Mobile Strike

App review by Neilie Johnson, Common Sense Media
Mobile Strike Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 14+

Another base-builder with familiar pay-or-wait formula.

iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, Kindle Fire Free Strategy Games
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Parents say

age 16+

Based on 33 reviews

Kids say

age 13+

Based on 2 reviews

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  • Mobile Strike App: Screenshot #1
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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this app.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Mobile Strike is a free-to-play game that constantly encourages players to spend money and has been advertised in TV commercials featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger's likeness. Gameplay consists of building and upgrading a military base by performing actions that happen in real time. Currency is used to speed up these actions, and players who spend real-world money on in-game currency have a decided advantage. The game features an alliance system and unfiltered in-game chat that contains player-generated content, including frequent trash-talking that can contain profanity. In addition to this, players can send one another private messages and Web links and can post on one another's profiles on message boards. The privacy policy indicates that the game's communication features allow players to communicate and share comments, private messages, and Web links.

Community Reviews

WilliamC 4
WilliamC 4 Adult
January 31, 2018
age 15+

This game is a gigantic waste of time.

I hope you have a lot of disposable cash, because that is the only way you will get large enough to even try to contend with the players in that game. Aside from them all being colossal dicks when it comes to the chat rooms, unless you spend a minimum of $1000.00 on the game from the word go, there is no way you will ever catch up to these players. Even if you played for a year to build up your base, by the time you got near them, the people at Mobile Strike will have upgraded the max level and you have to start spending AGAIN. I highly, highly,highly, highly suggest avoiding this game at all costs unless you like throwing money into a bottomless hole and getting nothing for it.

This title has:

Too much consumerism
1 person found this helpful.
Keith E.
Keith E. Adult
July 27, 2017
age 18+

Totally inappropriate for children! Grossly expensive!!!

There are two principal activities in this game: chat with others, build up a base for battle. The chat rooms are filled with inappropriate conversations for younger players. It's a bad place for women too, as almost everything that shouldn't be said is. The worst part is the cost to play. It's touted as a "free" game. It isn't, unless you want to play Farmville within a war game. It will cost you thousands to play if you wish to be competitive! In game packs are constantly offered at $99 to $349 each. "Bouncy crates" are constantly presented to encourage you to spend so you can get the "bonus" items in the crate too. This is in-app purchasing at its absolute immoral worst and should be illegal.

This title has:

Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
1 person found this helpful.
See all 33 parent reviews

What’s It About?

MOBILE STRIKE's story isn't apparent within the game, but online trailers for the game (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a high-level commander) offer more in the way of justification. New players are thrown into an extended tutorial that indicates the need to build up a military base in preparation for being attacked and for waging war on other bases. As in other, similar games such as Game of War and DomiNations, players gather resources, build, and fight; sometimes players have to wait for a task to finish before moving on but can pay real money to speed things up and get more stuff. In cooperation with other players, you can launch attacks on bases, though no graphic violence is shown.

Is It Any Good?

Though kids do have to strategize a bit, this is less a game than a repetitive round of "tap and wait" and plays just like all the others of its kind. After a long tutorial that walks players through building and upgrading a range of military structures and buying premium currency from the in-game store, there's no narrative or explanation of the setting. The term "game" applies very loosely here, since all a player does is tap buttons, wait for timers to count down, and stare at static map icons. As a strategy game, it does offer some degree of planning by making your success depend on how efficiently you collect and use resources, but the payoff -- in terms of satisfying visual effects -- is small. Post-battle, your only reward is a results screen that dryly reports the resources you've gained or the troops you've lost. Truth be told, the most entertaining aspect of the game is monitoring the player chat, which is a constant stream of silliness and trash talk. The game has strategy alright -- a strategy for separating gamers from their money.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the chat feature and the risks of chatting with strangers online. Though the chat is focused on the game, if someone were to ask for personal information, what should you do? How do you report someone who is abusing the system?

  • Talk about remotely waged war. Modern warfare is often fought with distance-based weapons such as missiles and drones. Do you think that makes it easier for soldiers to kill? If so, is that a good thing?

  • Discuss pay-to-play games. Does it seem right for free-to-play games to give paying players an advantage?

App Details

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