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Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance, better known as N.O.V.A. for short, is an atmospheric action-adventure video game, developed by Gameloft Bucharest and distributed by Gameloft. It was released globally on iOS and WebOS in December 17, 2009 with it being one of the first games containing the Gameloft LIVE! online gaming service. However, it then re-released globally for Android devices in November 25, 2010 and then re-released once again for PlayStation 3 and PSP (PlayStation Portable) globally in December 22, 2010.

Gameplay[]

Plot[]

In the far future, Earth was no longer able to sustain life on its crust. Because of that, huge satellites called "Near Orbitals", were designed and built for people to live on. In order to protect themselves, mankind formed a group called the Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance.

Recreational Colony[]

An ex-officer, named Kal Wardin, is approached by two soldiers of the Alliance, who proceed to knock him unconscious before gearing him up with a 'Mobile Armoured Suit'. The suit is equipped with a female Al called Yelena, who tells Wardin that the Alliance has recalled him to duty in a time of emergency. She tells him that his objective is to investigate the Colonial Pride, an Alliance space frigate, which recently went silent for unknown reasons. Wardin heads over to a nearby shuttle before taking off into orbit.

Colonial Pride[]

On board the Colonial Pride, Wardin finds that the ship has been attacked by a mysterious alien group which the humans know only as 'Xenos'. The crew have been slaughtered, and so General Korolev orders Wardin to activate the Pride's self-destruct process. After fighting through a number of Xenos, Wardin is able to start the process, but he is also contacted by an enigmatic AI named Prometheus on the way. Prometheus does not give away his identity, but briefly implies that he can help Wardin to fight the Xenos. Wardin then escapes from the exploding frigate in a shuttle, and makes his way back to the ground below on New Ceres.

New Ceres & The Epsilon Bunker[]

Back on the surface, the Xenos have launched an attack by entering the Alliance's territory through portals. Wardin makes his way towards an Alliance outpost (Epsilon Bunker), which has been completely overrun by Xenos. Upon entering the outpost, he finds that a huge, spider-like beast has been sent in by the Xenos, and has killed many of the soldiers. Wardin manages to kill the monster and purge the Xenos from the base, before being redirected to a Xeno-controlled mining facility in an Arctic area. Prometheus also points out to Wardin that there was another frigate alongside the Colonial Pride, which mysteriously disappeared and is key to their investigation.

Mining Facility[]

Wardin reaches the facility, which he finds to be the place of the Xenos' largest portal. Prometheus warns Wardin that should he succeed in cutting off the Xenos' reinforcements, the Alliance will not need him any more and may come after him to kill him. Wardin starts to close the portal, but Yelena states that Prometheus was correct about the Alliance's intentions for him, and she is then deactivated by the Alliance. A group of soldiers are then sent to the area to 'retrieve' him, but Prometheus tells Wardin to escape through the portal to avoid execution. Wardin jumps into the portal and disappears in a flash of light.

Monolithic City[]

Wardin emerges in a mysterious alien city - a Xeno-controlled asteroid - and the portal closes behind him. Prometheus explains his true identity: he was originally a normal N.O.V.A. AI, like Yelena, but in an accident, he became fully self-conscious, was forgotten about and then went about helping people such as Kal. As Wardin progresses through the city, he comes across numerous terminals which Prometheus is able to read to determine the Xenos' identities, as well as their motives for the attack. The city actually belongs to a supremely intelligent race known as 'Those Who Judge', or just 'Judges'. The Judges currently live in stasis, and have left control of the city to an 'Automated Command Core. The Xenos are actually mere thugs, correctly known as 'Caretakers' - they patrol the city to protect the Judges in stasis, but also act as the Judges' soldiers. Prometheus also explains that the other frigate alongside the Colonial Pride had crash-landed on a meteor near the alien city. The Automated Defence Program had incorrectly assumed the crash as a human attack on the city, and had subsequently ordered the Caretakers to attack first the Pride and then the surface below.

Underground Core[]

Wardin makes his way to the city centre, where he finds the core of the Defence Program, known as the 'Citadel Guardian'. The Guardian attacks Wardin, but he manages to defeat it by destroying its weapons one by one. Upon the Guardian's defeat, the Program shuts down, presumably ending the Caretaker invasion. A number of holograms of the Judges then appear before Wardin. They tell him that they have seen from him how some humans are able to restore hope, but others, like the leaders of the Alliance, only want wealth and power. They then agree that all of the innocent humans will be spared, but the others, such as the general who commanded Wardin's execution, will be thrown into oblivion. They also declare that Prometheus, who did a lot to protect humanity, will become a representative of the human race, and that Yelena will also be restored.

