Pocket Fleet Review: White-Knuckle PVP Fun, Five Minutes At A Time

The term "Multiplayer Online Battle Arena" (MOBA) is a relatively new way to refer to an old idea: a multiplayer, somewhat symmetrical game, in which teams of players face off against each other. It's the bread and butter of online shooters and racing games, but up to this point hasn't enjoyed much success on Android, just because mobile controls aren't well-suited to the ultra-twitchy competitions that comprise most of the genre. Developer Overdose Caffeine is trying to change that with Pocket Fleet, a free space-based MOBA.

At its heart, Pocket Fleet is a space shooter in the vein of Asteroids. You get a single, relatively small ship, two weapons, and a 2D arena. Your objectives are twofold: destroy the enemy players in ships similar to yours, and destroy the enemy shipyard, before they can blow up your own. There are also dogfight, capture the flag and player versus environment modes. Between the multiplayer aspect and the ability to choose your ship and your weapons, it's a unique experience. While not without its flaws, anyone looking for mobile-friendly and fast-paced competition should give it a try.

Red Five, Standing By

When you first run the game, you'll have to create a unique ID and password. Luckily this isn't tied to any existing account. Pick the humans or the robots (basically) and jump into a quick battle, or look for a room. When going the quick route, you'll usually be assaulting computer-controlled opponents (green), whereas the battle rooms will have you killing real, live humans on their phones. There isn't any difference in the play mechanics, but a good human will always give you a better challenge.

Controls are extremely simple. The game is played entirely in 2D, though the ship models were recently upgraded to 3D polygons. Tilt your phone to the left or right to turn port and starboard, and the camera will stay centered on your ship. Press the boost button to accelerate, and use two buttons for guns/lasers or missiles. Movement is zero-G with a little friction, so you'll have to master the momentum and turning speed of your ship to be effective. It's not exactly Wing Commander, but anyone who's played a top-down shooter will be able to pick it up relatively quickly.

Your number one priority is the enemy shipyard. Other fighters/players will try to stop you, but you won't win unless you manage to fill it full of plasma before they get to yours. In games with three or more people on a side, it can be advantageous to leave one defending, but most of the time the big ships will shoot opponents down so quickly that it's more effective to go all offense. Since the shipyards have two or three times your own armament, a hit-and-run strategy works best: get to the enemy ship, let loose a few rounds and a missile, then get out before it can react and destroy you. If you manage to survive for more than a minute or two, you can re-dock at your own shipyard for repairs or a change of equipment.