Despite being lumped together more often than not, the TPS and FPS genres make for very different games with a very different style of gameplay. Just think about it: a camera, detached from your body, that can pivot around to peek out from behind corners, letting you scan your surroundings while staying completely hidden? Anyone who’s house-camped, snaking under a window, or has spent time tree-hugging in PUBG can attest to the efficacy of a TPS camera. Try doing that in vanilla CoD.
Exactly — TPS and FPS gamers are more akin to cousins, than twins. And with third-person battle royales getting all the love nowadays, we thought it might be important to remind everyone that there’s still plenty of great mobile games out there for FPS fans.
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Shadowgun Wargames
Developer: MADFINGER Games | Platform: iOS/Android | Price: Free
Shadowgun Wargames is clearly MADFINGER’S mobile answer to Overwatch, and does little to shy away from the comparison, indeed doing away with the more hard-edged, realistic aesthetic from their previous installment, Shadowgun Legends, and opting for a more stylized, high chroma look drawing obvious inspiration from Overwatch. The game does its best to bring the same gameplay mechanics of other hero shooters and is more successful at it than most other mobile titles.
The combat is smooth and seemingly well balanced. The game uses the same sci-fi motif and a roster of different heroes, each catering to a different play-style. There’s the well-rounded jack-of-all-trades character, the tank, the glass cannon, etc. Shadowgun Wargames’ only real drawback, as of right now, is the extremely limited hero roster, but otherwise, the game is the best bet on mobile to fill any Overwatch shaped in anybody’s heart.
Download Shadowgun Wargames: iOS | Android
Bright Memory
Developer: FYQD Studio | Platform: iOS/Android | Price: $3.99
Bright Memory is one of the single most eye-catching games, let alone FPS games, currently available on mobile. Indeed, the only thing more shocking than its stupendous graphics and superb animation is the nigh-incomprehensible fact that it is the work of a sole developer.
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The only feature of the game that shows any hint of limited manpower is in the scope of the game; it is, for all of its sublime visuals and cinematic storytelling, very short — with just about an hour of linear gameplay. But a spectacular hour that is.
You play as Shelia, a sci-fi super-soldier with psionic powers, plenty of firepower and an energy-sword. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome. Just check out the trailer for some of the best in-game combat scenes you will ever see on mobile. Bright Memory, in its current incarnation, also has a highly-rated PC version available on Steam, with a full-blown, fully-developed Console version, Bright Memory: Infinite expected next year.
Download Bright Memory: iOS | Android
Call of Duty Mobile
Developer: Activision | Platform: iOS/Android | Price: Free
When it comes to FPS, it doesn’t get more iconic than CoD. Call of Duty Mobile is one of the bigger titles on mobile right now, and for good reason. The game uses a 1:1 cherry-picking of some of the franchise’s most fan-favorite elements with some newer features thrown in. The same maps, game modes (at one point it even had Zombies), weapons, and of course: the same knifing.
As one of the standard-bearers of the genre, few have done it better, and this extends to the Mobile version as well. The gameplay feels like the Call of Duty we all grew up with, and it’s no surprise that the mobile version includes its own TPP Battle Royale mode just to stick a finger in the eye of PUBG. If anyone can get with it, CoD can.
Download Call of Duty Mobile: iOS | Android
Modern Combat Versus
Developer: Gameloft | Platform: iOS/Android | Price: Free
Modern Combat Versus is a surprisingly high quality, fast paced hero shooter with excellent graphics and a large player base. Which comes as no surprise, given the resources at its developer’s employ. Gameloft has a… divisive reputation in the mobile gaming space.
Though the company has been around for quite some time, developing games for a variety of platforms since 1999, they seemed to truly catch their stride with the surge of mobile gaming. Some of their titles are easily the most recognizable in mobile gaming — especially the Asphalt and Dungeon Hunter series, but are often maligned for extremely heavy pay-to-win mechanics.
