Aftermath (Call of Duty 4)

"Something has happened...What appears to be an explosion of epic proportions...all remaining personnel...damage totaling...to set off what appears to have been a nuclear explosion in his own country...stretching across a barren wasteland..."

"Aftermath" is the eleventh level of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Plot
Sergeant Paul Jackson wakes up from the crash after Khaled Al-Asad's Nuclear Warhead was detonated from the previous mission, "Shock and Awe". Mortally wounded, he crawls out and around the downed CH-46 Sea Knight into the wasteland left by the blast, while buildings can be seen collapsing. The bodies of the members of his squad, including Lt. Vasquez, are lying around the area. After moving away from the helicopter, he falls down and dies, fading to white slowly, while the satellite lists his status as "Killed in Action".

The consequences of the nuclear explosion as depicted in this level had prompted General Shepherd to initiate the Russo-American War to test the American military's true strength.

Walkthrough
All that can be done in this level is walking around and looking at the surroundings (aftermath of a nuclear blast). The player will spawn in the helicopter, and once out of it by crawling, the player cannot stand up. The player automatically dies after 120 seconds.

Tips

 * About midway in crawling out the player can go crouched instead of prone, which gives the player about 5 more seconds to look at the city or reach interesting places.
 * It is possible to stand up after exiting the helicopter.

Transcript
See Aftermath/Transcript

Trivia

 * In the opening cutscene, a list of Marines who were in the city when the bomb goes off is listed, and Paul Jackson's name is highlighted in blue. However, eleven names above the blue name, Sgt. Paul Jackson is written again.
 * When the player walks while standing, they lean right with every step likely from a leg injury. Jumping will cause the player to fall.
 * The buildings in the background will crumble after a short period of time.
 * When Jackson dies, he looks up to the sky and white light floods his eyes. A similar effect can also be seen in "Game Over" when MacTavish is being lifted onto the helicopter, although Soap's flash out is more clear and plain as opposed to Jackson whom has a grainy and attached effect, and in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 where PFC Allen, aka Alexei Borodin (a name used in undercover for Makarov) is shot by Makarov and dies, the same thing happens.
 * It is possible to view this level in color as opposed to a red tint by enabling Super Contrast in the cheats menu.
 * If the player survives long enough in the school yard, the clamor of playing children can be heard. Some claim to also have heard the voice of a small girl saying "I love you Daddy", implying that Jackson may have been a father. However the claimed little girl's voice is close to inaudible (if at all), and given that the same audio track is played in All Ghillied Up, there is some doubt as to whether there has been a little girl's voice at all.
 * Rumors on several forums appear claiming to have seen "ghosts" of children and moving figures in or around the playground area.
 * Members of Jackson's team are scattered dead throughout the mission. Vasquez is seen behind the starting point slumped dead against the back of the helicopter. Captain Pelayo (the female Cobra pilot rescued in previous mission) is dead on the ground next to the place where the player jumps out.
 * The Burning Playground may be a reference to the beginning of Terminator 2: Judgment Day which also takes place after a nuclear blast.
 * During the level, a radio can be heard from the cockpit of the crashed helicopter saying things about treatment facilities and massive casualties.
 * If the player exits the helicopter and looks behind, the player will see what appears to be a signature. Many people say this is barbed wire, but if the player looks closely, it is not silver, it is black, and goes high and low, not straight across, and if the player looks closer, the player will find that this is the Infinity Ward insignia.
 * Dying in the mission by falling (via console) will restart the level.
 * The location the level takes place in is clearly different from "Shock and Awe", because in "Shock and Awe", the tall building and the playground is not present.
 * The static from the helicopter's radio can be heard in Call of Duty: World at War's zombie level Shi No Numa. It is played on the radio when from the beginning room's spawn.
 * There is a teddy bear laying on the ground next to the car.
 * The nuke is not part of the backdrop. Using noclip, the player can go inside it. It is just made up of many 2 dimensional clouds.
 * The emergency radio broadcast, heard from a radio with static, is what should not happen as after a Nuclear explosion, an EMP wave is released from the blast, which should cause the radio to stop functioning and die off.
 * This is the last level that the player will ever play as a Marine.