Takedown (mission)

"He's getting away!" "No he's not!"

- Ghost and Soap, as Soap is about to tackle Rojas out a window.

Takedown is the fifth campaign mission in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. In the aftermath of No Russian, Task Force 141 follows a lead to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There, they intend to capture an associate of Vladimir Makarov: Alejandro Rojas, an arms dealer protected by the local militia. Initially unaware of his location, the task force eventually gains information on Rojas's whereabouts and move in to take him down.

Overview
The level begins with Roach, Soap, and an Australian/American Task Force Member together in a car in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. They tail a white van that makes a stop in front of a hotel. An associate of Rojas is approached by two local Gunmen from the van while he is being watched by Soap MacTavish, Roach, and other Task Force 141 members. He produces a Desert Eagle from a concealed location and kills the two gunmen at point-blank range, and a third that appears from the other side of the van. Rojas' assistant takes a rifle from one of the men he just shot and fires at the Task Force 141 members. Roach's driver is killed, while Roach quickly dives under the dashboard.

Rojas' assistant notices Ghost, Meat and Royce on the opposite side of the street and opens fire on them, causing many civilians to run away, this causes cars to also swerve and skid to avoid others causing a massive pile up at the cross roads, once the gunfire ceases, Soap runs ahead, followed by Roach and Ghost.

The five commandos chase Rojas's associate down the street and into an alleyway, where Soap instructs Roach to shoot him in the leg, after which the screen fades to black (shooting him anywhere else kills him, failing the mission). Shortly after, the screen fades back in again to show the captured assistant being prepared for interrogation. MacTavish instructs Royce, Meat and Roach to move on and capture Rojas. The squad ends up in a residential area, where the player must distinguish between civilians and hostile militia. The area acts as a very large maze, with militiamen hiding in every nook and cranny, some even climbing on top of the low roofs and running across makeshift bridges. Meat is killed by enemy gunfire, leaving only Roach and Royce. As Roach progresses, Royce is eventually overwhelmed and is shot as the militia surround him and Roach must go on alone. At one point Roach encounters an enemy machinegun nest that pins him down in an alleyway; the default weapon has an M203 attachment, allowing Roach to quickly take out the nest and advance to Rojas's stronghold.

The stronghold is a large multi-story building guarded by several militiamen on the roof. Rojas is visible at this point, with a large "capture" icon above his head. If Roach shoots even to wound him, it is a game over. Roach must pursue Rojas to the end of the level, where he runs into a building and holes himself up. Just when Roach and Ghost think he has gotten away, Soap dives out of a window, taking Rojas with him, and the two land on top of a car. Soap holds his sidearm on Rojas and reports that the target has been captured, ending the mission.

Enemy Intelligence

 * Intel No. 7: In the first favela area where you, Meat and Royce have to beat through after capturing Rojas' associate. It is located in a white building to the left of the motorcycle inside the kitchen below the Brazilian flag.
 * Intel No. 8: In the second favela area. Before heading up hill, look for a ladder on the wall leading to a red brick building. The intel is on the table inside.
 * Intel No. 9: After getting #8 and exiting the brick building, you can see on the opposite side of the road a building with some wooden stairs. The intel is next to the bed inside.
 * Intel No. 10: Near the end of the chase, you will come across another red brick building on your right after heading up some stairs and passing a burning green car. Inside that building, find a stair heading downwards. The intel is in the lower floor in between 2 beds.

Weapon Loadout
In this level, the player starts with an ACR with an ACOG Scope and M203 Grenade Launcher, and an M1014.

Opening Cutscene
Ghost: The Russians ain't gonna let this massacre go unanswered. It's gonna get bloody.

Captain MacTavish: Too right, mate. Now, in the eyes of the world, they're the victims. No one's gonna say a word when the Russians club every American they can reach.

Shepherd: Makarov was one move ahead. Now he's left thousands of bodies at the feet of an American.

