Review: N.O.V.A.

The game that copied Halo and got away with success.

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8.4

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There is little to suggest that games which adopt the practice of eschewing originality to import ideas from other successful games into their designs are usually any better than their source material. More often than not, these games miss out on bits and parts of the template, eventually contributing to a design that just doesn’t seem to feel right. iPhone games, however, work differently. As the handheld platform is still young, it hasn’t seen quite the amount of action that more seasoned handhelds like the DS and PSP, and consoles have. This essentially means that even an unoriginal game can feel new on the iPhone. N.O.V.A. borrows heavily from the Xbox’s runaway success Halo, but escapes the failings of other copy-and-paste-ideas games on other platforms, even emerging as an impressive iPhone FPS experience that should appeal to any shooter fans who own an iPhone or iPod Touch.

N.O.V.A. has you playing as Kal Wardin, a former Space Marine who is forced out of retirement because Earth has come under threat from aliens called Xenos. Like any other quintessential gaming hero, you take the fight to the aliens bravely, hopping across the galaxy to eventually land on and stomp their mothership. While there’s nothing really special about it, it’s a story that would feel right at home with any gamer who has remotely touched on an alien world before. N.O.V.A. progresses the story through multiple recorded dialogues that play simultaneously with gameplay, making for inputs that do not disrupt the action.

Right from the get-go, evidence that N.O.V.A. is Halo on iPhone becomes clear. You have the standard array of firearms, including the default pistol, assault rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle, rocket launcher and plasma rifle against enemies that are basically moulds of the Grunts, Brutes and Jackals from Halo. That being said, there’s not as much of an enemy variety here as I’d like to have, and after a while, it becomes really old.

Fortunately, the number of environments and sequences keep things fresh. From cargo ships to jungles to ice-capped landscapes, you would be doing lots of stuff. While N.O.V.A. is a run and gun shooter at its core, there are sequences where you have to duck asteroids, get behind the turret of a vehicle, and play the sniper. There’s not much of an exploration element – if there’s a room that is off the beaten track, it’s probably one for ammo crates that can be hacked via a rather fun direct-laser-beam-using-mirrors mini-game.

Where N.O.V.A. comes into its own is its excellent controls. There are 3 control schemes to select from, but I’d recommend going with the default. The virtual analogue stick on the left moves the character, while looking and aiming is accomplished via moving your finger around the screen. All the other main action buttons like fire, jump, grenade and switch weapon are aptly placed, making for quick and easy access. All controls are also responsive. What I like about N.O.V.A., or any other Gameloft FPS title, is the way it fully utilizes the touch-screen for looking and aiming, doing away with the cumbersome second virtual analogue stick set-up. To help things out a bit, Gameloft has also implemented an aim assist function, allowing your crosshair to snap to the target whenever it’s very near an enemy. It makes for more accurate aiming without compromising too much on the skills needed.

For a mobile platform, the visuals are really stunning. Every environment looks consistently well detailed and character models and animations are well done. Dust particles under light rays is an ingenious addition, making the game that much more realistic. Aurally, the game shines, though it doesn’t quite measure up to the memorable score from Halo.

After you’re done with the 6 hours+ single-player campaign, there’s online multiplayer which ups the replayability of the game. There is an option to engage local players via Bluetooth or you can slug it out with other players through Wi-Fi. There are 5 maps, with each game being able to host 4 players, though unfortunately, only deathmatch is available.

Closing comments
Considering the amount of content that N.O.V.A. has for a mobile game, the game is a great buy at $6.99. For $6.99, you would also be getting a Halo clone right in the palms of your hands. And because Halo is not on any other handheld, this game is one that you should get. By mobile standards, N.O.V.A. is an epic title with impressive controls, visuals and sounds. The missions are varied enough to keep you occupied, though the game comes out short on the enemy variety. If you can overlook the linearity, N.O.V.A. is quite the FPS experience. This is one game that copied Halo and got away with success.