Wolverines!

"Sierra Delta, uh... we may have a minor ACS fault over here. Do you have anything on your scope?" "They're everywhere!" "Sierra Delta, repeat!" "I'm lookin' at fighter jets over I-95! How the hell did they get through!?"

'Wolverines!' is the sixth campaign mission in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Although Task Force 141 successfully recovered the ACS module, they were too late. With the hacked module, the Russians launch a surprise invasion of the United States, catching the Americans completely off guard. With little time to organize a strategy, Rangers from 1st Btln. 75th Ranger Regiment immediately gear up to secure a VIP, codename: Raptor.

Summary
In response to what they believe is a U.S.-supported terrorist attack on Zakhaev International Airport (after finding the body of Private First Class Joseph Allen at the airport and apparently completely bypassing the United Nations), the Russian government has declared war on the United States, seeking revenge for the deaths of hundreds of innocent civilians. Using a duplicate of the ACS module that Task Force 141 had recovered earlier in Kazakhstan, the Russian military glitches the early-warning systems of NORAD into reporting massing forces approaching the United States on the West Coast, all of which are promptly dismissed by local Air Force bases, thereby allowing the Russians to sneak in on the East Coast undetected. The Russians then launch an attack using cargo planes to airdrop troops, armor, and equipment while fighter jets destroy targets. The U.S. military is caught off-guard by the sudden attack and mobilizes to combat the threat.

Walkthrough

You'll start off in a Humvee patrolling the area, when a BTR comes out of nowhere and pins you down. Quickly rush through the alley or you become toast. Follow your squad (along with some chatter as Foley calls in for air support, Overlord denying as they already used up all air support, and Dunn saying Overlord told them to "F" themselves).

You'll see the BTR again, firing at the houses and trees. DO NOT ENGAGE. Eventually it will reach a barrier and fire at your team. Throw a Smoke Grenade and then rush down the alley on the right (be warned the BTR will start reversing when the Smoke sets off).

Coming across a gas station, you'll be assaulted by gunfire. Pick everyone off, and follow your team. You'll eventually reach Nate's with an important client waiting, Codenamed "Raptor", sitting inside a Meat Locker (which is claimed to be "practically bulletproof"). Foley instructs that you get on the roof and defend your position. You'll find two useful weapons: M14 EBR (Thermal) and a Sentry Gun. Pick up the Sniper and position your Sentry Gun, as waves of foes will come in multiple directions. Since they deploy Smoke Grenades, use your Sniper. If they get on the roof, shoot them down.

Eventually, 2 BTRs come in and pin you down. You are also alerted a Predator is active and being used. Run to the diner (which is where you came from near the beginning of the mission), kill everyone, and pick up the laptop (Note there is a Stinger in the Diner. Pick it up because you'll need it in a bit).

At this point, its a good idea to "abuse" your Predator Missile, since hordes of almost-never-ending enemies will appear. When most of them are wiped out, Nate's gets bombed. Since most of Nate's is compromised/destroyed, Raptor must be moved. First kill everyone in Burger Town, and then wait on Foley's 3. When Foley rushes Raptor, cover him. When that's done, "Predatorize" every enemy.

Eventually your Predator will be disabled and for the rest of the mission. What's worse is that the enemies keep coming. What's even more worse is that a Chopper is coming. If you have the Stinger from the Diner, use it. If not, go get it. When you shoot down the Chopper, you are alerted a second Chopper is en-route. Quickly run up the roof on Nate's and grab the Stinger, and repeat.

After the 2nd Chopper is destroyed, the Convoy is here. Regroup and the mission will end.



Enemy Intelligence

 * Intel No. 11


 * Inside "NOVA" gas station, on the red counter.
 * Intel No. 12
 * Intel No. 12

Inside "Taco Togo", on one of the smaller table.
 * Inside "CRB Financial", on the "Online Banking" counter.
 * Intel No. 13
 * Intel No. 13

Intel No. 14

Inside "Burger Town" dumpster, behind (east of) the building.

Weapon Loadout
In this level, the player first gets a SCAR-H with a Red Dot Sight and a Masterkey Shotgun, and an M9.

