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Escape Velocity Nova - Review
Posted:

Escape Velocity Nova - ReviewPosted:

Travitor
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Joined: Jul 21, 201211Year Member
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Status: Offline
Joined: Jul 21, 201211Year Member
Posts: 3,061
Reputation Power: 115

Escape Velocity Nova

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Game Description :
Developer: Ambrosia Software
Publisher: Ambrosia Software
Platforms: Mac OS, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows
Genre: Space adventure / RPG
Theme: Space shooter
Release Date: March 18, 2002

Synopsis :
Nova takes place around star systems in the Milky Way, many of which have planets or space stations that the player can land on. Each star system is either controlled by a faction and has an evaluation of the player's crimes or contributions to that star system and its faction, or is uninhabited and controlled by no one. The player's ship usually travels between star systems by "hyperjumping" by fixed (and to the user, instantaneous) paths to surrounding systems. The player can also use rare wormholes which transport the player's ship to a fairly random star system, or can use a "hypergate" system to move between certain systems after the Sigma Shipyard mission string has been completed.
In space, which in the game is limited to two dimensions, the player controls his spaceship to land on planets, jump into another star system, or engage in combat and board ships. The player can also communicate with other ships, obtaining information about supply and demand of commodities on different planets, and can also get missions in this way.
On inhabited planets, the player can refuel his ship, find and accept missions, trade commodities, buy ships or ship upgrades, and hire escorts. Each planet, "spaceport bar," and ship or ship upgrade has associated images and descriptions.

Gameplay :
The player starts as a freelance space pilot in a shuttlecraft, out to make a penny in the huge galaxy. There are many ways to play Nova, and there and countless numbers of goals in Nova; for example, a starting player seeking funds can become a trader or courier, delivering cargo between worlds. You can become a pirate or a bounty hunter, attacking and disabling ships to steal their money or their cargo, or hi-jack and steal the ships themselves. You can get involved in one of the countless storylines; or even conquer the galaxy by subjugating worlds.
The main 8 story lines are based on Federation, Rebellion, Auroran, Polaris, Vell-os, and Pirate.
Each story-line forces pilots to align themselves with a particular way, restricting the player's freedom and liberty, but giving the player access to more powerful ships, weapons and technology.
A single story-line can take anywhere from an hour to several weeks to play to complete, depending on the player's level of experience and preferred pace. There also exist a few shorter minor stories and missions, which are difficult to find but have great rewards, such as the ability to use an wormhole, or an hyper gate system.
I won't get in detail about each storyline and the gameplay and plot on each because it will be overkill.*

Graphics :
Graphics in this game a very decent for a game developed in 2002, for a 2D space shooter, it was easy for them to get in detailed a bit more than the 3D games. although, the audio sounds like the first star wars film and the soundtracks in planets and space stations reminds me of Star trek, it is well executed in my opinion. the only thing that bugs me about the graphics are the explosions and the bombs looks so dumb-down, because the textures lag sometimes.

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Controls :
In nova, you basically use the keyboard, or a keyboard and a mouse. there are so many hot keys, it is difficult to remember some of them, and since Nova's battles are so fast and instant, buttons such as using the escape pod, or pause battle, etc is very difficult to press in the perfect timing. I'm not a huge fan on the controls in this game, they could have made it easier with clickable heads up display on screen.


Conclusion :
I played this game a long time ago, and I loved playing on the Federation storyline, missions based on the government of Earth, and also played as a Pirate. There are many different branches of the common Pirates that mercilessly plunder and kill ships. The joy of exploding other ships are so satisfying.
You can gamble on races in this game, where you bet money on a ship out of 4, and watch the race of the ships and you get money if the ship you bet on win. it is addicting, but always end with less money than before, since it's a luck game.

Rating :
Gameplay : 9/10
Graphics : 6/10
Controls : 5/10

Overall Rating : 7/10




Last edited by Travitor ; edited 1 time in total
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