Gameloft have been churning out mobile games for a while now and for the most part they’ve been pushing the mobile gaming envelope especially when it comes to the graphics and N.O.V.A. 3 is no different. Does the gameplay match the beautiful and rich environments though?
N.O.V.A. 3 as the name suggests is the third in the the first person shooter series which follows the explosive exploits of Kal Wardin as he fights for no lesser prize than humankind itself. If you haven’t played either of the previous N.O.V.A. that’s not a problem, (although you may go back to them after playing this), as the game stands on its own and the short intro will soon get you up to speed.
As previously mentioned the whole look of N.O.V.A. 3 is completely immersive as the rich, massive, interactive environments are a pleasure to behold. Starting in and around the derelict buildings of San Francisco, through alien spacecraft and an explosive fire and ice wasteland the worlds look incredible.
As we’ve all come to learn though, games require more than just graphics to be a success and N.O.V.A. 3 is more than just eye-candy, in fact it’s one of the closest experiences to having a console in your pocket that I’ve ever played on a mobile device.
The audio helps this with the overall experience too, from powerful gun-shots and explosions to great voice acting and background music the aural experiences is excellent, especially if you listen with headphones.
The action comes fast and furious, right from the start and you will need fast fingers to keep yourself alive. These fast fingers have to be balanced with the amount of ammunition you have as supplies are limited especially if you don’t want to if you don’t want to increase the cost of the game by stumping up more of your hard earned money to upgrade your weapons and abilities.
The downside of the scarce ammunition though is exacerbated by some less than perfect controls. There’s nothing substantially different in N.O.V.A. 3 from other first person shooters but they feel unpolished and the limited customization ensures that we will have to spend quite a while with them before you feel at ease.
Spending time with N.O.V.A. 3 though is something you will want to do though as the rewards are worth it. A compelling, if short, campaign mode is great to play but the addition of not only a local wi-fi multiplayer but also an online version, via Gameloft LIVE, is going to have you hooked for months.
Six different multiplayer game modes as well as weekly tournaments keeps things interesting and as long as you put in the time to learn your skills so that you aren’t re-spawning every 30 seconds the online modes ultimately make N.O.V.A. 3 {$6.99} a very rewarding experience.
All this comes at a price, not the $7 that it’ll cost you in the App Store, that’s a bargain, but the 1.5 GB of storage space that it will take up on your iOS device. You may need to manage some space before installing this monster!
There are games that push the limit of mobile gaming and make other companies step up, N.O.V.A. 3 is one of those games and you don’t want to miss the bandwagon.
What we like:
What to know:
Game of the Year [rating: 3.5/5]
Game of the Year [$.99, View in iTunes] is a tap to shoot game where you are tasked with shooting “creeps” that are hanging from the top of the screen. While it is very simple to pick up and play, I can see that it would be quite difficult to master. With three different game modes: Challenges, Endless and Horde the game does present challenges in a few different methods. The difficulty mounts as you progress through the three different game modes.
Game of the Year for iPhone certainly boasts a difficult title to live up to and while it does have some redeeming features, it doesn’t quite live up to that title for me. When I got the game, I was not sure what to expect because the title didn’t give me that information. When I did realize that it was a shooter I was very happy because I’m an avid shooter fan. This game has some high points but left me with some questions.
When you load up this game you are greeted with three selections: Challenges, Endless and Horde. Horde is unavailable until you work your way through all of the challenges. “Challenges” was the first game mode I tried and it was pretty cool. It is a 16 Level game type where you have 5 waves of creeps each round that pop up in a variance of sequences, locations and intervals. Your goal is to shoot them just right so that you can “Perfect” hit.
One of the difficulties you’ll find here is that you have two six-shooters and missed shots do hurt your score so you have to be careful but also fast because the targets do disappear. You must reload your two six-shooters after each wave and this is something that I found to be very annoying and unnecessary. You will need all of your bullets each round so I am not sure why you are forced to click on the six shooter chambers at the end of each round. I was a little disappointed that if you failed, the creeps popped up in the same sequence, location and interval as they did in your previous try making it fairly easy to memorize the targets and take them out accordingly. The scoring is fairly simple but a little difficult to understand at first. You are rewarded a 1 to 3 star rating for how well you shoot. You can get a score boost if you shoot them in the right order but sometimes that is difficult as things start to get more and more hectic. I did feel that this could have used a little more explanation.
The “Endless” game mode was the next game type I attempted. In “Endless” you try to shoot as long as you can until you run out of time. There is a “Life Bar” at the top of the screen that is refilled when you have consecutive “perfect” shots. Your “Life Bar” decreases with passing time and missed shots so you have to be efficient and quick which can prove difficult. You also have to watch your ammo in this game type as it is even easier in the “Endless” game type to run out of ammo than in the “Challenges” game type. I was not a fan of the reloading in the “Challenges” game type but I think it adds a necessary degree of difficulty in this game type as the “creeps” don’t stop coming. Overall I really enjoyed this game type as it presented some new tasks that “Challenges” did not.
“Horde” is the third game type that Game of the Year has to offer and it is accessible after you have completed all of the “Challenges” game type. Horde is my favorite game type in Game of the Year as you are tasked with killing as many creeps as you can and guess what? NO RELOADING. It is pure unadulterated shooting my friends. I think this is probably the fastest paced of all the game types and you don’t have much time to think, just shoot. While it is the fastest game type, it is most likely the simplest as well. It does show your hit percentage, creeps killed and perfect shots so it gives you the opportunity to boast about those. Overall this game type follows the example that simplicity rules in non-complex games.
OpenFeint is also available for this game and I have been very impressed with what this can add to a game. OpenFeint is an open-source social gaming network that allows for you to connect to friends by the games that support it. I have found that it is widely popular amongst games and adds that social aspect. My favorite feature involved is the bragging about your scores to friends and providing water-cooler conversation at work about the games you and your friends have in common. This is a nice additional feature to an already interesting game.
I believe that this game is pretty good visually for a simple shooting game. I was a little let down that the backgrounds did not change per game type but this was just a small annoyance. I feel like a slight change in scenery helps break up the monotonous template of a game that is by and large very much the same throughout its different game modes. This is not a game ender but something I would really like to see in a future update.
The audio aspect of this game is very similar to the visual aspect in that it is not overly complex but suitable for a shooting game. The sound effect of the gun and the reloading is pretty solid. I also like the noises of when you shoot the targets or miss said targets. One thing that I’d like to see a change to is the constant music playing in the background that is the same from game type to game type. A little diversity in this would go a long way in to making this a more enjoyable experience.
Pros
Cons
$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Feb 05, 2011
Version: 1.0
1.0
Size: 15.2 MB
Language: English
Seller: NAWIA GAMES S.C.
© 2011 Nawia Games
Rated 9+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor
Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1 or later