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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,283
30,344



Gameloft is offering up two of its most popular games for free this weekend. Both N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance and Gangstar Rio: City of Saints can be downloaded at no cost for the first time ever.

gameloftsale.jpg
Originally released last year, N.O.V.A. 3 is a first person shooter with impressive graphics and a science fiction theme. Like many of Gameloft's games, it includes a multiplayer mode that supports 12-player battles and voice chat to communicate with friends in real time. Our sister site TouchArcade has a review of both the single player portion of the game and the multiplayer component.

Both games are universal and free through the weekend.

- N.O.V.A. 3 - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance [Direct Link]

- Gangstar Rio: City of Saints [Direct Link]

Article Link: Gameloft's 'N.O.V.A. 3' and 'Gangstar Rio: City of Saints' Are Free for the Weekend
 

JAT

macrumors 603
Dec 31, 2001
6,473
124
Mpls, MN
No cost....may include some bandwidth charges for a 1.7GB game. Go wifi!

So, can you play NOVA3, or is it tied up with too much IAP?
 

ghostface147

macrumors 601
May 28, 2008
4,154
5,118
No cost....may include some bandwidth charges for a 1.7GB game. Go wifi!

So, can you play NOVA3, or is it tied up with too much IAP?

It's playable. I don't care for it, but it's free and I'll beat it eventually.
 

BJMRamage

macrumors 68030
Oct 2, 2007
2,710
1,233
I guess I could download them to the computer.
Then I have a record of app "purchase" and can DL onto phone/pad if I ever want to play them.

not really interested but maybe I can check them out some day
 

Plutonius

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2003
9,018
8,379
New Hampshire, USA
and this should end the discussion on the storage size of the device (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) you should get. Buy the largest capacity you can get since you will eventually fill them with huge free apps :).
 

hafr

macrumors 68030
Sep 21, 2011
2,743
9
I can't download either of them, "an unknown error has occurred" on the computer and nothing happens on the iPhone...
 

DJJAZZYJET

macrumors 6502
Jun 4, 2011
459
144
Always wanted to play nova 3. Its very good. And that GTA clone - City Of Saints is okay too.
 

gatearray

macrumors 65816
Apr 24, 2010
1,130
232
I guess I could download them to the computer.
Then I have a record of app "purchase" and can DL onto phone/pad if I ever want to play them.

not really interested but maybe I can check them out some day

If you have the available space on your iPad, you can initiate the download but immediately tap-and-hold to delete it as soon as it starts loading. So that huge game won't download to your iPad, but it will appear in your purchase list, no computer required. :)
 

RedTomato

macrumors 601
Mar 4, 2005
4,155
442
.. London ..
I like open world games but I have little time to sink into them at the moment. I'm starting to find these types of games intensely frustrating on my iPhone anyway due to the small screen. No iPad (yet).

Hmm. As the poster above suggests, I bought Nova /Gangstar on my laptop then cancelled the download just after it started. So at least they're in my app history for whenever I finally get an iPad. Though by then better games will probably already be out.
 

Albright

macrumors regular
Aug 23, 2011
130
299
As a huge fan of GTA-style sandbox games, I really enjoyed City of Saints, as well as the other Gangstar games (which I all played full price for). Yeah, the storyline is kind of strange, but every once in a while some clever writing shines through (Narco's character is very memorable). It does a better job of capturing this sort of gameplay on a touch device than I would have thought possible, and if you enjoy it, I really recommend checking out the other Gangstar titles (though the others, and the first one in particular, definitely look "older").

Gameloft has teased a new Gangstar title set in Las Vegas. I'm glad they haven't given up on this series - though they could still ruin it by doing the freemium thing, I suppose. Assuming they don't do that route, I'll gladly give them my money on launch day.

But I'll skip NOVA 3. I find FPSes unplayable on touch devices, at any price. That being said, I bought and enjoyed the Mac port of NOVA 2 enough for the price, and hope that Gameloft will continue making Mac ports of some of its titles, even though it appears they've dropped that experiment.
 

Irishman

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2006
3,388
842
No wonder they are free. Just played gangster, and its bad. Just bad.

