SHOCK AND AWE (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare helped to shape modern gaming in a variety of ways. It gave a reason for players to return to multiplayer as they fought their way to unlocking weapons and climbing the ranks, but it also made the jump out of the WWII waters and into the near-future setting.
Modern Warfare was a game changer that many consider to be the best entry in the on-going Call of Duty franchise. The story was filled with thrilling sequences, but the standout mission was “Shock and Awe.” After fighting your way through the city, you carry the pilot to the nearby chopper. Once aboard, you continue unloading your weapon so as to not be brought down by heavy firepower. You can finally breathe as you take off, only to see all of that effort go to waste when the nuke goes off in the distance. Your chopper spirals from the aftershock and slams into the ground.
The nuclear blast was so devastating that you couldn’t help but just stand in awe of the silent cloud in the distance that was about to devastate the land below. In the haunting final moments, you find yourself crawling out of the wreckage and staring up at the brutality and awe-inspring visual of the mushroom cloud, slowly dying from the radiation. Modern Warfare tapped into a new level of realism in this sequence as they showed the true horror of war.
Unlike the other set-pieces on this list, this was not a fun experience. It was a shockingly bold scene that left an impact, and for that, it will remain a standout moment for the series.