Captain MacTavish: We're the only one's who know it was Makarov's op. Our credibility died with Allen. We need proof.

Shepherd: Follow the shell.

(The screen moves to Rio de Janerio, Brazil. Information about Alejandro Rojas and his assistant are shown)

Shepherd: Alejandro Rojas.

Captain MacTavish: Never heard of him, Sir.

Shepherd: You know him as Alex the Red. He supplied the assault.

Captain MacTavish: One bullet to unleash the fury of a whole nation. Which means...

Shepherd: He's our ticket to Makarov.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Roach, Captain MacTavish, and the Driver are inside a car, tailing a white van.

Captain MacTavish: Ghost, the plates are a match.

Ghost: Copy. Any sign of Rojas' right hand man?

Captain MacTavish: Negative. They've stopped twice already- no sign of him.

The van in front of the car stops.

Captain MacTavish: Wait, they've stopped again. Standby.

''Men get out of the white van and approach a building. Rojas' assistant walks out to greet them. The men in the van pull guns on Rojas' assistant. ''

Captain MacTavish: Got a positive ID! Whoever these guys are, they're not happy to see him.

''Rojas' assistant pulls out a Desert Eagle and fires on the two men who were talking to him. Another comes from behind the van and Rojas' assistant shoots him. ''

Captain MacTavish: Ghost, we have a situation here!

''Rojas' assistant turns and fires upon the car Roach and Captain MacTavish are in. ''

Captain MacTavish: Get down! Get down!

Roach and Captain MacTavish duck, but the bullet's hit the driver, whose dead body presses against the car horn.

Captain MacTavish: He's getting away! Roach let's go let's go!

Roach and Captain MacTavish jump out of the car and chase Rojas's assistant.

Captain MacTavish: Ghost, our driver's dead! We're on foot! Meet us at the Hotel Rio and cut him off if you can!

Ghost: Roger, I'm on my way.

''Roach and Captain MacTavish turn the corner onto a busy street with civilians. ''

Ghost: He went into the alley!

''Ghost joins Captain MacTavish and Roach as they chase after Rojas' assistant. ''

Captain MacTavish: Non-lethal takedowns only! We need him alive!

The team chases Rojas' assistant into the alley and turn, where they see Rojas' assistant about to get away.

Captain MacTavish: Roach- take the shot! Go for his leg!

Roach shoots Rojas' assistant in the leg, causing him to fall down.

Captain MacTavish: He's down.

''Later, Captain MacTavish and Ghost are seen interrogating Rojas' assistant in a garage. Ghost sparks car battery cables and turns to Rojas' assistant, who is tied to a chair. ''

Captain MacTavish: Roach, this is going to take some time. Go with Meat and Royce and check the favela for any sign of Rojas - that's where this guy was headed.

Roach, Royce, and Meat head towards the favela to search for Rojas.

Royce: Let's go. Remember - there are civilians in the favela. Watch your fire out there.

The team stops in front a fence with a small drop into the favela, where civilians are standing around.

Royce: Meat, get these civvies out of here.

Meat: Roger that.

''Meat fires his weapon into the air to get the civilians away from the area. ''

''The team begin to fight the militia that come to the favela. ''

Royce: Bravo Six, be advised - we've engaged enemy militia at the lower village. Roach! I'm with you! Watch the rooftops! Go!

After a while of fighting.

Captain MacTavish: Royce, gimme a sitrep, over!

Royce: Lot's of militia but no sign of Rojas over here, over!

Captain MacTavish: Copy that! Keep searching! Let me know if you see him! Out!

Royce: Roach! Move up! Let's go!

After a while of fighting, Meat dies.

Royce: Meat is down! I repeat, Meat is down!

After a while of more fighting in the lower favela, Royce dies as well.

Royce: Roach, I'm hit!

''Roach now has to fight through the favela by himself. ''

After clearing the lower favela.

