Childrens Toyshop
Welcome to The Childrens Toyshop, here you will find all the latest and traditional toys in our toyshop. You can search and locate the best selling Toys Games & Puzzles to purchase online and have delivered to the door. We have a large selection of Video Games with reviews.
Back to Home Page > Go back a page
Video Games : Chrome
1 2
Rating: 
- It's fun, buy it and try it
I don't usually play FPS games, I leave that to my son. But Chrome was a special offer price and we bought it to try. It's proven to be good fun and personally I think it's better than Halo - Combat Evolved.
Some reviewers complain about jerky control and long load times, but the truth is, Chrome needs a highish spec machine to run. I have a 1.3GHz Duron with 512MB + GeF4 MX440 which struggles to run single player Chrome in "safe mode" with all settings set to "low". The load times are very long, the frame rate poor and control response (movement, aiming and firing) can be grim. I also have an Athlon64 2.0GHz with 512MB + FX5900, Chrome flies on that system with all settings up on "high". The load times are a few seconds, all controls respond perfectly, the game looks great and is fun to play. On both machines the game has never crashed.
If you patch it to v1.2.0.0 you'll get a multiplayer mode with plenty of maps for the usual "CTF", TD" and "DM" play. Servers for Chrome internet gaming seem rare, but it's fun to play "Death Match" across a LAN and my low spec machine seems to handle the simple outdoor maps better than the huge single player environments.
I've marked it 4/5 not 5/5 as it can get a bit frustrating. Sometimes you'll wish you had an extra pair of hands and eyes to simultaneously control movement, fighting, using implants and the equipment in your backpack inventory. Trying to drive the Conquistador buggy and operate the machine gun at the same time can cause some stress and choice language! But you can save whenever you want, allowing you to work through in small steps of sucess, interspersed with the learning and decision making required to progress through the story.
Rating: - Stunning Value For Money
I picked Chrome up while waiting for Doom 3 - at less than a fiver there didn't seem much to lose. I'm well into the game now and so far it's been superior to most other FPS games I've played in the last 12 months. As a previous reviewer said, you just have to appreciate how this game works and once that clicks in I can't see how you wouldn't enjoy yourself. There have been a couple of harsh reviews here from people who seem to have issues more with the style of the game than with the quality.
Rating:
- surprise hit
.
This is the game 'Unreal 2' wishes it was. I'm running this game on middling settings on my one year old Sony Vaio laptop and having no problems, so lets skip the 'weak machine' complaints. (You're playing games on a computer- if its slow, get upgrades.)
Chrome looks lovely, but as nearly all FPS's on the go now look lovely, it would be odd if it didn't. What this game has in spades is attitude. Theres a feel to it, the weapons, the uniforms, the ships, the audio, the in-game vehicles, it all comes together to give you a distinct flavour, which makes this game stand out in the crowd. Huge levels combine large open areas with intense multi leveled complex areas, forcing you to change tactics as you go. Combine this with a reasonable AI (flanking moves, covering fire) and it all adds up to a very nice package. And look at the reduced price tag! This would be a 4 star game, but now that its universally dropping in price, its also great value for money.
An excellent game, and one which we haven't been brow beaten into buying by the PC game media machine.
Did I mention its really good fun?
Rating: - Chrome that could have been Gold
if all you want is a game rather than The NBE - Next Big Experience(TM).
So why is this game not the NBE?
Well, for example, the main character is a cyborg who has implants added during the course of the game. In an ideal world, these would be bought, and there would be more implants than you could possibly buy, so you would have to customize your character in a particular direction - stealth and speed or weapon accuracy, or even hacking ability (a la Deus Ex). What actually happens is that you gain one or two implants at the start of each level, and have no say in character development.
There's a fair few of these strange decisions - wide sprawling levels, which imply several routes to completion, but in reality there is only one 'on-rails' solution being the other major funny.
These detract from what could have been an absolute stunning game. As it is, the game is simply good (or should that be 'Chrome') rather than Gold standard.
At another time, this would be bad news, but having played all the current crop of most wanted games of 2003, I have to say that almost half of them were disappointments. Deux Ex 2 is a step back from Deux Ex 1, Halo has a good start, but becomes very boring very quickly, Call of Duty is good but not that much different from MOHAA (especially in the fact that it lasts about 6-8 hours...) and let's not even start on Unreal 2! Only Knights of the Old Republic (which I have and will start looking at once I have got though Chrome) and Max Payne 2 (which I have completed, another short game, but recommended) seem to have got the gaming community thumbs up that a major release should really be getting.
Given this competition, Chrome starts to gleam. It wasnt a game that I anticipated buying, but I'm glad I did. Its one of those games that is really hard until you 'get it' (a bit like one of my other faves, Operation Flashpoint). The secret in chrome is in the quick and efficient use of the implants, plus a fair bit of stealth. Once you have got past the 'I keep dying, its too hard' zone, it becomes a very enjoyable game. The fighting is not normal FPS fare - in some places it actually becomes very strategic, something that makes the game stand out a little more from the standard slide and shoot (yawn).
