Novastorm

The Good
Novastorm is a solid example of what an arcade shooter in front of a motion video backdrop should be. The gameplay is challenging without being frustrating, the graphics are good, the powerups are balanced, and the end-level bosses are creative in appearance (as opposed to simply being huge things you pound on at the end of a level). Of particular note is the music soundtrack, which consists of several high-energy, light techno tunes that match the urgency of the gameplay well.

Another nice touch is a small radar screen in the upper corner that shows you where the end-level boss you're currently fighting is vulnerable, and how much stamina he has left.

It's also apparent that a lot of time went into creating the pre-rendered 3D graphics and sequences.

The Bad
The music was apparently sampled at 11Khz to conserve space and processor time. The music is so good that you lament you can't hear it at a higher quality.

The Bottom Line
A good arcade shooter with good music and some creative end-level bosses.

The Good
I recently played Novastorm again (and finished it --yeah, quite easy) and I enjoyed the game as I did in my first experience. Once again I saw how good Novastorm was (sure it still is).

I didn't play many shooters in front of a motion video backdrop (maybe none, I don't know) but I guess as Trixter says, "Novastorm is a solid example of what an arcade shooter in front of a motion video backdrop should be". The game almost did every element of itself absolutely right to be an adequate reason for this opinion and I still can't easily forget the taste I got from Novastorm...

However unfortunately Novastorm wasn't appreciated by most of the critics and has never earned a place in good games' heaven. Just look at what PC Format was saying in their issue 39 (December 1994), "... Highly unoriginal in both concept and execution, Novastorm is yet another unsatisfaying CD-ROM game with an over-long intro sequence, far too much emphasis on the graphics and not enough on gameplay." Was it? Absolutely not...

The Bad
I like Novastorm so much that I can't find an appropriate flaw for it 8-)

The Bottom Line
Novastorm is still the best Psygnosis game (in PC platform of course, who can forget Agony and their other masterpiece creations made for Amiga?) and sure one of the best shoot'em ups ever made for PC with Raptor, Tyrian and Xenon 2 (Xenon was a good conversion)...

The Good
Most of it - it's very addictive and quite challenging as well. What I particularly liked was the soundtrack - varied, flowing and fits the game like a glove. The graphics are quite good as well.

The Bad
The cutscenes are really dumb and the bosses are usually easier than the preceeding stage. Also, you can't quit the game, which is really annoying. The controls are a bit difficult as well (you'll need a good joystick to play this the way it was intended to be played).

The Bottom Line
A really good 3rd person shoot-'em-up. Get it and play it - you won't regret it (for a while, at least).