Team Player

"Get up Private Allen! Rangers lead the way! Move!"

— General Shepherd

"Team Player" is the second campaign mission of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. With BCT-One trapped in the city, the Rangers of Hunter 2 mobilize to rescue the stranded unit. After calling in an airstrike, the Rangers move into the city to mop up any present OpFor and secure BCT-One. The player takes control of Joseph Allen.

Main Characters[]

Joseph Allen (Playable)
Sergeant Foley
Corporal Dunn
General Shepherd

Level Briefing[]

"Team Player"

Day 1 - 20:17:23-30

PFC Joseph Allen

1st Bn., 75th Ranger Regiment

The Red Zone, Afghanistan

Walkthrough[]

The level will start off with the player, PFC Joseph Allen, lying on the ground as General Shepherd stands over the player and helps him up. After defending the M104 Wolverine, Bigfoot laying the bridge, the level continues and the player must get in a Humvee, called Cruncher, and take control of the minigun. As the convoy drives through the streets, several OpFor will open fire on the Humvee. After an RPG then destroys the vehicle, the player must then clear out a nearby building. Hunter 2-3 informs the squad over the radio that they are taking heavy fire inside a school. Sgt. Foley's team (Hunter 2-1) go in to assist. Then, the player must meet up with General Shepherd at the rally point who personally tells Allen that he's taking orders from him from now on. The multiplayer map, Invasion (Humvee ride) is based on this level.

Weapon Loadout[]

Starting Loadout[]

The following weapons are the initial starting weapons.

Found in Level[]

The following weapons can be found with or without attachments.

Intel Locations[]

1/2 Intel: In one of the school's classrooms. Right after the player hears Foley say, "I think I saw one run into that classroom," go inside that classroom, the Intel is on a table next to some barrels.
2/2 Intel: Right after the player exits the school, there will be a yellow taxi outside. Next to that car are some crates, the laptop is on one of them.

Achievements/Trophies[]

Danger Close (15G / Bronze Trophy) - Is obtained by completing "Team Player" on any difficulty.

First Day of School (25G / Silver Trophy) - Is obtained by beating "S.S.D.D" and "Team Player" on Veteran.

Trivia[]

