It’s finally here. The third installment of Gameloft‘s popular mobile first person shooter N.O.V.A has finally arrived for Android late yesterday. With improved graphics, stunning visuals, huge multiplayer maps and more can Gameloft deliver? For $6.99 many are expecting a quality game that is worth their dollar. Read on for full details, video, and our thoughts. While N.O.V.A (Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance) has always pushed the boundaries on graphics, gameplay and looked great, this time around I couldn’t help but feel they were taking strong hints from not only Halo, but also the popular PC shooter Crysis. Why not though? They are both impressive games and hugely successful. The futuristic body suite, multiplayer modes with “warthog” looking vehicles, top mounted turrets for multiplayer, and even jetpacks this game has it all. Add all that into a mobile device and this is what you get — N.O.V.A 3.Below we have a few videos, both of single player and their multiplayer. We tried to keep em short but there’s a lot to see, and a lot you’ll want to see before spending the $6.99 asking price. First off let me just say this game has it all. Like we said above the visuals are awesome, but the gameplay is too. With hours of gaming, top notch graphics, multiple weapons, power-ups, and add-ons, an excellent soundtrack and sound effects this is a complete package.I didn’t take too many in-game screenshots as I figured you’d like to see it on video instead. Below is a look at the single player Campaign mode a few levels deep. Single Player has 10 immersive levels that will surely eat up your entire weekend. Defend the ruins of Earth against all types of enemies in underground parking lots, the streets of New York and various other locations.[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BVQ_lUldTo]The single player mode is worth the price alone. The sound effects, voice-overs, and overall story line all completes the picture. This is by far the best N.O.V.A yet, and it should be. Honestly I feel like a few changes could be made to the game in general, not just SP. The controls are a bit wonky and hard to grasp, but that has always been the case. The reload button is at the top right, while the shoot and controls are on bottom making those fast reload or switch to pistol during a firefight moments extremely hard. I died multiple times trying to quickly reload or change weapons while in need.Then the controls in general could use some work. Obviously being a touchscreen device our options are limited (use a gamepad) but the on-screen joystick needs some serious help in N.O.V.A 3. The first two it was good but this time around it’s way too sensitive and turning sensitivity down didn’t help. This will vary by device because on my Galaxy Nexus I was able to control and aim with extreme precision with the virtual joystick. Use it on my tablet though and it was off the charts and uncontrollable. For tablet players I’d recommend the entire right side of the screen for aim/looking around, and have the virtual joystick be the fire button. Again the reload is still too high, but there’s only so much room.MultiplayerNow for multiplayer. This is what will hopefully carry this game forward as it has tons of upside, and a lot of promise. Obviously this isn’t Halo on Xbox but it’s close. With 6 multiplayer maps, 6 game modes, and 12 player battles you’ll have plenty to enjoy. Signing up takes about 30 seconds, joining a game takes about a minute and you’re ready to go. You can be playing multiplayer extremely quick with Gameloft, although loading can sometimes take a minute.They offer online as well as local wifi as shown above. Local WiFi I was unable to get to work and joining with friends was near impossible. Maybe I was doing something wrong. For online however it was a breeze and incredibly simple. You can get into the instant action with quick play, or select the level by selecting the “join” option. From there you could pick a game with the amount of players you’d like, or even search for a friends live game and join in. I was able to find my buddy’s game once out of about 3 tries, but it was still a blast either way.[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WemfMcL5mco]This morning while playing there was about 800 people online. While that isn’t a large number it’s pretty impressive for a multiplayer first person shooter game for mobile devices that was just released yesterday. Again the controls are exactly the same for multiplayer, and I mentioned what I didn’t like about those above. Playing on my 4.65-inch Samsung Galaxy Nexus I felt I had much more control, better aim, and my kills to death ratio was much higher. This might vary by user but I was severely struggling on the tablet, and there’s a lot of finger sliding and movement needed. The smaller screen wasn’t as exhausting and my aim steadily improved to where I had more kills than deaths haha.With mulitplayer you have tons of options, power-ups, weapon choices, and game modes. Play team