Modern Combat 5: Blackout

Modern Combat 5: Blackout is the fifth entry in the series that Gameloft built over the years as a mobile parallel to Call of Duty – a military campaign full of explosions, scripted moments, and Hollywood-style pathos, complemented by online multiplayer for those who want to compete against other players. The controls combine a virtual joystick for movement with touch aiming and automatic firing when the crosshair passes over a target, making the game accessible even without a physical controller, though it plays noticeably more comfortably with one.

The game was released in 2014 and at the time was among the visually most ambitious titles on mobile platforms – textures, lighting, and animations came close to what the previous console generation offered back then. Gameloft also built an elaborate equipment and progression system into the game, where players unlock weapons, armor, and character abilities both in the singleplayer campaign and in competitive multiplayer. The story campaign takes players through several world locations full of military missions, while multiplayer offered classic team modes with gradual level unlocks.

The free-to-play model relied on selling in-game currency and premium equipment, which was a common approach for Gameloft at the time, but it also pushed the game toward a type of monetization that pressured players to spend money for faster progress. Today the game is hard to find in app stores, and its online servers may be limited or shut down, so its main value now lies in the singleplayer campaign, if you can even get it running.

Why play it: For nostalgic players who want to see what mobile military action looked like at the peak of Gameloft's production, keeping in mind that multiplayer may no longer work today.