Name: Nova Blast
Platform: ColecoVision
Region: USA
Media: Cartridge
Controller: Joystick/Numeric Keypad
Genre: Shoot 'em Up - Horizontal
Gametype: Licensed
Release Year: 1983
Developer: Imagic
Players: 1
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"Emergency! Nova 1 to Ground Control! I'm the last of the fleet! They've all gone down!"

"We read you, Nova 1. Are the Capsulated Cities still Intact?"

"Affirmative. But air enemies and Water Walkers are moving in."

"Status of Nova 1. Any damage?"

"I can take about six more hits, Ground Control."

"Proceed on course, Nova 1. Save our Capsulated Cities at all costs! You're our last hope. Over."

I read you loud and clear, Ground Control. Over and out."

--From the Colecovision Nova Blast instruction manual.

Overview:

Another space ship flyer for the Colecovision. This game is very similar to Missile Command in that you have cities to defend from alien attacks. Though the graphics aren't fantastic, they are a good sight better than Missile Command. There is a decent looking background with some planets and stars, with water below. Your cities are in this water, and you fly back and forth over it to protect them.

The noises are quirky and kinda cool. They are admittedly blips and bleeps (which I have before stated I don't really like), but they have a whistling rising and falling quality to them that makes them less monotonous and so don't sound so much like hospital machines. This game also side-scrolls and wraps around, so you can just keep flying in one direction and eventually return to where you started from.

Directions:

Defend your cities on the water from attacking aliens. Your cities are red and domed by a flashing white dome. They can only take a small amount of damage, eight hits, before they explode. If all of your cities are destroyed the game ends.

Enemies will pop up all over the place near all of your cites. They will be in the sky and on the water, but it's O.K. Your little ship can haul booty. In fact I find more often than not that I zip right on past my target, so keep an eye on the little scanner at the bottom that tells you where you are, where your cities are, and which cities are under attack. When a city is being attacked you will hear an alarm.

In the bottom left corner of the screen you will see your energy gauge. Whenever you run into an enemy or enemy fire you will lose some energy. If your energy runs out, the game will end. Pick up more energy when you need it from the red energy towers in the water. You can pick up only a certain amount at a time, and only when you see the electrical lines running between the towers.

You can also pick up energy from the energy towers and transfer it to cities that have lost or are losing their shields. To do this, simply hover over an energy tower and press and hold A. When you've gotten all the energy you can from that tower, you will begin to drop bombs and the line between you and the towers will vanish. Now you can either keep this energy for yourself, if you need it, or take it over to a city that needs it. To give it to the city simply hover over the city and do the same as you did to gain the energy. Giving energy to cities enables them to take more hits without being destroyed.

The more cites you have left after destroying all of the threats, the larger the bonus you will receive at the end of a round.

Controls:

A Button: Drops Bombs/ Recharges Energy When Over Energy Towers
B Button: Fires
Backspace: Resets Game

Reviewer: fallenrain
http://www.consoleclassix.com/colecovision/nova_blast.html
