Endgame

"I thought I told you this was a one-way trip!" "Looks like it still is... they'll be looking for us you know..." "Nikolai, we gotta get Soap outta here..." "Da - I know a place."

- Captain Price and Nikolai

Endgame is the eighteenth and final level in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The objective is to kill Shepherd before he can escape.

Walkthrough
The player ("Soap" MacTavish) and Price begin the level in hot pursuit of the traitor, Shepherd. They get into a speedboat and chase him down through the cave and down the river with him driving and Price firing away (Note that Shepherd is invulnerable until the end of the mission). Along the way, Shadow Company and OpFor will be taking potshots at both the player and Shepherd respectively. Price will gun them down using his M4A1 and occasionally M203, but the player can also return fire with a Mini-Uzi while piloting the boat. On higher difficulties, the OpFor in this early stage of the level can be a real problem, especially when they use Technicals; taking them out is essential. Shepherd is not difficult to find, as his location is marked on the player's screen. If Shepherd gets too far ahead, the player will fail the mission.

Eventually, Soap and Price will follow Shepherd through a narrow cave, and into a wide open area. Price advises Soap to "Stay clear of open areas!". This area and subsequent areas are difficult on high difficulties. To avoid dying on this part of the mission, the player should keep their distance from the right shore and enemy Zodiacs (eliminate them if necessary). Enemy Little Birds and their miniguns appear and engage the player; they cannot be shot down so they must be avoided, and are extremely deadly on the Veteran difficulty. After avoiding the first Little Bird, enemies on bridges and occasionally the shores, will fire at the player with RPG's. They should be avoided as they do a great deal of damage if they hit the player.

Eventually, Soap and Price make it to rapids. Though rough at first, the river becomes more smooth as they progress. Hostiles will still attack the player from Zodiacs, on the shores and bridges with RPG's, and Little Birds. As they go along the river, they hear Shepherd and a Shadow Company U.A.V. Operator talking to each other on the radio. The player will then go under a bridge, and see Shepherd's Zodiac race towards a Pave Low helicopter. Shepherd is forced to cut his speed drastically to board the chopper, giving the player a few seconds to catch up. Just then, in a slightly harrowing moment, your boat nearly collides with the helicopter as it lifts off and starts to pull away just a few feet above your head! When it appears that Shepherd will get away, the helicopter slows down and turns sharply to avoid flying straight into a sandstorm and hovers over a waterfall. With only a few seconds left before the chopper is out of range, Price tells Soap to steady the boat and fires three shots at the helicopter. The first two miss, but the third bullet hits one of the Pave Low's engines, causing the helicopter to catch on fire and snap violently to the right, spinning out of control towards the riverbank below. Price then tells Soap to back up, but the current is too strong and they go over the waterfall, plunging into the river moments before the burning Pave Low crashes.

After a brief wait period, Soap wakes up, washed up on the shore. He picks up his knife, and walks towards some flames in the distance. Moments later, he comes upon a Shadow Company soldier crawling away from the crashed helicopter a short distance away. Soap has the ability to knife the soldier, or let him crawl and bleed to death. At the crash site, he sees another soldier in a position similar to the Last Stand position. The soldier will attempt to fire his pistol, but to his misfortune, is out of ammo. Soap can also knife this soldier or let him bleed to death.

After deciding the soldier's fate, Soap will see Shepherd stumble out of the flaming wreckage of the Pave Low. He will glance at Soap and then run away into the sandstorm. (he cannot be killed) Soap follows him and finds him leaning on a car.

If Soap waits a moment, Shepherd will tell him to go ahead and kill him, although it won't change anything. If Soap waits another moment, he says that he "Knew you [Soap] couldn't do it". He then says Soap is a good warrior but that he couldn't take that extra step to do what was absolutely necessary.

Once Soap attempts to knife him, Shepherd will block his attack, ramming Soap's head into the car, causing Soap to fall. Shepherd pulls out his own knife and jabs it deep into Soap's chest causing Soap to black out from the trauma.

