The ‘NOVA – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance’ iPhone game by Gameloft has been the most hyped game in the history of Touch device gaming. For good reason. NOVA is THE game of the year…

NOVA will do to mobile gaming what Halo did to modern gaming. Nova is to the iPhone what Goldeneye 007 was to the Nintendo 64. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance is not only one of the best games on the platform, but a masterpiece of a first person shooter(fps).

Considered a clone or the little brother of Halo, there is nothing small about NOVA. Obviously much of the game elements are inspired by Halo and even Metroid Prime (what modern games don’t borrow?), that’s not necessarily a bad thing – in fact that’s a great thing. The graphic art direction and quality is comparable to the XBOX version of Halo 2 (or even better), epic boss battles like from Metroid Prime and Halo 3’s legendary multiplayer. Even the 1 player campaign is equivalent to that of a full console game, lasting 7 – 8 hours.

Some of the best graphics on the iPhone are considered to be graced by Real Racing, Modern Combat: Sandstorm (also by Gameloft), Backbreaker Football and Blades of Fury (another Gameloft title) – however, NOVA puts all of these exceptional games to shame. The attention to detail is staggering. The use of color, vibrant. Character and object movement, fluid. The frame rate, flawless. The screenshot above is while looking out the spaceship window within the first few minutes of the campaign, looks like an actual Hubble Telescope image doesn’t it? The graphical prowess of NOVA however, can not be judged by screenshots or video. You must see to believe and truly appreciate by actually playing the game with a Touch device in your hands.

NOVA’s gameplay is simply exceptional. The controls are both silky smooth and razor sharp at the same time. The handling should be familiar to those who have played ‘Modern Combat’ (by Gameloft), but somehow vastly improved to what a top notch first person shooter should be. The layout can be customized to suit your preference with even a “lefty” option. The responsiveness and precision of the overall control scheme is impeccable. Shooting, aiming and even just walking around is a joy due to how well you can control Karl Wardin, NOVA’s hero.

NOVA’s sound effects and soundtrack is comparable to that of Halo’s, both in style and quality – epic, energetic, frantic, scary and on point for a space opera. The sound effects alone is immersive. Gunshots sound like gunshots, reloading has all the tiny different sounds intact and when shots are fired from your left, you hear it from your left. The music in NOVA sets the mood to not just the tone of the game, but to individual stages of each level. There is even an option to play your own music at any moment during gameplay!

This is truly a landmark game. One of the best in the history of the short but immense catalog of iPhone games and certainly the best first person shooter on the platform. N.O.V.A – Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance is Apperizer’s 2009 Game of the Year.