You know, now that I sit down and think about it, I've never seen anything dubbed as a "chaos field" before. I mean, sure, I've driven quite a few times across the country where there's cornfields and such, but I didn't see huskers get flown across the freeway or scarecrows getting in fights with farmers. Nor have I seen any kind of flames or disruptive farm equipment that have suddenly decided to unionize. (Don't you just HATE a stubborn tractor?!) Oh, well, maybe some fields are meant to be calm and steady. But not Chaos Field.

Well, to be fair, Chaos Field isn't a field at all. It's a shooter created by the team at Milestone, originally released for the Sega Dreamcast earlier this year and eventually ported over to the GameCube in Japan. The game caught the attention of Q3 Entertainment, the publisher behind last year's mega-sleeper Alien Hominid, and they just couldn't resist a publishing. And now the game's here, and I don't need to remind hardcore shooting fans that you have another feast upon your table, aside from the Christmas turkey (or ham or tacos) you're preparing for.

The game doesn't really have much of a story. You choose from one of three different soldiers who have their own firing techniques- one has typical gunfire, one has tracking lasers, and one uses a blast similar to that of a shotgun- and then take to the skies for several levels of ship-shooting madness. The battles are mostly composed of boss battles, with huge mechanical devices that somehow have this ability of firing beautiful patterns of gunfire at you. You may think it's pretty, sure, but it gets damn hard to dodge.

The game is made up of two different modes- arcade and original. The arcade version follows the original release from Japanese arcades, and is a good starting point for beginning shooting fans. Original tends to lean more on the hard side. No, wait, I take that back. It leans on the "why can't I dodge this (censored) gunfire" side. You'll find yourself hammered with fields of gunfire, but you have your set of defenses. As you proceed, you can collect little icons that build a little spirit meter on the side of the screen. As it builds, you can activate little icons that assist you with floating orbs or temporary shields, which come in handy for the game's constant barrage of fights. You also can deflect some gunfire with a pair of swords attached to the ship, although their striking power is somewhat useless on a hard-shelled enemy.

The presentation seems to lack the polish of Treasure's previous GameCube release, Ikaruga, and also a bit of the personality. Sure, you can switch between two types of gunfire per character, but it never really delves deep and gives you a sense of identity to reflect with as you take this character through ammunition-fueled hell. But, aside from that, the presentation's pretty sweet. The graphics are sharper than the previous Dreamcast release, and the detail more laid out, especially during explosions that literally light up the screen. The action is backed up by a fresh techno soundtrack that, while nothing I'd run right out and buy the soundtrack for, delivers better than I expected.

The game does lack in longevity once it's beaten, but, hey, this is the kind of game that's easy to come back and visit. Just make sure you're prepped for a challenge, because Chaos Field delivers it in spades. It was built by hardcore shooting fans for hardcore shooting fans, and this is truly a Christmas gift bestowed upon them. And at $30, you don't even have to strain yourself to get the game. Just sell off that stubborn tractor and be on your way already.