Summary
The soundtrack elevates this rail shooter to greatness.
The Good
After you've finished playing with the functional menus, right from the beginning this is a very slick production. Although the acting is very much sub-par, the other animations are extremely well executed.
Then once you start the game proper, the music kicks in and you know you're in for a thrilling ride. The game is "on rails" but you still need to keep a mind out for the scenery to avoid losing precious shield to canyon walls, Easter Island style heads, ice barriers, and other obstacles.
Although blocky by today's standards, the landscapes animate well for a mid 90s game, and is some beautiful scenery to fly past. The enemy ships are not so well animated and drawn, but are functional enough to work.
Back to the music. The varied soundtrack moves from rock to Asian-influenced melodies to techno effortlessly, and although at a low bit rate still sounds superb. I would recommend turning off SFX if they weren't so useful in making ship upgrade decisions. The ship's computer lets you know which power ups are available and when.
The difficulty level is about right and once you learn some of the attack patterns you can build up some pretty beefy weapons. You lose your last upgrade and a power level every time you lose a life, so players that plan around this when on low shields can employ strategy to reach the end, which is another dimension that makes this not just another humdrum shooter.
Finally the cheat mode has also been thoughtfully and hilariously implemented. It has to be seen even by those who don't wish to cheat, even if they stop the game at the end if they don't wish to see the final chapter.
Novastorm can be played on today's PCs via Dosbox at full speed.
The Bad
I wonder if your briefing giver, the Star Force Command guy, is a robot. His acting evokes such thoughts as 'wooden' and 'cheesy'. He doesn't detract from the game though, really.
The Bottom Line
The PC version of Novastorm employs superb streamed landscapes, many varied boss enemies, frenetic flying and shooting, and the soundtrack makes the whole thing an immersive fun experience.
