Chaos Field [GC]

While the GameCube may not have any recent blockbuster hits due to the Zelda delay and Nintendo's preparation for the Revolution, there have been a few titles that may have slipped under the radar for the majority of fans. Chaos Field brings shooter junkies a breath of fresh air, and though it may not be the pinnacle of its genre, it does manage to deliver solid entertainment for a budget price.

At its heart, Chaos Field is simply an average shooter with a bit of a twist. Taken directly from Japanese arcades, the game features five stages comprised of three boss battles each. The entire game is boss-based, so expect one-on-one battle for the majority of the time. "Original" mode offers a bit more enemy diversity, but that is an exception to what the main game is all about. While the game's presentation is mainstream in every respect, it will still hold shooter fanatics for a few solid hours of play. The cast consists of three main characters, each with their own fighter that offers different attacks, defenses and special moves. The shooter may be short, but the addition of multiple characters keeps the value relatively high. Each fighter comes equipped with an auto-fire weapon, a sword that can be used to inflict close range damage and absorb enemy fire, and two special attacks for lock-on missiles and defense nodes. The three characters have been balanced fairly well, having each character focus on a different strategy of play.

Though the presentation is generic in most regards it is the gameplay that makes or breaks a shooter, and Chaos Field hits the mark for the most part. Consisting of two parallel worlds, gameplay is based on switching from the world of "Order" to the world of "Chaos." The formula works pretty well, giving players a chance to balance the difficulty of the game on the fly. It may not offer the appeal of Treasure's Ikaruga, but it is entertaining nonetheless. The game turns into a constant balancing act as players will switch from the order field to take a break from the constant onslaught the chaos field dishes out. Players are forewarned, the chaos field is very difficult. I imagine most casual shooter players could last less than a minute before warping out to catch their breath. This is a serious twitch gamers' dream come true.

A decent point system is also included, offering a combo meter that reaches into the thousands, and point bonuses for not using special moves, though it isn't as in depth as Ikaruga or even Nanostray for DS. All in all it is an entertaining experience, though it will leave players wishing there was a bit more to it all. Sure, boss battles are entertaining, but that is the only main feature. Chaos Field is about using strategy to navigate battle after battle and has the potential to turn off gamers because of its monotonous nature. Inclusion of both the original Arcade mode as well as a new Original mode helps to deepen the experience, but in the end the majority of replay will have to come with the pursuit of high scores.

Visual and Audio presentation for Chaos Field goes hand in hand with the rest of the presentation, offering decent sound and graphical design without going above and beyond in any area. Graphically speaking Chaos Field is as generic as a Web game. Every ship and boss could just as easily be replaced with any other game's enemies and the experience wouldn't change at all. The title does run in progressive scan mode, though it really doesn't help much since the art is so amazingly generic. The entire effort screams cookie-cutter design, and while it isn't enough to turn people away from the experience, it should be noted. The audio aspects follow suit, offering canned explosions, basic "item get!" noises and an overwhelming amount of generic "SFX #000182" situations. Nothing in the audio presentation sets this game above and beyond any other arcade shooter, and because of that the overall experience can never compare to the masterpiece of Ikaruga. Chaos Field manages to deliver an entertaining dose of gameplay within a completely average looking shooter.

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