The first 10 minutes of NOVA isn't BAD, but it definitely holds your hand. The control scheme isn't too egregiously awful and doesn't get in your way. But clearly the game looks and feels like Gameloft's - ahem - re-imagining - of Halo and Crysis for iOS. The graphics look very top-shelf for a phone game, as do the character animations and physics.

But 5 hours for maximum campaign length? Really? This game's replayability will clearly lie in its multiplayer. You've got to sign up for a Gameloft account to do so, though. A hassle, when they could have used Gamecenter.
 

kingtj

macrumors 68030
Oct 23, 2003
2,606
749
Brunswick, MD
re: NOVA 3

I decided to download both of these titles last night, before I lost my opportunity to get them for free. Put them on my iPad mini, and tried out NOVA 3 a bit.

I have to agree that I really like GTA style games (at least on my PS3).

But from the bit I played NOVA 3, I really disliked the touch-screen virtual controls. Without any tactile feel, it's too easy to press the wrong spot to activate the virtual button you meant to tap, and there's a bit too much flakiness to it reading your attempts to walk forward/back/left/right with the virtual joystick that appears when you press down in the bottom left corner.

These games would be MUCH more entertaining, IMO, if I could sync up a good bluetooth gamepad controller to the iPad and use it. It's unfortunate that the PS3 game controllers, although bluetooth, use a proprietary Sony handshaking protocol to link them to the console.


As a huge fan of GTA-style sandbox games, I really enjoyed City of Saints, as well as the other Gangstar games (which I all played full price for). Yeah, the storyline is kind of strange, but every once in a while some clever writing shines through (Narco's character is very memorable). It does a better job of capturing this sort of gameplay on a touch device than I would have thought possible, and if you enjoy it, I really recommend checking out the other Gangstar titles (though the others, and the first one in particular, definitely look "older").

Gameloft has teased a new Gangstar title set in Las Vegas. I'm glad they haven't given up on this series - though they could still ruin it by doing the freemium thing, I suppose. Assuming they don't do that route, I'll gladly give them my money on launch day.

But I'll skip NOVA 3. I find FPSes unplayable on touch devices, at any price. That being said, I bought and enjoyed the Mac port of NOVA 2 enough for the price, and hope that Gameloft will continue making Mac ports of some of its titles, even though it appears they've dropped that experiment.


----------

I decided to download both of these titles last night, before I lost my opportunity to get them for free. Put them on my iPad mini, and tried out NOVA 3 a bit.

I have to agree that I really like GTA style games (at least on my PS3).

But from the bit I played NOVA 3, I really disliked the touch-screen virtual controls. Without any tactile feel, it's too easy to press the wrong spot to activate the virtual button you meant to tap, and there's a bit too much flakiness to it reading your attempts to walk forward/back/left/right with the virtual joystick that appears when you press down in the bottom left corner.

These games would be MUCH more entertaining, IMO, if I could sync up a good bluetooth gamepad controller to the iPad and use it. It's unfortunate that the PS3 game controllers, although bluetooth, use a proprietary Sony handshaking protocol to link them to the console.


As a huge fan of GTA-style sandbox games, I really enjoyed City of Saints, as well as the other Gangstar games (which I all played full price for). Yeah, the storyline is kind of strange, but every once in a while some clever writing shines through (Narco's character is very memorable). It does a better job of capturing this sort of gameplay on a touch device than I would have thought possible, and if you enjoy it, I really recommend checking out the other Gangstar titles (though the others, and the first one in particular, definitely look "older").

Gameloft has teased a new Gangstar title set in Las Vegas. I'm glad they haven't given up on this series - though they could still ruin it by doing the freemium thing, I suppose. Assuming they don't do that route, I'll gladly give them my money on launch day.

But I'll skip NOVA 3. I find FPSes unplayable on touch devices, at any price. That being said, I bought and enjoyed the Mac port of NOVA 2 enough for the price, and hope that Gameloft will continue making Mac ports of some of its titles, even though it appears they've dropped that experiment.
 

Earendil

macrumors 68000
Oct 27, 2003
1,567
25
Washington
Clones of GTA and Halo? You'd have to pay me to install them.

