When it comes to the first-person shooter genre, the Nintendo DS didn’t jump to
my mind as the perfect platform for the genre. Sure, the touch screen would play
a big role but, at the time, I though it would make for some seriously awkward
controls. Games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Mobilized have gladly
proved me wrong as the Nintendo DS once again gets another amazing shooter in
the Call of Duty franchise worthy of saluting.
If you’ve played the first Call of Duty: Modern Warfare game than you
will find that Mobilized has not only made improvements but also made this a
bigger and better game. You’ll still have a campaign mode that doesn’t mirror
the console version but adds its own set of mission scenarios true to the
console game. In this campaign mode, you follow the troops and British SAS on
their most dangerous mission yet as enemy and terrorist forces threaten to push
the world into a chaotic international military crisis.
The campaign begins in the training grounds as the training missions acts as a
ranking system that tests your abilities to adjust the game’s difficulty
setting. From there you will be joining special operatives on missions that will
have you going up against a number of enemies that include Venezuelan militant
forces. The rest of the world is suddenly tossed into a violent conflict as your
unit is deployed to the various hotspots around the world.
Outfitting with the best equipment, you follow your unit into said hotspots
after being briefed on each mission scenario by your commanding officer. While
you’ll have backup in the form of your teammates, you will be able to call in
air strikes as well make use of all the modern weaponry at your disposal such as
high-powered rifles and submachine guns. You can always grab a fallen enemy’s
weapons as well so you will have even more weapons to use when ammo runs low
during a mission.
The missions themselves are actually surprisingly lengthy and there are plenty
of battles in them that keep things exciting in terms of firefights are
concerned. Sure, most of the game you will be facing off against armed enemies
with your trust assault rifle but Mobilized manages to keep the mission
variety interesting by adding moments in the game that have you going, well,
mobile. You’ll be manning a gun emplacement aboard an AC 130 gunship flying over
enemy territory in one mission and then making good use of a tank in another.
There are also segments in the game that add touch-screen puzzles that pop up a
few times to do things like unlock an encrypted computer by trying to guess the
right numeric sequence. The puzzles might not be everybody’s cup of tea but it
certainly adds more to the gameplay and spices things up at the right moment.
The Campaign mode definitely does not fail to toss in some surprising twists as
well.
As I mentioned, first-person shooters on the DS tend to be awkward as far as the
controls are concerned and Mobilized isn’t any different. Still, once you
get use to using the bottom touch screen to aim and the face buttons to move in
the desired direction, the action starts flowing more smoothly. Thanks to a
steady framerate and good AI, the game does move at a good pace although I would
be lying if I said that game was easy.
Thankfully, there’s more to the game than just the Campaign mode. There’s
Quickplay that allows you to go back and replay favorite missions only with the
weapons you might have unlocked the first time around. Then there’s the Bonus
Modes that include four different modes such as Challenge (where you are tasked
with killing a number of enemies before the timer runs out).
Then there’s the multiplayer mode that allows you to play wirelessly with up to
six friends offline as well as online via WiFi connection. Multiplayer contains
game modes like Team Deathmatch, Team Sabotage, Team Switch, Team Capture the
Flag, Team Hunter Prey. The best part is that the modes are actually fun and the
online portion runs really well.
Visually, Mobilized looks decent enough and actually looks a lot like a really
good Nintendo 64 game. There are neat explosion effects in the game and the
character models aren’t bad at all despite being on the small upper screen. As
far as the sound is concerned, the mission briefings have the same
military-styled soundtrack played in a loop but the rest is actually quite
impressive. There’s voice acting in the game and it sounds good even on the DS
speakers and the sound effects are done right.
Once again, the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series on the Nintendo DS
continues to surprise shooter fans with a game that not only does the genre
justice but is also one exciting game with a lot to offer DS owners. Adding
impressive gameplay elements, a robust multiplayer mode and plenty of extras,
Mobilized is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s finest entry yet. This is
definitely a good year for Call of Duty fans.
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Gameplay: 8.5
The touch-screen controls can be really awkward for those not use to it but they
work well once you get use to it. Campaign mode mixes things up so there’s never
a dull moment on the field and there are extra game modes for when you want to
take a break from the main mode.
Graphics: 7.5
Looking like a Nintendo 64 game, the visuals are just as impressive as the
gameplay. Sure, the environments can look bland at times but there’s a lot to
appreciate with the eyes in this game … like the cool visual effects.
Sound: 8.0
There’s voice acting in the game and it is handled superbly and there’s even
some heavily detailed sound effects as well. The music in the game is recycled
throughout but that’s fine considering the good sound effects and voice acting
does stand out more.
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Even in its easiest difficulty setting, the action can get really intense and
the enemy can definitely shoot with the best of them. This isn’t the type of
shooter you can run-and-gun your way out of a situation and the touch-screen
puzzles can be challenging.
Concept: 8.5
The main campaign mode offers plenty of gameplay variety and challenging
scenarios that keep the action moving. There are plenty of extras to keep the
replay value high in this game and there’s online and offline multiplayer that’s
actually loads of fun.
Multiplayer: 8.5
While I had some trouble locating players online as of this writing, the online
multiplayer runs smoothly enough and adds plenty of fun game modes like Team
Sabotage and Team Hunter Prey. You can also play locally, which plays even
faster.
Overall: 8.5
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Mobilized
is one of the most
impressive first-person shooters you will play on your Nintendo DS this year.
Very few shooters on the DS will cheerfully have you enjoying every second of
this game and with enough reasons to keep on playing you should definitely
consider buying this one.
