--Yelena, N.O.V.A. Legacy
Modern smartphones are capable of playing games that provide the equivalent of older generation console experiences, all on a device smaller than the 3DS, PS Vita, or Switch. Smartphone games like Alien Isolation: Blackout [1] exemplify this possibility. N.O.V.A. Legacy is a very lackluster example of what Android and IOS gaming can actually accomplish. I remember playing the original version of N.O.V.A. on my iPod Touch back in 2010, and while smartphone/tablet gaming has even greater potential today, N.O.V.A. Legacy does very little to update the game beyond adding microtransactions, making energy units necessary to play campaign missions, and introducing ads. This franchise that has largely been tied to smartphones and tablets is but a fading shadow of what it could be.
Production Values
When ports of modern console games like Tales from the Borderlands and Ark: Survival Evolved can be purchased on Androids instead of the Switch, PS4, or Xbox One, though with lesser graphics, it is pathetic that Gameloft, a company that once tried to push the boundaries of IOS/smartphone gaming even as it overtly imitated major franchises at almost every step, would release a new edition of an old game and have it look and run like this is a travesty of sorts. The campaign locations do at least shift from the inside of a spacecraft to a jungle planet (not that the animation is detailed enough to convey this well), but blurry textures, a general lack of animation detail, and periodic slowdown that interferes with the most basic actions all testify to how lazy Gameloft is when it comes to N.O.V.A. Legacy. The slowness can be at its worst in multiplayer--which has other major issues, like unbalanced rounds pitting new players with lower-level weapons against those with the time or money to upgrade theirs extensively.
Gameplay
Confirming just how limited the scope of the game is, you are not able to run quickly, crouch, or jump, and the only way to fire any weapon is to aim at or right next to an enemy. There is very little mobility in this game. Then there is the fact that the levels are extremely short, chopped up to seemingly provide a very quick experience for players who will play when they have little free time--and to give an excuse for the new system that uses two to three out of ten energy units that can be more quickly recharged for making microtransactions. As annoying as microtransactions can be, they do not objectively ruin the quality of an excellent game, but N.O.V.A. Legacy has very little that is not mediocre, incomplete, or downright pathetic.
Chaining kills and getting headshots does earn additional coins that can be spent without using real currency, and watching ads when the option appears after completing missions doubles either coins or crystals, but not both at once. Given that there are enough cards for an upgrade, these coins can be spent on upgrades for any of the unlocked weapons or suit shield cores. Upgrades gradually bestow massive improvements in combat ability and defense, and I do mean gradually. However, the doubling effect from ads and the large number of coins received for completing three specific achievements in missions can make it somewhat easy to amass more than a thousand coins in a single day.
Basic multiplayer awards coins for participation and it even does not require using the energy units spent on campaign missions (which are recharged after waiting or by spending crystals or actual money), but it can be exceedingly brutal for new players if other players have weapons inaccessible to them. The difference in weapon power is very significant! As you slowly buy or earn enough resources to unlock and enhance superior weapons, every mode of the game becomes far easier. Multiplayer might be enjoyable at this point for players who were too frustrated at the beginning. It is just that it could take spending actual money or lots of time to reach this point. Unfortunately, having to wait to for single player energy units to be restored does not help one progress very quickly, delaying more coins and resources to be earned from the campaign.
Story
Some spoilers are below, but there is almost nothing to spoil.
A former Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance member named Kal Wardin joins a fight against an alien faction termed Xenos, his AI companion Yelena giving him advice and updates. Another AI calling itself Prometheus reveals itself to him and warns Kal of a potential betrayal ahead of time. Eventually, Kal visits the Xeno homeworld, only to learn of a planned invasion of Earth. If this seems short, it is because there is literally almost nothing more to the plot than what is described in just the preceding three sentences.
Intellectual Content
A lack of puzzles, collectibles, exploration, philosophical themes, and characterization make N.O.V.A. Legacy one of the most superficial games I have played in years. Even the handful of other Android games I have played and reviewed have far more substance in either their gameplay and stories or themes. Gameloft has done something quite unexceptional in every regard with this game, even and especially with the conceptual depth. There is no effort at all to create a thoughtful story or directly brush up against anything having to do with the aspects of philosophy that are present in science fiction as a genre.
Conclusion
Despite the inherent control limitations for smartphones, short of syncing wireless gaming controllers, "mobile" games could replicate aspects of console or handheld gaming experiences in full. Indeed, this has already been done with both ports and original games for smartphones. N.O.V.A. Legacy just does not showcase what Android software is capable of. Loading times that can last as long as a couple of minutes, a very restrictive energy system that moves N.O.V.A. into full microtransaction territory, unbalanced multiplayer matches, and a very short campaign divided into tiny fragments of what could be more conventional levels do the franchise no favors. If there is ever a sequel or remaster if older series games, there are many problems or obstacles to smooth gameplay that need to be addressed.
Content:
1. Violence: Bloodless shooting and melee strikes without gore is the only kind of violent in-game behavior.
No comments:
Post a Comment