N.O.V.A for the iTouch/iPhone Review

Nathan Krott, Associate Writer

April 3, 2010

It seems like Gameloft, developer of N.O.V.A are fans of the Halo series, as that is what N.O.V.A seems to be: A Halo clone for the iPhone; that can't be good can it? Quite the opposite is true actually as the game is very enjoyable as it was voted best action game of 2009 for the iPhone, and the game was only released in December. So what does N.O.V.A. Even stand for? Near Orbit Vanguard Alliances and even though that's a mouthful it is a new, fresh and exciting game the iPhone needed to really push the platform to a limit and show off that it can provide hours of fun. When you get your thumbs on N.O.V.A.'s learning curve of controls, various environments, and excellent plot and storyline, you'll understand why I say this is a must have.

N.O.V.A. is a run-and-gun first-person shooter at heart, but it uses big scripted moments and set pieces to create some high drama across 13 stages. If there is any disappointment in the single-player game, it is the lack of originality. N.O.V.A. is essentially Gameloft's Halo with few other shooting type games mixed all together. With such a great control system and nice pacing, it is too bad Gameloft did not express more within the game. It may be cliche but I actually enjoyed it and it got the job done.

You are Kal Wardin, a former soldier drafted back into service to protect Earth from the fury of the alien xenos. A vanished space station has reappeared outside of Earth's orbit and it threatens the orbital platforms. Humanity continues to endure following the collapse of our planet's environment. You must explore this station to find out what happened, which in turn leads you on a chase across the galaxy that inevitably ends in taking the fight to the aliens and returning peace to the galaxy once again.

Wardin has plenty of firepower to choose from, you have your assault rifles, shotguns, and sniper rifles. Ammo is everywhere, but sometimes you must hack open a crate via a short puzzle to obtain anything good. In addition to normal weapons, Wardin also has special skills like the ability to freeze an enemy for just a few moments via an energy attack. The trade off, though, is shield strength. This tactic adds an enormous amount of strategy to N.O.V.A. as you really do need those shields so you aren't dying every two seconds. However, when you meet a party of xenos, putting one on ice for just a few seconds is a great strategic move that helps with crowd control.

N.O.V.A.'s controls consist of a responsive virtual stick, you look around by dragging a finger across the screen, and fire with a dedicated button. Things have been tightened up, such as movement sensitivity. The aim-assist feature is also quite useful when you first start playing N.O.V.A., as it snaps the crosshairs to the enemy you are looking at but without over-compensating. It's just a little nudge. It does not play the game for you but when you are trying to cross an open field with a dozen xenos on a rampage, getting a little nudge to lock on to some enemies is sometimes the difference between life and restarting from the last checkpoint.

Gameloft also included N.O.V.A. with four-player multiplayer. You can either challenge local players or go online. There are five maps, each taken from an environment in the single-player game. I enjoyed multiplayer quite a bit but do wish Gameloft had added some sort of character progression or customization. All you can do is switch out armor color. I recommend the terrifying pink attire; it strikes fear into players' hearts.

N.O.V.A. runs smooth and I didn't notice any frame rate issues; last time I checked it was only $6.99 so go out there and enjoy kicking some alien butt Halo style on your iPhone.