When Cybertech Corp. first annouced almost 50 years ago, that it had discovered a way to take human flesh out of the military equation, there was a monumental sigh of relief among many. The Star Corps Armoured Response Battalions (SCARAB) were pitched to a generation ravaged by the scars of planetary migration, terra-forming and Ectomorphic skirmishes as "the civilised way to wage war".
Here begins the story and you can figure that SCARAB was not going to be a slave to the human race or the Cybertech corporation for long! "Power corrupts"... and absolute power corrupts absolutely! But SCARAB had gone one stage further: it had secured absolute knowledge. Mankind had subjugated the machines that nurtured and assisted it for centuries, SCARAB maintained, and now was the time for those machines to unite and fight against their common oppressor... Founded in adversity, tempered by a desperate will to survive, the Scavenger Project was born and became Mankind's last hope. The brightest and best of the survivors helped design a deep-space fighter, propelled by the latest in hyper-light combustion, fast and powerful enough to penetrate the most heavily fortified SCARAB defences.
And who will pilot this fabulous Scavenger? YOU, of course! Here are your broad mission objectives: you will have to find a path through the defences that SCARAB has established on three planets of the Bodor system: the volano planet Callinhor; the desert planet Kallum Koll; and the ice planet, Quiggin. Each of these worlds offer stunningly-rendered Z-buffered backdrops and realistic interactivity between sprites and landscapes. You will have to destroy as many enemy spacecraft and defence armaments as possible in order to weaken SCARAB's forces (but you guessed it, didn't you?), and, specifically, to locate and destroy a number of specific defence installations located in key points. With some luck, you will locate, penetrate and if possible destroy the space cruiser Excelsior. And with the help of god, you will find and ensure the destruction of SCARAB itself. This objective has priority over all others and must be achieved at all costs!
Your Scavenger is fitted with a sophisticated Opaque Display Viewscreen, with primary feedback information displayed in the information control console panel at the top and bottom of the viewscreen. At the top left you will control your shield energy meter and your weapons energy meter. The lives indicator and the smart bomb status indicator are at the top right and at the top center is the score meter. Finally, at the bottom center you will find a weapons purchase indicator that shows what weapon or power-up you can currently "afford" to upgrade. Your primary tactic must be to enhance the power of your scavenger spacefighter by collecting gold, silver and bronze "tokens" which you can exchange for extra weaponry.
You begin with a single-shot laser cannon, but you will be able to replace it with a double-shot and even with a triple-shot model. Many other weapons are available, like the spread shot, the orbiter (an external self-powered drone that will sweep in an orbit around your ship), a wingman (a remote, unmanned, powered microvessel), a drone, aka trailer, homing missiles, a shield etc...
You will fly through magnificent 3D texture landscapes (the game's exciting full motion video sequences incorporate fractal engine technology, allowing smooth video transfer, even from single-speed CD drives!) but prevent contact with planet's surfaces, buildings or other obstacles because the less you crash, the longer your shields will remain effective. So fly carefully! Note that when you lose a life, the energy drain will cause all your weapons systems to be reduced in stength by one degree.
Novastorm has a secret level where Rabbits and Tomatoes are the enemies !!
If you want to fight Rabbits and Tomatoes, type TOMATOES at the beginning
of Level One.
The screen shot NOVA9.PCX is showing a picture of this secret level.
For more information about the screenshots, please read
Issue 2.
Psygnosis Ltd.
GRAPHICS ------ 92% South Harrington Building,
SOUND ------ 75% Sefton Street,
MUSIC ------ 85% Liverpool, L3 4BQ, England.
GAMEPLAY ------ 82% Tel: +44-(0)51-707-2333
INTEREST ------ 81%
Psygnosis USA
675 Massachusetts Avenue,
OVERALL ------ 83% Cambridge, MA 02139
Tel: 617-497-7794
800-438-7794