Captain MacTavish: Roach - we've got Rojas' location! He's heading west along the upper levels of the favela. We'll keep him from doubling back on our side - keep going and cut him off at the top! There's no time for backup. You're gonna have to do this on your own. Good luck. Out.

''Roach heads west, up some stairs, and heads towards the upper favela. ''

''Roach fights and kills several dogs and militia. ''

Captain MacTavish: Roach - this is their territory and they know it well! Keep an eye open for ambush positions and check your corners!

Roach kills the remaining militia in the area, than heads up stairs towards the upper favela.

Captain MacTavish: Roach, watch the rooftops! We've had a few close calls with RPGs and machine guns positioned up high!

Captain MacTavish: Roach, we're taking heavy fire from militia here but I'm still tracking Rojas! He's gone into a building! Ghost, you see him?

Ghost: Roger that, he's climbing onto a roof carrying a black duffel bag!

Captain MacTavish: Well that ought to slow him down! Roach, we're keeping him from doubling back! Keep moving to intercept! Go! Go!

''After a while of Roach fighting militia on the rooftops and on the ground. ''

Captain MacTavish: Keep going! Rojas is still headed towards your side of the favela!

Ghost: Roach! Don't let the militia pin you down for too long! Use your flashbangs on them!

Captain MacTavish: I've lost sight of him again! Ghost, talk to me!

Ghost: I'm onto him! He's trying to double back through the alleys below!

Captain MacTavish: Roger that! Stay on him!

After clearing parts of the upper favela.

Ghost: I've got a got a visual on Rojas! He's cutting through the market!

Captain MacTavish: Roger that! I'll head for the rooftops and try to cut him off on the right! He's gonna have no choice but to head west!

Ghost: I'm taking a lot of fire from the militia, I don't think I can track him through the market! I'm gonna have to find another way around!

After a while of fighting through certain parts of the favela.

Ghost: Be advised, I'm about half a klick east of the market, I can see Rojas running across the rooftops on my right side!

Captain MacTavish: Roger that! Roach! We're still corralling him closer to your side of the hill! Keep an eye open for Rojas! He's making his way across the rooftops!

After taking out some militia in high windows, on roofs and in houses.

Ghost: Sir, I've got Rojas in my sights! We can go for a clean leg shot! We can end it here!

Captain MacTavish: Negative! We can't risk it! Do not engage!

Ghost: Bollocks! Roger that!

Captain MacTavish: Roach! Keep moving uphill! I've cut him off! He's got nowhere to go but west over the rooftops in your area! Roach, he knows the area well but we can trap him here! Don't stop! Go! Go!

After a pause as Roach clears the militia inside the houses and on the roofs.

Captain MacTavish: Roach! I've spotted Rojas, he's making a run for it! He's headed your way!

Rojas is seen on top of a nearby rooftop, running.

Captain MacTavish: And don't shoot him! We need him alive and unharmed!

Captain MacTavish: Roach, we're going to cut him off at the summit, keep pushing him that way! Go! Go!

''Roach climbs even with some rooftops, and takes out the militia there. ''

Captain MacTavish: Ghost he's going for that motorcycle! We've got eyes on Rojas - wait! Shite! he's headed back toward's you!

After a small pause.

Captain MacTavish: Nice! He's breaking to the right again! Roach, if you see him, don't shoot him! I need him unharmed!

Capain MacTavish: Roach, keep pushing him uphill! Don't let him double back! Roach! He's on the move and headed your way! Go! Go!

''After Roach clears the area near the summit! ''

Captain MacTavish: Ghost, I'm going far right!

Ghost: Roger that! He's gonna get away!

Captain MacTavish: No he's not.

''Roach arrives at the summit, with Rojas assistant at the top of a three story house. Suddenly Captain MacTavish breaks through the window, tackling Rojas onto a car.''

Captain MacTavish: Frontrunner, this is Bravo Six. We've got the package. I repeat we have got the package.

