107 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
107 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
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HARD NOVA
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"Elsewhere in the galaxy, beyond the frontier of the core worlds, an ancient
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sun is dying...."
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If those words don't set your heart racing and your keyboard tingling, don't
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run right out and buy HARD NOVA. Wait a week. But _do_ get HARD NOVA, in any
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case. There's something for everyone in this game. (This review is based on the
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IBM-PC version.)
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If you are an adventure lover, there are puzzles galore. If you fancy yourself
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a great conversationalist, there are NPC interactions with a real flair -- you
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don't even have to be polite!
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As with most adventures, you must hone your communications skills.
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Conversations are displayed, and you can choose your remarks from among several
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alternatives. What you say, and to whom you say it, can weave wonderfully
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intricate twists into the plots.
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For the CRPG fanatics, there is logical character development and enough
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skill-building selections to set lords a-leaping. Only the compulsive
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cartographers among us will miss the secret doors that infest most CRPGs, and
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decry the absence of such vast indoor areas as found in the prequel, SENTINEL
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WORLDS.
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For the strategist, there are two full-blown story lines with lots of neat
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little sub-plots. A vast library of crew permutations for both ground and air
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makes configuration strategy an integral part of gameplay.
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For the arcade experts, HARD NOVA offers three types of real-time combat:
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ground, air, and space. None of the three is beyond the capability of those of
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us with less than fantastic manual dexterity. All three challenge our abilities
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in strategy and decision making. The space-combat mode is not just shoot and
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scoot. You have at your command both defensive and offensive technological
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wonders: Jam the enemy's radar or fool them into thinking you are one of them;
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select their poison from among missiles, lasers, big guns, or small; or shoot
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and scoot, if you really want to. Thanks to the high-tech tools at hand
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(including a targeting computer), a cool eye is not as important as a cool mind!
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For the munitions buffs, armament selection and use is like hog heaven! As in
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most CRPGs, weapons and character class matchups are very important. Unlike most
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CRPGs, the detail lavished upon the graphics depicting the weapons and
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ammunition is astounding, and the graphics are outdone by the applications. War
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gamers will want this game just to analyze the weapons.
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And speaking of graphics: Wow! From the glorious title screen to the endgame
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smasharoo, you are in for a real treat. Meticulous detail and stunning artwork
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make every screen a delight. Going through a stargate is almost as much of a
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trip as 2001!
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HARD NOVA may well become the gold standard of space opera on disk. We have a
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grand synthesis of most of the major game categories and state-of-the-art
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compatibility. And, too, we have the first fully developed _female_ lead
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character, Nova herself. If you insist upon a macho game, there is an
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alternative male lead, Stark, better at brawn but less adept technically than
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Nova. Whether you choose Stark or Nova to lead your party, you have a _game_
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afoot. That is G-A-M-E...all caps and playable!
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Now for the mandatory technicalities:
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HARD NOVA was designed by Spaceport Malibu for Electronic Arts. The creative
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cadets at Malibu include Karl Buiter, Game Designer and Programmer, who added
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some computer art, too. Mark Dickenson did Computer Art, Scott Fisher was Tools
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Programmer, and Peggy Brennan, Cynthia Hamilton, and Michael Lubuguin did
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additional Computer Art. Music Composition by Jon Medek, and Music Technology by
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Rob Hubbard resulted in the Sound Technology by David Worhol. Based on an
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original concept by Karl Buiter, story writing and implementation of HARD NOVA
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were by Eric Lindstrom and Jeff Haas. Producer Christopher Erhardt has presented
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us with a gem.
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HARD NOVA is supplied on four 5-1/4" disks and can be played from seven 360K
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floppies, four 3-1/2" 720K floppies, or three high-density floppies (either
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3-1/2" or 5-1/4"). Compatible with DOS 3.0 through 4.01, HARD NOVA can and
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should be installed on a hard disk. (At least 2.4 Mb of free disk space is
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necessary on the hard drive.)
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HARD NOVA requires 512K of RAM, and TSRs are not recommended. Compatible
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hardware includes IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/1, PS/2 Family, Compaq, Tandy 1000 Family,
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3000, 4000, and 5000. Mouse and keyboard are supported, as are AdLib, Roland,
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and PS/2 sound systems; Tandy and PC speakers work with the game, too. Graphics
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support includes EGA, MCGA, and full 256-color VGA.
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The 3-1/2" disk version can be ordered from Electronic Arts for $7.50 (includes
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$2.50 shipping and handling). A hint book, THE STARKILLER MERC COMBAT JOURNAL,
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is available from Electronic Arts for $12.95. According to the package insert,
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this is a mercenary must-have -- and Nova _is_ a mercenary! An 800 number is
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provided for ordering, and mail orders are available for an additional $3.00.
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There is no on-disk copy protection, but the full color galactic map supplied
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with the game amounts to a token level of off-disk protection. The map is
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absolutely lovely and shows several star clusters and constellations, as well as
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a map of the game galaxy. Locations of planets and stargates are included, as
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are statistics relevant to the images that border the map. These statistics
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serve as the copy protection: The game demands one stat every time you boot up,
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and if you answer incorrectly, you are dumped back to DOS. While annoying, this
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is not such a bad protection scheme.
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Gameplay begins with a glimpse of the world where the sun is dying. A last
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ditch attempt at rekindling the star has failed, and the Typhons are desperate
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--- they need their star or they need a new home. Will you flick your Bic or
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will you bash and dash? Play HARD NOVA and find out.
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HARD NOVA is published and distributed by Electronic Arts.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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