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Call of Duty Warzone Mobile is a soulless battle royale that isn't any fun
Poor matchmaking ruins the game immediately, it's sweat city
It's safe to say Call of Duty Warzone doesn't have the best reputation. A quick glance at the Steam listing will show that the reviews are mostly negative. While this isn't surprising for a free-to-play PC game filled with greedy monetization, Activision still thought it wise to port the game to mobile. So we've known the game was coming for some time; however, Activision wouldn't let me test the game early under the excuse that it's a live service. Of course, the game has been in testing on mobile for a long time now, so I had to assume why Activision didn't want me to see the game until it launched. My assumption was correct; Call of Duty Warzone Mobile stinks; it plays like a generic battle royale made for the purpose of extracting as much money from the playerbase as possible, which sure lines up with the PC and console versions and their low user review scores.
Android has a mixed bag of first-person shooters (FPS) in its growing library of games. It's unfortunately common to find mediocre FPS titles with clunky gameplay, poor performance, and frustrating controls. Or cheap knockoffs that turn your high-end gaming phone into a complete potato. But more often enough, the best Android games can usually stand the test of time, which some FPS games do — even winning out against (for being better games) a few of the newest mobile FPS titles today.
Payday: Crime War finally breaks free from development hell
Don't expect too much from this resurrected shooter
Payday: Crime War nearly made it to mobile four years ago, soft launching in multiple regions before being abruptly canceled three months after the release of the US beta. However, it was hinted that it could return under a different publisher, and sure enough, we discovered in 2021 that PopReach had acquired development rights and was preparing to relaunch the game. Today this effort has finally come to fruition; Payday: Crime War is available to play for free on your mobile device.
Farlight 84 guide: A new hero shooter enters the ring
Winner winner chicken dinner, here's how to play the latest battle royale on Android
Another stylish battle royale enters the ring; this time, it's Farlight 84, a hero shooter battle royale set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Battle royales have been on the rise since PUBG, Fortnite, and Apex. Android has a fair share of impressive battle royales, and now Farlight 84 is here to make a name for itself, gunning for Apex Legends Mobile's vacant spot. But how does this title fare against the competition on your favorite Android gaming phone? We've created a beginner's guide breaking down Farlight 84's gameplay and systems you should expect to experience during your first few jumps.
Lost Light beginner's guide: Tips and tricks for the latest survival shooter from Netease
Welcome to the Firefly task force, here's how to survive your first day on the job
Lost Light is NetEase's latest survival shooter. You'll join the Firefly force, a group of characters enduring a brutal post-apocalyptic world while uncovering the secrets behind the exclusion zone. It's a dog-eat-dog-world out there, and it's up to you to come out on top using your wits and survival skills. Lost Light focuses on realistic gameplay and detailed firearms customization, similar to what you'd find in PUBG Mobile and PUBG: New State.
Battlefield Mobile's gameplay leaks online, and it actually looks great
Please EA, don't screw this up
Earlier this month, we learned that Electronic Arts would begin rolling out playtests for the mobile version of Battlefield in autumn. Now that fall is here, the game has entered into early testing in Southeast Asia, so gameplay videos have started to leak online, providing the first look of the Battlefield Mobile in action. So if you've been eager to see what the early alpha gameplay for Battlefield Mobile looks like, we have several enlightening videos to share.
Check out Battlefield Mobile's new Play Store listing ahead of playtests planned for autumn
Five new screenshots offer a first look at the upcoming shooter
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Industrial Toys is working together with DICE to create a Battlefield game for mobile. This will be a standalone game, and Electronic Arts has made it clear that this mobile interpretation will be completely different from the core console and PC versions. Currently, we know the game is entering a testing phase per today's announcement, though Battlefield's mobile version won't be officially released until sometime in 2022, so it's still a long way off.
Payday: Crime War is being revived, but expect a lot of IAPs
Two years after its closure, this co-op shooter may be returning soon
Back in 2018, I went hands-on with Payday: Crime War during a closed beta, and it was clear the online shooter needed more work. A year later, the game entered into soft-launch in select regions, and then it was shut down shortly after. At the time of this closure, it was revealed that Crime War could return under a new publisher, which is precisely what's unfolding today.
Google unveils new tool designed to boost frame rates for Android games
The Android Performance Tuner gives devs useful metrics across devices
Mobile gaming has become a big deal in recent years, thanks to an increase in both smartphone performance and user base. While developers only have to deal with a very limited amount of hardware targets when it comes to iOS, publishing games for Android requires optimizing for a wide range of devices with varying levels of power. Now a new library in the Android Game SDK will help developers improve the performance of their games on Android phones in a much more streamlined fashion.