Ghost: Command, ready for dustoff. Send the chopper. Coordinates to fol- Bollocks! The skies are clear! Send the chopper now!

Ghost: Command's got their head up their arse. We're on our own.

Trivia

 * The militia in the level appears to be based on local gangsters, as the city of Rio is known to have a serious criminal element. They are supposed to be armed civilians, though their political affiliation with the Ultranationalists is unknown other than that Rojas, their weapons dealer, also does business with Makarov.
 * Ghost can be killed when you meet up with him at the start of the level, although you will get the same friendly fire message.
 * The second episode of Elite World Cops on Bravo (also known as Shadow Soldiers on the National Geographic Channel) deals with Rio's favelas, and the BOPE officers tasked with law enforcement.
 * Despite being from the city of Rio de Janeiro which is in the homonym state, the militia doesn't appear to have the according accent (sometimes they sound as if they are from the state of São Paulo). They also have a much greater language skill than the actual militia in real life (which does not speak English).
 * The hot weather gear that Task Force 141 wears in this operation looks almost civilian, i.e denim trousers and a short sleeve t-shirt, the only parts of the clothes that are militaristic are the vest, the kneepads, and the various holsters resembling private military contractors.
 * If you look in either of the rear-view mirrors in the car at the beginning of the stage you'll see they are actual just still frames, not true mirrors. The image does not change from the moment the level begins.
 * The manner in which Rojas' assistant executes the two soldiers trying to apprehend him at the beginning of the level may be a reference to a scene where Vincent executes two robbers in the film "Collateral," utilizing a double tap on the first man and a "Mozambique Drill" on the second.
 * In the car, there is a pistol concealed above the passenger's side visor. It appears to be an M1911. This is possibly because it is a modified re-use of the interior model from The Coup, which also featured a 1911 concealed in the sunvisor.
 * Oddly enough, Driver is seen having an Australian flag on his cap while he has an American flag on his shoulder, one explanation for this is that he may hold a Dual Australian/American Citizenship.
 * When you get out of the car, you can shoot civilian cars with the M203 and not get penalized for it.
 * The chase sequences of this level are reminiscent of the level The Sins of the Father, where you had to pursue Victor Zakhaev.
 * After Rojas' assistant runs away and before the player catches up with him, he can be heard firing upwards of twenty Desert Eagle rounds very rapidly. The only ways he could do this are by using two Desert Eagles with extended magazines, or by carrying several of them and throwing them away when they run out of ammunition, which is the most logical explanation.
 * The double doors used by Rojas' assistant close by themselves after you get out of the car at the start of the map, though you can go round the back past a swimming pool to get inside. If you jump into the pool, there will be no swimming animation, you'll just be under the water standing like you normally would, although, if you are quick enough, you can reach the upstairs of the building, but eventually it says Rojas' assistant has got away.
 * Rojas' assistant doesn't necessarily need to be shot in the leg. Hitting him in any vital area above the legs results in a message stating that you have killed Rojas' right-hand man and a reminder to use a non-lethal take-down. However, you can shoot him in the arms or his shoulders, but this is very difficult to pull off. Also, directly after that, when he is sitting in the chair, you can shoot him several times but nothing will happen.
 * After shooting Rojas's assistant in the leg, he will scream as if he was dead, as well as not breath after hitting the ground.
 * If you don't shoot Rojas' assistant when Soap tells you to "take the shot", he will continue running toward the favela. When he gets to the chain-link fence the player will receive the message about him getting away. However, since the player has unlimited sprint, it is possible to chase him all the way to this point and still receive the message that he escaped, despite being only a few feet away from him.
 * During the beginning of the level, although the car has an automatic transmission, the shift knob displays a manual transmission shift pattern.
 * While you are pursuing Rojas' associate you have unlimited sprint. It is then removed for the rest of the level. Because the player has unlimited sprint, and because Rojas' assistant (like all NPCs) must slow down to climb the stairs, it is actually possible to catch up with him and knife him in the back. This will, of course, result in failure.
 * Oddly enough, once Soap has captured Rojas' assistant and orders you, Meat and Royce to pursue Rojas, you can see Ghost preparing his equipment to torture the associate. The wires Ghost has in his hands if you move closer to them are connected to nothing, only thin air.
 * It is possible to shoot Rojas' assistant before he goes into the alley, though, you will have a very short window of time to do so. The best way to do this is to sprint all the way past Soap in the beginning of the chase scene, stand on the upper curb beside the black fence of the main street after Soap speaks to Ghost, and then you will have 3 seconds to aim and take down Rojas' assistant. Be careful of civilians who might get in your shot.
 * Akimbo Desert Eagles and Akimbo G18s can be found throughout the level. Considering both are rare to find in single player campaign, this might be the only time you can try these weapons out.
 * If you run ahead of Rojas' assistant, then shoot him in the leg, for the rest of the mission a single bullet will kill you.
 * At the end of the mission, if you shoot Rojas on the balcony, it will say "Mission Failed, you killed Rojas", although it's still possible to see Rojas running after shooting him.

