Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Mobilized review

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Mobilized recognizes and reproduces what its franchise has always been known for. Enemies constantly pouring out of nooks and crannies while you push forward with bullet fed justice. However, Mobilized is missing what makes its big brother such a blockbuster experience: insane amounts of polish.

It’s nice to see n-Space bring a first-person shooter to the Nintendo DS, but even with our expectations in check, Mobilized still feels dull. If anything more than a gun appears on screen, get ready for performance problems. Things tumble downhill as your left hand quickly cramps as you earnestly squint and aim at distant enemies that look like a few brown and green dots.

Yet even with those cramps, the core shooting behind Mobilized remains incredibly fun (especially with such a great assortment of weapons). Your AN94 assault rifle rips through rounds with a satisfying burst that leaves crumpled foes.

Still, we wish n-Space removed the iron sight aiming; awkwardly tapping the top right corner to toggle it only slows everything down. Death comes fast, and having this mechanic brings it faster. It seems iron sights are here to stop Call of Duty fans from yelling sacrilege, but it’s simply not a good fit for the DS.

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From flying a reconnaissance plane to guessing computer passwords (which feels straight out of The Price is Right), the stylus based minigames break up the combat’s occasional monotony. Sometimes fun and other times not as much, the minigames give a much needed rest to your cramping hand.

More rest came when not a single player could be found for an online multi-player match. Unfortunate because replacing a linear mission with an unpredictable opponent usually results in fun. Mobilized cannot completely emulate its older brother and should get better at what makes it unique. That’s what our mothers always told us.

Nov 23, 2009