Doom and Doom II updated with better touch controls, adjustable FPS limits, expanded controller support, and more
Go ahead and lock the game to 30FPS, you crazy retro fan, you
Bethesda recently updated the Android versions of Doom and Doom II to bring a bunch of new features to the titles, such as tweaked touch controls, support for adjustable frame rate limits, not to mention physical controller support along with mouse and keyboard support. Heck, Bethesda even added a toggle for Vsync (a rarity for a mobile game), for those of you that would like to reduce either title's input latency. So no matter how you slice it, it would appear that Bethesda has actually improved both games, though it could be argued that all of these features should have been available in both titles from the jump.
Back in November of 2019, Madfinger's competitive first-person shooter Shadowgun War Games arrived on the Play Store for pre-registration. At the tail end of January, we learned the game would be officially released on February 12th, though it would appear Madfinger hit a few snags yesterday, and so the game was released late in the day, which is probably why the official PR didn't go out until this morning. Still, Shadowgun War Games is now officially available for all to enjoy, though it currently feels unfinished despite the presence of multiple subscription passes.
An official Call of Duty: Mobile account on Reddit has revealed that a significant update is coming to the game later today. It's slated to arrive at 21:00 PST, and this update will include controller support, a new zombie mode, and new maps. A new Battle Pass is also coming, but it won't arrive until November 25th. Back when I covered the release of Call of Duty: Mobile in October, I was delighted with the shooter, though the missing controller support was a sticking point. Thankfully Activision has been listening to its fans, so the announcement for today's update is indeed very welcome news.
Back in March Activision and Tencent officially announced Call of Duty: Mobile at the 2019 Game Developers Conference, and in the middle of last month we learned that the mobile shooter would be officially released on the Google Play Store on October 1st, which means the game is now available on Android. As expected, this is a free-to-play release. In-app purchases, loot boxes, and a premium pass are included, not to mention a plethora of cosmetic items and an expensive in-game currency. Still, the amount of nostalgia offered in the title is hard to ignore, and the gameplay luckily holds up, which is why the game is definitely worth a look.
Madfinger Games is probably best known for its Shadowgun mobile shooters, though I'm sure plenty of you enjoy its Dead Trigger zombie series as well. One thing is for sure, Madfinger is all about games with gunplay. Unkilled is one of its older FPS titles. It was originally released back in 2015, and it would appear that development has yet to cease as it just received a significant update. Not only is there a bunch of new content to explore, but there's a new co-op multiplayer mode that should really liven things up for the player base.
For better or worse, online mobile shooters are gaining in popularity with titles like Fortnite and PUBG attracting millions of players. Now, one of the pioneers of mobile shooters is looking to get a piece of the action. Madfinger Games has announced Shadowgun War Games. It's a competitive online shooter but not a battle royale title.
Welcome to the latest entry in our Bonus Round series, wherein we tell you all about the new Android games of the day that we couldn't get to during our regular news rounds. Consider this a quick update for the dedicated gamers who can't wait for our weekly roundups, and don't want to wade through a whole day's worth of news just to get their pixelated fix. Today we've got a storybook adventure, a free LEGO building and puzzle game, a falling block puzzle game, a hero collection RPG, an asymmetrical horror game, a MOBA-based first-person shooter, and a side-scrolling racing game. Without further ado:
Madfinger Games' Shadowgun Legends has been in development for so long at this point that I completely forgot about it. But apparently, Madfinger is still plugging away. The official company Twitter recently tweeted that it will be releasing on March 22nd. So yeah, we will have to wait just a little while longer, though it's reassuring that they felt confident enough to finally mention a date.
Gameloft is one of those publishers that really splits the base of gamers on Android. While many can appreciate the great looking games they bring to the platform, many others will despise the fact that they are all infested with numerous high-priced in-app purchases. Their latest release Modern Combat Versus does no one any favors in this regard.
Retro PC shooter Shadow Warrior has just been released by DevolverDigital onto the Play store under the title Shadow Warrior Classic Redux. This is a port of the remastered PC version that goes by the same name. With this release, you can expect cleaned up visuals, the original two episodes of the game, and its two expansion packs - Wanton Destruction and Twin Dragon. If you are any sort of first person shooter fan, this is undoubtedly the definitive version of a cult classic.
