MobileWar – turn your phone into a virtual laser tag game!
by Paul Wilks
Jun 8, 2012 9:02 AM –
Install
MobileWar is a slick and well presented location-based shooting game. Using your GPS, battle it out with other players in all-out mobile war! It’s simple to play and easy to set up, you just need the app, a good signal and some buddies to play it with. Lock and load!
Price: Free, $1.99
Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Low Maturity
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Fun game for running around outside!
- Nice user interface!
- Easy to play!
- Cool sound effects!
Cons
- If their signal drops, nothing really happens (might be an idea to launch an explanatory message to other players).
- Occasional force-closure.
Features:
MobileWar is an original and exciting shooting game that uses your GPS and accelerometer to track yourself and your buddies in all-out mobile combat. Lock and load your mobile device, aim it at your opponent and shoot! Accumulate killscores and deathscores to become the winner.
Set up is easy. From the menu select New Game (or join game if someone else has already set one up), enter a nickname, enter a name for the game itself, ‘Deathmatch’ or ‘Mayhem’ are good to start with if you’re suddenly lacking imagination. 
Here you can also choose whether to show enemies on the games map, or hide them. Additionally you can set a game time- anywhere between 5 minutes and 1 hour. Once created, get your buddies to do the same and join your game. Once everyone is in, it’s game on!
Playing the game is brilliantly silly, but loads of fun. While testing the app, it amused me greatly that I was actually taking my daughter into the garden to shoot at her. It’s up to you whether you want to roll around and dive behind things in full combat gear (we didn’t, to be fair, the ground was wet), but it’s a good idea to find an area that gives you some hiding space… like a shed or woody area. To shoot accurately, you need to be facing the person you’re shooting at and, while there is a tiny lag as the game picks up your position and accelerometer, it’s pretty accurate.
Shooting, reloading and being killed all include great little sound effects, so even if you are running around and hiding, you know if you’ve been shot. You have a 10 second window as you respawn, so it’s best to find some cover in that time. I guess the joy of this is, you can select to play for a short period or even an hour. If you can all get a strong 3G signal, or have big garden to play in (that’s covered by WiFi signal), these environments are ideal for best performance.
I did note that, if signal was momentarily lost, there’s no indication to other players that someone has dropped off, other than their arrow going dark. It led to a gathering in the middle of the garden, trying to identify the problem, and then- as signal kicks in again- being shot at point blank range. This aside, the game is loads of fun, and my daughter automatically asked to play it again soon. 
Watch on Mobile
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MobileWar – Main menu
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MobileWar – Create game
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MobileWar – Select server
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MobileWar – Beginning of game
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MobileWar – Press red button to fire
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MobileWar – Drag downwards to reload
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MobileWar – Don’t waste bullets while they are respawning
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MobileWar – Respawning
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MobileWar – Final score
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MobileWar – Help
Fun Factor:
It’s lots of fun and, if the weather where you are is warming up, this is an ideal pursuit for the summer months. It does rely on a strong signal to play, but gameplay is otherwise accurate and responsive.
Addictive:
I certainly think this can be, if you have an equally enthusiastic friend or group of friends. For my testing period, the weather was atrocious, so it was difficult to sell the idea to other friends to gauge how many players can take part at one time.
Graphics:
The graphics during gameplay are quite basic really- but then you’re spending more time ensuring you aren’t in the line of fire than worrying about how slick the visuals are. There are essentially military-themed and look pretty good.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The accelerometer determines which direction you’re facing and I found this to be very responsive and fast- although this will obviously depend on signal, etc. The sound effects are great; death screams, reloading noises and shooting sounds all reverberate throughout the game, adding some intensity, humour and immersion.
Tags:
Accelerometer,
Android App,
Android Apps,
Android Game,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Battle,
Combat,
GPS,
Location Based,
MobileWar
Categorised in: Arcade & Action
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