Earlier this year, Activision released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered and gave fans the opportunity to relive the 2009 story on modern consoles. The remaster sold very well during the first month and its inclusion as a free August PS Plus game means that even more gamers will be playing soon. While faithful to the original game, Modern Warfare 2 Remastered does feature several Easter Eggs, including another opportunity to change history.
In the first Modern Warfare Remastered, players noticed that Vladimir Makarov, the main antagonist of the original Modern Warfare series, was added into Captain Price's flashback mission. Killing Makarov before he runs off would grant the 'Time Paradox' trophy since Modern Warfare 2 and 3 would have changed drastically. Similarly, players now have the chance to take out Lieutenant General Shepherd earlier, thereby preventing the events of MW2 and earning a trophy in the process.
Precognitive Paranoia
Although the requirement only states "Kill Shepherd,", waiting until prompted in the final mission won't award the trophy. Instead, players must do this during the first mission S.S.D.D. After arriving at the military base, follow the prompts to teach local soldiers about combat basics before Sergeant Foley tells the player to head over to The Pit.
Once there, pick up the Desert Eagle and switch between the rifle and pistol until regaining full control. Point upwards where Shepherd is overlooking the training and fire. The screen will immediately fade to black as a 'Friendly fire will not be tolerated!' message appears to bring players back to the last checkpoint. However, a notification should also pop up signifying the Precognitive Paranoia trophy has been earned.
Compared to the many Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered trophies that can be earned by playing through the story, Precognitive Paranoia is one of several secrets that only fans of the series would normally have any idea to unlock. If players somehow skip their chance to kill Shepherd here, they can easily restart the mission from the beginning or just shoot him during the second mission to still get the trophy.
The inclusion of this Easter Egg shows that Activision knows the community very well. Back in 2009, players were stunned at Shepherd's betrayal and reveal that he orchestrated the events of the game alongside Makarov and ultimately found it satisfying to finish off the treacherous general. Nearly 10 years later, many Call of Duty veterans will gladly take the chance to kill Shepherd again for what he did to Roach, Ghost, and the rest of Task Force 141.
In the end, Shepherd's non-canon death points towards the continuing inclusion of even more paradoxes in future remasters. While there are many possible what-ifs, a likely candidate will involve Yuri who briefly appeared as a cameo in the remade No Russian mission.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.