Call of Duty Mobile. The fun of a console Call of Duty game on your phone.

What You've Come to Expect From Call of Duty but On the Go

Unless you've lived under a rock since 2003, you've more than likely heard of Call of Duty. This series of war games have graced several home consoles and personal computers. Besides a few entries on dedicated handheld consoles, it has more or less remained a game that you play at home.

Now, things are changing thanks to Call of Duty Mobile. This free-to-play mobile game is available for Android and iOS. However, how does a first-person shooter that was originally developed for consoles and PCs play on a phone or tablet? Shockingly well.

Offers the Multiplayer Aspects of Call of Duty

The first thing that you'll notice when you download this nearly 2-GB game is that there's no real story mode. It's all about delivering short bursts of action on the go, which is why it only offers online multiplayer modes.

Feels like a master cut of every CoD game ever made. -Matthew S. Smith, Digital Trends

Activision could have taken a cookie-cutter approach to the game and still achieved a lot of downloads from the name alone. Instead, the developers took their time and made this a full-fledged Call of Duty experience.

Rather than create a bunch of new maps, Call of Duty Mobile features maps from previous titles, which makes the game feel more like a Call of Duty greatest hits more than anything else.

Graphics and Audio

Presentation is the area where Call of Duty Mobile really shines. The title looks impressive for a mobile game. There's a lot of detail, much of which you might not get to appreciate because of how fast-paced it is.

The audio department is nothing to write home about, though. The guns sound like guns, and the footsteps are footsteps. It gets the job done, but there's nothing here that will blow you out of the water. Of course, your experience with the sound will vary depending on if you're wearing a headset or listening through your phone's speakers.

Gameplay

Gameplay was the element that I assumed would give me the most trouble. How can you map all of the buttons of a Call of Duty game onto a touch screen? Somehow, Activision has done it well. The biggest problem is that the on-screen display can get a little cluttered with buttons.

For example, you can set up the controls to auto-fire when you get an enemy in your crosshairs. This makes it easier to move and aim without worrying about how to hit the fire button.

The real impressive feat is that you can use an actual controller. Activision allows you to hook up Bluetooth controllers, such as the PlayStation 4 controller, and play that way. Now, you truly have the same Call of Duty experience that you've come to know and love. You can even connect your phone to a TV to play on a larger screen, which is an excellent option for traveling.

A Must-Play First-Person Shooter on Your Phone

If you love first-person shooters, you can't go wrong with Call of Duty Mobile. After all, the game is free to download. While the touch-screen controls take a little getting used to, you'll be shooting with the best of them after a few matches. If you can't get the hang of it, you can connect a Bluetooth controller.

What I love about the game is all of the classic Call of Duty maps. They genuinely take this mobile version to a new level. There are in-game purchases as well, but most of the items are cosmetic. You don't have to buy anything to play.

TL/DR

A great Call of Duty experience for your Android or iOS device.