Cliffhanger (mission)/Trivia

Climbing

 * At the start of the level the player can take out the ice picks before starting the climbing by pressing the switch weapons button/key. The Ice Picks can be used to melee, however the player will switch to other equipment before encountering the first enemy. If the player tries to melee Soap with the ice picks, they will just pass through him.
 * When the player has climbed to the top and is getting up from the cliff, Roach's shadow is visible. From this it is shown that he is wearing a beanie hat just like John "Soap" MacTavish is, however the shadow will disappear as soon as the player stands up.
 * At the start of the level it is possible to pass Soap on ice by just sliding past him. He will knock the player off the mountain when he starts climbing though.
 * It is possible to see Captain Price's M1911 in Soap's leg holster. Also, a heartbeat sensor is clearly seen on Soap's M14 before climbing, but it seems to disappear after climbing.
 * No matter where the player positions themselves before the first climb or where they land on the second, they'll cling onto a pre-set game path as they climb.
 * It is impossible to catch up with Soap as the player is climbing. Even if Soap is directly above them, if they attempt to climb, their character will look down at the icepick before climbing, and Soap will have suddenly gotten further up the mountain than he should be if he kept his current speed. This also happens when Soap disappears over the small bump in the mountain on the climb.
 * As with other large falls, it is possible to hear Roach scream by jumping off the cliff.
 * If the player misses the first jump, the quote "Nobody makes the first jump" appears, a direct reference to "Crew Expendable" and a reference to a line in The Matrix. The player would have to miss the cliff face entirely (by jumping to the right).
 * On the first jump, if you hesitate to jump when Soap does, he will start climbing, stop and wave to Roach to jump. He will keep doing that until Roach attempts the jump.
 * On the second climbing portion, if the player looks down as Roach reaches the top, the player can see only his arms cast shadows because he actually does not have a character model, just a model for his arms and icepicks.
 * On Veteran difficulty, when Roach misses the jump and starts sliding, the player must press the 'left icepick' button to hold onto the left ice pick. Otherwise the player will fall to an obvious death. This is not necessary in Recruit, Regular or Hardened where Roach automatically holds onto the left icepick until MacTavish can aid him.
 * Even if the player jumps before Soap, Soap will still save the player from falling.
 * If the player does not start climbing after Captain MacTavish rescues them, they will fall to their death and the quote "Hold on for dear life" appears on the screen instead of a usual death quote.
 * If the player looks down when walking the ridge they start on, it will appear they are walking on thin air.
 * If the player jumps off the cliff at the beginning of the level, they can sometimes hear Soap saying "Break's over, Roach. Let's go," even though he fell off the cliff.
 * If the player jumps right after Soap and hold on with your left hook, they will see him crouch on the ice wall, without falling. This is a glitch.
 * If the player presses the melee button while holding the ice picks both ice picks will swing.
 * If you're not quick enough with your ice picks whilst climbing, you will fall to your death.
 * Soap's name will disappear as soon as the jet passes by.

