N.O.V.A. 3: Freedom Edition Review
A Brighter Tomorrow
It’s a showcase. An exhibition. Nay, a love letter to the modern console FPS brought to us by the mobile developers at Gameloft. It attempts, with much success, to provide a true FPS experience on mobile devices with as few compromises as possible. To show that our perceptions of the limitations of a particular medium are in no way indicative of the type of shooter experience it can provide. More to the point, is a sci-fi game based around famed N.O.V.A. commander Kal Wardin making a trip to the long dormant planet of Earth, to answer a distress call and eventually unravel a plot much larger than himself, but not quite as large as the considerable inventory of weapons available to him to stop the looming threat behind it all.
But in all honesty, you’ll be forgiven if that short blurb is as far as you dive into the game’s plot once you first set eyes on it in motion. This is because goes hand in hand with titles like as the most incredible exhibitions of the visual capabilities of mobile gaming. It doesn’t just kind of look like a mainstream console first person shooter, or give you vague remembrances of that gametype, but rather it stands shoulder to shoulder with many of them.
Now, usually I wouldn’t bother to harp on the graphics of a game since I consider them fairly low on the totem pole of factors which greatly contribute to the total experience of a title, but the appeal of rests largely in its fine looks. It’s not always artistically engaging (many of the levels and characters are straight out of the big book of FPS clichés) but the framerate, lighting and general graphical engine make it a technological deity.
Gameplay wise, is a pretty standard shooter. You run, gun and occasionally use some special abilities like shields and force pushes en route to total domination. It’s compared a lot to which is largely true from an aesthetical standpoint, but it honestly feels closer to a hybrid of that and . It’s solid, if predictable, with a couple moments of inspired scripting or level design to elevate it, at the very least, above its mobile competition.
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Unfortunately it’s undone by the game’s controls. As many strides as makes in converting true FPS experiences to mobile, it still doesn’t fix the awkwardness of trying to use the common dual stick movement and targeting system on a touch screen. You rarely feel comfortable making precision shots without just going into the games aim mode and slowly taking down everyone on screen, and when you factor in the game’s extra controls such as weapon switch, special abilities and even jumping, it makes things even more difficult.
This is especially impactful on the game’s multiplayer mode. Much like the overall experience, multiplayer is an impressive attempt at emulating its bigger console brethren, and certainly isn’t lacking in the features department, but ultimately does not have the smooth controls needed to foster any type of competitive experience. As a result, the multiplayer is easier classified as a novelty.
It’s all rather disappointing. Here is a game built upon pure ambition, in a time where such a thing is rare in a big-budget title, and even more scarce on the mobile platform. It aims higher than most, but fails largely through its inability to crack that elusive code which prevents mobile FPS game’s control systems from feeling natural.
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Luckily these faults are mitigated somewhat by the fact that the of makes the game free to download. You do have to put up with a couple ads here and there, but for the most part, it is far from the most intrusive of free to play experiences out there, and provides you with the original game with compromises you can gladly tolerate.
And you should download At the very worst it is a half-hour sneak peek into the technological possibilities of your mobile device. While many will ultimately fail to derive the amount of playtime the developers probably intended, even as a brief curiosity manages to ensnare the player in the possibilities of the infinite future before us.
Supply Hardcoredroid
N.O.V.A. 3: Freedom Edition Review - App Review 4U
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