Call of Duty: Strike Team ducks out of cover onto iOS [update: trailer!]

A new Call of Duty ambushes us out of nowhere - on iOS no less! Call of Duty: Strike Team is a first-person shooter/squad-based RTS hybrid, out now for iPhone and iPad at $7.

Developed by Activision mobile studio The Blast Furnace, Call of Duty: Strike Team puts players in an squad of operatives sent to deal with the latest worldwide conflict in which the US has become embroiled. That's a brief synopsis of the single-player campaign, while there's also a Horde-like survival mode that's integrated with leaderboards.

I had a very quick go with the game's first mission on my iPhone 5 this morning, during which I stormed a snow-ridden Russian base as part of a two-man squad. It reminded me instantly of Raven Squad, Southpeak's Xbox 360 and PC FPS/RTS hybrid, thankfully not as plagued by bugs as that game was (at least so far!).

As per Raven Squad, in Strike Team I could toggle between two perspectives with one tap, the game almost instantly switching from a 3D overhead perspective, called Drone View, to a traditional CoD first-person shooter view, and vice versa. In the first-person shooter view, movement was tied to the left side of the screen, and aiming the right. I could auto-aim on enemies by tapping the sides of the screen, switch the scope on and off using a button tap, and use other buttons to crouch, stealth kill, and switch between squad-mates.

Meanwhile, in Drone View I could tap and drag my team members to locations, both in and out of cover, tap on enemies to take them out, or select variable options like stealth kills if the opportunity arose. According to the in-game FAQ, Drone View will prove most useful when stealth is the best option, or when facing "an enemy that's difficult to kill head-on."

Being a Call of Duty game, Strike Team of course features perks that are gained by leveling up. They can also be obtained using tokens, which can be purchased using real-life cash or earned through various in-game activities, like leveling up, beating the campaign, signing in with a Call of Duty account, completing waves in Survival Mode, and playing the game across consecutive days. It's also worth noting that gesture and gyroscopic controls are supported via the settings menu.

It's curious why Strike Team has launched with such little fanfare ahead of what will be the marquee launch of Call of Duty: Ghosts in two months time. Nonetheless, you can check it out for yourself on the App Store.