Quantized Blaze

Posted by oddbob on September 12, 2006 · Lovingly Filed Under Other peoples games 
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A tad late to the party, with Quantized Blaze having already been covered by The2Bears way back in April and somehow managing to let it pass me by, until Tim over at indygamer.blogspot.com dropped this post a few days ago and reminded me of its existence.

By the same developer as the utterly mentalist NomltestFS and the superbly stylish Invisible Vision, keim, comes a game that shows that a little bit of additive blending goes a long way. With the action taking place on an eternally scrolling chequer board with flames bursting down from the top of the screen and interweaving lines forming patterns across the screen, even if the game isn’t for you - its sure to provide at the very least a wonderful visual treat.

Like NomltestFS, Quantized Blaze is essentially a play on the Space Invaders style dragged by the little green tentacles into the 21st century, the enemies move across the chequerboard spitting bullets in a variety of patterns - with the patterns getting increasingly complex as you progress through the ranks. What begins as bullets dropping down in a straight line and heading in your direction soon becomes a barrage of formations for you to duck and dive between.

To encourage more aggressive playing, when you destroy the flames barely visible items are spewed out from the explosions for you to collect. The further towards the bottom of the screen you lie, the more difficult it becomes to get a good stock of items. Your ship also comes packed with the obligatory supply of smart bombs - best to keep a hold of them wherever possible though, you’ll find yourself needing them when the going gets tougher later on.

Whilst the game is incredibly straightforward, the whole visual style has a very odd effect on my eyes after a while - its rare a game makes me go cross eyed whilst nipping inbetween bullet patterns, but the slight perspective of Quantized Blaze means I have to relax that little bit more to get into the zone with it. Luckily this is helped along the way by a fantastic use of sound - spot FX are kept to a bare minimum but the tune trips away nicely in the foreground helping you drift into the right state of mind.

Very enjoyable and frantic, without getting too stressful - and as Tim recommends, definitely not one for keyboard play. Pack your pad or stick for this beauty.

Fire! Fire! Fire!

How can we sleep when the board is burning? :s

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