Favela flats

 * Even after the player shoots Rojas' assistant, the player can see he is very much unharmed just prior to being tortured.
 * If the player looks up when they reach the favela, they can see the famous statue Christ the Redeemer, a statue of Jesus Christ, standing upon a hill far off in the distance. In Portuguese the statue is called "O Cristo Redentor". This is also the name of a Special Ops mission that takes place in the same favela.
 * If you fire your gun before Meat jumps down, you can scare away the civilians before he does.
 * The militia are mostly armed with FAL battle rifles, which are locally manufactured, though being phased out for more modern rifles. Their other weapons are imported, popular 'criminal' weapons such as the AK-47 and Mini-Uzi.
 * Sometimes the militia yell, "You shouldn't have came to the favela!" in somewhat flawed English. Also it is possible to hear them saying, "He went that way!" and hear another respond, "You never die do you."
 * The nature of the slums allows for very dynamic vertical gameplay; players will need to watch enemy movement from every direction, including from behind. There are a few opportunities for sneaking up on enemies lying in wait.
 * This mission can be extremely challenging on higher difficulties for a variety of reasons. Firstly, it is one of only a few levels in which you are alone for most of the intense combat. Also, enemies can come from almost anywhere and can easily take the player by surprise unless they are paying very close attention to their surroundings.
 * If the player moves fast and clears the first area of all enemies, it is possible to stop them from shooting Royce, but as soon as you move into the next area you will hear sniper fire and Royce will exclaim his usual script "Roach! I'm hit!".
 * If a grenade lands next to Royce that neither he nor the player can toss away in time, you can hear Royce shout that he's hit before the grenade goes off.
 * If the player noclips to the end of this section, they can hear the sniper fire go off. Royce and Meat do not die and are thus still invincible. It is also easier to kill the enemies this way. However, they will not follow you through the level, stopping where they are.
 * You can sprint trough this area on veteran by running the far right way and shooting 2 guys behind the doors while running.
 * It is impossible to save Meat and Royce. If they manage to follow you unharmed to the exit, they will still say their usual script and die.
 * When Royce is down, he will say "Roach, I'm hit!", indicating that he is still alive but his body goes into a dying animation. If he is incapacitated, he may still be alive. He may also be captured.

