Slick and exciting blasting action
It might not be complex or deep, but Chromium BSU sure is fun. It's an excellent example of the bullet hell-style shooter, a vertically scrolling blaster that mixes elements from everything from Xenon 2, Raiden, The Reap and Tyrian into one big game that makes for an entertaining ride. The minimal plot sees the usual evil, marauding aliens out to destroy a cargo ship bringing supplies to the frontline of some mysterious war. Fortunately though, a squadron of defence craft are available to stop them in their tracks, which is where the player comes in and their task is simple: blow 'em all away. Your ship can take a few hits before it explodes, while a small array of weapons is also available to help even the odds a touch, and with a few backup upgrades thrown in for good measure. In a neat, if less than earth-shattering, twist, if you choose to ignore the upgrades, then other bonuses like extra lives or points are instead made available which adds a nice element of choice amongst the hectic blasting action. There's not much else to Chromium but that's no bad thing, as what's here stands as a pretty decent example of the shoot 'em up genre. While the weapons may be lacking in the spectacular visuals, devastating special effects and sheer variety of other better known blasters, they are satisfying enough and combat is a constant maelstrom of wildly unpredictable and aggressive aliens that will leave you with an aching trigger finger. The graphics are pretty slick on the whole, with some nice ship and alien designs and cool use of sci-fi themes, while the controls are simple but responsive, so really, if you like undemanding but action-packed games, then you have no excuse not to check this out.
