DCEmu_Newsposter
November 18th, 2004, 13:36
Quite a big news item from Lik Sang (http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3526&lsaid=219793) [br][br] Dodging bullets is still the rage. Able/Milestone join the honorable ranks of vertical shooter developers like Psikyo, Alfa, Success and Treasure in delivering authentic arcade-style experience to the Dreamcast. On December 16th, only one month from today, fans of Sega's last console effort will celebrate the long-awaited release of Chaos Field. No doubt a perfect match: This title was made to be played on true arcade hardware and as is well known, the Dreamcast, which architecture is in essence a modified Naomi arcade board, provides a powerful platform for it. Expect a tribute to shooter masterworks of the past, some of which also appeared on Dreamcast, like Ikaruga, Shikigami No Shiro II and Psyvariar 2. Below we'll go into details about gameplay mechanics and tell you what to expect from this adrenaline-triggering shoot'em up fest. [br][br]There are three ships to choose from at the start of the game, these are flown by human characters Hal, Jinn and Ifumi. They have three main weapon systems at their disposal, tap A (arcade layout) for standard vulcan shots, hunting laster blasts you can initiate by holding both B and C and then there's a swiping ray attack (hit B) which absorbs some enemy attacks. It will definitely come in handy when you are facing the huge, mighty bosses at the end of each phase. The hunting laser is another cool defense system: mark incoming bullets by casting a web-like structure, let off the lasers and blue-colored streams of light (think Bangai-Oh) will home in onto your opponent's fire, destroying it. The overall flow of Chaos Field was beautifully designed by its creators, it plays very smoothly with the various weapons available. Gameplay-wise, you are definitely in for an experience that will demand lightning-fast reflexes.[br][br]Enemies and bosses that take hits will loose Meta Stock diamonds, which you want to absorb by halting your fire for a moment. This way they'll gravitate toward your current position for sort of an automatic pick-up, similar to the system Psikyo used in Zero Gunner 2. You can build up to 10 Meta Stock special attacks and check the status on the bars to the left side of the screen. [br][br]The name "Chaos Field" refers to an environmental modifier of some sort which can be activated by pressing the C-button. You begin with "Order" which equals normal mode. Change into "Chaos" to make your weapons more awe-demanding, but it's no easy life here, since this will also increase the power of the enemy attacks significantly. Being invisible for an instant while going from one state to the other helps, but hey, we warned you - you're certainly in for a hardcore shooter ride![br][br]Visually stunning, Chaos Field delivers no-nonsense classic 2D gameplay on beautiful 3D backdrops (Ikaruga comes to mind), wave after wave of detailed enemies and much appreciated eye candy as well: we wouldn't actually want to be strapped into that ship, the drama theater of the explosions is done almost too well. There are movies on the official website, which you can access here. You will also notice the atmospherically dense soundtrack of this immersive shmup.[br][br]Chaos Field is still on preorder for only US$ 48.90 and we even throw in a free exclusive gift for all reservations (on top of the 100 Bonus Payback Points). A free Sonic Birthday Coin will be granted to everybody quick enough to secure their purchase while stocks of this bonus last (limited supply = first ordered, first served). [br][br]More information & screenshots at Lik Sang (http://www.lik-sang.com/news.php?artc=3526&lsaid=219793)