In the distant future humans have left Earth, carrying its ecosystem with them. However, the journey to the stars lasted longer than they had thought. Computers took control of navigation, and humans had nothing else to do but sleep, dreaming of a new paradise. When the mysterious Scarab-X forces attacked, the Scavenger 4 squadron became humanity's only hope for survival.

Novastorm is a rail shooter in which players blast enemies against a cinematic backdrop, trying to kill the computer-controlled fighters before they take over the world. Unlike first-generation interactive movies with action, the game has hooks into the environment: if the player-controlled fighter moves into the path of a pre-rendered obstacle, there is a collision and the craft takes damage.

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Alternate Titles

"Scavenger 4" -- FM Towns title

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Part of the Following Groups

Merchant	Title	Platform	Price
	Novastorm	PlayStation	$0.01
	Novastorm	SEGA CD
	Novastorm
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User Reviews

The soundtrack elevates this rail shooter to greatness.	DOS	Chris Adderley (4)
The Full-Motion Shooter	DOS	James P. Wong (2402)
Don't let the term 'Interactive Movie' throw you -- this is a very good shooter.	DOS	Trixter (8728)
A solid arcade shooter every gamer should experience...	DOS	Accatone (5198)
A really good game.	DOS	Tomer Gabel (4418)

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The Press Says

GameFan Magazine	3DO	Dec, 1994	89 out of 100	89
PC Gamer	DOS	Feb, 1995	85 out of 100	85
High Score	DOS	Jan, 1995	4 out of 5	80
GamePro (US)	SEGA CD	Mar, 1995	4 out of 5	80
Video Games & Computer Entertainment	3DO	Apr, 1995	7 out of 10	70
Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM)	3DO	Mar, 1995	5 out of 10	50
GamePro (US)	PlayStation	Dec, 1995	2.5 out of 5	50
Game Players	PlayStation	Nov, 1995	45 out of 100	45
PC Format (UK)	DOS	Dec, 1994	44 out of 100	44
Computer Gaming World (CGW)	DOS	Feb, 1995		40

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Trivia

The packaging for Novastorm is of a very high quality. The printing process for the box used a very fine screen for the background matte, and the foreground objects are glossy. Even the inside box is extremely sturdy--and made of recycled, bio-degradable materials. (I know it sounds silly to talk about a game's packaging, but it was really refreshing to see a game that wasn't just shoveled out the door in paper-thin packaging.)

The proprietary video compression method used was surprisingly effective, given that it was tuned for single-speed drives, 15 frames per second, and 8-bit color displays.

The cheat mode (I wouldn't dream of revealing it here) is very funny, including (amongst other jokes) some "techno" theme music sung (quite badly) by the programmers.

Some versions of the packaging contain an official lapel pin; others contain a small model of the ship.

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This entry was contributed by Corn Popper (69582), Trixter

(8728), Adam Baratz (1355) and Terok Nor (16793)