While Soap is coming to, he hears Shepherd speaking: "Five years ago... I lost 30,000 men in the blink of an eye, and the world just fuckin' watched.". His vision returns to see Shepherd standing over him, loading two rounds in his .44 Magnum Revolver, while saying, "Tomorrow, there will be no shortage of volunteers, no shortage of patriots," He cocks the hammer of the pistol, ending: "I know you understand,".

Just then, Captain Price intervenes, tackling Shepherd and kicking the revolver out of his hand before Soap is executed. Soap then crawls towards the pistol, (the player needs to do this manually by using the left and right triggers/mouse buttons) in hopes of using it to kill Shepherd. Before Soap manages to grab the Magnum, Shepherd knocks Price down and kicks away the pistol, which was almost within his reach. He stomps on Soap's face, and he blacks out.

Soap wakes up a few seconds later to see Price and Shepherd engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat. After a few brief moments, the fight begins to turn in Shepherd's favor as he knocks Price down to the ground. While, Shepherd is slowly and relentlessly beating Cpt. Price to death, Soap notices the knife still stuck in his own chest. He painfully pulls it out (accomplished by the player repeatedly tapping the "use" button) and spins it around in his hand. Then, he looks over at Shepherd who is still beating Price, and just as the General looks up at Soap, the severely wounded Captain throws the knife toward Shepherd's face and it horrifically pierces into his left eye instantly killing him.

Soap almost blacks out before Price wakes up and stumbles towards him. While, Price attends to Soap's wounds, he notices a Little Bird helicopter land on the riverbank behind him. Price then tells Soap the bandages will hold for now and helps Soap to his feet. Nikolai, the pilot of the Little Bird, comes to assist Price. He mentions that because of what Soap and Price have done, that "They'll be looking for us you know." Price tells Nikolai that they "need to get Soap of out here," to which Nikolai replies, "Da, I know a place" as Price and Nikolai are walking the badly wounded Cpt. MacTavish towards the helicopter.

Weapon Loadout
If the player started this level from the previous level, the player will start the mission with the weapons they had at the end of the previous level. If the player did NOT start this level from the previous level, the player will start with a Mini-Uzi and an RPD. The loadout, however, is fairly useless since as soon as you enter the Zodiac you automatically switch to the Mini-Uzi, and never use another gun for the rest of the level.

Enemy Intel(s)
Intel No. 45: Right before you get on to the boat, look left, it's on the crate (with lights shining on it). This Enemy Intel is considered to be the easiest to find throughout the game, yet it may be surprisingly easy to miss due to the hectic pace and Price urging you to get on the boat.

