Review: N.O.V.A. 2 - Alien Blasting All Over Again
by Staff Writer
December 17, 2010
Overview
A year has passed since the original N.O.V.A. was released, and now six years have passed in the N.O.V.A. universe with the sequel N.O.V.A 2. The sci-fi first person space shooter from Gameloft picks up where it left off now with everything in chaos, and everything up to you. The best first person shooter of the original batch for iOS the sequel has new standards in iPhone gaming to compete with.
Features
There is a 12 chapter campaign mode on space ships as well as jungles and deserts on various planets. On your journey you have access to over a dozen weapons, and three special abilities plus the chance to hop in a few different vehicles. Online and local multiplayer is included with the online portion allowing up to ten players in five different game modes with ten different maps.
The Good
NOVA 2 picks up right where the original left off in terms of a high quality first person shooter. The second you start the game your thrown into the action, and don't have a break the rest of the 12 chapters. It's an engaging journey from planet to planet dealing with different environments and new enemy types with more advanced AI.
The enemies no longer just stay in the line of fire, but come at you from all different angles. To be able to manage you need good controls, and you get great controls with three different methods to choose from. These are the best touch screen first person shooter controls around, and the game also takes advantage of the gyroscope if your device has it.
Playing through the entire campaign will make it well worth your money and time, and it's one of the truly deluxe games out there. The story isn't unique, but keeps the action flowing explaining why you’re killing so many aliens, plus offers a surprising amount of humor too. There are hours of enjoyment in the campaign, and then there is the online multiplayer to boot.
This may be the best online multiplayer around with quick connection, and ten player battles. The ten different maps offer variability, and the size of each map provides a ton of action, and a number of weapon types in close proximity. There are multiple game modes as well including all out battle and capture the flag that are really made great because of the number of players.
The game looks good with a similar graphical engine to the original beefed up quite a bit. The game flows smoothly with retina quality graphics with multiple enemies and weapon fire on screen. There is a nice soundtrack to go with the action, and overall most aspects are nicely designed to leave little to complian about.
There are many different objectives in this game so that's it's not simply just running along shooting everything in sight. There are some adventure elements as well as the ability to use different vehicles including motorcycle, and arming mechs.
The Bad
You need a quality Internet connection for online play to be stable. You can join on lesser connections, but there is interruption in the game with network errors from time to time when doing so. Also other players can freeze, and then when motion starts again you’re killed, but only when on a slow connection; none of these problems exist over a quality WiFi connection.
The game doesn't change too much from the original, and feels more like a new campaign on the same game engine. The graphics aren't much different than the original especially noticeable in the explosions and weapon fire. The graphics were great a year ago, but are a little behind some recent games.
One problem is that there is no way to dodge, you can only jump. You see enemies dodge by rolling to the side, but that move isn't available to you. That means you take damage often, and finding cover or killing the enemies first is the only way to stop it.The game isn't an original idea, but it's well executed, and offers the most fun of Gameloft's typical wooden titles.
The Verdict
NOVA 2 is the best first person shooter for iOS, and is a deluxe and enjoyable game for fans of the original or those new to the game. The campaign will keep you coming back for hours on end, and the online multiplayer may be the best around on top of the lengthy campaign. Everything is nicely designed, but the technical aspects don't seem too different than the original which is somewhat disappointing with recent graphical advancements in other games.
N.O.V.A. 2 is a should buy for $6.99 which is Gameloft's best effort to date, and another great offering for iOS.
