Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

It's been difficult to escape the mighty Call of Duty phenomenon over the past few months and fans of the game have been counting down the days to its November release date. Receiving record pre-orders throughout the world the game made national news confirming, to anyone who was still in doubt, that gaming is here to stay. What started off as a humble PC game (along with Medal of Honor) is now an all formats release and even the 3D unfriendly DS got its very own version of Modern Warfare 4 and COD 5. This time around is no exception and DS owners are now treated to a 'Mobilized' version of the full game but can you really capture the excitement of a PC shooter on a handheld?

Gameplay

Other than the storyline this year's Call of Duty plays much the same as the previous outings. You'll begin your journey on foot with two AI soldiers accompanying you although, as is often the case with a FPS, you can't rely on them to clear up the more dangerous areas as they both appear to be rather average shots. Your own aim will improve should you choose to look down the sights or, failing this, you can clear the odd room by tossing in one of your precious grenades. You even have the ability to call in an Air Attack should you be in a really tight spot. During the game you'll play as both British and American soldiers with a plot involving a missing Nuke which, to be fair, hasn't been explored for some time. Clearly governments are being more careful with their stockpiled weapons.

There are a wide variety of weapons at your disposal. In addition to your personal arms, you can man turrets allowing you to pick off the enemy at great speed and with no worry of depleting your ammo stockpile. You can commandeer a tank which, although it is slow and cumbersome, has a huge range of firepower with its main guns and top mounted machine gun. You'll also be able to take random pot shots at buildings where you will see the sheer amount of destructible environments the developers have added to the game. There are even a few 'on the rails' sections where you fire from the back of the truck as you race through a village and one which sees you on board a plane high above the battle area scanning for the stolen nuke.

The main game itself is pretty lengthy especially with the additional touch-screen games and even when you've completed it there's still a lot of extended gameplay thanks to the unlockables, which can all be viewed from the main menu. There's an Arcade Mode, Timed Challenges and a great Local Multiplayer although unfortunately the latter does require each gamer (up to 6) to have a copy of the game.

Controls

Getting around on foot is no problem at all and if you've played an FPS on the DS before, you'll be right at home here. The same can't be said when you get behind the wheel of the tank though and it does seem that every single developer approaches this in an entirely different way. The mode employed here will take some getting used to and you will probably get stuck on a number of occasions; it's just a shame that during this time you are easy prey for the enemy. One interesting addition here is the use of the training grounds, more usually bolted on the front end to help you get familiar with the controls, here they actually serve as a ranking system. This involves you entering a course where your speed and accuracy will be judged. On completion a rating is given indicating the difficulty level that you should attack the game with, which can be useful to novice gamers.

Graphics

This is all very impressive stuff although it's not nearly as polished as some other titles on the DS. Still, there is some pleasing attention to detail and you never get the feeling that the developers are simply recycling textures and models over and over again. This means no compromise in the game's speed even when you are being attacked from all angles.

Sound

The developers have done a superb job with the audio, not only do you have a lot of expertly delivered dialogue but also some meaty sound effects to back the whole thing up. This does wonders for the game's atmosphere particularly when you can hear an enemy but not actually see them. It's all tied up neatly with a rousing military soundtrack which perfectly suits the onscreen action.

Dual screen

It's not just about using the touch screen as a virtual mouse this time around. The developers have added a handful of touch screen games which have been seamlessly weaved into the game's plot. The first of these is a 'mastermind' clone where you are challenged to hack a computer by trying to decipher the three number codes. This isn't too difficult, but get it wrong three times and the counter begins making your heart race. You'll also have to disable a nuke and re-align Spy Satellites but these aren't nearly as immersive as the hacking section. As a bonus, should you discover all the secrets, these will be unlocked to play from the menu as many times as you want.

Final comments

If you've enjoyed the previous Call of Duties on the DS then this is simply more of the same albeit in a modern setting with the very latest weaponry. There's the same excitement generated from clearing an area of enemies and the variety the developers have managed to squeeze into the game will please even the most cynical of gamers. What's most pleasing though is the amount of replay value here; even once you've completed the main game you can still indulge in the Local Multiplayer, Mini-Games and a variety of Challenge Modes. What more can we say... Go grab yourself a copy now.

Pro: Great Sound and Visuals, Lots of Game Variety.
Con: Some Minor Control Issues Can Make the Game Frustrating.
Final score: 8.3

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