The name and plot may be a reference to the novel Black Hawk Down, in which the Rangers have captured some leaders of a militia, then must make it out of the "Hornet's Nest" that is a Somali marketplace, in this case a Brazilian marketplace. They are also being followed by every villager with some sort of weapon as Nikolai notes. ("My friend, from up here it looks like the whole village is trying to kill you.") This is true in BHD as well.
At the beginning, Alejandro Rojas is nearby, bound to a metal fence. He is still alive at this point, but can be killed by the player with no penalty. Beside him on a table there is the car battery which is seen in "Takedown".
The car battery used to torture Rojas is connected at both terminals, which would suggest Rojas should be being shocked. However, the TF 141 may have drained the battery, which would explain why it has no effect.
It was possible there was an intended torture scene with the player torturing Rojas, as there is a power drill on a table next to him and located in the games files (found on PC), is the remnants of a cut weapon called "powerdrill" and was probably cut for being to graphic and would go over the "M" rating.
After the first firefight, if the player goes back to where Rojas was tortured, mysteriously, he won't be there anymore.
One of the starting allies is called Rocket. This is probably a reference to the main character of the 2002 Brazilian movie City of God, which is also set in Rio de Janeiro.
At the beginning of the level, Rocket and Chemo are always the first two randomly created soldiers of the squad escaping.
Oddly, the ACR Grenadier w/ ACOG and M1014 the player had in Takedown are gone.
It is a possiblity that your ACR Grenadier w/ ACOG and M1014 are gone baecause they are out of ammo and that is all Task Force 141 could scrape together.
The Brownings on the Technicals are able to aim low enough to shoot the roof of the truck. The truck will take damage from this and explode within 20 or so rounds.
If the truck is to explode, it will fire massive amounts of shrapnel in all directions.
At one point in the beginning, there is a Militia member that pulls a maroon tarp to get a better shot at the player. This event is similar to when the Ultranationalists are pulling the tarp off the SAM site in "The Gulag" and "Of Their Own Accord". Even if you kill him, the tarp will still be pulled off.
Market
A M79 Thumper and Winchester Model 1887 can be located in the building named "Pelayo's," which apparently is an ice-cream eatery and a reference to the Cobra pilot from the last game. These particular weapons are a homage to the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
It is possible for either Rocket or Chemo to survive on Recruit. It is easier to save Rocket because Chemo is usually killed near the beginning. It may involve going to the last checkpoint if they die.
If the player watches one of the planes taking off they will notice it disappears after a few seconds and leaves two small blimps in the sky, this happens every time.
There is a Desert Eagle located near the Pelayo's ice-cream eatery.
It is possible to get ahead of MacTavish when running across the roofs, in which case he will not be seen attempting to catch Roach when he falls.
If the player jumps at exactly the right time, a little faster than Soap, the player may see Soap in mid-air performing the jump, and another Soap reaching for the player as scripted. While tumbling, the player may see the Soap that was previously jumping, reach for them a second time.
If the player doesn't attempt to make the first jump they can see Soap, the Task Force 141 soldier, and Ghost jump and land. Soap and the Task Force 141 member pull out their sidearms while Ghost is still holding his beginning weapon. This is because the soldiers dropped their weapons when running across the rooftops.
Soap doesn't actually drop his M4A1, he slings it over his shoulder.
After Roach falls down to the streets, and while he is running to find a way to the rooftops, the player will see gunshots fly through Roach's side, but if the player looks behind him, nobody is there.
If the player does not attempt the impossible jump, they can observe an M4A1 on the ground.
If the player does not attempt the impossible jump, they may sink through the floor.
After the player falls, they cannot use any weapons or items, but they also run faster than usual. The weapons that Roach originally wielded have disappeared. This is probably because the added weight of the equipment is removed.
If the player looks to the right, they will see a group of enemies. If the player runs past them, they can fall outside the level through this unfinished area.
When Roach slides down the roof at the end and smash the window, even if the player only had say 1 second on the clock when Roach smashed the window he/she will be granted with another 10 seconds.
The player can jump and miss the Pave Low's ladder.
If the player is hurt while in the last unarmed run, the "hurt" message will say "You are hurt, run for your life!" rather than, "Get to cover!"
MacTavish says "Jump for it!" before the player jumps off of the roof and grabs the ladder. This could be an homage to the level "Crew Expendable," as an ally says the same thing as Soap jumps for the chopper.
