Difference between revisions of "Novastorm"

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Novastorm

Publisher: Sony Electronic Publishing (Europe), Psygnosis (US)

Developer: Psygnosis

Genre: Shooting

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
US	1995-02^[1]	$49.9949.99^[2]	T-113025
EU	1994-11^[3]^[4]		T-113065-50
UK	1994-11^[3]^[4]	£39.9939.99^[3]	T-113065-50

Non-Sega versions
3DO FM Towns IBM PC

Novastorm is shooting game developed by Psygnosis and released for a number of platforms including the Sega Mega-CD. It is a rail shooter reliant on full-motion video and pre-rendered imagery, similar to the developer's earlier effort Microcosm.

During development, it was known as Scavenger IV.

Story

The game takes place some time in the distant future. Humans have left Earth in several huge arks containing Earth's ecosystem, in search of a new paradise. They have become complacent: everything is controlled by artificial intelligence, while the human race sleeps and dreams of its new home. The computer systems evolve, however, and prophetize a conquest of silicon against flesh. The player takes control of the Scavenger IV squadron, which has a mission to destroy the deadly Scarab X forces, in the last hope for the human race.

Gameplay

The game is a rail shooter that plays similarly to Space Harrier. The player takes control of the Scavenger IV spacecraft and moves it along the horizontal and vertical axes with the D-pad, but it follows a set path through the stages over a full-motion video background. The player must shoot down enemy spacecraft and avoid hitting terrain elements. Each stage ends with a boss encounter.

The ship fires its main weapon with , which is fast but initially relatively weak. Its strength is indicated by a meter in the HUD, and it can be upgraded by collecting items. The ship is also equipped with a more powerful plasma cannon, which is charged by holding and fired by releasing . Charging the plasma cannon increases a separate meter under the weapon strength meter, which flashes white when it is full. Finally, the ship can release smart energy waves that attack all enemies on screen with . Energy waves are limited in supply, but the other weapons have unlimited ammunition.

The ship has a shield energy meter the top of the screen that depletes as it takes damage from enemies or from colliding with terrain. The ship explodes if it runs out of energy, costing the player a life. If the player has an extra life remaining, the player is given a new ship (with a complement of three energy waves) and the stage continues. Additionally, boss fights are timed; the game warns the player with an "ALERT" message when time is almost up. If time runs out, the player loses a life and must restart the stage. The game ends if the player runs out of lives. The player is rewarded with extra lives at certain points thresholds.

Items

The player is occasionally presented with a choice of one of three items after destroying an enemy.

	Single Shot
	The starting weapon. A single stream of fire.
	Double Shot
	Two parallel streams of fire.
	Triple Shot
	Three parallel streams of fire.
	Spread Shot
	Three streams of fire with a wide spread.
	Cross Shot
	A double helix spread pattern that covers a larger area both vertically and horizontally.
	Split Shot
	A wide spread of more powerful fire.
	Orbiters
	Temporarily orbits the ship with two robotic drones that protect it and augment its fire.
	Wingmen
	Temporarily equips the ship with two unmanned wingships that follow it and fire homing missiles.
	Drones
	Temporarily follows the ship with two drones that protect it and provide support fire.
	Shield
	Temporarily surrounds the ship in a shield that renders it invulnerable.
	XtraSmart
	Gives the player another smart energy wave.
	XtraLife
	Gives the player an extra life.
	Full Energy
	Fully restores the ship's shields.
	Increase Energy
	Partially restores the ship's shields.
	Increase Weapon Strength
	Increases the ship's main weapon strength by one unit.
	Increase Score
	Gives the player bonus points.
	Random
	Chooses a random item effect.