Approach

 * Should the player decide to not shoot either of the two-man guard patrols after climbing up, Soap will do it while chastising you for not helping out, saying "I guess I have to do everything?" (A possible reference to Call of Duty 4, where the player as Soap, had to do almost every major action). The second time, he is a bit more agitated and replies with "This would be a lot easier if you helped."
 * Should the player instead kill both guards, Soap will give his standard lines as though the player had taken them down together as normal. On other occasions he will not say anything at all, and continue as if nothing happened.
 * If the player were to go ahead of Soap and shoot one of the enemies in the second pair, and damage but not kill the other, Soap will kill him and say "This is the reason we brought silencers."
 * If the player attempts to kill his guy with the USP .45, Soap will say, "That was sloppy."
 * If the player kills a lone target before Soap snipes it, he will say "Then again, maybe not." or "Ah, you got 'em." or "Never mind."
 * If the player picks up any dropped weapon, Soap will warn about using unsilenced weapons (which applies to every non-player weapon). "Be careful about picking up enemy weapons, Roach. Any unsuppressed firearms will attract a lot of attention."
 * This is the only mission where the player can encounter a BMP, by walking deeper into base. After planting the C4, Soap will say "I'm detecting large heat signatures, could be BMPs, I'd avoid that area". The player will not be able to plant C4 on it. If the player gets too close to the BMP, Soap will say "That BMP's got thermal sights! Get the hell out of there!". The reason for it not being a BTR, an equivalent that appears in the rest of the game is that this level was rushed for the E3 Demo and that the BTR model was still being editted whilst the BMP appeared in Modern Warfare and so that was used in it's place for this mission only.
 * If there are alerted guards searching for the player, the game will not auto-save.
 * If the player reaches the fueling station fast/early, sometimes Soap's script will mix around out of order.
 * If the player does not kill or alert any enemies while sneaking through the base to the fueling station (besides the four that are killed in the beginning), they will receive the Ghost Achievement/Trophy, and MacTavish will comment, "No kills, no alerts. Impressive, Roach."
 * If the player blows up a truck without alerting the guards, MacTavish will comment, "Wow, I wonder if they'll notice a flaming wreck in the middle of the road", and the subtitles say, "Gee, I wonder if they'll notice a flaming wreck in the middle of the road."
 * If the player heads to the rendezvous quickly enough Soap's silhouette can be seen running towards the alley.
 * No matter how quickly the player gets to the rendezvous, MacTavish will always win the 'race'.
 * Before entering the base on your own, Soap will say, "You'll be a ghost in this blizzard, so the guards won't see you until you're very close." However if the guards are alerted, enemies will be able to see the player and shoot them from a distance regardless of the blizzard.
 * There are some places where at a distance the guards can see you.

Hangar

 * In the hangar next to the one with the ACS module in it, there are two blips on the Heartbeat Sensor. If the player looks through a small gap in the large hangar door, there is someone working on a MiG-29 and another person who is barely visible at the back of the hangar. Both of these people can be killed normally, but they will not react when wounded. They also won't react if the player smashes the rear window with his/her knife to get the intel inside.
 * If you shoot Soap while he is working on the satellite, the bullets will pass right through him. Also, if you shoot him after their cover is blown and Roach is told to surrender, the same thing will happen, but the soldiers will then open fire and the message 'Captain MacTavish was executed' is shown.
 * If the player gets seen on the way to the hangar and leads guards to the area where Soap is hiding, he will comment, "Brought some friends with you?"
 * Once you enter the hangar, the ice covering Roaches goggles seems to melt away.
 * When Roach meets up with Soap at the hangar, he is carrying an AK-47 with no attachments. Oddly, he appears to have swapped this weapon for his M14 EBR, which contradicts what he tells Roach about unsuppressed firearms. It is possible, though unlikely, that he picked up the AK-47 for "Plan B".
 * In the opening to "Wolverines!", it is seen that the ACS module is part of the US' Attack Characterization System, which would normally give accurate early warning of impending assaults based on satellite intelligence. Because the Russians were able to crack this module, they were able to spoof the rest of the system long enough to carry out their invasion. It is possible the satellite crashed somewhere near the area which would explain why it is there in the first place.
 * If you pick up the ACS module while changing weapons, then hit last checkpoint from the pause menu your ACR will have every attatchment mixed together, example both the shotgun and M2O3 will appear on the bottom, this proves difficult as the thermal scope dosen't work so you can't see down the sights. They will disappear when you activite the Heartbeat sensor. (Confirmed for PS3.)
 * If Roach shoots the guard before MacTavish assaults him, MacTavish will stop and take up a shooting stance, even if the guard is dead. The sounds of Soap taking down the guard and stabbing him are still heard.
 * The guard in the hanger starts to bleed before Soap stabs him.

Cover blown

 * If Roach isn't close enough to Soap when he gets captured, Soap won't tell him to activate Plan B and he will be shot dead.
 * The multiplayer Task Force 141 defeat theme plays during Petrov's countdown, until Roach detonates the C4.


 * Soap will be shot if Roach arms a grenade, before detonating the C4.


 * When the player looks at the Heartbeat Sensor when Soap becomes compromised, the soldiers appear to just spawn in the hangar.


