“Recon by Fire” seems to have been inspired by the near-immortalized “All Ghillied Up” mission from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. All Ghillied Up was the 13th mission in the Call of Duty 4 campaign, taking players on a flashback to 1996, back in time to Captain Price’s days as a Lieutenant. Activision was sure to make players take in the journey, adding several details that enhanced the experience. The flashback mission was mindful of technological advancements, using print maps pinned with photographs in the player briefing in place of the high-tech computer screens players had become used to in the game. It featured pieces of old-school technology like a film reel projector and started in monochrome before color bled into the images.
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All Ghillied Up Recap
Then-Lieutenant Price accompanied his commanding officer, Captain MacMillan, on a mission to assassinate Imran Zakhaev. To accomplish their mission, the two men wore ghillie suits and made their way stealthily to a vantage point at a hotel, waiting for their target to show up. Players had to avoid being spotted by enemies to be as discreet as possible, camouflaging themselves in ghillie suits while crawling through tall grass. Killing enemies had to be done without witnesses using a silenced sniper rifle. The mission begins at an outpost before the player progresses to a church guarded by ground patrol and a sentry.
After quietly taking out the guards, the player goes into the church and then proceeds to use Call of Duty’s ghillie suits to hide in shadowed grass from a searching chopper. One of the more difficult parts of the mission is staying still as enemy soldiers walk past the player, millimeters away from them, as a single move would cost the player their life and end the mission immediately. Once the patrolling soldiers pass, the player follows MacMillan and kills two moving guards at MacMillan’s command. Much of the mission after that involves following the Captain’s lead from the container yard to the exit.
Recon by Fire - A Modernized Version
Recon by Fire takes all the good memories and features from All Ghillied Up and incorporates new-generation technology, giving players an up-to-date sneaking experience. Features like thermal vision, breathing control, and zoom change all make for a better - if slightly more difficult - mission. Recon by Fire is the ninth mission in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, beginning after Hassan’s interrogation. In a nod to All Ghillied Up, Gaz and Price are wearing Ghillie suits and moving slowly to make as little noise as possible. The weapons are camouflaged as well, completing the sneaky theme.
The weapon is equipped with thermal vision, helping players locate unseen enemies, and a zoom feature. Players will use the scope to track the movements of cartel members and gauge their distances while remaining non-confrontational to keep their cover in the initial part of the mission. The sniping abilities of the player will get tested a lot, as a mission like All Ghillied Up requires skilled long-range Call of Duty marksmanship. There is an element of guidance received from Price, who gives the player instructions on shot adjustments. Shooting precision with the weapon is also determined by how stable the player’s breath is, another minute detail that makes Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 more realistic.
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High-Tech Guns, Sneaking Around, and Explosives
In addition to laying low and crawling during the beginning of the mission, players will need to keep an eye out for vehicle patrols. Explosives are also featured, as C4 is used to break into a building and take out some enemies. Perhaps the most significant technological improvement seen in Recon by Fire is the presence of a CoD heartbeat sensor, which helps players detect any nearby enemies. The player is required to breach a few warehouses throughout this mission using a list of options given by Price ranging from breaching maneuvers to tear gas. As is customary in Call of Duty, a lighthouse awaits players after they complete breaching warehouses.
The weapons in Recon by Fire are naturally much more advanced than those seen in All Ghillied Up, with a Victus XMR sniper rifle in use for this part of the mission for clearing out guards. More explosives and crafty sneaking skills are required along the way, and then, in a fashion imitating All Ghillied Up, the player follows Price to an exit. Recon by Fire brings necessary technological advancements to a reloaded fan-favorite mission. The true beauty is that these modifications were added without altering the mission’s contents in an obvious manner.
Reboots are always hard to do properly, as the publisher wants to bring new features while blending them with the existing game. Activision nailed this perfectly, keeping the core theme of the old mission - silence, and incorporating new technology. For a Call of Duty superfan, Recon by Fire is essentially All Ghillied Up but with better weaponry and gadgets, which is a good thing.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is set to launch on October 28, 2022, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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