capture the flag and fly around with a jetpack and rocket launcher, or hang out in the vehicles running fools over and letting your teammates man the top-mounted turret. I played 5 rounds and spent well over 2 hours gaming last night and I only experienced one network connection where we lost our game. I was on WiFi so those playing on a mobile connection might have different results. In the end the mutiplayer is the cream of the crop for N.O.V.A. 3 and if you hone your skills you’ll be rocking people all day.Wrap-Up If you are an avid gamer you’ll love this game. You don’t have to be a big FPS player, or used to mobile gaming as the controls are dead simple once you get used to the sensitivity and placement. With enough content to last for hours on single player, and endless fun on multiplayer N.O.V.A. 3 really delivers the complete mobile gaming experience.The price you ask? Gameloft’s N.O.V.A. 3 is $6.99 in the Google Play Store and supports a wide array of phones and tablets. If you can get over the price tag, and the 30+ minutes you’ll have to devote to download the additional 1.7 GB of game content this game is a must buy. That 1.7 GB download gets you some of the best graphics I’ve seen on mobile, one of the most complete gaming experiences to date, hours of fun, a great soundtrack, and stunning visuals you can use to show off to friends and family. Hit the link below and get started today. Good luck and aim for the head!N.O.V.A. 3 Play Store link

AOKP ROM for the HTC One X is finally out, and if you’ve used AOKP on another device, you’re probably excited to try it on your One X as well. AOKP is an Ice Cream Sandwich Android 4.0 based ROM that gives you a completely stock Android experience without any custom manufacturer UI or bloatware on top, along with a huge amount of customization options. And if you think your One X was fast, wait till you try out AOKP ROM as you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how fast AOKP is.However, the ROM is in its early stages, so there can be many bugs and issues in it. The most important issues are given below under the Known Issues section, so make sure you go through them before you try the ROM.Read on to find out how you can install AOKP ROM on your HTC One X.CompatibilityThis guide is applicable only for HTC One X. DO NOT try this on any other device.Warning!The methods and procedures discussed here are considered risky and you should not attempt anything if you don’t know completely what it is. If any damage occurs to your device, we won’t be held liable.Developer Team → TripNRaVeRKnown Issues:Camera doesn’t work.WiFi hotspot doesn’t work.Mobile data will take a lot of time to correctly connect, there’s not much you can do about it just wait untill it correctly connects. When it is connected is stable, it will not disconnect this happens only after a reboot or after initial setup.How to Install AOKP ROM on HTC One XThis procedure will wipe all your apps, data and settings (but it will NOT touch your SD cards, so don’t worry about those). Backup your Apps and important data — bookmarks, contacts, SMS,APNs (internet settings), etc. This Android backup guide would help you. Important! Don’t forget to at least make a backup of your APN settings, which you can restore later if your data connection does not work after installing the ROM. Use the backup guide to find out how.Unlock the bootloader on your HTC One X by following the guide → here.Install ClockWorkMod (CWM) recovery by following the guide → here.Install the HTC Sync software to install the proper drivers for the phone. Download it here and install it on your computer. Skip this step if you have HTC Sync/drivers installed on your computer already.Download the latest version of the ROM from the official development page.Download the Google Apps package. This will install apps like Market, Gmail, etc. which are not present in the ROM by default. Download Link  |  Filename: gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zipCopy the two zip files downloaded in step 5 and 6 to the SD card on the phone, without extracting itExtract the file boot.img from inside the ROM’s zip file that you downloaded in step 5, using Winzip or a similar software.Download fastboot. Download Link  |  Filename: Fastboot.zipExtract the Fastboot.zip file to the C:\ drive on your computer to get a folder named Fastboot with four files inside it.Copy the boot.img file extracted in step 8 to the Fastboot folder on C drive. You should have 5 files in the Fastboot folder now.Switch off the phone. Enter fastboot mode. For that, boot into the bootloader mode first by holding the Volume Down button and then pressing power key. Then, select fastboot mode from there using the volume buttons to navigate and power button to select. Then connect your phone to the computer once you are in fastboot mode.Open Command Prompt on your computer from Start » All Programs » Accessories.Now, type the following commands in command prompt to flash the boot.img file, pressing Enter after each command (Check the screenshot after step 14.3 for reference).cd c:\Fastbootfastboot devices (this is to ensure the phone gets detected. A string of numbers and letters should appear if the phone is properly detected, as shown in screenshot below. Else, make sure you have the phone drivers properly installed)fastboot flash boot boot.img After the kernel is flashed, you’ll get a finished/OKAY message in command prompt.Disconnect your phone from the PC.Now, on your phone select HBOOT using the Power button. And then select RECOVERY to boot into recovery mode. Use volume buttons to scroll up and down and the power button to select options in bootloader menu and recovery.From the main recovery menu, select install zip from sdcard, then select choose zip from sdcard. Scroll to the ROM file on the SD card and select it. Confirm installation by selecting Yes – Install _____.zip on the next screen.After installation is complete, again select choose zip from sdcard, then select the gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip file. Select Yes on next screen to confirm installation of the Google apps package.After the installation is complete, select go back then select reboot system now to reboot the phone and boot up into AOKP ROM.AOKP ROM is now installed on your HTC One X. Visit the official development page for more information and the latest updates on the ROM. Share your thoughts on the ROM in the comments below.Check out CM9 ROM for the HTC One X → here, and MIUI ROM → here. 

 Racing. That’s one thing that gets your heart pounding, be it in real life, on the TV, or while gaming on your phone. There’s no better way to while away the time than going head to head in a race on your phone, either against computer components or real ones. Android has a huge amount of racing games available for it that let you batter it out against others locally or online, so if racing games are your thing, you can be sure you always have one to play on your Android phone or tablet.This roundup compiles a list of some of the best racing games available on Google Play Store (formerly Android Market), from stunt racers to circuit track racers to all-out death match racers. With quite a lot of racing games available on Android, the list below is not exhaustive but only contains a few we thought were worth a look at, so continue reading on find out about them.Jet Car StuntsJet Car Stunts is more of a platformer than a racing game, as there are no opponents to race against. You have to get to the end of each track, performing stunts along the way while boosting your car’s speed or jumping through the air. There are two game modes, Platforming and Time Trial, in which you must get to the end of each track (a total of 36 are available), or reach the next point in a limited time, respectively. Jet Car Stunts has great physics, fast paced gameplay that are complemented by the very good driving controls.Drag RacingDrag Racing has only race mode: drag racing. You can drag race against computer opponents or go online for racing against real opponents, with more than 50 cars to choose from. In addition, you can also customize each car with performance upgrades to tune and upgrade them. The Pro League mode sees you participate in 10-player league races. The game boasts 40+ million online players, which means you’ll always find someone to play against. If drag racing is your thing, look no further than this game.Need for Speed™ Hot PursuitPlay as a racer running from the cops, or play a cop trying to bust racers in Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. As a racer, you can make use of oil slicks and radar jamming to outrun the cops. As a cop, you can lay down spike strips, call in roadblocks, or use EMP to take out the racer’s electrical systems. With a total of 48 Cop and Racer career events, 20 cars, and 24 day and night tracks, Hot Pursuit is great fun to play no matter which side of the law you choose to play on.GT Racing: Motor AcademyGT Racing: Motor Academy sees you join a motor academy in career mode, where you must pass different license tests and enter racing events and win to progress further. The game features 26 manufacturers and 111 licensed cars that can be bought and upgraded as you see fit. Each car has a unique physics engine providing for realistic driving simulation. You can race against other players in the multiplayer mode (up to 6), both locally and online. The amazing amount of races, cars and tracks make this one a winner.Shine RunnerIn Shine Runner, you take your fanboat and race it out in the water against other fanboats. The game features fully destructive environments that you can crash through, with a variety of obstacles that you can break apart. A 10-day race mode sees you racing and collecting items that you can sell to the highest bidder. Cause too much destruction and the cops will come after you, making it challenging and even more fun to play.Reckless RacingReckless Racing is a dirt-road racer with a top down view that sees you racing on visually detailed