Blackout (Call of Duty 4)

"Nikolai's in hell right now. We're gonna walk him out of it. We take care of our friends. Let's move."

- Captain Price

Blackout is the fourth level in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Taking place the day after Khaled Al-Asad's coup in the Arabian Peninsula, this level sees the Special Air Service team, led by Captain Price, joining forces with Russian Loyalist troops in the Caucasus Mountains to rescue a Russian informant and liberate an Ultranationalist-controlled village.

Plot
Shortly after Al-Asad makes his move and overthrows the government of President Al-Fulani, the SAS learns that Nikolai, their informant, who provided the SAS with intelligence on their previous mission aboard the Estonian freighter, has been compromised and taken prisoner by the rebel forces. Realizing that the Ultranationalists intend to execute Nikolai as a traitor, Price leads a rescue mission into the Caucasus to retrieve the informant, remarking that "We take care of our friends." Inserting near Nikolai's position, the team first silently eliminates several guard posts before meeting up with Russian Loyalist troops lead by Sergeant Kamarov.

It is clear from their discussion that Price and Kamarov, despite having fought alongside each other in the past, have very different objectives in this mission. For Price, Nikolai's survival is paramount and beyond all other considerations. Kamarov, meanwhile, hopes to free the nearby village from Ultranationalist control and eliminate the threat posed by their BM21s. Since both need the other's forces in order to be successful, a great deal of tension exists between the two men. As the Loyalist troops make their assault upon the village, MacTavish provides sniper support from the nearby ridge and eliminates a force of Ultranationalist helicopter troops flanking from the left, allowing the Loyalists to make greater gains in the village.

Eventually however, Gaz, frustrated with Kamarov's stalling, beats Nikolai's location out of him, a house at the end of the village. Abandoning their Loyalist allies, the SAS team makes their way to the house. MacTavish and Price enter the house as Gaz cuts the power, and the team successfully secures Nikolai. With the informant secure and the village in control of the Loyalists, the team is extracted via helicopter that heads for a German safehouse.

The Swamp
Take out the M21 sniper rifle and go forward until there is a dock in front. Go back and snipe the soldier on it and a soldier near a truck to the back. Snipe the soldier near the truck first. When they are out, keep going forward. It is also possible to shoot these men from where the player first spawns, if the weapon is not moved.

Eventually, there will be a house on the right and an overturned boat on the left. Crawl past the boat on the left side. Once the player is out, the two men in the first house will be almost lined up. They can be taken care of in one shot so the other guards will not be alerted, but while the closest soldier can be shot anywhere with the M21 to get a kill shot, the second man requires a headshot because of the damage loss of going through the first guard. When they are eliminated, go near the next house and look for some boards sticking out from below the window. These boards will allow the player to look into the house, and well as get accurate rounds into the house without making the guards wake up due to the player being too close. This next part requires accuracy and speed. In the house there are two guards, as well as one on the deck. Take out one of the guards, preferably with a headshot (one shot kill), and then quickly put two rounds into the other guard, immediately followed by rushing to the front of the house to knife the guard there, who will probably be waking up. Go up to the next house, which will be on the right. Go inside, and Price will open the door on the left to a field that has Kamarov and his men.

Ridge Sniping
After the player meets the Loyalists, take a right and go up the hill. Follow them until arriving at a ridge overlooking a very large rocket launcher. Get near the post that's between two of them, and open fire. Keep an eye out on the house to the left. Two LMG troops will start firing from it soon, so get ready to take them out. For the one on the left, the player has to shoot the wall near him to get him. This is one of the few times in the game when the mil-dots on the sniper scope can be used, as both machine gunners' heads are 1 up, and 3 left of the machine gun's muzzle, and a headshot is the only way to kill the gunner through the wall in one shot.

After a while, the player will be told to move forward. Do so, until at the bottom of a hill with a power station at the top. Troops will pour in from the top, so hide behind some debris and begin sniping them. Some may not pop their heads out, in this instance the player should use the Grenade Launcher and flush them out. When they are dead, do not advance yet; another wave will come from the station.

When both waves are down, go right along with the team and start sniping enemy troops along the side of the house right in front of the troops in the attic of a house that's right below the player. If one eliminates the troops in the house right below the cliff, Sgt. Kamarov will order the player's team to follow him to the power station. Once there, take a right when in it. After a cutscene, the user will be told to rappel down. Find the glowing rope and press the use key or button.

