Nomad Revisited

Nomad Revisited is a remastered version of the 1985 game N.O.M.A.D., in which you guide N.O.M.A.D. 471, the Nemesis Organisation Mobile Attack Droid, through a fortified asteroid to reach and confront crime lord Cyrus T. Gross. This version stays faithful to the original and adds an optional inertia-based control system.

The mission

The asteroid TALOS is the heart of an intergalactic criminal network led by Cyrus T. Gross. The rulers of the Free Worlds send the Nemesis organisation, a group of humanoid and robotic freebooters, to stop him. You guide N.O.M.A.D. through four sections of Capital City: the spaceport, the slums, the city centre and the HQ, called “Dun Dentin’,” before reaching Gross’s personal quarters for the final confrontation.

Hazards and controls

Gross has fortified the asteroid with magnotrons, heat-seeking missiles and other obstacles. Magnetic walls attract N.O.M.A.D.’s metallic armour, drawing the droid toward guns and slowing it down. Homing missiles launch from surface silos and can be difficult to shake once they have targeted you; artillery shells are instantly fatal if you are caught in their blast. Robothugs, produced on a planet dedicated to Gross’s protectors, make suicide attacks on apparent threats to their master.

N.O.M.A.D. does not stop immediately when you cease accelerating, but gradually decelerates. Braking slows it faster, and you can also turn 180 degrees and accelerate to slow down, which can help when shooting pursuers. The inertia-based system can be selected in the settings. Gateways divide the asteroid’s sections and can be opened or closed by passing switches on the side walls, though faulty maintenance droids mean a switch may not open the door you expect.