So, the remaining question is why was the game allowed to be just good when it could have been a killer? Its obvious where all the time went - the game engine. Not only does the game look beautiful (if a little repetitive in the indoor sections), it also plays quickly on my not-so-cutting-edge system (ATI 9500pro, Athalon XP2000) at 1280x1024, with most of the settings high.
The developer looks to have spent so much time proving the engine and creating the 3D-world, that something most likely had to go to meet the Christmas deadline, and I'm guessing that something was a list of 'little tweaks that would make the game great but would push the publish date into a January release'.
'Unforgivable!' some readers may be muttering, but I'm looking to the official website, and already seeing a patch and a feeling of a community growing around the game already - the hallmarks of a good sequel, and a game that will improve over time for the current version.
So, if you are waiting for Half life 2 or the next Doom (which I predict will be another surprisingly quick game), there's not much choice for something in between - many of the big names have been disapointments, and some of the not-so-anticipated names (Chrome, Tron 2) are worth looking at if you really need a games fix until then...
If nothing else, Chrome will take some time to complete, unlike some of the other games out there at the moment!
PS - for the reviewer who can't work out how to fire straight - creep up to your target and when you are in firing distance, switch to the handgun, enable implants 1 and 2. Zoom in (right mouse button) and fire 4 or 5 times at the target quickly. When in buildings, hit implant 4 when you are just about to go into any room, and check the radar before you enter so you know which direction the threats are coming from.
Rating:
- Chrome which doesn't shine at all
The good thing about Chrome is that it looks great. The bad thing about Chrome is that it has only one good thing about it - it looks great. And looking good is not a quality that necessarily makes a game a good game - Unreal2 for example.
Okay, it's acceptable fare for a FPS, but there's nothing here either engages you or wants to make you play any further. There's the now customary "Buddy" that you get to help you through the game (but why?!? Gordon Freeman in Half Life managed perfectly ok on his own, didn't he? ), but the weapons are very much below par - the main "staple" weapon having such terrible sights that it is awkaward to use and has little impact. In addition, the inventory system is un-intuitive and poorly covered in both the manual and tutorial.
There are vehicles that you can get into and drive/shoot etc., but you're limited as to where you can go and it adds very little to the game.
Overall, if you're looking for a filler game until Half-life 2 or Doom 3 comes out then look elsewhere - this Chrome ain't shining in any way at all.
- It's fun, buy it and try itI don't usually play FPS games, I leave that to my son. But Chrome was a special offer price and we bought it to try. It's proven to be good fun and personally I think it's better than Halo - Combat Evolved.
Some reviewers complain about jerky control and long load times, but the truth is, Chrome needs a highish spec machine to run. I have a 1.3GHz Duron with 512MB + GeF4 MX440 which struggles to run single player Chrome in "safe mode" with all settings set to "low". The load times are very long, the frame rate poor and control response (movement, aiming and firing) can be grim. I also have an Athlon64 2.0GHz with 512MB + FX5900, Chrome flies on that system with all settings up on "high". The load times are a few seconds, all controls respond perfectly, the game looks great and is fun to play. On both machines the game has never crashed.
If you patch it to v1.2.0.0 you'll get a multiplayer mode with plenty of maps for the usual "CTF", TD" and "DM" play. Servers for Chrome internet gaming seem rare, but it's fun to play "Death Match" across a LAN and my low spec machine seems to handle the simple outdoor maps better than the huge single player environments.
I've marked it 4/5 not 5/5 as it can get a bit frustrating. Sometimes you'll wish you had an extra pair of hands and eyes to simultaneously control movement, fighting, using implants and the equipment in your backpack inventory. Trying to drive the Conquistador buggy and operate the machine gun at the same time can cause some stress and choice language! But you can save whenever you want, allowing you to work through in small steps of sucess, interspersed with the learning and decision making required to progress through the story.
Rating:
- Stunning Value For MoneyI picked Chrome up while waiting for Doom 3 - at less than a fiver there didn't seem much to lose. I'm well into the game now and so far it's been superior to most other FPS games I've played in the last 12 months. As a previous reviewer said, you just have to appreciate how this game works and once that clicks in I can't see how you wouldn't enjoy yourself. There have been a couple of harsh reviews here from people who seem to have issues more with the style of the game than with the quality.
Rating:
- surprise hit.
This is the game 'Unreal 2' wishes it was. I'm running this game on middling settings on my one year old Sony Vaio laptop and having no problems, so lets skip the 'weak machine' complaints. (You're playing games on a computer- if its slow, get upgrades.)