Tips

 * Ammo drops are located near the first BTR, on the street by the diner, and atop Nate's.
 * The sentry gun can be saved for later if it is still operational after defending Nate's restaurant from the first wave of attackers. The player can simply take it downstairs before the Predator attack, then take it across to Burger Town once the restaurant has been cleared.
 * Another thing that can be done with the sentry turret is to place it near the Nova Star gas station. It will then kill off any stragglers and groups of hostiles.
 * The player should try to pick up a Thermal Sight as it would work against smoke screens.
 * Walking through the middle of the mall can be hazardous, especially when the enemy BTRs are around. Taking the long way around by simply walking closer to the edge of the level may save the player's life, along with smoke grenades the player still has.
 * It is recommended to use the Predator missile as much as possible before it goes offline. Firing it into large groups of enemies as soon as they appear will earn the player the trophy/achievement "Ten-plus foot mobiles." Additionally, unlike all other missions in the campaign and special ops, there is no cooldown time.
 * When taking out the second helicopter on higher difficulties, the player should not try to run to the Stinger on top of Nates' Restaurant, but instead use the M240 in the diner as it is located right next to the first Stinger and works just as effectively.
 * Alternatively, the Stinger can be taken from the top of Nate's with the player upon leaving, though this does fill up a weapon slot with something that will be largely useless for a large portion of the level (until the helicopters arrive).
 * When using the Stinger missile on top of Nates, if you stand near the ammo crate and quickly use it after firing, you will not drop the Stinger, and with your reloaded Stinger you can fire lock and fire up to a total of 3 Stinger missiles at the chopper.
 * One often overlooked strategy is to use the RPG-7, as it has multiple shots, can be used on the helicopters, BTRs, and infantry. In addition to that, after losing all of its ammunition, the player may continue to carry it, and it can be more reliable than the Stinger Missile, because ammunition drops can reload it indefinitely.
 * If you stay on the roof too long while the Predator Drone is shooting at you, you will be told to "Get the f... off the roof!". This is one of the few levels in the Call of Duty series when two references to the vulgarity, "fuck" are made. (The first being when Cpl. Dunn comments that Overlord to "F" themselves.)

Quotes
"Sand Bravo, we're reading 70 bogeys in your sector, please verify." -NORAD HQ

"Very funny, Station. That's a big negative, over." -Nome AFB

"Sand Bravo, be advised, running diagnostics to scan for malfunctions." -NORAD HQ

"The skies are clear, Station. You got yourself some phantom dots, over." -Nome AFB

"Zulu X-Ray 6. Signs in your sector of some 100 bogeys, please advise." -NORAD HQ

"Negatory, Station. Scope is clear. I dunno what to tell ya. Solar interference? Heavy sunspot activity today." -Vandenburg AFB

"Sierra Delta, uh... we may have a minor ACS fault here. Do you have anything on your scope?" -NORAD HQ

"They're everywhere!" -Air Traffic Controller

"Sierra Delta, repeat!" -NORAD HQ

"(Siren sounds) I'm lookin' at fighter jets over I-95! How the hell did they get through?" -Air Traffic Controller

"Standby! Attempting to contact the nearest unit in that sector." -NORAD HQ

"I read you. This is First Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Sergeant Foley, acting commander of Hunter Two-One. Do you copy over?" -Sergeant Foley

''"All stations, be advised - satellite surveillance has been disabled. SOSUS and PAVE PAWS arrays are inoperative at this time." ''-NORAD HQ

