There is war in the warehouse. Grenades explode, drones whir in the air and projectiles from a sniper rifle break holes in the walls of the ship's container. Time and again, soldiers emerge from nowhere and run purposefully back to the front. Then the counter is full. Team Blau won. The game is over.
"Call of Duty" is not an original action game, but the shootings in it are still enthralling even after years and impressive from the staging ago. This is especially true for the new "Mobile" version, when you realize that this game is currently running on an iPhone or Android device. That you no longer need a PC or a console for such a gaming experience.
At the latest with the release of "Call of Duty: Mobile", just a week after "Mario Kart Tour", there is no doubt: The time of the blockbuster games on the smartphone has come. The devices and the mobile networks are slowly apparently powerful enough for elaborate games, the manufacturers of new revenue sources and the players interested in playing more and more on the way.
The age of cellphone blockbusters
photo gallery
10 pictures
Smartphone Shooter: This is "Call of Duty: Mobile"Activision and the Chinese company Tencent are now launching an online shooter, "Call of Duty: Mobile", which can easily keep up with the top dogs "Fortnite" and "PUBG" in the mobile sector. The graphics of the game looks great, its special effects and the sound effects convince, the music sounds terrific and the controls are thoughtful.
For example, depending on the experience in the genre, players can choose a simple shot mode, which automatically fires when an enemy comes into sight. If you want to start something more sensitive, you can move around freely with a double-sided thumbwipe and fire the weapon with a thumb tip on the screen. In practice, the whole thing works surprisingly well for a touch screen control.
Initially, there were plans for players to connect a game controller to the smartphone so they could control the game more precisely. But Activision has obviously rejected the idea. The gamepad support has been completely turned off after initial testing. Perhaps this should be prevented so that players have an advantage if they do not have to wipe on a display while aiming.
It is also played against bots
"Call of Duty: Mobile" needs a permanent Internet connection, because the game relies fully on duels against other players or even computer opponents, ie bots, which sometimes come along as real players. A solo campaign does not exist on the smartphone.
The menu offers a selection of many established game modes with popular multiplayer maps from previous Call of Duty titles. In the classic "Team Deathmatch" duel, two teams compete against each other. Who turns off more enemies, wins. There are also conquest missions and a "seek and destroy" mode where bombs have to be placed and ammunition boxes must be protected. Who is switched off by the opponent, here in contrast to the other game modes may not re-enter.
In order to keep up with the market leaders, Activision also provides a so-called Battle Royale mode, a mode in which 100 characters on the same card fight for survival, similar to "Fortnite" and "PUBG". In this mode, the player can loot ammo boxes, race around the grounds with military jeeps, build shields, and launch crazy special actions like detonate a monkey bomb that lures zombies. The main thing is to stay alive for as long as possible, while the playing area gradually becomes smaller.
50 million completed games after one day
As for the player interest, the launch into the app world for "Call of Duty: Mobile" could hardly have worked better. Within hours, the title has landed in second place of the most popular action games in the App Store. Android users have installed the game more than 10 million times in the Google Play Store. And on Wednesday afternoon, Activision has already counted more than 50 million games on its servers.
Even the starting difficulties seem to have been overcome in the meantime. After the release of the game, the servers collapsed. The manufacturer apologized to the players and distributed game currency credits.
"Call of Duty: Mobile" is basically a free game where you gradually get better gear by playing regularly. If you want, you can also invest real money at any time and get at least a starting advantage for the matches in the form of weapons and replacement magazines. Many players may find this unfair, but in the meantime, such mechanisms are widely used in mobile games.
From our first impression we have "Call of Duty: Mobile" but also without spending money fun. The Battle Royale mode, in the end for many probably the highlight of the game, will be released only after a few rounds.
