Death From Above (Call of Duty 4)

"This is going to be one hell of a highlight reel."

- AC-130 Navigator

 is the eighth level in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, in which the player controls an unnamed United States Air Force Thermal Imaging TV operator on an AC-130H Spectre.

Plot
Death From Above carries on from the previous mission, Hunted. The player, assuming the role of a gunner on an AC-130H Spectre, protects Captain Price and his team as they make their way through an enemy-controlled village, clearing out enemy defenses and offering some powerful close air support as the SAS commandos make their way to the extraction point by foot and by truck. Arriving at a local junkyard, the SAS team must hold off a considerable enemy assault with the aid of the Spectre until they can be rescued.

Tips

 * The 40mm Bofors gun is best for killing groups of enemies and vehicles as the explosion is small and controllable.


 * Careless use of the 105mm M102 howitzer can easily wound SAS characters, thus ending the mission. It is good for clearing buildings with enemies however.


 * Although the player's character cannot die on this level, he can still fail the mission by harming members of the SAS squad, firing on the church, or by firing on the drivers of the trucks the SAS squad "borrows".


 * Friendly solders and vehicle "strobe" or flash, unlike the enemies which will be a solid color. This is easier to see on WHOT mode.


 * WHOT and BHOT means which color is warm and which color is cool. In WHOT, warmer objects are brighter and cooler objects are darker. In BHOT, warmer objects are darker and cooler objects are brighter.


 * The AC-130H in this mission is actually an AC-130U, because the AC-130H doesn't have the 25 mm Gatling gun in real life.

Xbox 360 Achievements

 * Straight Flush is obtained by killing 5 enemies in one shot on this level.


 * Death from Above is obtained by completing this mission on any difficulty.


 * The Escape is obtained by completing both the previous mission and this one on Veteran difficulty.

Trivia

 * This is the only mission in which the full form of MacTavish is visible. He is one of the characters that must be protected.


 * In the end of the previous level; Hunted, when Captain Price calls for the AC-130, he designates the AC-130's callsign as "Warhammer", however in this level the AC-130 is designated by the callsign "Wildfire".


 * You ended the previous level Hunted with 5 soldiers in your party: Soap, Price, Gaz, Nickolai and a randomly named soldier that appeared out of nowhere. You left 3 dead at the crash site, Paulsen and the 2 pilots. You begin Death from Above with a party of eight soldiers running along the road to the extraction point. Somehow, from the beginning in Blackout, the group has doubled in size and a force that initially required one chopper (UH-60?) to evacuate now apparently requires two CH-46's.


 * This is the only mission where you hear the player´s character speak.


 * This mission is the easiest to complete on veteran, as it is impossible to die.


 * During the credits, you can watch the level being played out (possibly) by Infinity Ward.