Betraying the Lord Almighty and turning to evil? These sisters will have “nun” of that! Okay, we think it’s out of our system now, but no promises.
Betraying the Lord Almighty and turning to evil? These sisters will have “nun” of that! Okay, we think it’s out of our system now, but no promises.
Nun Attack is an eye-opener from the moment you cast your gaze upon the icon in the App Store. After all, it’s not every day you see a nun packing heat, so you know you’re in for something, well, wild and weird right from the get-go.
But in fairness, the game manages to do alright by the concept. It really doesn’t feel like it’s making a mockery of or directing any ill-intent towards the Catholic church, despite the impressions one might get at a glance. Rather, they manage to make this sister act seem badass in spite of the cartoony style.
The premise is that one of the sisterhood, referred to as the Fallen Sister, has turned away from her path of enlightenment and embraced the dark side. Now prayers go unanswered as she spreads evil throughout the land, and it’s up to the remaining four to put her in her place.
Nun Attack is basically an action-strategy game which sees you select a pair of sisters, each with their own style of firearm (dual-wielding pistols, rifle, etc.) and their own special abilities (healing, phantom doubles, etc.). You move about a map, disposing of different types of landmarks; while certain portals spew projectiles at you on the map, you can flick them on the touch screen back from whence they came to destroy the source.
Other markers, from runes to banners to the main portal at the end of each level, draw you into an action scene. There, you’ll be attacked by skeletons armed with chainsaws, guns, and other instruments of destruction along with other creatures as they seek to put an end to your holy crusade.
Engaging the enemy is simple, with movement being determined by drawing a line from your chosen nun to where you want them to be. It helps if you direct them towards certain foes, but they largely handle things on their own. Attacks are almost RPG-like in their nature, with hits and misses frequently doled out despite being in close quarters.
Accessing special abilities is a simple matter of selecting one nun and touching an icon in the bottom-right corner. You can also activate “blessings” which you’ve selected and purchased; this pauses the action and you must mimic the lines you see at the bottom of the screen in order to activate their power.
It’s fun for a while, though it eventually begins to feel like you’re just going through the motions with each encounter. Furthermore, the touch screen controls aren’t <em>always</em> so accurate; sometimes you’ll try to draw a line from the nuns to a spot on the map or to an enemy on the battlefield, and the game doesn’t always pick it up. It’s pretty good at responding for the most part, but you do need to keep an eye on it.
The game pretty much front-loads itself by having you rescue the three captured nuns right at the outset, but manages to make up for this somewhat by offering the ability to purchase weapon upgrades or even find some in treasure boxes which resemble the Ark of the Covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Nun Attack is fun and has a pretty good amount of content, but it’s probably better to experience it at a slower pace rather than trying to rush straight through. Doing so risks having the novelty and game mechanics start to feel a little like you’re just going through the motions.
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