Characters

During the single-player campaign, the player controls five different characters from a first-person perspective. For the majority of the game, the player assumes the role of Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson, a member of an elite, multi-national commando unit known as Task Force 141. However, the player begins the game through the eyes of Private First Class Joseph Allen, a Ranger stationed in Afghanistan, who later goes undercover in Russia for the CIA under the alias of "Alexei Borodin." Private James Ramirez, a member of 1st Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment stationed in the United States, serves as the played character during the defense of the United States eastern coast against a Russian invasion. John "Soap" MacTavish returns as a non-playable character for most of the game, but once again becomes the played character in the final three missions. In the five years since Call of Duty 4 took place, he has been promoted to the rank of captain in the Special Air Service. He now commands most of Task Force 141 and its field operations, acting as the superior officer of Sanderson. The player also briefly assumes the role of an unnamed International Space Station astronaut during an EVA in the minute or so prior to the station's destruction.

Several non-playable characters play prominent roles in the story. As mentioned, Captain John "Soap" MacTavish (voiced by Kevin McKidd) returns as a NPC for a majority of the game and serves as Roach's superior officer and mentor (similar to Captain Price serving as MacTavish's mentor in Call of Duty 4). Captain John Price (voiced by Billy Murray) also returns from Call of Duty 4 to assist Task Force 141 after MacTavish, Roach, and other members rescue him from a Russian Gulag. The other primary member of the unit is the mysterious Simon "Ghost" Riley, (voiced by Craig Fairbrass, who also voiced Gaz in Call of Duty 4) who conceals his face with a skull print balaclava. Sergeant Foley (voiced by Keith David), along with his subordinate, Corporal Dunn is initially the squad leader of Joseph Allen while stationed in Afghanistan, and becomes the squad leader of James Ramirez in the United States later in the story. Nikolai, the Russian informant from Call of Duty 4, returns to aid Task Force 141 at various points in the story. Lieutenant General Shepherd (voiced by Lance Henriksen) is the commander of both Task Force 141 and the Army Rangers, and becomes an antagonist after he betrays the Task Force members near the end of the game. Vladimir Makarov, a former protégé of Imran Zakhaev (the chief antagonist from Call of Duty 4), serves as the primary antagonist throughout most of the story. His final fate by the end of the game is unknown.