Stages

Callinhor, The Lava Planet

	Stage 1

	Stage 2

	Stage 3

	Stage 4

Kallum Koll, The Desert Planet

	Stage 1

	Stage 2

	Stage 3

	Stage 4

Quiggin, The Ice Planet

	Stage 1

	Stage 2

	Stage 3

	Stage 4

Space Cruiser Scarab X

	Stage 1

	Stage 2

	Stage 3

	Stage 4

	Stage 5

Production credits

Managing Director of Development: Ian Hetherington
Director of Software Development: John White
Lead Programmer: Zafar Qamar
Programmer: Paul Frewin, Mark Hula
Game Director: Paul Hilton
Artist: Jerry Oldrieve, Chris Brown
Producer: Kenny Everett
Music and Sound: Rik Ede, Chris Nicholls, Paul Franklin, Colin Dempsey, Keith Roberts Jim Bowers, Digby Rogers, Rogan Macdonald, Nikki Bridgman Frank Kitson, Eric Noteboom, Nicky Carus-Westcott
Original Artwork: Andrew Howes
Q.A.: Mark Inman, Paul Evason
Voice Direction: Philip Morris
U.K.D.T.P.: Keith Hopwood
U.S. D.T.P.: Lisa George
Manual: Mark Tsai, Richard Browne, Jim Drewry

Source:

US manual^[5]

Magazine articles

Main article: Novastorm/Magazine articles.

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average

Publication

Version

Score

Consoles + (FR)

81

^[6]

GamePro (US)

NTSC-U

78

^[2]

Mega Force (FR)

PAL

70

^[7]

Mean Machines Sega (UK)

PAL

69

^[3]

Player One (FR)

10

^[8]

Play Time (DE)

PAL

60

^[9]

Sega Magazine (UK)

PAL

49

^[10]

Sega Power (UK)

PAL

80

^[11]

Sega Pro (UK)

PAL

72

^[12]

VideoGames (US)

NTSC-U

80

^[13]

	65
Based on 10 reviews

Novastorm

Mega-CD, US
Cover
Disc Manual

Mega-CD, EU
Cover
Disc Manual

Unreleased versions

Novastorm

System(s): Sega Saturn
Publisher: Psygnosis
Developer: Psygnosis, Perfect Entertainment

A Sega Saturn version produced by Perfect Entertainment is mentioned in a coverage feature by the Saturn Power magazine ^[14]. It was never released.

Technical information

Main article: Novastorm/Technical information.

References

Novastorm
	Main page \| Comparisons \| Development \| Magazine articles \| Reception \| Technical information Demos: Novastorm (1994) No results

[https:.2F.2Fgroups.google.com.2Fg.2Frec.games.video.sega.2Fc.2Fh_QlDYzQdSQ.2Fm.2F3BF3GiRqAQIJ-1] ttps://groups.google.com/g/rec.games.video.sega/c/h_QlDYzQdSQ/m/3BF3GiRqAQIJ

[:File:GamePro_US_068.pdf_p58-2] 2.0 ^2.1 GamePro, "March 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 58

[:File:MeanMachinesSega27UK.pdf_p104-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 ^3.3 Mean Machines Sega, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-11-30), page 104

[:File:MegaPower_UK_16.pdf_p16-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Mega Power, "November 1994" (UK; 1994-10-20), page 16

[:File:Novastorm_mcd_us_manual.pdf_p28-5] File:Novastorm mcd us manual.pdf, page 28

[:File:ConsolesPlus_FR_040.pdf_p122-6] Consoles +, "Février 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 122

[:File:MegaForce_FR_36.pdf_p79-7] Mega Force, "Février 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 79

[:File:PlayerOne_FR_050.pdf_p110-8] Player One, "Février 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 110

[:File:PlayTime_DE_1995-02.pdf_p107-9] Play Time, "2/95" (DE; 1995-01-04), page 107

[:File:SegaMagazine_UK_13.pdf_p91-10] Sega Magazine, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-12-15), page 91

[:File:SegaPower_UK_62.pdf_p76-11] Sega Power, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-11-17), page 76

[:File:SegaPro_UK_39.pdf_p52-12] Sega Pro, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-03), page 52

[:File:VideoGames_US_74.pdf_p85-13] VideoGames, "March 1995" (US; 1995-02-xx), page 85

[:File:SaturnPower_UK_02.pdf_p22-14] Saturn Power, "July 1997" (UK; 1997-05-28), page 22

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 ==Technical information==
-===ROM dump status===
+{{mainArticle|{{PAGENAME}}/Technical information}}
-{{romtable|
-{{rom|MCD|sha1= |md5= |crc32= |size=451,374,672|date=|source=CD (EU)|comments=T-113065-50|quality=|prototype=}}
-}}
 ==References==