Blackout (Call of Duty 4)

"We take care of our friends."

- 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 British 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 double agent infiltrating the Ultranationalist leadership, has been compromised and taken prisoner by the rebel forces. Nikolai provided the SAS with the intelligence relating to the nuke smuggled aboard the Estonian freighter, and Price is hesitant to lose someone who has provided and possesses concrete information relating to the Ultranationalists' plans. 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." Landing 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 in a helicopter that heads for a German safehouse.

Getting Started
You'll spawn in a swamp. Take out your sniper rifle and go forward until you see a dock in front of you. Go back and snipe the troop on it and a troop near a truck to the back. When they're out, keep going forward. It is also possible to shoot these men from where you first spawn if the weapon is not moved.

Eventually, you'll see a house on your right. There are troops on the dock, so snipe them. This will draw out two troops from a shed to the right of the house, so take them out as well. When they're out, go near the house and head forward until you see a house past it. Go in and take a right. Price will open the door to a field that has Kamarov and his men.

Sniping Fun
After you meet your allies, take a right and go up the hill. Follow your allies until you get to 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, you have to shoot the wall near him to get him.

After a while, you'll be told to move forward. Do so until you're at the bottom of a hill with a power station at the top. Troops will pour in form the top, so hide behind some debris and begin sniping them. Some may not pop their heads out, so in that case take out your Grenade Launcher and flush them out. When they're dead, don't advance yet; another wave will come from the station!

When both waves are down, go to the power station and take a right when you're in it. After a cutscene, you'll be told to rappel down. Find the glowing rope and press the use key.

When you're down, take a right and go into the house on the right. You could go through the field and enter a house on the other side, but that's way too dangerous. When you can see the end of the house, troops will come in from the end. You can either stun them with a flashbang or blow them up with your grenade launcher. When they're dead, go into the next house. Try to run though this house; the troops in the field will notice you here and will attack. At the end, a troop will usually come in. You can take him out in any way.

After you get out of the second house, go forward and you'll see a medium-sized house on a hill. Get to the right until you see a door, turn on your night vision, and wait for Price to open the door.

The Rescue Job
When you get in the house, go forward, then turn left. You'll see a troop, unaware that you're here. Take him out, then turn right until you see some stairs. Near the stairs, you'll see a troop slowly waling around. Take him out, then go up the stairs.

At the end of the stairs, turn left and you'll see a troop huddled in a corner. Take him out, then turn left. There's a troop hiding behind a sofa, so spray the sofa with bullets, and you'll take him out. Get to the sofa and turn left. There's a troop hiding behind a door that occasionally peeks in and takes a few shots. Fire at the door until you see his body come out. Get near the door and turn right. You'll see Nikolai, but there's a troop hiding behind right wall. Spray the right wall with bullets, then go in and run up to Nikolai.

After that, get out of the house and you'll see the exit on top of the hill. When your allies get close to it, press the use key near it and you'll exit the level.

Tips

 * Don't go too far ahead of your team, they will (try to) assist you.


 * When sniping in the gap between the fence, be careful. You may be pushed off the edge by Kamarov walking forward.


 * In this level, there are many occasions when there are enemies in the 180 degrees in front of you so try and find cover for the area you are not shooting at.


 * When sniping, watch out for the RPGs and people who are a threat to your teammates if you find that you care about the characters or think they help you.


 * Before rappelling, you can pick up an RPG and go to the rappelling point and take out the BM21s and the tank. You need infinite ammo, 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 to you.


 * for the enemy listed above, spray the right hand side of the wall until you hear him die.

Enemy Intelligence

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


 * Laptop 4 is in the house with Nikolai in, the laptop is in a toilet on the second floor.

Xbox 360 Achievements

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

Trivia

 * If decent shots are being made during the scene in this level when you're sniping down from the hedge, you can hear Captain Price say "Nice shot, MacMillian would be impressed." Implying either MacMillian is deceased or retired.


 * Though the pilots of the Blackhawk have American accents, if you actually look at the pilots they are random Russian loyalists, most likely placeholders. Also, the Blackhawk displays a 'Royal Air Force' badge.


 * Sometimes, there is a loyalist with his first name being Nikolai. Also, there are rarely loyalists with their entire name being Dimitri Petrenko since he is the main character in the Russian Campaign of Call of Duty: World at War.


 * This level is possibly the easiest level in the game. After FNG and Aftermath.


 * The level title is probably a reference to the end of the level, when they rescue Nikolai.


 * When you get to the house where the Ultranationalists are holding Nikolai, Price tells Gaz to go cut the power. Gaz then proceeds to walk to the side of the house, and you'll notice that he won't do anything, but the lights still go out and Gaz says " Alright, I've cut the power." This issue was most likely overlooked when the game was made.


 * The BM-21s that the Loyalists are trying to destroy are unmanned, or in other words, have no driver or soldier in them, even when firing.


 * In the first guard post, two Ultranationalist soldiers are watching a new program on TV. If you listen to it, the program will mention that the United States Marine Corps will respond the coup d'état in a small oil-rich Middle Eastern nation with an invasion, however the date of the invasion is unknown.


 * When Gaz is about to cut the power, Captain Price says (The audio) "Soap, get ready", but the subtitle says "Everyone else, get ready". This may suggest that the level was originally going to have a larger squad to start out with.


 * When Gaz cut the power and you go into the house and then back to the place where Gaz stood, he's not there anymore. He's standing on the balcony, even if it's impossible to get onto it at that time.


 * At the begining of the mission, a soldier stands on the bridge, when you take him out you hear a voice saying "Enemy down". Tough this voice does not sound like Gaz Or Price´s voice, asuming that it its ´Soap` who says it.