Pokémon Go made “augmented reality” a household term, but what if you would rather play soldier than trainer? Skyrocket Toys’ answers the call of duty with Recoil, an outdoor multiplayer AR shooter game that’s kind of like, well, Call of Duty. Using a Wi-Fi hub that broadcasts a 500-foot diameter “playing field,” you and up to 15 friends have lots of space to duck, hide, and attack using guns that attach to your phone for an augmented-reality experience. Set up sniper nests, create barricades, and call down air strikes to defeat your enemies. We had a chance to try it out!

The basic Recoil starter set includes two RK-45 Spitfire guns, a Wi-Fi base station, two belt clips, and and two phone clips. Before you can start playing, you need to download the Recoil game app from the App Store or Google Play Store. The first thing the app will tell you to do is use headphones. Recoil features 3D audio, so you can hear where you are being shot at from. Next, you’ll use the app to set up the base station, and follow the rest of the steps in the app to set up your gun.

During the game your app will display a game screen. On this screen you will see your health bar, how much ammo you have, and a mini map of the play area.

To start a game, one person hosts a lobby that other players can join, and sets up all the rules. Once everyone has joined, the host taps accept and the game begins.

Like most first-person shooters, you have a certain amount of health, which gets whittled away every time you are shot, or get hit by a grenade or air strike. When it’s gone, you’re dead. You also have a limited amount of ammo. When your clip runs out of bullets, hit the button on the bottom of the gun to reload. To get more bullets, run over the ammo that appears on the mini map of the play area on your phone screen. As in Call of Duty, crates will show up on your mini map containing power ups you can use if you run over to them, like air strikes.

It plays a lot like laser tag, taken to a whole new level by all the augmented-reality perks piled on top. Watch David Cogen from TheUnlockr take to the battlefield in our video review.

David Cogen, a regular contributor here at Digital Trends, runs TheUnlockr.com, a popular tech blog that focuses on tech news, tips and tricks, and the latest tech. You can also find him over at Twitter discussing the latest tech trends.

Related Posts

Your charging cable might get a workout if you try ‘Charchery’

The concept is as simple as it is destructive: you plug your charger into the phone to nock an arrow, and you physically yank it out to fire. It is undeniably clever, bizarre, and almost certainly a terrible idea for the longevity of your hardware.

Your Fable reboot preview is here, open world Albion looks gloriously chaotic

The hook is familiar, your choices matter, people notice, and consequences linger. The difference is scale. This is a fully open world take, with townsfolk on routines who respond to what you do, even when you think no one’s watching. It’s still chasing that mix of heroics, petty crime, and dry British humor, only with modern action RPG muscle.

Nintendo’s latest product wants to cheer you up with random quips

Nintendo first teased the Talking Flower during a Nintendo Direct showcase last September. The company has now shared more details about the product, and confirmed when it will officially go on sale. Based on the flowers in the Super Mario Bros. Wonder game, the Talking Flower is exactly what its name suggests: a potted flower that speaks around twice per hour, delivering lines like "Sometimes it's nice to space out" or "Bowser and his buds can't get us here, right?"