Special Ops

Special Ops (often abbreviated as "Spec Ops") is a game mode in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Special Ops Theme

It includes several fast-paced missions in the spirit of Mile High Club from Modern Warfare. They are not always related to the main storyline, although many of the locations used are from campaign levels. The missions can be played solo, split screen or online with a friend. In Modern Warfare 2, there are 23 Special Ops missions distributed over five categories: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and Echo. These categories contain missions that will gradually increase in difficulty, requiring successful play (gaining stars) from previous missions to unlock more difficult ones. In Modern Warfare 3, a new mode called "Survival Mode" was added on in addition to the returning missions mode.

Overview
According to Infinity Ward, the two-player co-op mode in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will last as long as the singleplayer campaign, which has been described as approximately six hours long. It will feature some unique on-rails segments and locales in addition to the classic run 'n' gun formula of the Call of Duty series.

Stephen Totilo attended a preview event, stating about the mode that "Even more tantalizing [than the campaign] was talk of the mysterious Special Ops mode, a batch of co-op missions that will last as long as the game's singleplayer campaign. Bowling said that the developers didn't think co-op gameplay would work throughout the game's campaign, so they chose to pull sections out, remix them and make some new missions, all tailored for co-op, and dub it Special Ops. Examples Bowling provided were a snowmobile race, a water-based fight alongside Navy SEALs, or a fight against a rush of 50 enemies."

Missions are unlocked in a progressive, non-linear order. There are five difficulty groups of missions: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. All except the Alpha missions are locked when first playing. To unlock more missions, the player must earn stars by completing missions on different difficulties or meeting certain requirements. Regular nets one star, Hardened nets two stars, and Veteran nets three. There are 69 stars total, meaning that there are 23 levels total. A few levels are based on familiar singleplayer campaign levels, while others are completely original to Special Ops. The levels themselves have content unique to Special Ops; an enemy called the Juggernaut, for example, who wears heavy armor and is difficult to kill.

All missions are available to play cooperatively with another player, and two missions, "Overwatch" and "Big Brother", can only be played with two players.

Reveal
At GamesCom 2009, a behind-closed-doors demo was given in which a level called Breach & Clear was revealed. In the level the player must fight through an abandoned Soviet Gulag and reach the exit through a hole in the shower room. The player can select from a number of weapons in the first room before breaching the wall.

Behind the Scenes
The Special Ops mode was created after Infinity Ward attempted to insert co-op into the main singleplayer campaign mode. Infinity Ward said that they wanted to keep the two man feeling from All Ghillied Up; to have each others backs and cover each other and work together to complete the objective. They found that attempting to make singleplayer missions co-op compatible was less fun than a regular singleplayer mode and broke the feeling of immersion they were going for. However, instead of scrapping a co-op mode entirely, they created Special Ops mode. This also allowed them to add new levels that were interesting but didn't fit into the singleplayer campaign's storyline.

Special Ops Levels
All descriptions of these levels are taken from the in-game descriptions of the Special Ops levels.

Alpha
''Predator Drones, favela gangs, sniper rifles and stealth. These Ops are short and sweet.''

The Pit
''Clear all of the enemy targets as fast as possible. Shooting civilians will prevent you from getting 3 stars.''


 * Est. Opposition: None
 * Classification: Assault
 * Est. Completion Time: 1:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 00:22.55

Sniper Fi
Use sniper rifles, claymores and Predator Drones to hold off waves of enemies.


 * Est. Opposition: Light
 * Classification: Wave Defense
 * Est. Completion Time: 4:00.00
 * IW Best Time: 01:55.50

O Cristo Redentor
''Hunt down and eliminate the Favela gang. Minimize Civilian casualties.''


 * Est. Opposition: Light
 * Classification: Elimination
 * Est. Completion Time: 2:30.00


 * IW Best Time: 01:16.20

Evasion
Use silenced sniper rifles and cunning to slip past the enemy patrols.


 * Est. Opposition: Light
 * Classification: Stealth
 * Est. Completion Time: 3:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 00:43.65

Suspension
Push through the invading forces on the bridge to reach the safe zone.


 * Est. Opposition: Medium
 * Classification: Assault
 * Est. Completion Time: 3:30.00


 * IW Best Time: 00:53.00

Bravo
''AC-130 gunships, snowmobile races, and Vulcan miniguns with explosive ammo. Something for everyone.''
 * Earn 4 stars to unlock.

Overwatch
Rain death from above using an AC-130 gunship to protect your partner.


 * Est. Opposition: Light
 * Classification: Timed Escort
 * Est. Completion Time: 1:30.00


 * IW Best Time: 00:35.45


 * Two Players Required

Body Count
''Rack up a large enough body count. Quick kills earn larger bonuses.''


 * Est. Opposition: Medium
 * Classification: Elimination
 * Est. Completion Time: 2:30.00
 * IW Best Time: 00:21:57

Bomb Squad
Race through the Favela marketplace defusing the explosives before its too late.


 * Est. Opposition: Medium
 * Classification: Timed Assault
 * Est. Completion Time: 2:30.00


 * IW Best Time: 01:14.20

Race
Speed your snowmobile down the mountain, dodging trees, rocks, and thousand foot drops.


