Video Game Review: “Call of Duty: Mobile” adds a unique gaming experience to the franchise
By Carlsy Ybanez – Staff Writer
“Call of Duty,” the rage-inducing, maddening and addicting game has made strides to provide its fans with a new mode of gaming.
On Oct. 1, 2019, Timi Studios released an Activision published, mobile version of the game. On the Google Play Store alone, it has now accumulated over 50 million installations, and over seven million people are rating it to be one of the best first-person shooting games on mobile.
In terms of criticizing its gaming mechanics and its transition from console and PC over to mobile, we have waited for a few bug fixes and patches. The last update on this game was on Jan. 15, 2020. The game is updated quite often which is only right, seeing as the market of people that the developers could be making money off of is only steadily growing as well.
The mobile version is boasting multiple PvP modes that include all time favorites: Team DeathMatch, Domination, and Search-and-Destroy.
It includes multiple limited time additions to increase its diversity, and keep its players entertained. The event, “Sticks and Stones” is particularly entertaining as it restricts players from using any type of gun and focuses solely on the hand-to-hand combat of the game. Another interesting addition is the all-time favorite for marksman-specialized players, “Snipers Only,” which surprisingly, translates easily to the mobile version of the game.
All of the game’s modes can be played with a squad of four. Characters and guns are customizable, which add a sense of personality and pride to your in-game character.
The easy transition of console and PC game modes is due to the shooting and moving mechanics of the game that is set up very similarly to other mobile first-person shooters. What separates this game is that they also added the signature “slide” control and an auto-ADS (Aim Down Sight) feature. This enables players to accurately aim, shoot and move at the same time, without worrying about manual ADS.
This allows for easier use of mid-to-long range weapons, balancing out the overpowering effects of the “Spray-and-Pray” shotgun class weaponry. This also allows for the return of “Quick Scoping,” which causes fast and deadly sniping with very minimal use of the scope at all.
That being said, the most attractive and my personal favorite aspect of this game is its new Battle Royale Feature. Boasting its own battle pass, with unique skins and colorful attachments, it makes the game stand out so much more.
A battle royale mode isn’t even available in the current console version of the game. This unique mode can also be played in first or third-person.
In terms of other classic battle royale games, like “Fortnite” and “PUBG,” it would definitely lean more towards the “PUBG”-type of play. Its loot mechanics mirror “PUBG,” with auto-looting and gear replacement.
However, it brings its own concept of special skills, called “Operator Skills,” that add another dimension to the battle royale warfare. Each operator has specific traits unique to them with skills that can be used momentarily that are upgraded at specific areas on the map. These areas, “Chip Terminals,” can be approached to upgrade your skills cooldown, effects and duration.
The unique aspects and customizability of the game are what set it at the throne of battle royale games right now. Its multiplayer feature seems to play almost perfectly on my Note 10+, and we can say the same for an Iphone XR. Even on 4G LTE, the game plays particularly well, and has decent data consumption, with up to 750 MB of data per month, if you play one hour-a-day.
Needless to say, if you are into this genre of gaming, this fun packed, only 1 GB mobile version of “Call of Duty” is a good option for you and your friends to squad up and have fun with!