Chrome looks lovely, but as nearly all FPS's on the go now look lovely, it would be odd if it didn't. What this game has in spades is attitude. Theres a feel to it, the weapons, the uniforms, the ships, the audio, the in-game vehicles, it all comes together to give you a distinct flavour, which makes this game stand out in the crowd. Huge levels combine large open areas with intense multi leveled complex areas, forcing you to change tactics as you go. Combine this with a reasonable AI (flanking moves, covering fire) and it all adds up to a very nice package. And look at the reduced price tag! This would be a 4 star game, but now that its universally dropping in price, its also great value for money.
An excellent game, and one which we haven't been brow beaten into buying by the PC game media machine.
Did I mention its really good fun?
Rating:
- Chrome that could have been Goldif all you want is a game rather than The NBE - Next Big Experience(TM).
So why is this game not the NBE?
Well, for example, the main character is a cyborg who has implants added during the course of the game. In an ideal world, these would be bought, and there would be more implants than you could possibly buy, so you would have to customize your character in a particular direction - stealth and speed or weapon accuracy, or even hacking ability (a la Deus Ex). What actually happens is that you gain one or two implants at the start of each level, and have no say in character development.
There's a fair few of these strange decisions - wide sprawling levels, which imply several routes to completion, but in reality there is only one 'on-rails' solution being the other major funny.
These detract from what could have been an absolute stunning game. As it is, the game is simply good (or should that be 'Chrome') rather than Gold standard.
At another time, this would be bad news, but having played all the current crop of most wanted games of 2003, I have to say that almost half of them were disappointments. Deux Ex 2 is a step back from Deux Ex 1, Halo has a good start, but becomes very boring very quickly, Call of Duty is good but not that much different from MOHAA (especially in the fact that it lasts about 6-8 hours...) and let's not even start on Unreal 2! Only Knights of the Old Republic (which I have and will start looking at once I have got though Chrome) and Max Payne 2 (which I have completed, another short game, but recommended) seem to have got the gaming community thumbs up that a major release should really be getting.
Given this competition, Chrome starts to gleam. It wasnt a game that I anticipated buying, but I'm glad I did. Its one of those games that is really hard until you 'get it' (a bit like one of my other faves, Operation Flashpoint). The secret in chrome is in the quick and efficient use of the implants, plus a fair bit of stealth. Once you have got past the 'I keep dying, its too hard' zone, it becomes a very enjoyable game. The fighting is not normal FPS fare - in some places it actually becomes very strategic, something that makes the game stand out a little more from the standard slide and shoot (yawn).
So, the remaining question is why was the game allowed to be just good when it could have been a killer? Its obvious where all the time went - the game engine. Not only does the game look beautiful (if a little repetitive in the indoor sections), it also plays quickly on my not-so-cutting-edge system (ATI 9500pro, Athalon XP2000) at 1280x1024, with most of the settings high.
The developer looks to have spent so much time proving the engine and creating the 3D-world, that something most likely had to go to meet the Christmas deadline, and I'm guessing that something was a list of 'little tweaks that would make the game great but would push the publish date into a January release'.
'Unforgivable!' some readers may be muttering, but I'm looking to the official website, and already seeing a patch and a feeling of a community growing around the game already - the hallmarks of a good sequel, and a game that will improve over time for the current version.
So, if you are waiting for Half life 2 or the next Doom (which I predict will be another surprisingly quick game), there's not much choice for something in between - many of the big names have been disapointments, and some of the not-so-anticipated names (Chrome, Tron 2) are worth looking at if you really need a games fix until then...
If nothing else, Chrome will take some time to complete, unlike some of the other games out there at the moment!
PS - for the reviewer who can't work out how to fire straight - creep up to your target and when you are in firing distance, switch to the handgun, enable implants 1 and 2. Zoom in (right mouse button) and fire 4 or 5 times at the target quickly. When in buildings, hit implant 4 when you are just about to go into any room, and check the radar before you enter so you know which direction the threats are coming from.
Rating:
- Chrome which doesn't shine at allThe good thing about Chrome is that it looks great. The bad thing about Chrome is that it has only one good thing about it - it looks great. And looking good is not a quality that necessarily makes a game a good game - Unreal2 for example.
Okay, it's acceptable fare for a FPS, but there's nothing here either engages you or wants to make you play any further. There's the now customary "Buddy" that you get to help you through the game (but why?!? Gordon Freeman in Half Life managed perfectly ok on his own, didn't he? ), but the weapons are very much below par - the main "staple" weapon having such terrible sights that it is awkaward to use and has little impact. In addition, the inventory system is un-intuitive and poorly covered in both the manual and tutorial.
There are vehicles that you can get into and drive/shoot etc., but you're limited as to where you can go and it adds very little to the game.
Overall, if you're looking for a filler game until Half-life 2 or Doom 3 comes out then look elsewhere - this Chrome ain't shining in any way at all.