Nova Blast

About

Nova Blast is a 1980s side-scrolling shooter where you pilot a ship to protect four cities under siege. Each city has a shield that absorbs one hit, but a second strike will destroy it. You fire horizontal lasers, drop bombs, and use an energy beam to absorb power from tanks or generate temporary shields. The ship can survive ten hits per round, but losing all four cities or exceeding that limit ends the game. It plays like a tense balancing act between offensive moves and defensive strategy. The game offers three difficulty levels and sticks to simple, reactive controls. Released in 1983, it ran on Commodore 64 and other retro platforms. While the graphics are rudimentary by today's standards, the urgency of scrambling to shield cities between attacks keeps the pace tight. Its single-player focus and short rounds made it a quick-play favorite for arcade-style challenges. The mix of direct combat and resource management still feels satisfying for its era.