N.O.V.A. 2 vs The Culling
N.O.V.A. 2
N.O.V.A. 2 is the exciting sequel to a pretty popular FPS game series. Set in a time 6 years after humanity has successfully repelled the Judger invaders, another more devious, telepathic alien race, the Volterites, arrived under a banner of peace but had brainwashed a majority of the human race into thinking they are some kind of deity who had come to create a Utopian world that humans deserved.Join Kal Wardin once again as he tries to fight to free humans from the corrupting mind control the aliens have imposed on mankind, reunite humanity to rise up against the Volterites and potentially find out what these aliens have in plan for the humans they control.
N.O.V.A. 2 basically retained everything that had made the original game so popular among fans of the FPS genre. Although it's not exactly an innovative sequel, it is still a pretty nice addition to the franchise and well, you get to enjoy a brand-new storyline.
That said, N.O.V.A. 2 is no longer available. If you're interested, you can get N.O.V.A. 3 instead or browse through the list of alternative games below.
The Culling
The Culling is, in many ways, a potentially great PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds alternative game. In fact, many would say that this is perhaps the very first standalone, battle royale game that is inspired directly from the Hunger Games. As such, you'll expect a pretty brutal arena set on a remote island where players will not only need to explore the foreign land to scavenge for resources but also to craft a wide variety of weapons, traps and tools just so you can ambush your fellow players. Naturally, being battle royale and all, the last man standing will be the victor.Each match can contain up to 16 contestants (and yes, like Hunger Games, The Culling is apparently a game show) and the game lasts for around 20 minutes. There is also a tutorial, a training mode where you play against AI bots, and a special 8-player Lightning Round where players get access to the best weapons early on in the game. As a game show, the "organizers" will often spice things up with special in-match events that have some pretty crucial rewards too. Like the Hunger Games, players can also each call in an airdrop (a.k.a. "care package") containing valuable items but getting to that airdrop in one piece without having your stuff stolen before you reach there can be quite a challenge in itself.
Now, unlike PUBG's shooter-heavy gameplay, The Culling has a more visceral, action-based, melee-oriented gameplay that will make every successful kill a very satisfying one. Don't get me wrong - the game does have ranged options like bows and guns but having a firearm or any ranged weapons may not be an advantage if you don't know how to keep your distance. Players can easily be disarmed of their ranged weapon if they are ambushed by a melee player, and of course, if you missed your aim, you may not have a second shot.
However, due to a plague of problems between the developers and its community, The Culling seems to be a pretty dead game at the moment and hence, finding a match can be quite difficult. Similar to PUBG, The Culling is not a free game either and this game is on the pricey end considering its almost non-existant player base.