Trivia

 * The loading scene shows that ACS stands for Attack Characterization System.
 * The ACS module that TF141 recovered apparently controlled U.S. coastal radar systems and defenses, and the Russians duplicated it, allowing them to approach within miles of the coastline without being detected, enabling them to penetrate U.S. airspace before a defense could be mounted. However in reality the U.S military's defense network is not controlled by only one satilite module and thus hacking just one would not give an enemy enough information to fool U.S radar pickets and they would give such advanced warning as to make this attack a failure, resulting in millions of Russian casualties in transports before "hitting dirt." Furthermore it seems rather unlikely that Russia could have gone by allies of the U.S such as Britain without their own defense networks not picking up such a large invading force, however the British Government's long-range radar site at Fylingdales is part of the American system. If Fylingdales was also compromised (which is suggested in that it is mentioned that PAVE PAWS is down, the Russian Atlantic Force could have flown over North Sea/Iceland/Greenland and then hit the East Coast of the US. The vector of the hostile planes is logical from the images shown in the briefings.
 * However, the concept of modern multirole fighters having the range to cover this distance without a refueling is dubious. The Pacific/California group had to be navally launched, and there's no known carrier that operates large enough to carry heavy aircraft of the type used to paradrop Russian troops into the West Coast. That said however, there are no missions set on the West Coast and no further reports apart from the briefing video - suggesting the Alaska and California detected bogies were merely airstrikes against civilian targets.
 * There are three Special Ops missions that take place in this area.
 * "Wolverines!" is the easiest mission to get the achievement 'Desperado', due to the claymores, M14EBR Thermal Sight and wide variety of weapons (including shotgun attachment.)
 * While the mission, presumably for sensitivity reasons, takes place in a non-specific area of "Northeastern Virginia," evidence in the game files and the layout of the streets, architecture of the houses, and generalized restaurants based on real restaurants suggests that this level is based on Sterling, Virginia in Loudoun County.
 * From looking at content in the level, it can be determined that the restaurants are next to I-95 which Sterling, Virginia is not. The layout closely rembles a shopping center in Springfield, Virginia, which is also closer to Washington D.C. than Sterling. The Russians attacking this city makes a bit more sense as it is in close proximity to Washington D.C. and taking out I-95 here would greatly hinder the US in bringing reinforcements into the Washington D.C. area.
 * There is a bug involving the Intervention. On the roof of Nate's Restaurant, the player can wait at the ladder in the middle of the roof with the Intervention. If they kill an enemy when they climb to the top of the ladder by firing from the hip, the enemy will fly off the roof. A less extreme effect is possible with other weapons including the M5 Sentry Gun.
 * In real life, the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment that Private James Ramirez is a part of, is based in Fort Benning, Georgia, so it is unknown how his unit is the closest to the area in Virginia he was supposed to defend from the invading Russians. Most likely forces from Marine Corps Base Quantico in Triangle, Virginia and Langley, Virginia would be closest to the invasion, unless Foley and his regiment had just arrived from Afghanistan, concentrating on Washington D.C. due to it being a top priority, or en route back to Ft. Benning from Langley Airfield..
 * This is widely considered the most "complete level" in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It makes use of smoke screens, Predator drones, sentry turrets, sniping, thermal sights, and Stingers. The Rangers even use stealth, but were seen.
 * In the early development of this level, the mission would have been at night and the BTR-80 that attacks you at the start would have been a BMP-2.
 * You actually don't have to enter the Humvee in the convoy, but you do need to reach the squad in order to end the mission.
 * During the mission briefing the Operator from Vandenburg Air Force Base mentions "heavy sunspot activity" and "solar interference" as possible reasons for the radar malfunction. This might be a geek-cultural reference to the Bastard Operator from Hell who maintains an excuse sheet that actually features "Increased Sunspot Activity" as excuse #390.
 * There is a gas station near the convoy with the name "KEATING" which looks like the Shell Gas Stations.
 * Just before you get to the gas station in the alley just before a rubbish bin you can see the Infinity Ward logo on the wall.
 * In the beginning of the level, there is a picture of a young woman, possibly one of the Ranger's girlfriend. Although there is no evidence to prove it.
 * Near the beginning of the level, after getting attacked by the BTR, if you manage to shoot the parachutes that jump off the cargo plane, then they will strangely move all the way to the left then fall down.
 * While accessing the Predator drone a friendly soldier can sometimes be seen moving unnaturally fast towards your position to replace a downed Ranger.

Suburbs

 * Mixed in with the radio chatter in the level can be heard references to vehicles that don't actually appear in the game, like the BTR-60 and the F-35 Lightning.


 * In the same radio chatter, "broken arrow" is mentioned. This is a code phrase for either an accidental event involving nuclear weapons that does not cause a nuclear war or, in the context of a battle, the codeword used to bring in all available aircraft or artillery fire on a friendly position that has been overrun by the enemy.


 * In the Humvee in the beginning, there are four people inside; Dunn, Foley, Ramirez, and Pvt. Morgan. Morgan will always carry an M240 machine gun with a different sight or no sight every time the mission is played.


 * If the player looks up while riding in the Humvee, it is possible to see the predator drone that later assails the patrolling Rangers.


 * At the beginning of the level, a Russian paratrooper will land on the roof of a house. The Humvee in front will enable it's minigun to fire at the paratrooper. From the rate of fire and the time it lasted for them to stop, 200 rounds will have been used against the Russian. Almost 3/4 of these seem to hit him, but he seems to only be affected by two shots, one in the back and one in the head.


 * The men that escape from the first Humvee will disappear through the floor for some reason.


 * After the Humvee in front is destroyed, the player can move up and find a SCAR-H with any attachment in-game including the M203, the shotgun, Red-Dot Sight, ACOG Sight, or iron-sights.


