Back in March, Activision and Tencent officially announced Call of Duty: Mobile at the 2019 Game Developers Conference and we found out in the middle of last month.
That the mobile shooter will be officially released on the Google Play store on October 1st, which means the game is now available on Android. As expected, this is a free release. In-app purchases, loot boxes and a premium pass are included, not to mention tons of cosmetic items and expensive in-game currency. However, the amount of nostalgia on offer in the title is hard to ignore, and the gameplay luckily holds up, so the game is definitely worth watching.
As you can see in the trailer above, many of the fan-favorite locations in the series have returned to Call of Duty: Mobile, and after going through a few of them, I can confidently say that each level just feels as good as it always has. as you run and shoot on your way to victory. And indeed, this is Call of Duty: Mobile's biggest selling point, the fact that it's complete nostalgia.
When you get started, you'll have to go through a short tutorial that explains the various touch settings in the game, as well as delving deeper into many of the title menus. Things like gear changes and weapon upgrades are briefly touched upon, which is appreciated as a seasoned gamer. There is nothing I hate more than forced lessons that drag on forever, so it's nice to see a free game that doesn't fall into that trap. Of course, you still have to open the loot box during this tutorial, which is what I set for the Mario Kart Tour, and is still just as annoying in this installment when it explicitly forces players to play.
From the very beginning, you will only be able to play in four separate multiplayer modes (Frontline, Team Deathmatch, Domination, Search & Destroy) as well as in the training mode, but once you reach the seventh level, you will unlock PUBG-like in the Battle Royale mode. Ranked matches are also offered, but you will need to reach level ten to unlock them. Of course, new modes are planned for the future, just like any other mobile shooter of its kind.
Before moving on to the gameplay, I would like to discuss the controls. I tested the game with both a USB wired controller and a bluetooth controller and it is clear that no physical controller support is included. You have to play around with the touch controls, but the good thing is they are customizable. You will have a choice between simple mode and advanced mode.
Simple mode allows for automatic fire as long as your weapon is aimed at the enemy, which works quite well, while advanced mode provides manual fire, as well as a manual firing option and custom settings. Aim Assist is enabled by default in both modes, although there is an option to disable it. So despite what you might think, these controls work pretty well for a mobile shooter, and I dare say that the game controls are as good as PUBG Mobile and Fortnite.
When it comes to gameplay, I have to say that I am mostly satisfied. Often free games offer a little experience where gameplay is almost irrelevant, but in Call of Duty: Mobile that couldn't be further from the truth. Each match looks like I'm playing a game on a console, with hot swaps that often boil down to the last bullet. Each of the multiplayer modes offers exactly what you'd expect from a console release, and in fact my only problem is that matchmaking seems a little odd so far.
I won matches with excessive kills in the beginning, and some of those kills were extremely easy and I had to wonder if I was playing against bots and live players. While this is the same approach used by PUBG Mobile when it first started, when you bump into bots a lot to take your time with matches, I can't say I'm a fan. I would rather wait until matchmaking begins than play against a bunch of bots mixed in with players well above my level. While I have no doubt that as more players enter the game, things will go smoothly, but fake matches will never be enjoyable.
So now that I've covered the controls and gameplay, it's time to move on to monetization. More or less, most of the items in the name in the store are cosmetic, consisting mainly of weapon skins, although the loot boxes are also in the mix, and yes, you can buy them with in-game currency, which can be bought through the store. The store also sells weapon experience cards as well as vehicle and player skins.
You can also expect a two-tier premium pass that awards additional items to subscribers as they level up. So while I'm not a fan of loot boxes or subscriptions, it might seem like you can still enjoy the game without losing money, although you will surely level up your weapons faster if you do. So yes, there are small "payoff" elements, although I've definitely seen the worst.
Overall, I must say that I am pleasantly surprised by the release of Call of Duty: Mobile. The controls feel great, the gameplay is as challenging as it was before (if you can get an honest match), and there's a ton of content to explore, as well as a lengthy upgrade path that should keep players busy. Grinding is still pending, of course, but I don't see how this differs from the current console releases of Call of Duty. So if you're a fan of the series, there really is a lot to like here, and while monetization could be better, it's easily one of the most honest systems out there, even if the in-store prices are a bit outrageous. So if you love first-person shooters and don't mind the awkward monetization, Call of Duty: Mobile is definitely worth a try.