It would be very unwise for any General to be this close to combat as Shepherd is shown in the beginning. And even more unwise not to have a primary weapon or any kind of tactical gear.
When the player wakes up from shell-shock at the beginning to see Shepherd reloading his .44 Magnum, it looks like he takes the bullets out from mid-air. That's because his model has no ammo belt to hold ammo for his weapon.
In the beginning of the level, the player does not see information about the level (name, place etc.). This is the only level where this occurs.
In this level the player can actually see Sgt. Foley use his M203 after Shepherd helps the player up just watch Foley in front, he makes a movement with his hands takes a couple of steps forward and fires, the player can even see it in the air and land, he doesn't reload it. Also, note this is the only level an NPC uses that a Grenade Launcher
Sometimes a glitch can occur at the beginning of the level, when the player can see something like cases from Bugs's main gun lie and roll around in the ground.
A glitch may occur when the player gets in the Humvee, the car will not move at all, and after about 20 seconds the player will get the message that they were killed by a grenade, however this is a rare glitch and can only be fixed by restarting the console.
In the beginning of the level, while the player is fighting the OpFor across the bridge, one of the Rangers can be heard talking to a U.S. command referred to as "Warlord" about ordering an air-strike on a "large apartment building". Warlord can also be heard talking back to the Ranger claiming to have two F-15's with JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munition) on standby. This is odd as after the battle on the bridge, when the building is destroyed, it appears to be destroyed by a Predator Missile, as the bomb came from high above and seemed to be fired directly at it from above which would be impossible for an F-15 to do unless it was flying into the building vertically. On closer inspection, however, an F-15 can be spotted in the sky, flying away after dropping the bomb.
If the player tries to cross the bridge after it has been laid then fall off, the message, "Maybe it's safer to be with the convoy", or somewhere near that, will appear.
There is a glitch where the player can kill the soldier at the top of the steps. If they go to the edge of the destroyed bridge, the player can find a random Ranger weapon. Go to the soldier, and shoot the first round beside his head and then move the sights so it is aimed at his head. It will not count as friendly fire and he will sink through the floor. The same can be done with the knife.
If the player turns around after Shepherds helps Allen up in the beginning, he can be seen walking with an odd step past a tank and into some bushes. Then, if the player looks up to the bridge, Shepherd can be seen there immediately after.
When the player reaches the bridge, they will hear a Ranger say "If you got to lay some cable do it now because I'm not stoppin" (sometimes he will also say drop a spike, likely referring to a Spike Strip, a long strip of metal with spikes designed to puncture vehicle tires.)
There is a M1A2 Abrams tank with the name Tirpitz (Tirpitz was a German warship during World War II and sister ship to the Bismarck, that was stationed in Norway and later destroyed by the Royal Air Force - it is also a mission in the first Call of Duty game; the player is assisted by the WWII Captain Price infiltrating the ship).
An Afghan soldier can be seen next to two Rangers behind a pick-up truck eating a chocolate bar from an MRE. This is quite funny due to the fact that intense fighting is going on right behind him, this is sometimes seen with a US Ranger at the top of the stairs on the bridge.
The soldier blocking the bridge will be sitting in exactly the same position as McCord did in the previous level, on his cell phone.
When the Technical drives to the bridge it is impossible to kill the driver and it will always leave.
Occasionally, a ranger can be run over by a Humvee on the bridge.
After the bridge is laid, if the player attempts to cross it, an unseen soldier with a Dragunov will kill them.
When the Rangers are about to blow up the building with OpFor on the roof, many Rangers are videotaping the event with their phones. One mentions selling the footage to the media while another mockingly calls him "Spielberg."
The HMMWVs shown in this mission were given paint schemes similar to those used in Generation Kill. The door markers show a "B" followed by a square with a diagonal slash in it. The symbol is actually that of a reconnaissance or cavalry unit, such as the one featured in Generation Kill. Rangers are considered infantry, so a square with an X in it would be more appropriate.
The names of the Rangers videotaping the building will have changed after mounting the turret.
The last Humvee in the convoy on the bridge is named "Blue Steel," which may be a reference to the movie Zoolander.
Also the Humvee "Blue Steel" as well as the tank "Punta Gorda" both drive into a tunnel shortly after entering the city and are not seen for the remainder of the mission.
Sgt. Foley will appear to board the Humvee in front of the player, named "Donna." Proceeding in the town, the Humvee stops, and before the other soldiers can disembark Sgt. Foley disappears. It's hard to know how he has made it to the players squad afterward.
When the player goes up the steps to the bridge with the other troops, the ones who were next to Shepherd stay and shoot randomly.
At the top of the stairs, in a corner, there is a Ranger. If the player knifes him, he would immediately die, but the knife would just make the "ting" sound as if it hit a piece of metal. The soldier would fall through the wall and disappear along with his gun.
A BMP-2 can be seen at the beginning of the level, descending the stairways to provide fire support to the OpFor troops. It is then immediately destroyed by Bugs.
A random Afghan soldier from S.S.D.D will be riding in the players Humvee.