 * In the hangar, after detonating the C4, the player can pick up a FAMAS rifle that has the same "white tape camouflage" as the FAMAS available in the "Museum" level.


 * The hangar part of this mission is possibly a reference to "Goldeneye", when one of the two men (Soap/006) gets captured by Soviets in an Arctic air base, and are to be executed after a countdown, resulting in a very large explosion as the hero/good guys escape over a large ravine.


 * It is impossible to kill the Russian soldier on the snowmobile that Soap eventually kills with his ice pick.


 * Even if Roach shoots a silenced weapon Soap will be executed.
 * Even if the player manages to eliminate all enemy at the base before sliding down the hill, the enemies will still appear at the top of the slope shooting down once the player slides down the hill.
 * It is possible to jump to the helicopter's wings by jumping on the jeep right next to it. However it is impossible to jump on the fighter jets (If the MiG is not destroyed).
 * The BMP cannnot be destroyed.
 * If you jump down to Soap and detonate the C4, the enemies will turn around but will still shoot at you.

Snowmobile

 * As Soap and Roach slide down the incline right before getting on the snowmobiles, there are Russians standing atop the incline shooting down. This is a reference to MacGyver.
 * If the player gets on the snowmobile and just so happens to hit Soap with it when driving off, the message "MacTavish was run over." is displayed.
 * When the player takes out two of the three snowmobiles that appear on the hill, another one spawns just as the player sees Soap kill the third.
 * The player is able to reload their Glock 18 on the snowmobile with one hand while driving away from enemies with the other.
 * When the player is close to jumping over the giant gap at the end of the level, they will hear the music from the level "Crew Expendable" of the first Modern Warfare, when Soap was about to jump into the helicopter.
 * If the player were to hit the brakes on the snowmobile hard just before the large jump, it is possible to end up in a spot inches from the end of the cliff in which the player cannot move.
 * While driving the snowmobile down the large hill at the end, hitting Soap's snowmobile from behind will kill the player and send them flying.
 * If the player is killed when driving up a large hill, the camera will still go over the jump.
 * The player does not seem to have a Glock 18 until he gets on the snowmobile, although the G18 could have been in the Snowmobile already.
 * When at extraction, Kilo Six-One will say "We're at bingo fuel," but the subtitles say, "We're getting close to bingo fuel."
 * It is possible to drive the snowmobile up the extracting helicopter. After jumping over the chasm, drive towards the left side of the field instead of going straight. The player should come across an area of tree stumps. Drive over the tree stumps and then aim towards the helicopter and they should be able to enter it.
 * Just before boarding the helicopter the player can see that the extraction teams character models are that of the Marines in Russia in Call of Duty 4.
 * This part was referenced in the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 mission "No One Gets Left Behind", in a conversation between two characters in a quad-bike race.
 * There seems to be what looks like an iPod attached to the snowmobile.
 * If the player stopped the snowmobile and drove back up the hill the helecopter chasing the player would stop at the top and shoot if the player tried to go back up.
 * The pilots of Kilo Six-One appear to be the same as the soldiers inside the helicopter.