Trivia

 * While Price is firing he will throw a grnade at certain enemies, it would be imposible to fire accurately while throwing a grenade, and riding in a speeding boat, he may also be firing his grenade launcher.
 * This is the only instance in the single-player campaign that a Throwing Knife can be used. In fact, its use is mandatory to win the game.
 * No matter where the player aims at Shepherd, the knife will always hit his left eye. This is similar to One Shot, One Kill, as no matter where the player aims, they would shoot off Imran Zakhaev's left arm.
 * When Shepherd tells Soap about the 30,000 men he lost five years ago, he is speaking about the incident in Shock and Awe, since Modern Warfare 2 takes place five years after Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * The multiplayer map Rust is based on this level. Notice the background when the player kills Shepherd. It isn't possible to enter it though. But if you go into spectator mode on Rust, you can clearly see a flipped Zodiac near the shore and a downed Sea Knight where Shepherd's Pave Low would have been. The crashed Sea Knight model is the exact same as the one found on Crash in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * The player is once again playing in a wounded state, just like the end of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. At first, walking with severe injuries, as in "Aftermath," and then playing while lying on the ground, as in "Game Over." And like the first game, Soap kills the antagonist and is saved by a Russian Loyalist in a helicopter. Also, the main antagonist is killed with a basic weapon (Zakhaev with an M1911; Shepherd with a knife)
 * After going over the waterfall, the player's knife will become dull and worn.
 * When playing on veteran, if you crash hard into the wall of the cave, then you will fall off the boat and die. This action is not possible when on Recruit, but it is fairly possible on Regular, and quite possible on Hardened.
 * If the player goes straight towards the destroyed car where Shepherd is after going off the waterfall, they can hear the clicking of a trigger in the distance, while crawling towards the .44 Magnum. This is the Glock 18 that one of the injured Shadow Company troops had in his hand.
 * If the player doesn't get close enough for Shepherd to attack him, he opens a conversation with the player. He says: "You know what they say about revenge... you better be ready to dig two graves... Go ahead and end it. It won't change anything... Hmph... I knew you couldn't do it... You're a good warrior... but you could never take that extra step... to do what was absolutely necessary."
 * The above quote is a reference to one of the many quotes that appear whenever the player dies: "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. -Confucius".
 * "Endgame" is a synonym for the phrase "Game Over", the last level in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * No matter how quickly the player tries to crawl to the discarded .44 Magnum Revolver, Shepherd will always manage to kick it away.
 * The .44 Magnum is the same revolver that Shepherd is loading at the beginning of the game in "Team Player."
 * Shepherd will slam the player into the car if he's close enough to him even if he doesn't attack him.
 * Soap seems to crawl on his belly toward the .44 Magnum even though he's got a knife in his chest. One possibility is that he is crawling on his side or with his chest raised.
 * If the player takes too long to throw the knife at Shepherd, he will beat Captain Price to death.
 * When Price shoots down Shepherd's Pave Low, if you hold down the reverse button early the boat will not go down the waterfall. Shepherd's Pave Low will still crash but you will fail the mission with the message saying "Shepherd got Away".
 * You cannot throw the knife unless the crosshairs go red.
 * If the player waits while holding the knife Soap took out of his chest, they can eventually hear Soap (in a harsh and strained voice) say what sounds like to be "Shepherd".
 * If the player stands behind the barrel Shepherd is standing next to, you can swing your knife and slash the General from the other side of the barrel without engaging the battle sequence. The same sound can be heard as if you were slashing an enemy, and blood can seen spraying from Shepherd. Obviously, it is impossible to kill him this way.
 * After the boat crash, you cannot find Price on the ground even though he saves you from getting shot by Shepherd.
 * One of the injured Shadow Company soldiers will try to shoot the player with his pistol at the crash site, but will find to his dismay that it has no rounds. He will continue to uselessly pull the trigger until the player knifes him or he bleeds to death. Another one of Shepherd's men is seen crawling away from the flaming wreckage of the chopper. The player can cut short his attempts of escaping by slashing him on the ground. You can leave both of them alone, and they will both eventually bleed out and die.
 * Shepherd's boat is forced to slow down considerably to board the Pave Low, giving the player time to catch up. If the player can reach the Pave Low before it lifts off, you will pass right through it, revealing it is not actually a solid object (or because the player isn't meant to get on the chopper anyway).
