Review · Campaign and multiplayer · Gameloft

Modern Combat 5 — the only one here with a story mode

Older than the rest of this list and it looks it, but the missions are short, the install is manageable and it runs on almost anything.

Weapon view in a Modern Combat 5 mission — A campaign mission in progress. Image from the game's official Google Play listing.

Why it is still worth a look

Every other shooter in this digest is multiplayer only. Modern Combat 5 has a campaign of short, self-contained missions — five to ten minutes each — designed for exactly the kind of session a commute allows. The writing is thin and the mission structure repeats, but the pacing suits the platform better than anything else here.

It also runs on modest hardware. On the four-year-old test phone it was the smoothest of the four, largely because it was built for the phones of its era.

Where its age shows

Textures are flat, animation is stiff and the interface follows conventions that have since been abandoned. Enemy behaviour in the campaign is simple: they take cover, they lean out, they repeat. Anyone coming from Call of Duty: Mobile will notice all of this in the first mission.

Multiplayer

Present, functional and considerably quieter than the other three games. Matches fill, but the player base is smaller and the range of opponents is narrower. Treat it as a bonus rather than a reason to install.

A connection is still required

This is the most common complaint about the game and it is justified. Even the campaign will not run without a live connection, which undercuts the main argument for having it — offline play on the move is exactly what those short missions would suit.

Multiplayer engagement in Modern Combat 5 — Multiplayer sits alongside the campaign in the same app. Image from the official listing.

Purchases

Weapons and upgrades can be bought, and some of them are meaningfully better than what the campaign hands out. In single-player this matters little. In multiplayer it is noticeable, though the small player base makes the effect hard to measure. The store listing carries the full purchase list.

Controls

Customisable and reasonably comfortable, with a simple layout editor. Aim assist is generous by default, which suits the campaign and slightly flatters the multiplayer.

Who it suits

Players with an older phone who want short missions rather than competitive rounds, and who can live with the connection requirement. As a competitive shooter it has been overtaken; as a source of ten-minute missions it still holds up.

Our rating: 3,5 / 5. Editorial opinion after three weeks, not a measurement.

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