Code of War: Mobile Shooter

What the game is

A free online shooter in the mould that mobile has settled on: short matches, a 5v5 team mode at the centre, and an arsenal to grind through. Code of War switches between first- and third-person views and keeps the fights brief, with no campaign to speak of.

Beyond Team Deathmatch there's a free-for-all Solo mode, objective-based Special Forces missions and tournaments with leaderboards for ranked progression. Guns span assault rifles, shotguns, snipers and explosives, and the maps range from urban streets to open ground built for long-range shooting. XDEVS LTD is the developer, and the game needs a connection.

How a session plays

Queue up, land in a match, and spend a few minutes trying to come out ahead. The loadout you bring matters: a shotgun build on an industrial map plays very differently from a sniper on an open field, and the map rotation nudges you toward keeping more than one setup ready.

Between matches, the usual free-shooter economy takes over, where better equipment is earned through play. The description is candid about this. A session tends to be a handful of rounds, a look at the leaderboard, and a decision about which weapon to work toward next.

Why people look for it

Players who want a competitive shooter without the baggage of the biggest names look at games like this one. The 5v5 team deathmatch is the mode most people actually want from a phone shooter, the tournament leaderboards give a reason to keep queuing, and the mix of close-range and sniper maps means one playstyle doesn't dominate.

Look and feel

Military-realistic, judging by the category and the setting list: concrete, warehouses, fields, and a HUD with a minimap, ammo counter and fire button. The five screenshots will show some of these maps and probably the weapon customisation screen. Switching between first- and third-person means two distinct ways of seeing the same arena, which is unusual at this scale.

Updates and upkeep

The thinnest signal in the batch for a multiplayer game: a 4.3 rating from around a thousand reviews. For an online shooter, player population matters as much as code quality, and a small review base raises the question of how full the lobbies are, which the listing can't answer. XDEVS LTD is a small developer. It's an App Store listing as far as our page goes.

Good for

• Quick firefights

  Matches are built to be short, so a round fits between other things.

• Loadout experiments

  Four weapon classes and varied map sizes reward keeping more than one setup.

• Ranked climbing

  Tournament leaderboards give the grind a visible destination.

Before you install

Rated 17+, so it's not for younger players. The game is free, and the description says the better gear comes through time invested, which strongly implies a purchase path to shortcut that, though prices aren't listed. An internet connection is required for everything. Whether an account is needed, how much storage it takes and whether ads appear are all unstated. Lobby population is also unknown.