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Clotilde Wilks
N.O.V.A. 3 Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance v.1.0.0 [Gameloft]
N.O.V.A. 3 Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance is a science fiction action-adventure first-person shooter video game developed by Gameloft Bucharest and published by Gameloft as the third instalment of the N.O.V.A. series. The game was released on the App Store and Google Play on May 10, 2012 for iOS, BlackBerry 10 and Android devices, with later releases for the BlackBerry PlayBook and Windows Phone 8 devices in 2013. The game features a single-player campaign, as well as a multiplayer mode with various modes and maps.
Plot
The game follows the story of former N.O.V.A commander Kal Wardin, who receives a distress call from his AI, Yelena, from the long abandoned planet Earth. He crash lands on the city of old San Francisco and joins up with Sergeant Becker and his N.O.V.A squad to fight their way back to the N.O.V.A base, while also disabling a Signal Jammer. A wounded Volterite detonates a bomb which blasts him out of the building. After helping him stand up, Sergeant Becker and his team come to know of his acts of heroism in the events of N.O.V.A. 2.
At the base, Kal finds out that the N.O.V.A has stolen the Judger's artifact. The artifact could transform Earth back into the habitable planet it once was. But the Judgers were not people to play with, and knowing this, Kal vows that after saving the Judger's artifact from the hands of the notorious Volterites, he would be resigning from N.O.V.A, and this time, permanently. He and Sergeant Becker ride a 4x4 to the artifact location. As instructed to, Becker gets on the gun of the 4x4 and covers the entrance. Kal manages to reach the artifact, but right next to it stands Prometheus, who forbids him to get the artifact.
Prometheus explains he is the hand of the Judgers, and he will be returning the artifact to them. Prometheus then tells Kal that unsurprisingly, Becker was overpowered and killed by the swarm of Volterites at the entrance. He then explains that Kal will have to retrieve two more artifacts for the Judgers in order to stop them from "cleansing" the world, killing both humans and Volterites in the process. Prometheus also tells him that he will have to get to the Fyna galaxy and battle for the second artifact.
The second artifact is hidden in an ancient Volterite ship, Therrius. Kal is teleported there by Prometheus, and gets the artifact, with the help of new Volterite ally Maz'Rah.
Gameplay
The game features a single-player campaign mode that consists of 10 missions set in various locations across Earth and space. The player controls Kal Wardin using virtual buttons on the screen or by tilting the device. The player can use various weapons such as assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, grenades and melee weapons to fight against enemies such as Volterites, Judgers and human rebels.
The game also features a multiplayer mode that supports up to 12 players online or locally via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The multiplayer mode offers six different modes: Free for All, Team Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, Freeze Tag, InstaGib and Capture The Point. The multiplayer mode also features seven different maps: Lost World, Badlands, Borealis Shipyard, Hell's Gate, Warehouse District, Seed of Life and Sky City. The player can customize their character's appearance and skills using credits earned from playing matches or purchased with real money.
Reception
The game received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its graphics, gameplay and multiplayer mode . However, some critics also noted its high system requirements, repetitive missions and lack of originality . The game has a score of 87/100 on Metacritic based on 18 reviews, and a score of 8/10 on IGN based on one review. The game has also been downloaded over 50 million times on Google Play as of April 2023.
References
- N.O.V.A. 3 - Wikipedia
- N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance - YouTube
- N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance - Gameplay Teaser
- N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance - Gameplay Nvidia Shield Tablet Android 1080P Part 1
- N.O.V.A. 3: Freedom Edition - Apps on Google Play
- N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance for iPhone/iPad Reviews - Metacritic
- N.O.V.A. 3 Review TouchArcade
- N.O.V.A. 3 Review Slide to Play
- N.O.V.A. 3 Review Pocket Gamer
- N.O.V.A. 3 Review Gamezebo
- N.O.V.A. 3 Review IGN