race tracks ranging from dirt tracks to asphalt tracks, using rally cars or trucks. Three game modes — Dirt Rally, Hot Lap time trial and Delivery time trial see you racing against other components (online or offline) or against the clock. Bronze, silver and gold difficulty levels keep things interesting as you progress through the races. In short, good graphics, great controls along with fun gameplay are what make up Reckless Racing.Reckless GetawayReckless Getaway is the more chaotic version of Reckless Racing. As the name suggests, you need to make getaways from cops, but this isn’t easy as you need to dodge your way through incoming traffic, outrun cop cars or smash into incoming ones. 16 different tracks, which you need to unlock as you progress through the game, ensure the chaotic fun never stops as you try to leave the cops behind looking at your tail lights disappear. The car physics are pretty good, along with simple yet effective controls that make the game all the more fun to play.Asphalt 6: AdrenalineAsphalt 6 gives you 42 cars and bikes to choose from as you race it out on the streets of L.A., Tokyo, the Bahamas and more. Use nitrous to get a boost of speed and leave other opponents behind, or boost and crash into them to take them out. Online and local multiplayer modes for up to 6 racers let you race against your friends. Cars can be customized and tuned for better performance and can be given a personal look as you see fit. Around 11 different leagues with a total of 55 events ensure that Asphalt 6 has a lot to offer.Road WarriorRoad Warrior is a side-scrolling racing game where you have to perform stunts like front and back flips when in the air, shoot other cars to remove them from the race, and make money while you’re at it. It becomes fun to try and perform stunts while in the air while at the same time try to shoot other cars. There’s a huge variety of cars available, from sedans to monster trucks to GT racing cars. Cars can be upgraded with weapons and other add-ons. Both single player and multiplayer modes are available, which ensure you always have someone to race against.Real Racing 2Real Racing 2 sees you getting behind the wheel of one of 30 officially licensed cars on over 15 different tracks with 40 miles of highly detailed race tracks, speedways and city circuits, in day time, night-time or at twilight. The career mode sees you go from a rookie to a pro in 10 hours of touted gameplay time, while quick race and time trial modes see you battle it out either against 15 skilled computer components or against time. The graphics of the game are really sharp thanks to the Mint3D engine, with complement the fun circuit racing even further.Bonus GamesThere are a few other racing games available on the Play Store listed below that you may like, so do try them out as well.Street RacingSpeed Forge 3DOutlaw Racing 2011Race of ChampionsTiti Kart 3DTurboFly 3DRaging Thunder 2So there you have it. Listed above are some of the best racing games available for Android that you should definitely try out, and as you can see, there’s one for every taste and preference. There are plenty more racing games available on the Play Store, so if you think we missed a game that should be on the list, do leave a comment below. 

Another day, another purported Galaxy S III photo. We’ve been tipped with this convincing shot of the upcoming Samsung superphone, which follows the bullet points of the latest rumors. There’s reason to doubt, though: the phone in question is presented a little too perfectly for our jaded blogger eyes to believe. In any case, we should find out what the real thing looks like in less than a week when Samsung reveals the Galaxy S III at its London event on May 3rd.So what’s wrong with this picture? Let’s start with what looks right: the sides are parallel and follow the general look of this leaked diagram, as do the home, menu and back buttons. The general layout is very similar to the Galaxy S II, which makes sense, except it’s got a larger screen and the control buttons, speaker and camera are squeezed into less space on the front panel.So what’s wrong? One, the screenshot is suspect. Why take a photo of the SpeedTest.net app instead of the Galaxy S III home screen, complete with TouchWiz? Why do the wireless, battery and clock icons look identical to stock Ice Cream Sandwich, when we know that Samsung likes to add its own flair? And why, if the cameraman is taking a photo, is there a screenshot icon in the status bar? The simplest answer is that this is a screenshot taken from a Galaxy Nexus or another stock Android 4.0 ROM.Issues with JPEG artifacts around the bezel and where the screen edges meet the casing are also suspect, though these could just be from the relatively low resolution of the photo itself. No mention of screen size, Exynos processors, camera megapixels or what have you accompany the photo. We’re calling fake on this one, though we’d love to be wrong. Just six days left before we see the real McCoy.Via http://androidcommunity.com