N.O.V.A 2: The Hero Rises Again

Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance 2: The Hero Rises Again also known as N.O.V.A 2: The Hero Rises Again is Gameloft's second installment of the critically acclaimed^[1] N.O.V.A series made for the Apple Inc. iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Blackberry Playbook. The game was released to the App Store on December 16, 2010 for iOS.^[2] N.O.V.A 2 is set in the Sci-fi action-adventure FPS genre, and again bears a strong resemblance to that of its inspiration, the Halo series.

As with many of the action-adventure titles released by Gameloft, NOVA 2 features Gameloft's multiplayer service Gameloft Live.

Plot

The game starts with Captain Kal Wardin fighting off an army of aliens called the Voltarites in a huge spaceship. Later Kal Wardin opens the emergency exit door and proceeds to crash land on a Planet where he is targeted by automatic turrets and engaged by many troopers. Yelena, the AI attached inside his armor, contacts him and after a brief conversation it is revealed that Kal's current mission is to sabotage a war factory on the planet. On the way to the factory, Yelena explains that there's a new Alliance that plans to assault Earth and destroy its orbitals, N.O.V.A troops included. After the war factory has been sabotaged, Yelena's current location is found by the Alliance and they plan on deleting her. Kal is found and ambushed by an Alliance soldier that was washing a vehicle nearby.

The scene then turns into a flashback of a week ago, after the events of the first game; Kal Wardin was hidden by a group of colonists for six years and was enjoying his retirement living peacefully with them. Soon afterwards, when the colonists were under attack by a group of human soldiers and alien forces they retreated inside the alien ruins nearby while Kal repelled the attack. After eliminating the force that attacked the colonist's village, Kal was interrogating one of the soldiers when he was contacted by Prometheus. He explained that once more, the entire galaxy is at crisis and Kal must once more return to duty.

Gameplay

The Gameplay in N.O.V.A 2 is largely the same as its predecessor N.O.V.A., but features new weapons and several vehicle segments.^[1] The storyline is similar to that of its predecessor, following the same protagonist, Captain Kal Wardin, in the fight to protect the human race from the Voltarites, an alien race who allied themselves with a small number of human politicians. The Human-Voltarite Alliance aims to destroy all species that oppose them. N.O.V.A. 2 also features gyroscopic controls. Players can play through local bluetooth, local wi-fi, and online multiplayer through gameloft live.

Reception

The game received largely positive feedback following its release.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/NOVA/review.asp?c=17376
2. ^ http://www.knowyourmobile.com/mobile-games/mobilegamesnews/694438/nova_2_for_iphone_release_date_announced.html