Weapons[]

Levels[]

  1. Tutorial
  2. (Un)Happy to Help
  3. A Spark in the Void
  4. Falling into Paradise
  5. Falling into Paradise (Part 2)
  6. Firefight
  7. Firefight (Part 2)
  8. Wrong Way Out of Eden
  9. The Mirror, the Ghost and the Gambit
  10. The Celestial Citadel
  11. Enlightenment
  12. Judgment Day
  13. Judgment Day (Part 2)

Enemies[]

  • Grunts: Aliens equipped with armor with Jet-Packs attached to them along with Particle Weapons which act as the main infantry of the Xenos.
  • Imps: Large xenos aliens that can launch several rounds of fire and plasma projectiles, which can also launch explosives towards the player.
  • Red Demons: Xenos aliens that use brute force, which have two hammers to attack their victims,
  • Fiends: Small four-legged robots which can climb walls and attack the player by scratching their armor.
  • Corrupted Marines: Soldiers of N.O.V.A. (The faction) which are infected by a Xeno parasite which causes them to act aggressively towards the player.
  • Xeno Sentinels: Small drones that patrol the Citadel of the Judgers and attack the player by launching a burst of three plasma balls.
  • Heavy Demons: Giant robots that have cannons instead of hands which have the ability to teleport to different places.

Bosses[]

Multiplayer[]

Power Ups[]

  • +20 Health
  • +40 Health
  • +80 Health
  • Increased Jump Height
  • Increased Damage

Multiplayer Maps[]

  • Cargo Ship
  • Jungle
  • Bunker
  • Frozen
  • Void

Versions[]

Beta Version[]

N.O.V.A._FPS_-_Apple_Keynote_September_2009

N.O.V.A. FPS - Apple Keynote September 2009

In the Keynote there was a playable demo with place holder textures during the iPhone 3GS launch day.

Playable Demo[]

16 days before the official launch of the final version of N.O.V.A., Gameloft would give access to a playable demo of N.O.V.A. to some pages about video games such as TouchGen, TouchArcade, and SlideToPlay which would upload videos of this version to the internet.

PlayStation Portable Version[]

The PlayStation Portable version of the game debuted alongside the PlayStation 3 version in December 22, 2010. This version of N.O.V.A. has some differences from the mobile version which would be:

  • Changed textures for them to be lower resolution of this so that the game has less weight since the PSP had a low resolution screen.
  • Dialogues from the tutorial level being slightly different from the mobile version, to accompany the new inputs of the DUALSHOCK 3.
  • No multiplayer in this version.

Android/iOS Version[]

This is undoubtedly the most popular version of the game, development starting in 2008, their goal was to finish the game in at least 1 year, which lead to the game being rushed out. The final game got published in December 2009, and the game was a huge hit, spawning a trilogy and being widely acclaimed for being very impressive for it's time. In older Android versions (assuming Android 7 for being the first 64 bit version), the game became quite buggy with the most notable bugs being the sounds cutting off and looping improperly.

Tablet Version/HD Version[]

Also known as N.O.V.A. HD, it released on August 31, 2010 for iPad tablets and for Android tablets, this version has several improvements with respect to the original version of N.O.V.A. of which includes:

  • Sharper graphics with higher quality textures
  • Support for higher resolution screens.
  • Improvements added to the gameplay such as: an extendable map on the screen, mechanics such as throwing grenades, Activate elevators or opening blocked doors which can be activated by sliding your fingers on the screen.

HD David Rice version[]

An APK file of the HD version of the game was modified by David Rice in order to work on modern phones because later updates made the game unplayable on modern phones, this version introduced proper scaling, HD Textures, and features from the HD Tablet version brought over to David Rice's version. Today, it is the only best way to play the game on modern phones.

Freebox Revolution Version[]

In 2011 the Freebox Revolution would be launched. a modem launched exclusively for France which could function as a video games console, This modem would have several Gameloft games available, among which N.O.V.A. was available with an exclusive version for this modem. This version is apparently just a port of the HD version of N.O.V.A. with the difference of having a completely different UI from other versions of N.O.V.A., Outside of this, there is no more information about this version.[1]

LG Optimus 3D/HTC Evo 3D Version[]

On July 7, 2011, the LG Optimus 3D phone would be launched, a phone which could play videos and games with 3D effects, This phone would come with three Gameloft video games installed by default along with Angry Birds Rio, among these three games would be Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Let's Golf 2, and the first N.O.V.A. with an exclusive version for this phone. This version of N.O.V.A. It does not have any notable differences from other versions with the exception of a button to adjust the 3D effects of the game like the 3DS's 3D slider. This version would apparently also be released for the HTC Evo 3D, Another phone that has 3D effects which would be distributed only to certain regions.[2]

Trivia[]

  • Some sound effects from the Modern Combat: Sandstorm game trailer are reused for N.O.V.A. such as the Sniper Rifle firing sound or the grenade explosion sound. [3]
  • In the game files you can find a soundtrack that cannot be heard in the game which was going to be used for the boss battles within the game, However, this Soundtrack can be heard in the trailer for the multiplayer mode of N.O.V.A. and would also be reused for the Java game of N.O.V.A. in the battles against the bosses of the game.

Gallery[]

Promotional Images[]

Official Screenshots[]

Website[]

PSP Version[]

iPad Version (Beta)[]

iPad Version[]

Concept Arts[]

Concept Arts For Characters and Armors[]

Concept Arts For Enemys[]

Environment Concept Arts[]

Micellaneous[]

(Note: Open images to see them in more detail).

Videos[]

External Links[]

See Also[]

Sources[]

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