Chaos Field

Chaos Field
North American GameCube cover art
Developer(s)	Milestone, Able Corporation
Publisher(s)	Milestone, Sega, O3 Entertainment, Able Corporation
Platform(s)	Sega NAOMI, Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	Arcade JP 2004 Dreamcast JP December 16, 2004 GameCube JP February 24, 2005 NA December 20, 2005 PlayStation 2 JP December 15, 2005
Genre(s)	Shoot 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E[1]

Chaos Field (カオスフィールド, Kaosufiirudo^?), released as Chaos Field New Order for the PlayStation 2, is a 2005 shoot 'em up arcade game released by Milestone Inc.. It was ported to Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and Nintendo GameCube, the latter being the only one that had an American release, while the others remained Japan-exclusives. Additionally, it is included as part of Milestone Shooting Collection: Karous Wii.

Gameplay

The game follows the "boss fest" style - the levels consist of little more than battles against a single, very powerful enemy. The player's ship can move back and forth between two parallel dimensions - the "order field" and the "chaos field". In the Order Field, enemies have less firepower, whereas in the Chaos Field there are more opportunities for amassing points.

The player can choose one among three ships, each with specific traits of firepower and speed. All of them have a "sword" special power, possibly inspired by Radiant Silvergun, but here it is used just to cancel enemy shots rather than attack.

There are two special attacks that the player can use, A "Wing Layer" and a "Lock-on Shot". The Wing Layer can be used to damage the enemy as well as canceling bullets to obtain combos. The Lock-On shot targets parts of the boss or bullets. These attacks function differently for each ship.

Combos can be obtained as well. The player can generate combos by targeting bullets or sections of the enemies with the Lock-on Shot or by canceling bullets with the Wing Layer. However, it is only possible to target bullets with the Lock-On shot while in the Chaos Field.

Plot

Taking place some time in the future, the technological advancements of mankind discover a dimension of absolute chaos that its discoverers quickly called The Chaos Field. Upon its discovery, the overly destructive inhabitants of the Chaos Field known as the Abo invaded Earth which is considered The Order Field (in contrast to the Chaos Field). The war raged so long that special pilots were selected to fly the best star fighters equipped with trans-dimensional technology to combat the Abo and save the Earth and its field.

Characters

• Hal, a 15 year old boy and pilot of the Mixed Blue. He is extremely stoic and was selected to become a pilot since his birth.^[2]
• Ifumi, a 19 year old girl and pilot of the Flawed Red. She's a natural optimist who has acted as a sister figure to Hal.^[2]
• Jinn, a 30 year old man with a mysterious past who is the pilot of the Fake Yellow. Many rumors have spread around him, the most interesting being he was genetically created from Abo genes.^[2]

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	64.57% (7 reviews)[3]
Metacritic	GCN: 63% (7 reviews)[4] DC: 61% (4 reviews)[5]
Review scores
Publication	Score
GameSpot	6.2 / 10[6]
IGN	6.0 / 10[7]

See also

• Ultimate Shooting Collection

References

1. ^ "ESRB Rating Search". ESRB. http://www.esrb.org/ratings/search.jsp?title=Chaos+Field. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Chaos Field Instruction Booklet for GameCube. 0-3 Entertainment. 2005. pp. 20. 
3. ^ "Aggregate score for GameCube game". GameRankings.com. http://www.gamerankings.com/gamecube/924665-chaos-field/index.html. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
4. ^ "Review of Chaos Field for GameCube". MetaCritic. http://apps.metacritic.com/games/platforms/cube/chaosfield. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
5. ^ "Review of Chaos Field for Dreamcast". MetaCritic. http://apps.metacritic.com/games/platforms/drm/chaosfield. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
6. ^ "Aggregate Critic Score Review for Chaos Field". CBS Interactive. GameSpot.com. http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/chaosfield/review.html. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
7. ^ "IGN Rating for Chaos Field for GameCube". IGN Entertainment. http://cube.ign.com/articles/680/680836p1.html. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 

External links

• Official website from Able Corporation
• Official website from Milestone Inc
• Official website from Sega (Japanese)
• SHMUPS! Review