Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized Review

Call of Duty Modern Warfare: Mobilized is a handheld version of the popular PC and console shooter. It’s not the first time that Call of Duty has gone mobile, either. Call of Duty 4 and World at War both saw releases of Nintendo DS versions that were fairly well received. The challenge of making a console shooter experience on handheld hardware that is literally equivalent to the 15 year old Nintendo 64 is immense. How well does Modern Warfare: Mobilized stack up? Read on to find out.

Modern Warfare: Mobilized is neither a handheld remake nor a port of any other game. It is a game specifically designed for Nintendo DS. The positive thing is that this means the developers played to the strengths of the DS, mainly touch screen functionality and online capabilities. There aren’t a whole lot of handheld shooters out there, especially ones that can boast online multi-player. One of the more successful efforts, Metroid Prime: Hunters, is several years old now.

Given the limited capabilities of the Nintendo DS, it is no surprise that a number of changes have been made to the game. For one, there are only a max of about five enemies on the screen at once, but most of the time only two or three. A lot of the enemy combat vehicles that you encounter in the console versions are radically less potent and often aren’t even mobile. The A.I., both enemy and ally, is unimpressive to say the least. Enemies have a set path that they follow and rarely attempt to take cover.

The story takes place in South America. It is separate from the console version of the game. I did not recognize any of the character names from the console counterpart in Modern Warfare Mobilized, either. Most of the missions involve a decent amount of shooting, solving simple puzzles, placing explosives and so on. There are a few diversions from the shooting as well, such as an unmanned aircraft reconnaissance mission.

The game has a fairly robust graphics engine for Nintendo DS. While the structures are largely blocky and characters low in detail, you rarely have much difficulty recognizing a threat. The sound is top notch as well. Realistic gun sounds, explosions and fairly well done voice acting add to the experience. It certainly beats games that rely on text. The one complaint that I have in the sound department is that the pistol sounds like someone squashing tomatoes. The other weapons are satisfying, though.

The best part of playing Modern Warfare: Mobilized is that you get a tactical shooter to play with you anywhere. It doesn’t have the thrills of the console versions, the controls can be quite annoying and the graphics certainly feel dated (although relatively good for the Nintendo DS). Online multi-player and local multi-card play are optional as well, adding to the hours that you will play the game and overall value. There are flaws that shouldn’t be overlooked, yet this is a shooting experience that will satisfy those looking for short bursts of action.