During the jump in which Roach falls off of the roof, the player can save time by simply running off of the roof.
Though the O Cristo Redentor statue seems to have disappeared, it is actually farther right of the player's view when jumping to the Pave Low.
No matter at which position the player jumps, Roach will always land on the same rung of the ladder attatched to Nikolai's Pave Low.
Although the pilot in the Pave Low is Nikolai, it does not actually use Nikolai's character model and appears to be a completely different person. Also, if players look closely, they will see that Soap's mouth moves when Nikolai says "Where to, my friend?"
After the player falls from the rooftops, there is an M4A1 with an ACOG scope and a grenade launcher several feet to the right of the player. It can be picked up and used, but when the player switches from the M4A1 to bare hands, the game will say "no weapon selected." This is the only known instance in which this occurs.
When Soap goes back to try and catch Roach, it bears a resemblance to when Soap saved Roach from falling off the cliff in Cliffhanger.
This part of the level is similar to a scene in the movie The Bourne Ultimatum, where Jason Bourne is chased by enemies while running across rooftops.
It is possible, after failing the impossible jump, to walk to the Pave Low without being shot or running out of time on easier difficulties.
There is a very rare occurence, when Nikolai does not say his lines after Soap says "ETA 20 seconds be ready for immediate dust-off." Probably, to make this happen your armament must be an Akimbo ranger and Mini Uzi.
It is possible to run past the Militia that come for Roach at the start of the chase and fall off the edge of the map. (Although the player will die after falling approximately 8000 meters.)
On the impossible jump, if the player jumps before MacTavish, they will simply fall, but if the player jumps after him, MacTavish will turn around, fall onto his knees and swing an arm to try and grip Roach. However he will always fail.
Easter eggs
Near the beginning of the level, where one of the enemy trucks would first circle the map for one lap before stopping, there is a small row of poppy plants towards the right corner of the map. If the player walks into them and goes behind a building, they will find a former "hideout" of a child. There is a tall crate with a teddy bear sitting atop a drawing of different sized hands. Next to the crate is a soccer ball and an ice cream cup (likely from Pelayo's) and on the wall is a movie poster for a movie called "Porter Justice". Porter Justice is also featured in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and other Modern Warfare 2 levels.
Right after Nikolai's Pave Low leaves for the first time there is a laundromat (Lavanderia) with what appear to be faces of the game developers on the walls.
There are posters that have an Infinity Ward logo, a number 23, a photo (in low resolution) of a man with a microphone, and the name Griggs.
In the marketplace with all of the chickens, there is a television on the wall to the left from where the player enters the market. Shooting the screen will reveal a teddy bear inside.
Miscellaneous
The music heard at the end of the mission, while Roach hangs from the helicopter is the victory music for the Militia in multiplayer. This is appropriate, considering the Militia has held their ground and the enemy is retreating.
The Model 1887 appears multiple times in this level. It appears in this level, Takedown, and Loose Ends
The news feed featured in the opening intermission are made of parts of the world reveal trailer. Some include scenes from the game in future levels that haven't happened yet.
Ghost says his signature quote "Let's do this!" in reference to his featured Special Ops missions where he says the same thing at the beginning of each mission. (Although the similar character Gaz also said the same sentence in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare at the beginning of each S.A.S multiplayer match.)
It is unclear as to how Nikolai obtains a Pave Low to help evacuate TF141, as with the C-130 in "The Enemy Of My Enemy" and Little Bird in "Endgame". This is Nikolai's first involvement in the game, and he would likely have been living in Russia. The strangest is that he was able to find the exact location of the Task Force in a few minutes after they called him in.
There is a glitch when the player is doing the 1st jump. Hold any type of grenade, then jump to the next roof. Just before Roach falls to the ground, a third hand will appear to throw the grenade.
If the player does the elevator glitch trying to go to the LZ, Nikolai's Pave Low will be floating in the middle of the sky.
The last part of this level, where Roach has to escape to Nikolai's Pave Low, could be a reference to the game "Mirror's Edge", as the player is unarmed and has to run through buildings and jump over rooftops in order to evade armed hostiles. The player can even see both their hands in this part, like in "Mirror's Edge".
During the jump where Roach is scripted to fall, if the player doesn't quite make it to the other roof, the game will pull the player to the roof for them.
It is possible to reach the second roof at the impossible jump - however, the game will pull the player back.
