The designers of N.O.V.A., Gameloft's new first-person shooter for iPhone, have been playing a lot of Halo. And it's obvious that when they took a break, it was only to play Dead Space. But while its derivative nature is on full display in every pixel of N.O.V.A., so is something else: a slam-bang action game that draws a new line in the sand and challenges all else to top it. When you get your thumbs on N.O.V.A.'s exemplary controls, great scenarios, and excellent polish you will immediately understand why it scored our award for the best iPhone action game of 2009.

You are Kal Wardin, a former soldier drafted back into service to protect Earth from the fury of the alien xenos. A vanished space station has reappeared outside of Earth's orbit and it threatens the orbital platforms humanity has been forced to live on following the collapse of our planet's environment. You must explore this station to find out what happened, which in turn leads you on a chase across the galaxy that invariably ends up with you kicking in xeno teeth on their own turf.

Wardin has plenty of firepower to choose from, all standard-issue shooter fare like assault rifles, shotguns, and sniper rifles. Ammo is everywhere, but sometimes you must hack open a crate via a short puzzle to score the good stuff. In addition to normal weapons, Wardin also has special skills like the ability to freeze an enemy for just a few moments via an energy attack. The trade off, though, is shield strength. This tactic adds an enormous amount of strategy to N.O.V.A. as you really do need those shields so you aren't repeatedly staring at the sky through a blood-spattered visor. However, when you are facing down four or five xenos (all with clever AI that encourages group rushes, seeking cover, etc.), putting one on ice for just a few seconds is enormously helpful crowd control.

N.O.V.A.'s controls are very similar to Gameloft's summer shooter, Modern Combat: Sandstorm. Move via a responsive virtual stick, look by dragging a finger around the screen, and fire with a dedicated button. Things have been tightened up, such as movement sensitivity. The aim-assist feature is also quite useful when you first start playing N.O.V.A., as it snaps the crosshairs to the enemy you are looking at but without over-compensating. It's just a little nudge. It does not play the game for you but when you are trying to cross an open field with a dozen xenos on a rampage, getting a little "snap" is sometimes the difference between life and restarting from the last checkpoint

From the developers of the hit app A QUEST OF KNIGHTS ONRUSH comes the groundbreaking full game, KNIGHT’S RUSH! This huge sequel by Chillingo and MoreGames puts YOU in the suit of armor, as your Knight rampages through eight incredible worlds and takes on a host of deadly enemies with over-the-top skills and attacks aplenty! KNIGHTS RUSH is bigger, badder, and better than ever before!

EPIC SCALE
Slice your way through over FIFTY different types of enemy, including eight vicious Bosses, in over FORTY levels across EIGHT huge, vivid worlds! Dust off your halberd and tighten your greaves, because this legendary arcade slasher will have you smiting and vanquishing in no time!

EPIC HEROES
Play as one of THREE different heroes, each with a unique style, skillset and attributes, and tear through a compelling medieval world full of dangerous adversaries, dozens of different traps, and death creeping up around every corner! Stay on your toes to keep your head attached to your shoulders – and as you take down your foes, your hero will level up and gain new powers, cast new spells, and devise even nastier ways of slaying the bad guys!

WORLD DOMINATION
Secure your rise to power in the Campaign mode, levelling up, learning new abilities and gaining new weaponry. Earn Crystal Achievements for your worthy deeds, and hone your skills! Then if you can achieve mastery across the eight diverse worlds of the Campaign mode, it’s time to compete for High King of the fully-integrated Crystal leaderboards, surpassing the performance of other Knights around the world! And for when you simply HAVE to destroy every last craven, cowardly dark knight you can see, boot up Super Endless Mode and redefine the word ‘Epic’!

TOP-TIER GAMING
Knights Rush sets a new bar for triple-A-quality gaming for the iPhone, with full iOS 4 support, a massive game world, seamless framerates, high-definition graphics and totally addictive gameplay. Find out what the critics are raving about:

PRESS QUOTES

"over-the-top cartoony graphics... one level had giant tarantulas mixed with miniature catapults, and another had spiked barrel traps next to explosives on springs ... it will be a real gem when it comes out" -- SlideToPlay

"a very impressive-looking game... what I played was very well done -- attacking was responsive and the graphics were colorful and satisfying... it's certainly one to watch for" -- Tuaw.com

"an action-packed sequel... the gameplay is looking great!" -- iPhoneAppetiser