WP App Review : Chromatic Pro

Chromatic Pro  (Version 2.0)
Hennessy Apps
$0.99

Chromatic is a wonderfully executed shooter using vector style graphics which I am a big fan of. The premise is simple and straightfoward; you control a cannon at the bottom of the screen and as waves of enemies in various shapes and colors rain down from the top, you tap on any position on the screen to fire in their direction to ensure they don't reach the bottom. Despite it's simple design, Chromatic will likely get you hooked with a few rounds of play as you try to survive longer and longer.


As soon as you start the game, you're greeted with some wonderful and addictive BGM. Chromatic features simple and colorful vector based graphics which enhance the gameplay experience as enemies explode on the screen and super slow-motion effects take place when large combos are executed. The cannon you control is dead center at the bottom and waves of enemies in varying shapes and colors begin to stream down from the top. Controls are your basic "tap to shoot" and you start off with a regular pistol. After a few game plays you'll soon have access to an additional five weapons of destruction - spread, freeze, missile, laser, and mine.

In the beginning you can only equip one type of weapon but as you quickly level up, a maximum of three weapons can be used during game play. The bottom of the screen will display your three selected weapons and by simply tapping on them you can quickly switch between them. Depending on your weapon of choice, there is a slight recharge time before you can fire again. Because of this, there is a bit of strategy that needs to applied. For example, when a large wave of enemies begin to stream down you can first use your freeze gun to freeze a handful of enemies. While frozen, you can quickly switch to your missile to blast them all or you can switch to your mine to lay some mines and protect your playing field. After you take care of the first batch of enemies, you can then switch back to the freeze gun. Sounds simple enough but you'll need to time the weapon changes at the opportune time to fully make use of all your weapons.

Apart from the weapons you can select, you also have access to a few powerups. A nuke will wipe out all enemies on the screen, a shield will help lessen the damage enemies inflict, and a multiplier will help you increase your score so you can more easily aim for the top of the leaderboard. The powerups need to be recharged by defeating enemies which can take some time so you'll want to use them only when absolutely needed.

All in all, Chromatic provides an exciting game play experience which can provide a lot of entertainment in short burts, perfect for the mobile platform. Simple, yet dazzling vector graphics, solid music, strategy, and lots of action make this a must-add to your app list.

Pros : Simple and beautiful vector graphics, solid gameplay, great music
Cons : Difficulty ramps up a bit quickly