensive graphical enhancements, updated animations, and revised original sound effects as well as new ones. It retains the original core gameplay, with small adjustments. New multiplayer content, and additional single-player achievements and cheats are included.

Critics lauded Modern Warfare Remastered for its enhanced graphics, revised sound, and range of other modifications. They praised the gameplay for what was considered a challenging and innovative single-player campaign when compared to later games in the series. The multiplayer mode was complimented for its simplicity and freshness. Criticism focused on the multiplayer mode for balancing issues and the single-player mode for its pacing and artificial intelligence. Modern Warfare Remastered became the subject of controversy following Activision's decisions to initially release it only as part of a bundle, include microtransactions, and—in the eyes of players—overcharge for both the downloadable content (DLC) and standalone version of the game.

Plot
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered features the same plot as the original game. The player mainly controls British Special Air Service (SAS) recruit Sergeant John "Soap" MacTavish, starting with his enrollment in the 22nd SAS Regiment. The player also controls United States Marine Corps (USMC) member Sergeant Paul Jackson during five of the levels of Act 1. SAS officer Captain John Price is playable in two flashback missions from 1996 when he was a lieutenant. The player further assumes the role of an American thermal-imaging TV operator aboard a Lockheed AC-130 gunship during one level, and a British operative infiltrating a hijacked airliner to save a VIP in another. Finally, the player controls Yasir Al-Fulani, the president of an unnamed Middle Eastern country before he is executed, although he has no freedom of action beyond turning his head.

While the United States invades a small, oil-rich Middle Eastern country following a coup d'état by the extremist Khaled Al-Asad, a British SAS squad infiltrates a cargo ship found to be carrying a nuclear device. Enemy jets sink the ship, but the SAS team escapes with its manifest and heads to Russia to rescue their informant, codenamed "Nikolai", from the Ultranationalist party. Intelligence from these operations indicates Al-Asad has a Russian nuclear device. The U.S. military launches an assault on his palace, but the nuclear device is detonated, wiping out most of the city and everyone in it.

The SAS team tracks down Al-Asad in Azerbaijan and discovers he was working with Imran Zakhaev, the leader of the Ultranationalist party. The mission then flashes back 15 years where Captain Price, who was a lieutenant, is sent alongside his commanding officer, Captain MacMillan, on a failed assassination attempt on Zakhaev in Pripyat, Ukraine. After killing Al-Asad, the SAS team, with support from U.S. Marine Force Recon and Russian loyalists, attempt to capture Zakhaev's son, Victor, and learn his whereabouts. They ambush Victor, but he commits suicide. In response, Zakhaev seizes control of a nuclear launch facility. A joint operation is launched to take back the site, but Zakhaev launches intercontinental ballistic missiles at the U.S. Eastern Seaboard. The joint teams are able to breach the facility and remotely destroy the missiles before fleeing the area.

Zakhaev's forces trap the escaping joint force on a bridge, and during the fight many are killed. He arrives, but a loyalist helicopter distracts him. The player shoots and kills Zakhaev with their pistol before being tended to by loyalist forces.