While I can see how you might call it a "GTA Style" game, since it's very near its own genre and GTA made the genre popular, I don't see evidence that it's a "clone".

And calling any science fiction based FPS a "Halo Clone" is silly bordering on trollish. Halo is in no way the epitome of the FPS shooters the way some consider GTA to be, and I see no evidence that NOVA even uses those few elements that made the Halo games unique.

So actually, after my reply I'm rethinking what I said. I'm pretty sure at this point that you're a troll. Oh well, here's some food.
 

0098386

Suspended
Jan 18, 2005
21,574
2,908
While I can see how you might call it a "GTA Style" game, since it's very near its own genre and GTA made the genre popular, I don't see evidence that it's a "clone".

And calling any science fiction based FPS a "Halo Clone" is silly bordering on trollish. Halo is in no way the epitome of the FPS shooters the way some consider GTA to be, and I see no evidence that NOVA even uses those few elements that made the Halo games unique.

So actually, after my reply I'm rethinking what I said. I'm pretty sure at this point that you're a troll. Oh well, here's some food.

You've got to be joking. It's already established that GameLoft clone popular franchises, and that N.O.V.A. and Gangstar are clones of H.A.L.O. and GTA respectively, down to the two most important ingredients in gaming: gameplay and art direction. There are plenty of GTA games that aren't clones like Mafia, Saints Row and Sleeping Dogs.

Have a read; http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/N.O.V.A./news.asp?c=17343, but of course if you're oblivious to all this you should probably refrain from calling people trolls who have done their research.
 

Earendil

macrumors 68000
Oct 27, 2003
1,567
25
Washington
I'm moderately surprised you came back with a thought out response. As you'll surmise quite quickly, I still don't agree, but I appreciate the response and will take you off troll status.

You've got to be joking. It's already established that GameLoft clone popular franchises, and that N.O.V.A. and Gangstar are clones of H.A.L.O. and GTA respectively, down to the two most important ingredients in gaming: gameplay and art direction.

Execution is everything. The game play doesn't strike me as anything the same, and I'm saying this as an avid Halo player that was there for Halo 1. The Art direction is... Close, maybe, but I only see it in the lighting and use of glowing/shiny objects. However that was unique back in 2001, when we compared top tear FPS to games like Quake and Unreal. Today you get shiny bits all over the place.

There are plenty of GTA games that aren't clones like Mafia, Saints Row and Sleeping Dogs.

I will grant you that the clonish nature of Mafia to GTA might be closer. I have not played either game. But as I said, GTA defines the genre. It would be easy to take any similarly styled game and call it a clone. But if you say the gameplay is exactly the same, and the art is the same, I'll take your word for it.

Have a read; http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/N.O.V.A./news.asp?c=17343, but of course if you're oblivious to all this you should probably refrain from calling people trolls who have done their research.

It was really hard to watch you put periods between the letters of Halo and capitalize it, and then tell me I don't do my research. Also, that article does little to convince me. He's pulling elements out of a franchise that spanned over 10 years and 6 games. N.O.V.A. has an ice scene? oooo. Must be a clone. And to say that just because a dude dressed in armor wearing a helmet and visor looks like Master Chief is also silly. As there have been 6 Halo games, there have also been a few different version of Master chief as well. Now those, while positively different, are closer to being "clones". The image they show in that article is as close to Metroid in design as it is to any iteration of MC.

Now all that is about art direction, which certainly is slightly easier to do comparisons on. As for gameplay, it's hard to say that similarities in crosshairs warrants an "omg it's a clone!". All I have to know is that I've played each and every Halo game, and each one felt like a halo game. I've played a few other FPS games in my time, and I like their "feel" for different reasons, sometimes even because they had a Halo gameplay style. I played N.O.V.A. long enough to know I didn't like the game play. It felt like no game I've ever liked, even though it was somewhat good to look at. It felt more like Quake to me, an FPS I didn't really care for in the ways of game play.

You could convince me that gameloft tried to make a clone of Halo, but the end result is that it's hard for me to distinguish any particular elements of it as being unique to Halo and not to other futuristic first person shooters.
 
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