At any given moment in the immensely democratic Call of Duty first - person shooter games on consoles and computers , you might shoot your direction through a tumble near - future metropolis , dominate ecumenical competition in frantic on-line shootouts , or survive a horrific zombie uprising with a small group of allies .
By line , Call of Duty : Heroes(free ) for iPhone and iPad finds you tapping your direction through menus , watching your automatize soldiers fire rape rifles at large buildings until they blow up , and wait for timer to tick down . Quite a difference of opinion , no ? old hand of a certain lightweight freemium scheme feeler will recognize this as a forward-looking - military themed take on Clash of Clans , and no doubt , Activision hopes that audience will move from one big trade name to another .
But what of the core Call of responsibility fans ? Heroes ’ deed refers to the fact that you could pull in familiar characters from the shooter franchise ’s greatest hits , but that alone is n’t probable to convert instrumentalist to invest the sizeable time — and , let ’s face it , substantial - life money — involve to mother much success or excitement within this rote designing .
Clash of Duty
Remember all those hours spent in Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare and Call of Duty : Black Ops mining amber and drilling for petroleum ? No ? Me neither . It ’s fair to say that Call of Duty : hoagy does n’t makethatstrong of an travail to mask its heritage as a Clash of Clans - alike , albeit one now slather with the name and likeness of Activision ’s $ 10 billion franchise .
The rush - up - and - hold back advance might try out the patience of Call of responsibility rooter . You ’ll require to enhance your base as quick as potential , but protracted timers hold progression without spending Celerium .
The essence mechanics are selfsame : you ’ll slowly amass resource and start out expanding and enhancing your base , which mean waiting anywhere from half a minute to a full day for building to rise and upgrades to make out . Or you may spend precious Celerium , the premium currency found in Heroes . You ’ll start off with a apparently generous amount , but if you ’re hop to play for more than a few moment every couple of hours — or get anywhere tight — you’ll be tempt to beat out for packs that be between $ 5 and $ 100 in real - world money .
Of naturally , you may play without mess up through Celerium — which very slowly accrues through daily incentive and other furtherance — but make progress is a veridical plodding . And that ’s the percentage point , is n’t it ? Even the missions reinforce that whimsey : “ Create this building and get a reinforcement ! Now elevate that one and get a reward ! ” Except that each further rendition takes more resource and more time to execute , which apply to every structure , unit , and upgrade in the game . And so you wait .
That ’s not unique to Call of Duty : Heroes , but the serial publication ’ first freemium spinoff make little effort to cut off the musical style . or else , the core experience merely mimics Clash of Clans and its ilk with the constant allure of a larger root or more hefty soldiers on the celestial horizon . And yet millions of the great unwashed fire up Clash of Clans day by day , so clearly that gameplay approach has its willing lover .
Heed the Call?
So what makes this a Call of Duty game ? Luckily , some of the intimate serial publication nip comes into gambol . For example , you’re able to rally take flight drone and other futurist vehicles from the main games , and the unit of measurement course are all found on the kinds of soldier you ’ll fight alongside in the Modern Warfare and Black Ops entries . The menus and UI also sense suitably grounded in the Call of Duty universe .
This brief , eggbeater - mounted turret sequence lease you focus a small surplus damage onto the base below while your soldiers do their thing .
Memorable Modern Warfare characters like Price and Soap go the pack of heroes uncommitted to summon into battle , and they ’re slightly more interactive than the mediocre oink : you’re able to redirect them to fussy location , although they ’ll still attack on their own . Furthermore , each has “ killstreak ” skill like those seen in the main plot ’ multiplayer offerings , such as concisely manning a eggbeater machine gun turret to spray some bullet down onto an enemy cornerstone below .
And Survival modality is a nice little addition that recalls the concerted musical mode see in the shooter entries . You ’ll still confront off against wave of progressively herculean enemy battalions , only here you ’re simply testing out the strength of your existing base — rather than , say , blast soldier in the brass with the clink of a trigger . Still , it ’s something . Those addition do the smallest morsel to part Call of Duty Heroes from Clash of Clans , but not dramatically so : the drudgery remains intact , and but seeing portraits of fictitious hero does n’t really facilitate overcome the bout of tedium .
Here are three of the five current titular Heroes , mostly draw from the smash Modern Warfare game . Sadly , there ’s no real narrative linguistic context supply for serial lover ; these could be anyone , really .
What ’s disappointing is that Call of Duty : Heroes seems content to be another rehash with a fully grown - name brand attached . With the resourcefulness of Activision , Heroes could have bring up the musical genre , adding some much - needed excitement or moving off from such a transparent push towards in - app purchases . Instead , the boring resource gathering is still boring , your soldiers seem to actively search out death , and the visuals and animations are very underwhelming .
The recent Star Wars : Commander is a well example of learn this genre and make it fit well with an established blade . With two opposing sides to opt from , decorous narration hook , and skillful purpose of the serial esthetic , it avoided touch sensation like a quick cash - in .
What could have made the remainder here — besides an emphasis on more fighting gameplay , even if it break from Clash of Clans conception tenet — is some kind of link to the serial hero , through story segment or even elementary dialog exchanges . Or mayhap a linkup back into current console entry , Call of Duty : Advanced Warfare , like unlocking undivided content or temporary XP boosts for online play . Anything to add extra layers of need to the quotidian micromanagement would have been an upgrade .
Call of Duty : Heroes is n’t a wretched experience ; it ’s a fairish time - waster and a slender choice to Clash of Clans . But it cleave nearly to a flat , unstimulating rule that is n’t compatible with the shooter serial ’ frenetic tread or consistent feeling of being the star in a Hollywood military action epic . The blade might make this form of secret plan more sympathetic to some players , but extending the serial into a trendy genre for the least Call of Duty - like Call of Duty secret plan ever — without majorly meliorate on the conversant design — doesn’t say a whole wad for the franchise or its mobile futurity .
