Coming in “early 2008”, Novastrike is a top-down arcade shooter that straps you into the cockpit (well, technically you’re way above the aircraft looking down at it, but just go with it…) of an advanced prototype fighter aircraft, to help stave off the invading Draelus alien forces.

You pilot the advanced Scythe fighter, which unsurprisingly has the best of both worlds; it is a hybrid ship incorporating both human and alien technology. In your quest to eliminate the invading Draelus forces, you fight through seven different planets, eventually making your way to the source of the alien invasion.

Through the seven levels you’re pitted against a variety of different enemy types, which include both air and ground forces. Being that your ship is a hybrid fighter, it has a “progressive weapon acquisition and upgrade system,” which is basically just a fancy way of saying that as you destroy alien enemies, they drop items that your ship can pick up and use as weapons, and these weapons can be upgraded with additional pick-ups. Along with this upgradeable arsenal, you’ll have some extra back-up in the form of friendly fighters, bombers and destroyers. Seems like you’re going to have to take on a large number of Draelus if reinforcements are provided!

Arcade-style shooters seem to be making a bit of a comeback with the advent of downloadable console games. Novastrike has some hefty competition with the likes of Geometry Wars and Super Stardust HD if it’s going to stand out and make the grade. However, with what looks like some entertaining gameplay, an upgradeable weapons system, varying enemy types and support for the DualShock 3, Novastrike could be a contender. We’ll have to wait and see when it arrives on the PSN.

This is the first game for developer Tiki Games, and according to them they have a target release for second quarter 2008, with plans to provide additional downloadable content down the line.