About This Event

Professional and/or competitive shooter games are fast becoming a sustainable industry trend for mobile gaming with both game development and smartphone hardware reaching the point where phones can absolutely deliver top-notch gaming experiences — even for first-person shooters.

This still probably sounds like crazy talk to traditional PC gamers but the facts are that mobile shooters have cut out a nice niche within the pro-gaming community — franchises such as PUBG Mobile and Guns of Boom have competitive eSports leagues that can be advantageous to people who love to stream or try playing for cash in a tournament. Just like other online games for console or PC, mobile games reward teams who can practice and train together — or you can just jump into the game and have some fun on your phone.

Call of Duty: Mobile

Call of Duty is one of the most popular selling game franchises of all time, so it was only a matter of time before a proper mobile version of the game was released by publisher Activision. CoD Mobile offers several ways to jump into multiplayer action with friends or strangers. Each multiplayer match type is 5-on-5 and the parameters are slightly different depending on the mode you choose:

• Team Deathmatch is pretty standard fare with random respawn points and each team racing to get to 50 kills (40 if you're playing a ranked match)
• Frontline is similar to Team Deathmatch except each team's respawn point is fixed on either side of the map.
• Domination adds in capture points that each team must secure and hold to earn points. The first team to reach the score limit wins.
• Search and Destroy is a tactical mode with no respawns that is played over several rounds. One team is tasked with destroying an objective while the other team plays defense.

All those modes are available to play in unranked matches, while only Team Deathmatch is available to start for ranked matches. Ranked Domination and Search and Destroy modes are only unlocked as you move up the rankings ladder.

If that wasn't enough, there's also a 100-player Battle Royale mode that you can play in first-person or third-person view in solo, duo, or 4-person team modes. Battle Royale mode also introduces a class system that gives your player a special ability to assist your team on the battlefield. Most recently the developers added Warfare mode, a 20vs20 match on the Battle Royale map with respawns that straight up kicks ass and leads to an all-out war as both teams race to reach 150 kills first.

Call of Duty: Mobile is another free-to-play game that is buoyed by a Battle Pass system that encourages you to buy in-app currency to spend on a premium battle pass for more rewards or even more cash on cosmetic skins for your character and weapons. The good news is that you don't need to pay any attention to the in-app purchases to enjoy the game, but they're there for those who care.

PUBG Mobile

It's incredible how well PUBG Mobile plays on Android. The main attraction is the massive PvP Battle Royale mode that pits 100 players against each other on a massive island loaded with weapons, ammo, tactical gear, and vehicles. You drop in as a solo player or as part of a team and must use all your best skills to take down your opponents until you're the last man standing.

Tencent Games continues to add new content to the game every couple of months with new maps or different arcade modes added over the years to add a depth of gameplay that is unlike other free-to-play games. Of course, there's a tiered progression ladder with a free game pass and a premium one that offers more cosmetic rewards. Every six to eight weeks, the game pass resets to introduce a new season that typically introduces new premium cosmetics rewards to unlock and collect.

For players looking for a more competitive experience, you can join or custom-create a clan where you can team up and practice your tactical strategies. Due to its global popularity, PUBG Mobile has developed a bustling eSports community. Think you've got the goods? You can try out for a competitive team and start competing in privately-run tournaments, and then assemble your best squad and enter the PUBG Mobile Club Open.

PUBG Mobile manages to deliver a deep, well-rounded and varied gaming experience with graphics, controls, and game performance scaled down perfectly for play on mobile devices. There's just so much to enjoy here without having to participate in the in-game economy or premium game passes. In fact, I've almost given up playing the core Battle Royale mode because some of the Team Deathmatch and zombie modes are so dang fun to play all on their own.

Critical Ops

Critical Ops is one of the best first-person shooters available for Android. It offers three game modes to choose from: bomb defusing, team deathmatch, and gun game where you cycle through different weapons every time you kill an opponent. Boasting over one million active daily players, you'll always be able to jump into a match with little to no wait time.

It's kind of got that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare vibe to it, mixed with a healthy dose of CounterStrike to create a best-of-both-worlds scenario that offers great graphics and really solid controls. It's free to play with in-app purchases available but you can only buy skins for your guns and the developers have assured players that this game will never be pay-to-win.

I appreciate the simplified menus and how quickly you can jump into a match here. The action is always fast-paced and intense, making Critical Ops one of my go-to shooters when I've got a couple of minutes to kill.