 * Est. Opposition: Minimal
 * Classification: Driving
 * Est. Completion Time: 1:30.00
 * IW Best Time: 01:05.00

Big Brother
''Explosive ammunition, Vulcan Minigun, Blackhawk Helicopter. Clear the way.''


 * Est. Opposition: Medium
 * Classification: Timed Escort
 * Est. Completion Time: 3:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 01:25.90


 * Two Players Required

Charlie
''Time trials, explosive breaches, boneyards and enemies in Ghillie Suits. Things are getting a bit tougher.''
 * Earn 8 stars to unlock.

Hidden
Evade enemy patrols and Ghillie Snipers near Chernobyl.


 * Est. Opposition: Medium
 * Classification: Stealth
 * Est. Completion Time: 4:30.00


 * IW Best Time: 01:45.60

Breach & Clear
Smash through enemy defenses in the Gulag and escape.


 * Est. Opposition: Heavy
 * Classification: Assault
 * Est. Completion Time: 1:30.00


 * IW Best Time: 00:14.10

Time Trial
''Launch your snowmobile across the chasm before time runs out. Hit the flag gates to get extra time.''


 * Est. Opposition: Light
 * Classification: Timed Driving
 * Est. Completion Time: 1:30.00


 * IW Best Time: 01:07.00

Homeland Security
''Sentry guns, Thermal sights, Rocket launchers and Claymores. Defend yourself from five difficult waves of attackers.''


 * Est. Opposition: Heavy
 * Classification: Wave Defense
 * Est. Completion Time: 11:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 07:31.20

Snatch & Grab
''Battle Shadow Company and Juggernauts in the airplane graveyard. Grab the intel and escape to the extraction point.''


 * Est. Opposition: Medium
 * Classification: Assault
 * Est. Completion Time: 3:30.00


 * IW Best Time: 01:22.40

Delta
''Blizzards, airports, estates and bridges. Five challenging Ops.''
 * Earn 20 stars to unlock.

Wardriving
''Laze targets for the Stryker armored vehicle. Battle in the 'burbs house to house, room to room.''


 * Est. Opposition: Heavy
 * Classification: Assault & Defend
 * Est. Completion Time: 9:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 3:25.25

Wreckage
Use C4, grenade launchers, RPGs, sentry guns, semtex and more to destroy every vehicle on the bridge.


 * Est. Opposition: Medium
 * Classification: Vehicle Killspree
 * Est. Completion Time: 3:30.00


 * IW Best Time: 01:40.40

Acceptable Losses
Sabotage the remote airbase with your silenced weapons and heartbeat sensor.


 * Est. Opposition: Medium
 * Classification: Stealth
 * Est. Completion Time: 7:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 00:48.15

Terminal
Pummel your way through enemy riot shield ambushes.


 * Est. Opposition: Heavy
 * Classification: Assault
 * Est. Completion Time: 4:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 00:36.40

Estate Takedown
Eliminate Ghillie Snipers, Elite Mercenaries, and Juggernauts guarding the estate.


 * Est. Opposition: Medium
 * Classification: Elimination
 * Est. Completion Time: 9:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 02:59.60

Echo
''An oil rig and a favela full of Juggernauts. These Ops are fast and brutal.''
 * Earn 40 stars to unlock.

Wetwork
Breach and clear two deadly rooms full of enemies and hostages to capture the oil rig.


 * Est. Opposition: Massive
 * Classification: Assault
 * Est. Completion Time: 5:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 03:10.30


 * Slow-mo Breach

High Explosive
Kill all ten Juggernauts using only explosives and a knife.


 * Est. Opposition: Massive
 * Classification: Elimination
 * Est. Completion Time: 6:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 02:47.70


 * Explosives & Knives Only

Armor Piercing
Kill all fifteen Juggernauts on the oil rig.


 * Est. Opposition: Massive
 * Classification: Elimination
 * Est. Completion Time: 7:00.00


 * IW Best Time: 04:12.25

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Special Ops reappear in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and will include Survival Mode, where the player must survive against increasingly difficult waves of enemies. Survival Mode can also be played on all multiplayer maps. Spec Ops will also provide objective-based challenges similar to those in Modern Warfare 2. It will support up to two players, both online and split screen, and will now have its own matchmaking system.

Mission Mode
These missions are split into 4 tiers of 4 missions, each tier requiring a specific rank level in Spec Ops to access. All missions, except for Stay Sharp and Charges Set, have 3 levels of difficulty to choose from. Missions marked with (*) must have two players in order to be played.

Unlocked at start: '''Unlocked at Lvl. 5: Unlocked at Lvl. 10: Unlocked at Lvl. 15:'''
 * Stay Sharp
 * Milehigh Jack
 * Over Reactor
 * Hit and Run
 * Toxic Paradise
 * Firewall*
 * Fatal Extraction
 * Hostage Taker
 * Charges Set
 * Resistance Movement
 * Little Bros
 * Invisible Threat
 * Server Crash
 * Smack Town
 * Flood the Market
 * Fire Mission*

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 * In the level "Breach & Clear," there is an M14 EBR without a Sniper Scope sitting on a box.
 * Special Ops is the only time in Modern Warfare 2 that the player character speaks.
 * In the mission "Hidden," there is a glitch where the player can go outside of the map. The player will be in many parts of the Call of Duty 4 level, "One Shot, One Kill."

Miscellaneous

 * Both players cannot die at the same time. If one grenade rolls next to them, one will always survive the blast.