After years of radio-silence, CCP Games has finally shared new info about their PC-exclusive hybrid first-person shooter Project Nova. The free-to-play multiplayer shooter will have an invite-only alpha this November and anyone interested can apply for a spot here. We also received a new teaser trailer.
Project Nova is anything but new, since over two years ago CCP already shared gameplay footage. Maybe it was the ho-hum reception by the press then but CCP basically put the game on ice ever since. Today however, the Iceland developer decided to share once again what has been cooking behind closed doors.
Set in the EVE Online universe – CCP’s main source of fame -, Project Nova was always an ambitious title in trying to set up a PvP and PvE gaming experience under one roof. Juggernauts like Destiny have shown that gamers are very open to that concept and from what we know so far, Project Nova could become a nice alternative.
Players take on the role of a Warclone, elite clone soldiers carving their own path to redemption against Sansha’s Nation, a totalitarian rogue state built upon brainwashed slave labor and controlled by loyal ‘True Guardians’, a cybernetically-enhanced elite. – CCP
On paper, the game has a lot going for it. EVE Online is a massive MMO which has been going since 2003 and will offer exceptional potential for lore and cross-over events. And with the studio’s other, more action-oriented titles like EVE Valkyrie and Dust 514, there is a healthy foundation for an FPS game. The later especially could be mistaken as an early attempt of Project Nova. Dust 514 was also a shooter in the EVE Online universe but was hamstrung by subpar mechanics and technical issues. Being a PS3 digital exclusive surely didn’t help it either.
But with Project Nova, CCP is able to show their expertise learned from these lessons and as visible in a long gameplay video courtesy of IGN, the game looks more like what audiences have come to expect from modern shooters. The highly ambitious interconnection to the MMO from Dust 514 looks to be scrapped in Project Nova, but we are very interested in the multiple-act narrative CCP is promising to be playable in co-op.