Just before the player enters the HMMWV a Ranger can be heard, possibly the driver, saying "If you have to drop a deuce, do it before I leave, because once I start, I am NOT stopping" sometimes the word "Deuce" is replaced with "Spike" both referring to going to the bathroom.
If the player attempts to climb the stairs before the bridge is laid, the staircase will be blocked by three soldiers using their mobile phones. These actions are unusual considering the battle going on behind them. After the bridge is laid, the phones disappear and the soldiers will move up to the waiting convoy.
If the player listens carefully to the Rangers during the bombing, the transcript will be quite comical, as the Rangers were asking each other about which building that is about to be bombed. Some will ask around, some will answer back and confuses themselves in the end. In the end, all of them cheers loudly when the bomb goes.
While the convoy awaits for the building to be destroyed, a Ranger asks if it is 'Danger Close' for the task-force. Dunn replies and says, "Since when does Shepherd care about danger close?" In the level "Just Like Old Times", Captain Price says the same thing after General Shepherd orders to bomb the base after Price and Soap escape the cave.
If one looks closely, it's obvious that the tall building on the right is to be destroyed as it has OpFor soldiers patrolling the roof.
After the building is destroyed, any soldiers who are not in a vehicle go back down stairs to the riverbank.
The random ranger will also say to 'Lay a cable' (meaning a bathroom break).
If the player stays near the building to the right of the stairs throughout the whole bridge layer section, when they tell the player to move to the stairs, the Ranger to the left of it will not be there, ushering the player on.
At the beginning of the level, there are 2 soldiers behind a destroyed tank. They are seen shooting a SCA and M240 respectively, but both weapons have the 3rd person sound of an M4A1.
On Veteran, it is possible to be killed by the ejecting shells from bugs by going prone behind it.
When the bridge is laid and the subtitles are on, Foley will say "Hunter 2! Bridge complete, we're oscar mike! Move out!" Oscar Mike should be capitalized, and is in other levels.
Before the convoy begins driving, whilst the building is destroyed, if the player shoots the minigun at the overhead road sign, and aim in one place whilst shooting, it is noticeable that the bullet holes form a perfect spiral, this occurs whenever the minigun is fired which is completely incorrect about how a Gatling gun fires in real life.
Once the convoy enters the city, it is notable that the soldiers on the Humvee called 'Donna' exit the vehicle. It is unknown what happened to them as the red dust in the city obscures the players sight.
On the highway signs, there is a green highway pointer in Arabic characters as well as English underneath. The English reads Victory Street, which could possibly hint that the player is heading that way to finish the level.
Entering into the city, it's notable that some faces of the buildings at the Humvee's right slowly go down, revealing damage from the airstrike. They are dangerously pointed inwards, but do not fall.
The first civilian has the same face as Victor Zakhaev, a character from Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The same civilian model can be seen opening, then closing the lid on the dumpster he uses as a hiding spot in "The Coup" (Look to the left just before the car comes out of the tight alley and the planes fly over the ocean)
While driving into the city, graffiti portraits of Khalid Al-Asad, from Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfarecan be seen on the walls of the buildings.
If the player points the Minigun at the civilian running the shop, he will raise his hands in surrender. Shooting him will result in mission failure.
Allen is instructed to keep his eye out for "EPWs" while manning the crew served weapon. This is somewhat of a misnomer, as EPW stands for Enemy Prisoner of War. This may have been taken from Generatio Kill, as EPWs were referenced many times in the show, and the scriptwriter might have thought that EPW was a blanket term for all enemy combatants, not just those in captivity.
Some of the civilian cars are indestructible.
If the player just spools the minigun Cpl. Dunn will still yell to stop firing at nothing. (The minigun can be spooled without complaint by holding alt-fire.)
After the civilian runs to a garage with other civilians the player can see two OpFor soldiers with RPGs running down that street, if he's quick he can kill at least one of them.
When the player drives into the town, he will see three OpFor on a balcony with no weapons, and possibly a fourth one in a window above them, also unarmed. Shooting them will make the player fail the mission since they are still unarmed. During the ambush, if the player tries to fire upon these same unarmed militia, he will still fail the mission for shooting unarmed men. Shooting near them will prompt them to hold a battle stance and, on some occasions, take out weapons and open fire, or flee.
After the player is able to see the three OpFor on the balcony, if he turns his view to the right, he will see an OpFor soldier with a RPG on the top of a building. Shooting him will not cause the player to fail the mission.
If the player fires on the unarmed militia scouting him (without actually hitting them) they will hold up invisible weapons, as the stock "reacting to gunfire" animation was not designed for unarmed characters.
As soon as the Humvee pulls in front of the three Afghan militiamen look to the left and the player can see three or four other militia running down the street into an alley. They can be fired upon and killed.
The OpFor in this mission seem to be allied with the Ultranationalists because their flags and stars can be seen on the balcony of the unarmed OpFor Soldiers, and also at the school.
On the last building to the right before the corner where the OpFor soldiers on the balcony are seen, the player can briefly see an OpFor soldier armed with an RPG running across the rooftop. He can be fired on, however it must be quick as he appears for only a split second.