 * If you look carefully, you should notice that the BTR spawns out of nowhere.
 * On Veteran difficulty, the BTR at the beginning of the level will fire only at the player after destroying the Humvee, and not at Cpl. Dunn or Sergeant Foley.


 * The only logic behind why the enemy BTR would be firing at random civilian houses is if they wanted to deliberately kill civilians who haven't evacuated or to prevent American forces from using those houses as cover. The latter is more likely as the BTR was aware of the enemy presence. It could also be for personal reasons, after Allen killed so many civilians at Zakhaev International Airport.

Business District

 * After going down the alley next to the BTR there is a Russian soldier tangled in his parachute cords next to the diner. Needless to say he's an easy kill.


 * The gas station is called Nova, which is the same name of the gas station on the "Derail" Multiplayer map.


 * If the player were to look closely at one of the white cars, it is possible to find an Arabic (presumed Kuwaiti) license plate. It might be remodeled from one of the cars in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.


 * In the containers that have newspapers, it is possible to see a picture of a soldier along with the headline Call of Duty 2, (if it hasn't been shot up).


 * If you destroy one of the Russian helicopters with a Stinger and you go back to the street where you throw Smoke Grenades at the BTR (before the Alley), there will be Paratroopers there. If you watch one descend down toward the ground, you can see he just disappears through it.
 * While in the alley, Sgt. Foley will occasionally take cover behind the wall on the left side and will yell "Frag out!", and will turn to the small alleyway on the left, throw a grenade, and it will go forward and to the right into the alley leading to the parking lot, far from where Sgt. Foley would have thrown it.

Nate's

 * If the player enters the financial building and kills everyone there before talking to Foley at the car, Foley and the other Ranger will shoot at the financial building as if people were still there.


 * There is a small chance for a glitch to occur in this level. If the player wishes to take the sentry gun with them to the next restaurant but they fall down with the sentry gun equipped there is a small chance that the gun will disappear but you will still have it equipped. When this happens you will not be able to change your gun, but you will still be able to move.
 * Oddly, when Cpl. Dunn goes to check on Raptor at the beginning, the door may be closed, even though the door to the meat locker is closed, he will walk straight through it.
 * When Foley tells you to regroup at the crash site on the north side of Nate's, you can ignore him and go inside and set up defenses how you like (claymores, sentry gun, etc). Meanwhile, Foley and the rest of the squad will continue fighting on the north side. Once you get close to him (if he is not already next to the car as he is scripted to be when he starts his dialogue) he will clip over to the car at a high speed almost as if he teleported there. He will then ask where Raptor is as usual. This is easiest to see if you run through Nate's and go out the back door to the crash site.


 * When Sgt. Foley talks to the Ranger at the car he and the ranger are simply firing at set targets near the top of the building, not at any hostiles.


 * If the player places the Sentry Gun to cover the entrance on the roof, a glitch can sometimes occur. If an enemy is killed by the Sentry Gun while climbing the ladder, he will fly off of the roof and into the horizon.
 * While defending Nate's from the financial building, a Ranger might shout to another, "Tango near the bank!" To which the other shouts, "Which one is the bank?" The first replies, "It's the one story building with the sign that says 'Financial'!" This conversation may have different variations but goes along these lines.
 * This part of the mission can be completed with almost no work on the part of the player. After climbing up the ladder, jump down off the roof and run away from Nate's before the enemies arrive. The player can then hide and allow the friendly AI to eliminate the enemies.

The Predator

 * The diner with the Predator Missile uplink is the same design used in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in the level "The Sins of the Father".


 * It is quite possible that the UAV was stolen from friendly hands, since the display and all of the targeting is meant for US forces. However, there is no safeguard preventing an enemy from directing missiles against friendly forces. (The situation is less clear for the Javelins used during "Of Their Own Accord", which in real life do have safeguards against use on friendly targets.)


 * The player can take the sentry gun from the roof of Nate's, and with proper positioning, the sentry gun will automatically kill the enemies inside of the diner, leaving the Predator drone unguarded. Care must be taken to avoid having the sentry gun be run over by the BTRs.


 * After entering the restaurant to get the uplink, two Russians soldiers will break through the backdoor, and some more will appear in the gas station parking lot. Even if the player were to make sure the area around the restaurant is clear, those Russian soldiers are scripted to appear the moment the player gets inside the restaurant.


 * When securing the Burger Town, it is possible to fire a predator missile through the front door/windows to kill enemies inside. This is especially helpful on Veteran. You are also able to drop them in through the roof access, back door and side door.