Favela slope

 * Dogs appear briefly within the slums, they are first visible behind a wire fence. When the dog jumps it is similar to when you encounter the dog behind the fence in One Shot, One Kill in the original Modern Warfare. The player can easily kill them to avoid having them jump on him.
 * In the area of the level where you encounter dogs, after clearing all enemies, you can look up at a window to the left and see a Brazilian civilian gesturing and waving. Strangely, if shot, the game won't penalize the player. This may be because he might be helping the militia by leading the player to an enemy on the right ready to ambush. This is seen better if you do not go the intended way as you will see the soldier looking around the corner with his back turned to the player.
 * Although Ghost says Rojas was carrying a duffel bag, when you see him for yourself, all he has is his rifle. He may have dropped the bag to make better speed, or was carrying the rifle in the bag to begin with.
 * When chasing Rojas, Ghost offers to "put one in his leg," similar to how Griggs offered to shoot Zakhaev's son in the leg, in the first Modern Warfare.
 * Both Rojas and his assistant are armed with AK-47s, but strangely enough, they will make no attempt to defend themselves with the guns. Though Rojas's assistant will shoot you with it if you manage to get in front of him.
 * The manner in which MacTavish tackles Rojas may be a reference to the film Fast and Furious, in which Paul Walker's character tackles a fleeing enemy onto a car in a similar fashion.
 * It seems funny that Soap insists upon not shooting Rojas in the legs to slow him down as they can't risk killing him, when near the end of the level Soap tackles the man out of a two story window into the roof of a car below. Such a fall likely would have broken his bones or even his neck, and the glass shards from the broken front window of the car would have spread all over the place from such an impact, a shot to the leg would be far less likely to kill a high profile target in need of capturing.
 * This level ends where "The Hornet's Nest" starts but a few things that are different are noticeable. The car that Soap attacks Rojas, is a different car, but is the same Green color. The trail you walk up has much less plant life than the next level, and the only thing past that trail is a radio tower and a shack. The shack is actually a building in the next level. Also, the staircase you walk up is blocked off now. Everything else seems to be the same.
 * If you can get ahead of Rojas on the rooftops, he will stop and stand there and do nothing just waiting with an AK-47 with money coming out of his bag, also the capture objective will still be on him. However when you get to last part of the mission he will reappear in the building so he can be taken down by Soap.
 * If you manage to just run through the level and reach the end faster than the developers planned, there will be noticeable script lag as events are triggered separately while scripts just continue one after the other. It is possible to have Ghost say "he's gonna get away" while Rojas is already pinned to the car with Soap on top of him.


 * The 141 member in the top right corner image could be Roach as no-one has long sleeves except for him and Ghost and their sleeves are the same colour.
 * It is quite easy to exit the map on this level and explore. Videos can be found on Youtube showing how to do this.


 * Exiting the map will allow the player to see buildings in the distance. Once they get up close enough, the player can see that all the buildings are really small, and very low detail, most likely because it is not intended for the player to go here. Also, shooting the water in the lake will cause it to splash. However, going into the water will cause the player to fall in blackness, forcing the player to restart. Another bug in this area is that all the cars are indestructible.

"Worldwide" trailer

 * During Infinity Ward's preview of this level, the track "Scorponok" from the Transformers Soundtrack can be heard as the background music up until when the player shoots Rojas' associate.
 * The "Worldwide" trailer features the scene where the two men come out to Rojas' assistant.
 * In the trailer, Rojas' assistant used a Desert Eagle on his assailants; two shots for the first guy, three for the second, and two shots to the head on the third guy that comes from behind the van in the game. He then fires eight more shots towards the player's car, killing the driver. A Desert Eagle only has a magazine of seven rounds; somehow he fires a total of 15 shots, he could be a fast reloader though.
 * The first gunman to approach Rojas's assistant carries a M1911 pistol. This is easier seen in the trailers. When he dies however he will drop a M9 or a M9 akimbo.
 * After you shoot Rojas' associate in the leg and capture, Ghost is seen getting ready to extract information from him. But strangely if you play the "Worldwide" trailer you will see someone else doing this. This person doesn't look like anyone in the strike team - it is thought that Roach and Ghost would go as a team through the slums making it much easier to pass this level. It is also possible that this person was simply a placeholder for Ghost, as the person they are interrogating in the trailer is not the associate. Furthermore, in the trailer Soap throws Rojas' assistant into the car.