Once the player makes it down, take a right and go into the house on the right. The player could go through the field and enter a house on the other side, but that's way too dangerous. When one can see the end of the house, troops will come in from the end. The player can either stun them with a flashbang or blow them up with the grenade launcher. When they are dead, go into the next house. Try to run though this house; the troops in the field will notice the user here and will attack. At the end, a troop will usually come in. Eliminate this threat.

After getting out of the second house, go forward and one will see a medium-sized house on a hill. Get to the right until seeing a door, turn on the night vision and wait for Price to open the door.

The Rescue
When in the house, go forward, then turn left. There will be a soldier, unaware of the player's presence. Take him out, then turn right and come to a flight of stairs. Near the stairs, one can see a soldier slowly walking around. Take him out, then go up the stairs.

At the end of the stairs, turn left and there will be a soldier huddled in a corner. Take him out, then turn left. There's a Russian hiding behind a sofa, so spray the sofa with bullets, this should kill the target. Get to the sofa and turn left. There's an Ultranationalist hiding behind a door that occasionally peeks in and takes a few shots. Fire at the door until his body falls. Get near the door and turn right. There, the player will see Nikolai, but there's a soldier hiding behind the right wall. Either spray the right wall with bullets or throw a flashbang in, then go in and run up to Nikolai.

After that, get out of the house the extraction chopper will be on top of the hill. When the allies get close to it, press "use" near it and exit the level.

Tips

 * Do not go too far ahead of the team, as they will (try to) assist the player if near enemies.
 * When sniping in the gap between the fence, be careful. The player may be pushed off the edge by Kamarov walking forward.
 * When sniping, watch out for the RPGs, as they can easily kill the player and/or teammates.
 * Before rappelling, one can pick up an RPG and go to the rappelling point and take out the BM21s and the tank. The player needs the infinite ammo cheat activated, though.
 * Be careful when taking care of the enemy where Nikolai is being held. The Russian has a flashlight and therefore can actually cause some damage.
 * For the enemy listed above, spray the right hand side of the wall until hearing him die, or until his flashlight falls.
 * If wanting to snipe the two Russians on first house to the right, it is best to stand behind the fence, turn on night-vision, aim for the arm of the man in front and fire until they die.
 * One good way to take out the second patrol before you meet Sgt.Kamarov in the fields is to put a claymore in front of the door as Gaz/Price says then go prone next to the stairs and move forward for a moment, then take out your silenced M21 and headshot the soldier sleeping on the chair in the next building. On some occasions, after you do this, the soldiers next to you might say "huh?", but they will not come out. After killing the sleeping soldier, prone to the next building and place a claymore in front of its door. After doing this, prone down the stairs and turn left, where you will see a big window in that building. Cook a grenade for 2 or 3 seconds and throw it inside ( This works better with the cluster bomb cheat on. If it is, you do not need to put the claymore in front of the door of the second building, instead, put it next to the side door of the first building, where a soldier comes out. If done correctly, besides the sniper shot to the sleeping soldier's head, you will not have to use any bullets. ), making sure to throw it at the ceiling, not directly through the window, as it will not be as effective. Immediately after, sprint to the side door of the first building and equip your automatic weapon. In most cases there will be someone coming out of the side door, ready to attack. Being directly in front of the door is not recommended, as this soldier will attempt to melee you. Keep in mind you will be able to go loud as soon as the grenade leaves your hand. Doing this tactic on Arcade mode is not recommended, as this is very time consuming, taking at least two minutes in most cases.

Enemy Intelligence

 * Laptop 3 is located in the first shack upon a table.


 * Laptop 4 is in the house with Nikolai in. Stand in the doorway, and turn around 6 o' clock. A bathroom should be there, sporting the laptop.

Xbox 360 Achievements

 * Dancing in the Dark is obtained when Gaz kills the power and Nikolai is successfully rescued.
 * The Rescue is obtained when beating the level on Veteran difficulty.

Transcript
See Blackout/Transcript.

Trivia
See Blackout/Trivia

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXg82FwpryY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XziQWYoUZ7k