 * An easy way to acquire the Predator is to stay at the diner when the Rangers are defending Nate's. When the assault on the restaurant ends and Nate's is attacked by the Predator, the Rangers will get off of the roof and the control rig will spawn right in front of the player. Also, no enemies will spawn in the diner.

The Burger Town

 * If the Predator is at the right angle the player can see a stinger missile heading straight for it, prior to the arrival of the gunships. There is no way to save the Predator Drone, even if you kill all enemies in the area.


 * A Ranger with an RPG or Stinger may occasionally spawn when the Russian gunships arrive. He will shoot one of them down if the player doesn't do so.


 * You can shoot down the two gunships with an Intervention, but it takes 2-5 magazines to do it, depending on your placement.


 * You can also use the M14EBR, SCAR-H, M4A1, or any other weapon to shoot down the Mi-28's but the M240, Intervention, and SCAR-H are the most effective.


 * Sometimes the convoy shoots the last Mi-28 if the player doesn't destroy it.


 * Sergeant Foley refers to the MiG-29s as "fast movers". It's strange that the bombs they drop on Nate's Restaurant don't completely destroy it.


 * If the player goes into the Taco Togo and looks at the tray, it says "BT" on the wrapper, which refers to Burger Town.


 * The highway that the convoy arrives from is blocked off by barriers and barbed wire. Although if you actually watch the convoy arrive you can see that the vehicles actually 'hop' over the barricade.


 * It is possible to take the sentry gun onto the Humvee at the end of the level.
 * When Sgt. Foley is carrying Raptor to Burger Town, you can use the Predator Missile and fire directly at them and not get a penalty.
 * You don't actually have to defend Burger Town when Sgt. Foley moves Raptor there. You can defend wherever you like.
 * After entering the Humvee at the end of the level it is possible for the player to look completely around in a 360 degree view as many times as the player wants. It seems that IW didn't put a stop on the view ability for that part.

Pop references

 * "Wolverines!" is a reference to the movie Red Dawn, which depicts a Communist invasion of the United States. The "Wolverines" are a makeshift guerrilla force formed by American high school students. The paratroopers in the mission and planes flying over are also homages to the movie.


 * Another reference to Red Dawn is contained within the mission. The Xbox Achievement/PS3 Trophy for completing this level and Exodus on Veteran Difficulty is actually called "Red Dawn". This same achievement's picture is several Russian helicopters flying next to each other, yet another reference to the movie.


 * The level and the others following also bear similarity to another game, World in Conflict, set in an alternate timeline where the Soviet Union invades the USA in 1989. World in Conflict also appears to have been influenced by Red Dawn.


 * The "Burger Town" fast food restaurant is an obvious parody of Burger King. There is also a Burger Town in the airport in No Russian. The Burger Town logo looks very similar to the (old) Burger King logo.


 * Other parodies of American restaurant chains are Taco Togo (Taco Bell and Togo's ) and Nate's (which closely resembles the T.G.I. Friday's structure and sign, but could also be influenced by Applebee's, Chili's, etc.)


 * At the start of the mission it is possible to see several cans of Choal in the HMMWV, an obvious parody of Skoal chewing tobacco. There will also be a picture of a girl taped to the dashboard—the same picture can be seen in any Humvee the player gets into as the Humvee model at the beginning of the level is the same as the one at the end of the level.


 * The achievement/trophy unlocked after completing this mission on any difficulty is called "Royale with Cheese" which could be a loose reference to the movie Pulp Fiction. Another theory would be that "Royale" refers to the fact that this is a large fight (Battle Royale), and 'With Cheese' is a clear reference to the multiple fast food restaurants in the level.


 * In the Humvee at the start of the mission there is a packet of 'CANDY' which is based on Charms, and Tootsie rolls, which sometimes are part of a U.S Soldier's/ Ration Pack.

IW references

 * If you look closely on the ground at the beginning of the level, there is a newspaper named "Infinity Ward Times."


 * There are some signs near some houses that read "IW Realty,".


 * Right after throwing a smoke grenade near the BTR and when entering the alley on the right (the back wall of the diner), near a dumpster is a black graffiti of Infinity Ward´s logo.


 * Another Easter egg is in the postboxes, there are cards advertising Infinity Ward, these can be stabbed out.


 * If you look at the license plate on most the cars it stands Infinity Ward.


 * In the bank, the cubicles are labeled with names of Infinity Ward employees.


 * In this mission and in all other missions in the U.S., there are taxis that have "IW Cab" printed on the doors.