Tiki Games is a new, independent outfit on the PS3 scene, despite having been formed over 2 years ago in San Diego. Made up of industry veterans that have worked together before, their remit is to make high-quality and fun games, which sounds lovely to us. With that in mind, we introduce you to their upcoming PSN title, NOVASTRIKE.
Shooters are a staple of the PSN and NOVASTRIKE is another one, promising the intense gameplay of classic top-down shooters, but also trying to keep things fresh with continual updates and extra content.
“Tiki Games is committed to putting out high-quality titles that bring something new to the table,” said Kevin McCann, president and creative director of Tiki Games. “NOVASTRIKE takes its roots from the toughest shoot-’em-ups, and brings that gameplay into a free-roaming, unpredictable space – and when players think they’ve conquered that, our continued support for the game will keep them on their toes with all-new game content.”
NOVASTRIKE puts you in the seat of the experimental Scythe fighter and then pits you against the world-conquering Draelus. The Scythe can be equipped with a multitude of weapons and weapon variations with which to combat the Draelus, and the free-roaming flight ensures you can take the fight in the direction you want. Both air and land forces will confront you across a variety of planetary environments. It’s not just a straight shooter though, as mission objectives will need completing in order to drive back the invading hordes.
A host of features are promised:
. Seven stages are available, each with objective-based goals. Surely more will be available post-launch as DLC.
. Free-roaming flight – it’s not an on-rails game, you can fly where you like.
. Weapons can be acquired from enemy ships and these then become available for use by the Scythe.
. Nine base weapon systems, each with three levels of upgrade
. Two separate weapon systems allow the targetting of both air and ground forces
. Multi-section enemies where individual components can be destroyed, e.g. Carriers have hangars to launch fighters, but destorying just the hangar will result in the Carrier no longer being able to launch fighters. Sounds like a neat idea to us, opening up tactical possibilities.
. A plethora of enemies: fighters, bombers, kamikazes, aces, carriers, and destroyers – plus Boss Fights.
. Friendly forces will aid you, so you won’t be fighting alone. No word – yet – on whether this means there will be co-op play, but it seems like a perfect match.
. DualShock 3 will be supported.
. Tiki Games plans additional support and continued game support throughout 2008.
Want to get a flavour of what to expect? Check this – Gameplay movie
At TSA Scythe is one of our favourite words, so we’re looking forward to this even more than our planned trip to the gay bars of Glasgow.