All that aside, Modern Combat Versus is a lot of fun. Even if it has a few of Gameloft’s trademark P2W mechanics in the way of upgrade tokens that can seriously empower the heroes. The game is still competitive, nonetheless, and perfect for the casual gamer who wants to try their hand at a hero shooter with a different, less cartoonish aesthetic.
Download Modern Combat Versus: iOS | Android
Infinity Ops
Developer: Azur Interactive Games | Platform: iOS/Android | Price: Free
Infinity Ops is a beautiful and simple online FPS that chooses to double down on the basic staples of the genre without risking too much innovation. The futuristic sci-fi setting is beautifully rendered and gameplay is conducted in short, chaotic bursts in multiple game modes like the traditional deathmatch, team deathmatch, and an interesting Hardcore mode that doubles damage for all players.
Players have a variety of TF2 style classes to choose from alongside an assortment of universal weapons and gear, like the jetpack. The game even lets players mess with rules of gravity. All in all, Infinity Ops looks and feels exactly how you would expect a game called Infinity Ops to be; a sci-fi mashup of CoD, TF2 and Halo.
Download Infinity Ops: iOS | Android
Doom I & II
Developer: Bethesda | Platform: iOS/Android | Price: $4.99
Before there was Overwatch and before there was Call of Duty… before Counter-Strike, Half Life, Halo, Battlefield or Bioshock… before all of them, was Doom. The original sci-fi horror FPS, complete with it’s trademark low fps, left an impact on gaming that few other games can boast of. Indeed, Doom’s place on the Mount Rushmore of FPS games is indisputable.
And the first installment, alongside its sequel, are available on mobile and can provide both longtime fans of the franchise looking for an intravenous injection of 500 cc’s of pure nostalgia and those who are looking for an old-school, OG arcade FPS vibe with the same classic gameplay that helped define the genre.
Indeed, Doom I & II prove that graphics have nothing to do with gameplay; the game might look like Paper Mario dipped in nightmare fuel, but it’s incredibly challenging and will push any to the limit.
Download Doom I: iOS | Android
Download Doom II: iOS | Android
Critical Ops
Developer: Critical Force | Platform: iOS/Android | Price: Free
Critical Ops plays out like a well-constructed Counter-Strike clone that does well to differentiate itself from bullet-soak hero shooters. The gameplay in Critical Ops is fast-paced and strives for realism, with the slightest mistake opening up players to nigh-instantaneous death; the game even brands itself as “the most skill-based FPS on mobile” which seems fair.
Much like OG Counter-Strike, new players can expect to be jarred by just how easy it is to die. Though the game has been around for a while, with the initial release in 2015, it continues to pump out updates and boasts a huge community of dedicated players. Critical Ops should be one of the first stops for anyone looking for a more realistic FPS that does away with the growing emphasis on heroes or battle royales, and digs down into the genre’s original roots.
Download Critical Ops: iOS | Android
PUBG Mobile (FPS Mode)
Developer: Tencent | Platform: iOS/Android | Price: Free
Yeah, we’re serious. PUBG Mobile might be the harbinger of TPS games on mobile, and its FPP game mode might not have the same traction of its original counterpart, but with so many millions of active players, even a sideshow within PUBG has a much wider player base than most entire games.
And with the original game tried, tested, and beloved, few can hold a candle to the exciting battle royale gameplay and amazingly well-polished world that made the game the super-hit that it is today. Players more used to the third-person perspective may find it awkward at first, with the substantial gameplay changes necessitated by having the camera inhabit the head of the avatar rather than floating around like that stupid bird Tencent released awhile back.
But, if one can push through, the game’s trademark realism blends extremely well with the first person perspective, forcing players to adopt a more real-world style to clearing houses, entering rooms, and peeking corners.
Download PUBG Mobile: iOS | Android
There you go, FPS fans. A handful of great games for you to choose from, varying from from straight-up Overwatch Clones, to Counter-Strike Clones (imitation is the best form of flattery, they say), and even a few with a bit more creative distinction. Did we miss any of your favorite FPS games? Probably not. But let us know if we did.
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