Escape Velocity Nova (a.k.a. EV Nova or EVN) is a video game developed by Ambrosia Software in collaboration with ATMOS. It is the third game in the Escape Velocity series of space trading and combat games. It was released on March 19, 2002 for Mac OS X and Mac OS 9, and later ported to Windows and released on July 11, 2003. The game's premise, set in a time period after mankind has discovered hyperspace technology, grants the player freedom to take missions, trade goods, steal from other ships, and enter one of six storylines.

Originally a plug-in for Escape Velocity Override created by ATMOS, Nova development began with Ambrosia contracting ATMOS to make the plug-in the scenario for a new game. ATMOS developed the scenario and graphics, while Matt Burch developed the game engine. The game features six different mutually exclusive plot lines, but players have control to act as they will from the start of the game. Reception to the game praised the gameplay, plot, and ability to be replayed, but was critical of the lack of a soundtrack, repetitiveness, and pace and difficulty of the storylines.

Gameplay and plot

alt=A field of space with ships in it and an interface on the right|thumb|A typical in-game screen of Escape Velocity Nova. The player's shuttle is in the center, while a Federation ship is in battle above and to the left. At the right is a player interface.

In Escape Velocity Nova, the player is placed in command of a shuttlecraft in space. The game is played from a top-down perspective in 2D. or by stealing from other ships. Ambrosia Software's Matt Burch developed the game engine, while Welch managed the project and ATMOS developed the graphics and scenario. Burch, who had programmed Escape Velocity and Override, programmed Nova while also working a second job as an engineer. Escape Velocity Nova was released on March 19, 2002 for Mac, and received both OS X and OS 9 releases. which was released on July 11, 2003. A 2008 update for Mac was built as a universal binary with native support for Intel processors.

Reception

Escape Velocity Nova received praise for its gameplay and game design, especially in light of it being a shareware game. MacAddict gave Escape Velocity Nova its Editor's Choice Award. Reviewer Chris Barylick stated that the gameplay is essentially the same as its predecessors, Escape Velocity and Override. He called the game "more beautifully designed than you could expect a shareware game to be". Two years after the game's release, Barylick said the game was still worth the download. In a review for Inside Mac Games, Richard Porcher expressed that Nova<nowiki/>'s graphics were superior for a shareware game. NomaD of Russian website Absolute Games praised the game's large map and scenario, while also critical of the game's lack of a soundtrack. By contrast, MacNN was critical of the small universe size and dialogue, though it called the game "extraordinary" and praised the game's replayability.

See also

  • Endless Sky

References

  • MacGameFiles: Escape Velocity Nova