The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign is packed with memorable characters. You watch their stories unfold as they reveal their true selves throughout the game. You will see them fight their way through different locations and try to stop a global catastrophe. It’s quite a rollercoaster.
Many of the characters featured in the MW2 campaign are fan favorites from the original Modern Warfare trilogy. However, some things have changed with this rebooted COD sub-series, breathing new life into many of the soldiers you come across. There may be some spoilers ahead, so you’ve been warned.
10/10 General Shepherd
The original General Shepherd from 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 is arguably the most famous antagonist in the series. He returns in the rebooted sequel with a new actor, but retains his role as a surprise villain. Shepherd was only mentioned in 2019’s Modern Warfare. This time he is at the center of it all.
General Shepherd is in charge of all of Task Force 141, the squad that the majority of playable characters are a part of. He plays an important role in the campaign by sending the unit to stop terrorist forces and clean up a mess they don’t know he created.
9/10 Kyle “Gaz” Garrick
Gaz is one of the main playable characters in Modern Warfare 2. You will often accompany Captain Price during some of the game’s extraordinary stealth missions. He will swim underwater or be covered by a Ghillie suit to avoid detection in these missions.
Before the reboot, the previous versions of Gaz were non-speaking parts, but still playable. He has a lot more personality now. This is shown by the branching conversation paths you get while controlling him.
8/10 Farah Karim
Farah played a major role in the 2019 reboot of Modern Warfare. She only appears a short while later in Modern Warfare 2, but it’s well worth the wait. Just before a vehicle chase mission, Captain Price says he’s brought some old friends to help Task Force 141.
Farah can be seen during the mission riding a motorcycle, shooting at the AQ soldiers and giving tips while controlling Gaz to rescue Kate Laswell from one of the trucks. Farah proves that she is a hardcore lady and proves it again and again in her smaller looks.
7/10 Nicholas
Nikolai has a very small role in the Modern Warfare 2 campaign, but it has an effect. The Russian Patriot is as popular as it gets. His appearance will undoubtedly bring smiles to many faces as he pilots the helicopter during the mission to rescue Laswell.
Nikolai shows off his masterful piloting skills and cracks some funny jokes in his heavy Russian accent. Without Nikolai’s help, Task Force 141 would never have made it through Modern Warfare and would not have saved Laswell in MW2.
6/10 Phillip Graves
Commander Phillip Graves is the leader of Shadow Company. He comes across as a cool and collected soldier who is happy to get the job done. This is shown through an AC130 mission and various other objectives to locate missiles and high value targets.
However, this likable character quickly becomes unlikeable. He betrays Task Force 141 by taking over a Mexican special forces base and arresting several members. Near the end of the campaign, you’ll take him on in a boss fight where he’s in control of a tank. From good to bad, Commander Graves is a fun character to watch throughout the story.
5/10 Kate Laswell
Kate Laswell is the string that holds Task Force 141 together. The CIA station chief has a close professional relationship with Captain Price and does everything in her power to ensure that the Task Force can carry out its missions. In MW2, she returns to the field and almost pays for it.
Laswell follows along on several missions and even gets her hands a little dirty before being taken hostage by terrorists. TF141 successfully rescues her and then watches her strangle one of her captors, showing that she still has it.
4/10 “Soap” MacTavish
You get to play as Soap quite a bit in the Modern Warfare 2 campaign. He is at the forefront of much of the story and part of various missions. You’ll find yourself injured and on the run, delivering full-on assault and staging a prison break.
The Scottish soldier often fights alongside Ghost, sharing some embarrassingly funny moments. He is one of the more balanced characters, as his humor is often accompanied by a sinister seriousness that proves he can get down to business.
3/10 Captain John Price
Captain Price is one of the most recognizable Call of Duty characters ever. Characters named Captain Price have been in many of the Infinity Ward entries. In MW2, he is back leading stealth missions and aims to take down terrorists, even though they were once an ally.
The campaign shows how highly respected he is across several agencies. Everyone knows the name of Captain John Price. He gets in, gets the job done and gets out. Although he is not playable in the MW2 campaign, you will see a lot of him alongside Gaz, Laswell and the rest of Task Force 141.
2/10 Alejandro Vargas
Los Vaqueros translates to The Cowboys in English. It is a Mexican special forces unit run by Colonel Alejandro Vargas. Vargas is introduced as the newest member of Task Force 141 in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 campaign.
Vargas is key to stopping Hassan Zyani from crossing the border, capturing El Sin Nombre, and taking down Graves and Shepherd when their illegal trade is discovered. The man is famous all over Mexico, where people have coined the phrase “Only Alejandro Vargas can kill Alejandro Vargas”.
1/10 Simon “Ghost” Riley
Ghost is the cover character and one of the main playable characters in Modern Warfare 2. He utilizes stealth quite a bit with weapons and knives that are silent to take out enemies at close range. More often than not, they don’t even see him coming.
In MW2, Task Force 141 and Los Vaqueros both wear Ghost masks to make the Ghost Team. This happens when they team up to stop Shepherd, Graves and Hassan. He’s just plain cool and proves it with his skills in battle.
