Gameloft's mobile tie-in to Marvel's latest superhero flick, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, sees star-spangled hero Steve Rogers battling enemy troops (no spoilers!) with his fists, feet, and shield, but unlike his 2011 console outing (Captain America: Super Soldier), in this game he doesn't fight alone. The free-to-demo Winter Soldier (also available on iPhone) is a squad-based action title that lets gamers control Cap, as well as a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents whose members each possess specialized combat abilities. The Winter Soldier has the elements of a competent mobile action game with its solid combat engine and attractive, cel-shaded comic book-like graphics. Sadly the repetitive missions, always-online requirement, and in-app purchase prompts kill much of the joy.

Gripping the Shield

The Winter Soldier is free to download from Google Play, but the game only allows you to play two of the 60-plus stages before it demands you to pony up $2.99 to unlock the rest of the game. That's not a lot of stages to explore what The Winter Soldier has to offer, but this type of shenanigan is one that's not uncommon in the mobile space.

The Winter Soldier is, at its core, an attractive Diablo-like dungeon crawler in which you collect gold and loot while vanquishing enemies. Each stage tasks you with accomplishing a mission that's vital to world safety, such as rescuing captured agents or hacking enemy computer terminals. The stages  are relatively short affairs that you can complete in under five minutes—one of the hallmarks of a solid mobile game. I've tackled and beaten missions while standing on a Duane Reade check-out line. The Winter Soldier is more entertaining in small bites, because there isn't much variance in game play to keep you entertained during long gaming sessions.

Cap Combat

Cap has many ways to bring down his enemies. Punches, jump-kicks, and charging attacks are just a few of his many moves. You can mash the attack buttons or tap an enemy to have Cap auto-focus his fury on that one particular baddie (he'll even tail the enemy should it move about the stage). I found myself  frequently switching attack methods. At times, I controlled Cap; at other times, I had him auto-attack the strongest villain while I directed a S.H.I.E.L.D. hacker to a computer terminal. This flexibility is useful when the action intensifies. Unfortunately, when you tap the melee icon once, Captain America unleashes multiple attacks. This is a problem because you can't break the animation if you want to execute another move instead.

Rogers, of course, totes his proto-adamantium/vibranium shield, which you can toss to take out enemies using swipes. As in the comics, Rogers' video game shield ricochets around the battlefield when tossed, stunning enemies and interacting with objects that glow blue. This interaction really makes you feel like you're Captain America, as for example, you throw the shield through a street lamp and fire hydrant to create an electrified pool of water that shocks enemies. Those interactive elements are sporadic, though. I would've loved to see more. You can level up Cap, gain new abilities, and collect numerous costumes that represent the numerous outfit changes throughout the character's 73-year history.