- "Destroy the numbers station and kill Dragovich before Project Nova is initiated."
- — Briefing
- Nikita Dragovich: "You should've been my finest agent! It would've all been so much simpler!"
- Alex Mason: "It is simple. I'm gonna kill you!"
- — Dragovich and Mason before Mason kills Dragovich
Redemption is the fifteenth and final mission of Call of Duty: Black Ops. It is set upon a Russian ship, the Rusalka, and has Mason and Hudson attempting to stop Nova 6 from being unleashed in the USA.
Characters[]
- Alpha Squad
- Alex Mason (playable)
- Jason Hudson
- Yankee Team
- Maestas (Alive/K.I.A.) (player-determined)
- Drew (Alive/K.I.A.) (player-determined)
- Aziz (K.I.A.)
- Frank Woods (End Credits)
- Joseph Bowman (End Credits)
- Nikita Dragovich (K.I.A.)
- Viktor Reznov (heard only)
- Terrance Brooks (Voice Only)
- Friedrich Steiner (Cutscene Only)
- Lev Kravchenko (Cutscene Only)
- John F. Kennedy (Cutscene Only)
- Robert McNamara (Cutscene Only)
- Fidel Castro (Cutscene Only)
Level Briefing[]
Transmission # 9-19 Designate: X-RAY
Mason, Hudson, and Weaver headed to intercept Soviet Commercial ship Rusalka
Location: Gulf of Mexico
We believe the ship is transmitting the signal
0600 hours, February 26, 1968
Walkthrough[]
With only hours away from the scheduled Nova 6 gas release in US cities, and the potential ignition of World War III and Mutual Assured Destruction from a nuclear first strike by the USA against the USSR, Hudson leads forces on a heli-borne assault on the Rusalka to stop the broadcast. First, Mason pilots the Huey gunship to destroy the AA defenses on the ship. But the AA's start firing on the player's team so the player has to start taking out the defenses. Once the air defenses are neutralized, Weaver's team is inserted from the heli-pad. As the team attempts to make their way into the ship via entrance at the Rusalka's bow section, Mason and Hudson provide fire support for the team as they advance through the port side deck. Here, Mason is forced to destroy an Mi-24A. The fight cripples Mason's Huey, forcing him to make a crash landing at the heli-pad, nearly making the player go flying off the side, but luckily the player survives. Mason and Hudson advance through the starboard deck, dealing with a mass amount of foot soldiers and two Mi-8 HIPs using Valkyrie Rockets before venturing below deck.
Once they fight their way to the lower deck, they find the Rusalka is just the surface section, and that the real Numbers Station is underwater. After ordering Weaver to leave the Rusalka and calling in the Navy to sink it, Hudson and Mason swim to the underwater station to shut off the numbers transmission. After they gruesomely fight their way to the command center, Mason accesses the control console and shuts down the broadcast. Dragovich appears, and is about to shoot Mason when Hudson distracts him, allowing Mason to pull him off the walkway and drown him underwater.
With Dragovich finally dead, Mason and Hudson escape the crumbling underwater station by swimming to the surface, where they are greeted not only by Weaver but by a large US Navy battleships, air units, helicopters and patrol boats as well. Mason hears Reznov congratulating him as they swim to the surface. When they get back up to the surface, Weaver says to Mason "It is over. We won", to which Mason corrects him by saying, "For now..."
Ending Cutscene[]
Mason and Hudson surface to the American fleet. Weaver helps Mason onto a boat, proclaiming victory. Mason is unsure, haunted by his last conversation with Dragovich. The scene switches to a woman narrating seemingly random numbers. While this occurs, archival footage plays of John F. Kennedy arriving at Love Field in Dallas, Texas, shortly before his assassination. It shows Kennedy and his wife Jackie disembarking Air Force One, shaking hands with the supporters, and driving through the streets of Dallas. The footage then rewinds and the view shifts to the crowd gathered around the President's 1961 Lincoln Continental limo. The camera zooms in and reveals Mason as part of the crowd. Over this footage, Mason can be heard saying numbers and words related to the assassination, such as "11/22" (November 22, 1963, the date of the assassination), "Texas", the state the assassination took place in, and "6.5 Millimeter", referring to the caliber of bullets allegedly fired by Lee Harvey Oswald to kill Kennedy. Just as the cutscene finishes, Mason whispers the word 'Ascension'. The video adds speculation that Mason killed John F. Kennedy while still brainwashed by Dragovich and framed Oswald, or at least was directly involved in the murder. Afterwards, the credits roll, followed by the beginning cutscene of "Five".