Miscellaneous

 * Oddly enough, the player's ACR has 3 attachments, instead of the 2 limit as in Multiplayer. The player has a Red Dot Sight, Heartbeat Sensor, and Suppressor.
 * "Time Trial", "Acceptable Losses" and "Race" are Special Ops missions that are based off of this level, where the player must race on a snowmobile to a finish line or plant different explosives around the base.
 * This is one of two campaign levels the Mi-24 appears in, but in this one, it cannot be destroyed.
 * In the intro, General Shepherd says the Task Force are retrieving the ACS Module, but only Roach and Soap are in the mission, along with a small team to cover the extraction helicopter.
 * In the E3 2009 demo, the player's objective is to download data from a computer but, in the final version of the game it is to retrieve the ACS module which are both on the same table. Also in the demo, Soap has a timid British accent rather than a loud Scottish one. This could mean that in conceptual stages Soap was British or Infinity Ward hired an uncredited British actor for the demo before hiring the true cast (Kevin McKidd voices Soap in the final version).
 * This is one of only three times the player can see the CH-46 Sea Knight in Modern Warfare 2, and the only one where it is used as an extraction vehicle.
 * How the Sea Knight got so close to the airfield without being noticed is not specified. In addition, the Mi-24 that assaults Roach and MacTavish ceases to chase them down the ravine, when it would much more likely follow them and subsequently discover the CH-46.
 * Tian Shan, the location of this level, means Sky Mountain in Mandarin.
 * Back during the E3 2009 demo, the tactical knife on the silenced USP .45 that Roach has as a sidearm looked like the Call of Duty 4 melee knife instead of the normal Modern Warfare 2 knife, and slashed the knife instead of stabbing with it.
 * The player gets an extra 90 to 120 rounds in this mission.
 * In multiplayer and every other time when the player has an ACR, the upper receiver, check piece, and magazine are painted when camo is equipped, along with the scopes and the heartbeat sensor; however, the ACR in this mission is all black with Arctic camo, painted red dot sight and heartbeat sensor, along with the ACR's whole body being painted at a 45° angle with light blue and dark blue, then white, being painted just on the body in a tiger stripe way, with everything else, such as, the whole stock and magazine, being plain black.
 * When you get to the CH-46 for extraction you can see the Force Recon Marines from CoD4 coming out of the helicopter.
 * Many comparisons can be drawn between "Crew Expendable" from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * 1) Both missions begin with the team leader (John Price and John "Soap" MacTavish respectively) smoking a cigar, then flicking it away, in Price's case into the water, in Soap's over the cliff's edge.
 * 2) As mentioned above, the scene in which Roach loses his grip with the ice picks can be compared to when Soap nearly falls out of the helicopter in Crew Expendable
 * 3) Soap shares a notably similar appearance to Price in this mission, and is markedly different than his appearance in the rest of the missions in Modern Warfare 2.
 * This was the first level of the game revealed, played by Infinity Ward's Jason West back at E3 2009. Early reports gave the mistaken impression that the game had multiple routes through levels, due to Soap's mention of "Plan B".
 * Due to the nature of the level, the ACR may just have snowy buildup instead of a unique camouflage.
 * When Soap talks over radio, his lips aren't moving. In addition, the swarming hostiles and Major Petrov didn't even notice Soap communicating to Roach by radio. This can be explained if Soap was using a throat-mic, so no motion of the mouth is needed, only of the voice-box. In fact if you look at Soaps neck, you can see a gadget on it, very likely to be a throat microphone.
 * In the early development of the level, Captain Price was scheduled to be with the player and the player would control Soap, rather than Roach.
 * Strangely enough, Petrov knows that Roach is upstairs when he and his men apprehend Soap. It could be possible that Roach or Soap were spotted when they were heading to the hangar. It is also possible that he assumed that Soap would have a partner with him, remembering the rule "no man fights alone."
 * In the intro for this level, Shepherd says that the Task Force is on a mission recovering the ACS. There were more raids, the locations of which are shown in the beginning of "No Russian". One was in a forest, another in a mine and another in a village.
 * The name of this level is a reference to the Sylvester Stallone movie Cliffhanger, which involves him as a rock climber trapped at a Ski lodge controlled by terrorists.
 * The name of this level is also a play on the words "cliff hangar" because of the fact that the player is infiltrating a hangar on the edge of a cliff, hence the name.
 * In the launch trailer for the game, Soap appears to be executed instead of Roach going to plan B.
 * Soap's M14 EBR has a sniper scope on it, rather than a Thermal Scope.
 * The ACR the player starts with has 780 rounds in the beginning. In every other level, the ACR can only have 630 spare rounds, excluding "Just Like Old Times" where an ACR that sports 1260 rounds in reserve can be obtained.
 * Throughout Battlefield: Bad Company 2, many references are made to Cliffhanger. This would be apparent because when DICE would be making the game, Infinity Ward had released the level Cliffhanger as part of a E3 (Autumn/Winter) Demo, and it would be the only level known about at that time.
 * In the 2009 E3 demo, intel 2 does not appear.