If the player looks in the background before the sniper hits a truck, he can see OpFor running in the alleyways, but the player cannot hit them.
The player's Humvee may possibly have been destroyed by a mine or roadside bomb, since he can kill the OpFor carrying the RPG and the players Humvee will still blow up, though this is difficult, becuase the rocket is usually fired before the player can kill him.
After the player's HMMWV is destroyed and the player enters the building, the first enemy going down the stairs will always be dressed as an Afghan soldier.
Even though the HMMWV Curbstomper is destroyed by RPG fire the player still can see its name.
Across the city the player can see Khaled Al-Asad's face on the walls. There are also photos of a nuclear mushroom cloud in the school, from the explosion in "Shock and Awe". Also, in the doors and walls of some buildings there is graffiti on the walls that say "infidel".
The Humvee "Speedy" will stop before it reaches the school but is not present if the player looks through the window towards where Speedy stops.
The Humvee "Donna" seems to end up at the other end of the bridge since it can be found there later in the mission.
Curtis Jackson (50 Cent) made a voice cameo right after the bridge layer is complete.
There is a reference to the movie Black Hawk down, in the movie McKnight comments that the Mogadishu marketplace is similar to the wild west, a Ranger makes this same comment as the convoy is driving down the street. Also the fact that they are driving in a Humvee convoy with Militia as an enemy and not being able to fire unless fired at is another obvious reference to Black Hawk Down. The player's high commander is a General from a special unit as well.
The tunnel that Punta Gorda goes into leads to a dead end and it simply, along with the other vehicle, disappears.
Sometimes if the player is on the minigun on Veteran and he dies, the driver can be seen getting up on the minigun to replace the player, but the car keeps driving itself.
Even if the player manages to kill all enemy RPGs at the roof of the school, the Humvee will still be hit.
Inside the building after the player's humvee is hit, there will be a bomb much like the objective in search and destroy with the Spetsnaz star on it.
It is impossible to destroy the first white truck the player encounters. It will lean against the player's Humvee, yet it can only be destroyed by the enemy OpFor shooting explosives at it. If this happens, the truck will kill the player.
There are many references to Generation Kill in this level and throughout the game, for example RCT-1 in GK is BCT-1, Hitman 2-1 from GK is Hunter 2-1 and both leaders of GK's Hitman 2-1 (Brad Colbert) and Hunter 2-1 (Sgt. Foley) both have a M203 and thermal optics.
This level is from episode 2 of Generation Kill; The Cradle of Civilization before Marines move over the bridge into Nasiriyah they have a firefight with Iraqi forces. Same in Team Player as the Rangers engage OpFor troops before crossing into the city.
When encountering the three OpFor militiamen, there is a fourth one that can be seen in the window above them.
Also on the building is the OpFor symbol (the swords) on a banner that is hanging above the balcony.
There are bullet holes in the front of the building and on the OpFor flag, suggesting that earlier battles took place in that area, or it is just the work of the Hunter unit that is trapped in the school.
In the Humvee, if the player looks at the top of the building that will be destroyed, enemy figures can be seen running around on top. This might be where the player gets shot by a Dragunov from if they cross the bridge early.
General Shepherd reappears among the squad pinned down outside the school. The player can see him get into the passenger seat of the rear Humvee after killing the enemies on the second floor. Sometimes, the truck leaves him behind.
General Shepherd is using an M4A1 instead of the .44 Magnum that he uses at the start of the level.
If the truck leaves him behind it is possible to kill him without the friendly fire message, but he will always reappear in the end.
If Shepherd is left behind when the convoy leaves, he will continue shooting at the school, even when all the enemies are dead. Also, the player can kill him without having to reset to the last checkpoint.
There are a few indestructible computers in the school. Even if the player throws a grenade at them, they will still be unharmed.
In the school, there are vending machines with Russian writing on them, although the player is in Afghanistan. This may be because Afghanistan was once a satellite nation of the Soviet Union.
Once the player reaches the second floor of the school, if he looks outside one of the windows the player will see two Humvees. One is called "Dirty" and the other in front of the first is called "Diana" referencing the Michael Jackson song "Dirty Diana."
Hunter 2-3 says they will exit through 3's Humvee, but they leave in both vehicles, not just 3's.
There are several children's drawings on the walls throughout the school, one has a picture of a teddy bear and then the one next to it is a picture of what appears to be a large man. These are most likely the creator(s) drawings that were made by children.
Even if the school is cleared out, walking into the streets in front of the main entrance automatically kills the player.
Oddly, the taxi cab outside the school is clearly modeled after one of the taxis in the missions set in USA though the player is in Afghanistan. Additionally, if the player gets on top of the taxi the advertisement reads: "Cherubini" This is the name of the restaurant that explodes and falls apart in "No Russian."
General Shepherd can be in two places at the same time here (once by the pinned down squad and again by the rally point) and the player can run back and forth from the second floor of the school and the gate of the rally point. However, the pinned down squad has to leave him behind in order for this to happen.