 * Price's ability to shoot down the Pave Low might have been a reference to the flashback mission "One Shot, One Kill" in which he and MacMillan are running from Zakhaev's men after their attempted assassination and at one point they shoot down an attack helicopter. However, in the flashback, Lt. Price and Captain MacMillan were shooting at the Rotor, but Captain Price seems to be shooting at the engine of the Pave Low as it was turning around.
 * No matter how steady or unsteady you drive the zodiac at the end when Price is shooting the helicopter, Price will always miss the first two shots, but always get a perfect third shot.
 * When Soap is trying to kill Shepherd with his knife, you can see Soap's arms. You will be able to see that Soap is wearing a wool jacket covered with dirt and mud because of the waterfall fall.
 * During the part where the player tries to take the knife out of Soap, if he fails to tap the button named onscreen, the player dies with an unfitting message saying, "Stay clear of open areas as much as possible!" If Soap takes too long trying to kill Shepherd with the knife, the same message appears. This is probably either a mistake by Infinity Ward or because it's the default message in this level when you're injured during combat.
 * The structure of the mission is similar to that of Game Over. Instead of running away from the enemy, however, you are chasing after him, and instead of the enemy killing the survivors of the crash, the player can, though it is optional.
 * If the player listens carefully, the Pave Low pilot says, "Sandstorm at 12 o'clock; we're taking the long way 'round," which explains why he turns around.
 * This is the only level in the game in which the word "fuck" is used, in the line from Shepherd: "Five years ago, I lost 30,000 men in the blink of an eye. And the world just fuckin' watched." Cpl. Dunn gets close when he says, "Sarge, did HQ just tell us to go 'F' ourselves?" in Wolverines!. Also in Wolverines!, when the roof of the restaurant is about to be bombed, Sgt. Foley tells James Ramirez to "Get the f... off the roof!" but the actual word is blocked out.
 * Surprisingly, when Shepherd hits Soap's head on the car, his vision gets better.
 * If the player stays close to the downed helicopter, he can actually get close enough to knife Shepherd as he is running away, but the knife goes through him and doesn't affect him.
 * When Nikolai's Little Bird comes in to evacuate Soap and Price, there isn't a pilot in it before it lands.
 * The OpFor on the bridge where Captain Price warns the player about RPGs will just stand there after firing their RPGs. The Shadow Company on the boats will still fire on them, however.
 * Though you are fighting OpFor and Shadow Company at the same time, when chasing Shepherd through the first few caves, the OpFor tend to focus more on the player than Shepherd, meaning that the OpFor may be halfway helping Shepherd escape, this may not be possible. This could also be that A.I. tend to target the player more often than they target others.
 * The blood splatters on Soap's gloves when crawling toward the .44 Magnum are completely identical.
 * If Soap dies while driving the boat, Price dies for no reason, even though the boat is still steady with no driver. His body also levitates above water, when he dies.
 * If Soap dies, the camera may still continue the chase in a set path that could be the same that Shepherd is taking.
 * It is unknown if Nikolai is also considered a "Wanted War Criminal", as he helped Price and Soap.
 * It is also unknown where Nikolai's hiding "place" is located at.
 * After the credits are finished, there is a picture of Task Force 141. It is possible that Roach is one of the men in the picture, or possibly the one taking it.
 * After waiting through the loading screen after the player goes over the waterfall, they can restart the mission and instead be sent back to when Soap wakes up.
 * At the part where the river widens and the first Little Bird appears, if you go near the left bank you can see a WWII-era German truck with the army cross.
 * Using PC cheats, certain weapons can be spawned in the section after Soap goes over the waterfall, including an arctic P90. Any spawned weapons can then be used on the injured Shadow Company and Shepherd, although to no effect on the latter. Shepherd's image also would not register on the thermal sight.
 * The player can actually pull the knife out of Soap's chest before being prompted to. While Price and Shepherd are fighting, after the player is able to see Shepherd's knife, (i.e. when Shepherd kicks Price down) they can repeatedly tap the "use" button to start pulling the knife. Even though the player can throw the knife earlier, Shepherd will still be over Price beating him like he is scripted to do so.
 * The idea for a boat chase as a climax may have been inspired by the James Bond movie "Die Another Day". Both times, the heroes are British, they are chasing after a General that crossed them, and both involved a waterfall as the end of the chase. The only difference is that in "Die Another Day", the chase is at the beginning of the movie, not at the end.
 * If you try to get on the boat before Price and try to drive away, Price will always jump and get on before you speed away.
 * When you look at a friend on PS3 or Xbox 360 playing this level, it doesn't say Endgame. It instead says "The Ending" which may mean that the level was originally supposed to be called "The Ending".