rRootage
Review by The Gerat Escape
By
now youve probably seen the screenshots littered around the page,
and your thinking "what is that spoony bard up to this time
?" or possibly " I dont want no Rez type stuff, im outta
here", and with that you hit the back button. Never to return
to a review of the game that has me hooked so very badly, and with
a little luck and some literacy it will have you hooked to the same
degree. There is no escaping its addictive lure. If you have future
appointments you need to keep, then look away now!
Graphics
As the screenshots show, the game uses a classy, Rez influenced vector
style. It looks very impressive, especially if you havent played Rez,
or dont even know what Rez is (shame on you!). Its all very chaotic with
"bullets" flying around everywhere, and lots of transparency
effects. The playing area is about 1/2 the screen, strait through the
middle (see screenshots) with scores and lives, etc on the right and left.
It runs reasonably smooth on my Duron 1400, Geforce 2 MX400 but there
are some sections when the bullets will slow down. Im not sure if this
is due to my sissy MX400 or a design feature (probably the former).
OpenGL is required for the game to run, and there is a lo-res version
included for low-end computers/video cards (*cough*tnt2m64*cough*).
Sonics
Following the Rez theme again, the music in rRootage is an electronica
style that suits the game perfectly. There are obviously only a handful
of songs, in order to keep the download size small, but the ones that
are there suffice perfectly. My only complaint would be the lack of music
for the main menu. Sure you dont spend a lot of time on the menu, but
at least some ambient sounds would be nice.
The in-game sounds are good, and do their job nicely while at the same
time keep the download size small.
Playability
Theres no story line, no FMV, no real characters, yet this game is incredibly
addictive. Its got features from other great shootem-ups, including the
light/dark mode from Radiant Silvergun (havent played RSG, so thats a
guestimate) which is among 4 different game modes. The Aim of the game
is:
"Control
your ship and avoid the barrage. Use the laser to destroy the battleship of the enemy. You can cause more damage if you fire the laser close to the enemy."
Thats straight
from the readme. And that about sums up this game.
There are areas that could be improved on, such as an clearer layout,
different looking enemies and little things. BUT for free, im not going
to complain one bit.
Overall
Not only is this a great game, but its completely FREEWARE. No ads, no
spyware, no shareware, no time limits and no nagware. I would say there
are 2 kinds of people in this world: Those that like shoot-em-ups, and
those that dont or are too sissy for them If you actually read this review,
by now you would know what category you fall into. As i said before though,
even sissy's should have a shot, and at just over 4mb, what have you got
to lose?
Graphics
90- Apart from some hard to read text, they fit the bill perfectly.
Sonics
87- Great for a 4mb Download, but no sound/music on menu is a downer.
Playability
95- Utterly addictive, well crafted brilliance. With 4 different modes
you wont have any reason to stop playing.
Overall
95- Probably the best freeware shoot-em-up ever. Get it NOW!
Screenshots
If
you liked this then check out: Silpheed, Rez, Noiz2sa, Raiden Trad, Radiant
Silvergun =)
Download
rRootage
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