There is a very strange glitch in this level. The player in this video had an M4A1 with a Grenade launcher, and Holographic sight. They were playing on Recruit. At the beginning of this level the player grabbed an AT4 that was dropped by a Ranger. In the clip the player was moving through the school when he was killed by OpFor. He respawned with an M4A1 with 4 attachments, Thermal sight, Heartbeat sensor that didn't detect anything, a grenade launcher (it looked like a shotgun but it shot grenades), and a silencer. One explanation is that this is a glitch is derived from a unused game file. It is possible that it is derived from the mission "The Only Easy Day was Yesterday" the Navy SEALs were known to use the M4A1 and the AT4 and the M4 with quadruple attachments could have been used as it makes sense. A thermal sight to detect enemies through smoke, a heartbeat sensor for the same purpose, a silencer for stealth, and a grenade launcher. The AT4 was the SEALs anti-vehicle weapon. This weapon could have also been planned for the player to use in a certain level. All of this can be seen in the video.
If the player shoots General Shepherd in the arm or leg near the very end of the level before he starts addressing Allen, he will turn away and ignore the player and sometimes adopt a stance of holding an assault rifle also, in doing this he will look at the player as though he disgusts the player, neglecting to invite PFC. Joseph Allen to work for him.
It is impossible to kill the last OpFor. Shooting him will just do a pink spray of blood similar to ones that spray during friendly fire (The one that only Injures, not kill) and the only time the Real Spray of blood appears is when the ranger shoots him.
If the player kills Shepherd as the screen fades out, it will count as friendly fire and he will have to start from the last checkpoint even though the mission is about to end.
It is possible that when the last OpFor is being shot, this may be an homage to Lozano from Call of Duty: World at War.
Just as the screen fades out, the player can hear a ranger say "Battalion's Oscar Mike". It's the same audio clip from the ranger that said it on the Bridge.
The TV show NCIS uses video from this level in the episode "Child's Play", in the scene where Angela is analyzing battle footage of when the convoy is in a large, semi-triangular space. Amusingly, she says that the troops should have been somewhere with higher buildings, smaller spaces, and less sun exposure, and this is almost exactly what happens next in the level. Elsewhere, one of the children is seen playing the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare mission "Death from Above", albeit with the screen zoomed-in so the player can't see the HUD.
There is a glitch in this mission: if the player gets himself run over by the Humvee that he rides, he will continue to ride it but will respawn again from the last checkpoint.
This is this first (and so far the only) level in any Call of Duty game to depict the real life war in Afghanistan.
The Rangers in the player's Humvee will sometimes disappear when the vehicle is blown up.
This is the only level that doesn't have a title card that tells the name, day, player character, time, etc. This is because the game was supposed to have the player start in the player's Humvee and driving to the bridge when watching the beginning cutscene to the level, only the player would be hit by a explosion, thus shell-shocked at the beginning of the level.
When General Shepherd helps Allen up, he says "Rangers lead the way," the motto for the U.S. Army Rangers.
After the Rangers kill the militant near the end of the level, there will be blood splatters on the wall. If the player goes up close to these splatters, the console will start to lag.
Strangely enough, there are some buildings up the road leading directly away from the school (only accessible by glitching) which fly the Spetsnaz flag. This is also the only time this particular flag is ever seen flying in the game itself. This is probably due to the Ultranationalist Party's ties in the Middle East.
Additionally, if the player glitches out of the map and return to the previously accessible area of the bridge, the lighting will change to sunset. This is because the dust that the player sees in the humvee in the beginning is somewhat red, it affects the whole area behind it. So, the developers, who did not think of the player leaving the area, did not take time to fix the color.
There are a lot of references to the TV mini series Generation Kill, such as phrases and logos.
This level is largely based off the real Battle of Nasiriyah in which RCT-1 of the USMC were pinned down at a bridge leading into Nasiriyah by enemy mortars, snipers, and anti aircraft guns.
A random soldier with a Brazilian Militia character model can spawn inside the school. He usually has an AK-47, and can be heard speaking Portuguese.
There is a way to obtain an AT4 in this mission. First, at the start, look up at the bridge layer, the player should see a Ranger wielding it and firing it at the OpFor. Either shoot him, or let an OpFor with an RPG-7 hit him (random chance of this happening). When the player has to get in the Humvee, instead, go near the bridge layer, and pick it up. It would be useless at first glance, but it's a good way to get introduced to it. This makes it the first level where the AT4 is usable.
There is a title in Multiplayer for this game that shares the name of this level (Team Player).
Sometimes, the player can find a M16A4 lying on the sidewalk near the bridge layer instead of SCAR-H Red Dot Sight.
In the first building that the player enters (immediately after the player's vehicle is hit by an RPG), there is a long black weapons case in one of the corners on the ground floor, near an RPD and a G18. Emblazoned on this case is a rook chess piece, the emblem of Shadow Company, despite Shadow Company not being introduced until the end of the game.
In the first building that the player enter after their vehicle is destroyed by an RPG, there is a weapons cache with three warheads inside of it.