Gameloft's Gangstar Rio, N.O.V.A. 3 go free on iOS for a limited time

Gameloft announced the newly free status of the two games in a tweet on Friday. Gangstar Rio: City of Saints is a third-person sandbox action game that puts players in control of a customizable gangster in Brazil. Players fight through more than 60 missions, using handguns, rifles, bazookas, Sacrificial Blades, and exploding footballs to take down an array of enemies. Also, there are jetpacks.

Both titles were initially priced at $7, but Gangstar Rio recently saw a price drop to $1. Now Gameloft is making the two titles free for at least Friday. Both downloads feature in-app purchases, so it is uncertain whether the current free offer is aimed at attracting users to those features or whether the games will go back to a pay-to-play structure in the future.

N.O.V.A.3 -Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance is the third installment in Gameloft's successful series of sci-fi first-person shooters. Players take control of an armored hero who must fight through a war-torn earth in order to save humanity. Gameplay options include 12-player multiplayer battles with live voice chat for iPad and iPhone 4S users.

Gameloft has not specified how long the two games will be available for free. N.O.V.A.3 and Gangstar Rio can currently be downloaded inside the iTunes App Store. N.O.V.A.3 is a 1.69GB download requiring an iPhone 3GS, third-generation iPod touch, or original iPod or above, running iOS 4.3 or later. Gangstar Rio is an 878MB download with the same requirements.