Weapon Loadout[]
| Starting Loadout |
|---|
 |
| Found in level |
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Transcript[]
- Main article: Redemption/Transcript
Achievements/Trophies[]
- Closer Analysis (15
/ Bronze Trophy ) - Obtained by collecting all the Intel. - Double Whammy (15 / Bronze Trophy ) - Obtained by destroying the 2 helicopters with 1 Valkyrie missile.
- Burn Notice (25 / Silver Trophy ) - Obtained by beating "Rebirth" and "Redemption" on Veteran.
- Stand Down (35 / Silver Trophy ) - Obtained by beating the Campaign on any difficulty.
- BLACK OP MASTER (100 / Gold Trophy ) - Obtained by beating the Campaign on Hardened or Veteran.
/ Bronze Trophy 
) - Obtained by collecting all the Intel.
) - Obtained by beating "
) - Obtained by beating the Campaign on Hardened or Veteran.Intel[]
- Main article: Redemption/Intel
Gallery[]
Video Walkthrough[]
Trivia[]
- Reznov's name is misspelled "Victor Reznov".
- There are two notes on the helicopter's displays: one says that the fuel tank level indicator is faulty, while the other directly quotes the Book of Revelation on Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
- All of the friendly NPC's in the mission are at least ranked Corporal. This is likely to reflect how, in a serious mission like this, experienced soldiers are necessary.
- It is heavily implied in this level that Mason killed Kennedy while Lee Harvey Oswald was framed for the murder. During the final fight with Dragovich, Mason says "You tried to make me kill my own president!", to which Dragovich simply smiles and responds "Tried?!" The ending cutscene played after this mission also reveals that Mason was in the crowd during Kennedy's landing at the airport, reciting numbers related to the assassination.
- There is a non-playable character in this mission named Sgt. Pepper. This is a reference to the album and song "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles.
- As long as there is at least one Mi-8 remaining, the player has infinite ammo for Valkyrie Rockets.
- If the player keeps the Valkyrie Rockets after resurfacing inside the station, they can be fired down into the hole the player entered from. They can be controlled for a short while underwater. Also, this reveals that the underwater environment is actually 3D space to some degree.
- The helicopter sequence at the beginning of this level is totally cut from the Wii, starting from the point where Mason and Hudson jump out of the destroyed chopper. The Valkyrie Rockets are also replaced by a Strela-3 launcher.
- When Hudson talks in the helicopter, his lips don't move.
- Sometimes, while in the numbers station, a friendly soldier will generate with the same facial structure as Kravchenko. (Confirmed on Wii).
- The two helicopters that the player has to take down with the Valkyrie Rockets are immune to RPGs.
- Noclipping to the numbers station or the end scene when fighting on the ship will cause the screen to blink white and eventually the screen will stay white.
- The Hind in this level is not solid; if the player goes to the Hind while in the helicopter, it will pass through.
- The loading screen music from Verrückt can be heard when the ship begins to become flooded.
- Friendly Hueys are not solid objects.
- On the left side of the helicopter's dashboard one can see a peace symbol. Additionally, a note can be found on the dashboard, stating "Fuel warning light is faulty and may come on with a full tank. - Sgt. Jones".
- Dual wield, fully-automatic CZ75's can be found. This combination is only featured in the campaign since there can only be one attachment on secondaries in multiplayer.
- Although the player is prompted to press the buttons shown on-screen when choking Dragovich, there are no consequences for not doing so. The only difference is that it will merely take Mason longer to choke him to death.
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